So much for my time off before classes

I’m sitting in the library as I type this. Why am I in the library you ask? Because I’ve been dealt the first surprise of my graduate career: that I have reading assignments due on the first day of my classes. And what makes things more complex is that certain classes currently do not have syllabuses available. So I’m going to need to wait until a day or two before the class begins before I know what I need to read for that class. Or where the class is being held, for that matter.

This is all part of the school’s effort to put a fear of God and the program into us. Discussions have focused on how much work is about to come our way. Judging from the reading, it’s true. For example, my Perspectives in the Social Sciences class has nine full books and 75 articles associated with it. I’ve been told I should expect to read a minimum of 300 page a week. And that’s before I get to the writing assignments.

Still, I plan to explore Chicago this weekend. But for the moment, it’s nose to the books. And tomorrow I’ll be taking a bus tour of Chicago sponsored by the MAPPS program. I’m told it’s quite good and that the tour guide is quite saucy.

I’m heating up the ol’ MC3 and will start to post some videos and pictures of things really soon.