I got back late last night after the usual 12 hour drive. Thankfully, while long it was uneventful and the weather was, for the most part, clear.

I’m doing my best to get back into the swing of things after wonderful and relaxing visits with friends and family. Thankfully, the University is doing it’s best to immediately reintroduce me to stress. I just found out that one of my course’s focus has been shifted. I’m not completely sure if this new direction, focusing on social reaction to tragedy, is going to work for my research. So I’m in the midst of researching other classes.

The beginning of this week was really tough. I lost all perspective on things and had sunk into a bit of a depression. I still liked the program, but I just felt like I couldn’t make it to the end of the quarter. It seemed like my performance was slipping. I wasn’t absorbing the readings and my last ethnography was a disaster. Or the later description there was more than a bit of hyperbole. Mediocre would be a better description of my participant observation. Ironically I had made some good progress on my thesis. But all and all I was feeling l-o-w. I just wanted to come down, like some junkie cosmonaut… what happened to Cracker anyway?

Finally I realized that what I needed was to take a night off and not feel bad about it. Up until that point, if I allowed myself to get distracted from things I would get ticked at myself and not let go of that frustration. I think that’s been my main problem. So for the moment I’m beyond that. Last night I went home and cleaned and organized my apartment. I feel so much better.

IRB

Sucks. Institutional Review Board. Just because some medical researchers had to go off and conduct immoral experiments on unwitting participants, I need to get what feels like fifteen bazillion releases before I can talk to someone. Double that amount if the person is pregnant. And its frustrating. I blame you for this foodgoat (only one reader of this blog will get that inside reference).

A recent interviewee for a possible thesis topic requested anonymity. Now I’m not sure how much, if at any, I’m able to talk about that interview. Ugghhh! And I really need to beat on the topic and the interview with people to decide if there is something there. Grrrr.

I’m trying to type up and ethnography of a meal that I conducted last night. And it’s like pulling teeth. Grrr… this shouldn’t be so hard. The problem is nothing really happened. Which is to be expected as life isn’t always dramatic. Argueably this is one of the many things that sparates journalism from anthropology. However, you still in the back of your mind hope for an “ah ha” moment where you reach some deep and resounding understanding of the universe. That just didn’t happen.

As to where did we go for dinner? Check it out:

Chinatown! And it was really yummy. Unfortunately I can’t disclose who went with me because of Institutional Review Board issues. Because of releases I have to secure for my class I have to protect their identities.

Speaking of identities, you might not recognize me. Since returning from my short trip to Rocester a few weeks ago I haven’t shaved. Heck folks are luck I’ve been showering with my current work load. So here is my current look. The beard is going bye-bye tomorrow.

Scary huh?

absolute beginners

Most friends, and people who’ve read this blog for a while, know that for years I’ve been a student of the Martial Arts. I started while attending RIT and have continued to this day, some twelve years later. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I would continue this study in Chicago.

I’ve found a few places to practice. In both cases, I’m starting in arts that I’ve never studied before. That’s something that I have not done in a while. That isn’t to suggest that I’ve tried everything under the sun. Rather its just that I’ve been focusing my study on a single art, with a bunch of familiar people, for quite a while. It’s been a while since I’ve been a raw beginner.

Truth is I’m loving it. This week I began lessons in Judo (to supplement my throwing game) and Lui Ho Bi Fa (Water boxing). Between both classes I learned a total of four techniques in four hours. Years ago I would have hated that. I’d want to advance as quickly as possible. Now I’m old enough to understand what it takes to learn something well and slow and steady is fine with me. In the case of the water boxing, I literally spent more than a hour learning how to take a single step.

And I’m still not sure if I have that step down.

Chicago so far has been a humbling experience in this respect. From school to Martial Arts, I’m a beginner. And that’s one adjustment that seems to be going pretty smoothly.