As I close out the semester and start to focus even more so on research, I’ve been focusing on preparing for working at home. It is a kind of fun project. I’m not much of a decorator so it is challenging on that end but I’ve been taking the time to organize my desk and [...]

I met up with a friend this past weekend, and we found ourselves in a discussion about the cost of dance classes in Boston. The cost seemed a little out of her reach, but then she realized she had other things she spent her money on (social life stuff). For me, dance is a priority, [...]

If I’m not in class, working on schoolwork, or taking care of my cat, I am likely to be working on MassRaqs. Last year, I was a last-minute addition to the team. This year I was able to see MassRaqs 2011 planning from the beginning. Although I had talked to Sonya of Arabesque a few [...]

Remember Scrubs? I happened to love that show, except for that random last season. Anyway, they had one of the better theme songs for a show. That’s about how I’m feeling really now. I am no Superman. The last week has been taxing on me. I came back from spring break with a mysterious illness [...]

I am by no means an expert, but I’ve gone to grad school (am in grad school) and have friends who have gone to grad school. This is my disclaimer of sorts; after all, only you can really decide whether grad school makes sense. The inspiration came from my SO, who is trying to decide [...]

Confession: I have never taken a true spring break trip. Spring breaks were used doing school, somewhere in my hometown. Nothing exciting. In grad school, I think I spent the first one catching up on life things and the second one doing research. Grad school for my master’s was conveniently on the quarter system, so [...]

Despite the threat of weather (wintry mix) and the mysterious line of traffic getting to Waltham, the semi-private class with Shadia of Boston ran. Shadia taught at MassRaqs this past fall. Although she is a well-established instructor in this area, I didn’t know much about her. Her workshop at MassRaqs convinced me that I should [...]

When it comes to technology, I’m not quite an early adopter, not quite the person who gets the gadget when it’s super-trendy and appears everywhere. I like to read reviews from real people, learn about the bugs and limitations, etc. With a limited income, I feel like this is the smartest way to do things. [...]

My doctoral dissertation  is something I want to start at the end of this semester or sometime during the summer. Although I enjoy school, my funding isn’t forever (4 years) and I don’t want to be in school forever. What’s holding me up is that I do not have a narrow enough of a focus. [...]

At the very beginning of last semester, I was scheduled to take a class that was canceled about 2 hours prior to class time. No one had told me that the class was canceled, there were no notices online, etc. I had assumed that I would be withdrawn from the class, because the school had [...]