A few garden delights that look especially nice with the changing light …

Maybe I will be better suited at a coffee shop for this week!

This Summer has been trying at best … lots of data collection, dissertation writing and trying to stay sane as I get things wrapped up for my PhD. I am beginning to realize more than ever why the time between your comps and completing your dissertation is so dangerous. It is now down to just me and my motivation to get this thing done and motivation has been lacking as I sit at my desk staring at the computer.

With everything going on, I have been living vicariously through my friend Nancy who has been blogging away about her fabulous Summer in New York City - I am so anxious to have a Summer again with nothing to write and no deadlines looming. The PhD will be wrapped up sometime this Fall, so things are looking good for next Summer.

The next couple of weeks will bring more of the same - hot weather, writing and motivating myself to be done. I can finally feel what it will be like to be done and I just can’t wait - it is going to be so exciting!!

Ok, time to stop writing in the blog and get back to writing academic stuff. I keep thinking of one of y favorite Wilco songs with a line in it that says “I can’t find the time to write my mind the way I want it to read” - maybe I will get that figured out sometime this week ;).

In the Fall of 1995, I came to Austin to pursue an undergraduate degree in Communications from UT. I was required to take a course from each department and elected to begin with a radio, television and film (RTF) class on digital media. The course was taught by a woman named Aviva who was a PhD student in the RTF department. She seemed to have equal parts of smarts and sass and thus I was naturally intrigued. I ended up working on a special project for her class with several other students and we met at the ACT Lab in the Communications building on campus. The ACT lab was a small room with about 6 desktop computers, black walls, no windows, and two bare light bulbs that hung down from the ceiling on coiled wires. We had our meetings there to discuss computer security and crimes, web design, networking, etc. … and thus, my fascination with academic research was hatched.

After that first Fall semester of college, I went on to finish my degree while starting a business with my brother, Ben. Then, after graduation, I happened into a job at a start-up in town and figured I would give that a shot. After becoming a “dot com millionaire” did not come through and the business tanked, I decided to go back to graduate school, liked it and decided to get my PhD.

By the time I made it through my coursework as a PhD student and was assigned to teach a course, I had not thought about Aviva in years. Then, on the first day of class this semester, I walked into the same class room that she taught my class in thirteen years ago and realized that I was now the crazy, exhausted PhD teacher lady. Walking into that auditorium to teach all semester put a smile on my face because I was constantly reminded of how far I have come and the things I have accomplished in the last decade.

I contemplated telling my students about my full circle moment on the first day of class but resisted. On the last day of class, I told them my little story and got a few laughs and claps … they seemed to enjoy knowing that I was in their shoes at some point ;). So, Aviva … if you are out there, thanks for inspiring me to teach, do research and be a crazy PhD lady.

In other news, the last five months have proven to be both trying and exhilarating at the same time. I taught my first solo class in the Spring (Advertising on the Internet), secured my first journal publication (due out next year), managed to make it to several conferences, both for presentations and just to attend, and was able to secure three fellowships that will pay my way as I complete my dissertation next year. I flew back and forth across the US several times, to San Francisco, Las Vegas, Panama City Beach and Burlington, and came home relatively unscathed, minus the cracked rib from a nasty fall down a rain-drenched flight of stairs in the Dulles airport in Washington, D.C. I hadn’t experienced that degree of physical pain in quite some time and have since made an effort to slow down, especially when dealing with stairs. Oh, the things PhD students do to get more presentations on that vitae!

This summer has been good so far … some how we have reached the end of July without breaking 100 degrees in Austin which has to be some kind of record. It has been raining on an almost daily basis, bringing to life plants and fungi that I have never seen in Austin before … it truly is a jungle out there. In addition, it has brought all sorts of rodents and insects out of the woodwork which has proved to be interesting and slightly revolting at the same time. It will be nice when the water subsides and all of the little creatures can find their homes again … which are hopefully not inside my house.

For now, I am making it my job to enjoy the rain and cool weather while I try to prepare for my information science exam on Monday. I’ve managed to flip my mental switch into getting things done mode, finally, so I believe I am ready to sit in a cubicle and write for four straight hours on how user-generated content is impacting both usability and advertising life cycles in the interactive environment. Sounds pretty interesting, eh?

Just think, by the time I am done with these exams and the oral defense of them, I will be well on my way to turning 30 and getting my dissertation underway. Boy am I ready for a new decade … this one is getting a little old … no pun intended!

Btw, if you are reading this and have something brilliant to contribute to my thoughts for Monday, don’t hesitate to send me an email ;). My horoscope has advised that I beware of gaining knowledge without character … so, if you’ve got a good usability story, please pass it along for me to add to my collection!