Test of True Loyalty

When I started graduate school, I NEVER thought that BYU would compete against OSU because... what were  the odds?

Ha! Well, once again, never say never. Guess which two schools played in the 2017 NCAA Men's Volleyball Final Championship game? Yup, BYU & OSU. Actually, the two schools went up against each other for the same title last year, but I wasn't here so I didn't know about it. This year, however, since I was in Columbus, and the game was being played at OSU's St. John Arena, I had to go for the game right?

This was my test of true loyalty. Which school should I support? What color do I bleed: blue or red? And the answer is...






(Keep scrolling)

Ta-dah! Proud to bleed blue! And I think it's ironic that I finally met Cosmo after I left BYU. 

It was super weird to wear blue in the sea of red, and then it got 10 times worse when BYU lost. BOO! But I still had fun cheering the players on, and it was a nice break from writing. I have to hand it to the players for keeping it in there, even though OSU had major home turf advantage. So even though we lost, good game boys! I'm just surprised that it's not a rule already that schools cannot host their own final championship games. 

That's the BYU team!

Me and a girl from my ward. She was on BYU's swim team, and is a huge fan of the BYU men's volleyball team. It was so helpful to have her explain the game to me, and tell me who each player was. 

And that smirk on the face of the photobomber. 😈👻

I passed this scene on my walk back to my apartment. That is one of the two bridges that crosses over the Olentangy River to get to my campus. Doesn't look like much in the daytime, but it's pretty at night!

Random Things I've Found

Just some weird things I've seen in the past few months that might not be weird to you, but is to me!

• Not one but TWO professional matchmaking services took out ads in an in-flight magazine for United Airlines. Guess we know where all the single people are...

• For my friends who are fans of Harry Potter, I found Dobby's grave on my school's campus!
  

• Was in D.C. two weekends ago for a workshop, and that same weekend was the March for Climate Change. I didn't see the march itself, but I saw lots of marchers with their signs at the National Mall. And portable latrines.

• Passed this on the way to D.C. in Frostburg, Maryland:
  

Sign under red arrow reads "NOAH'S ARK BEING REBUILT HERE". 😨Nice to know where we should run to if the world is ever flooded again!

• Went for a walk last Saturday morning, and passed a random car show in a parking lot of a movie theater. Or at least I thought it was a car show. There were no signs, just lots of vintage and sports cars parked with their hoods open, as if they were being exhibited. I know next to nothing about cars, but even I could appreciate how cool it was! 

• Finally, you know how you see on social media cute videos of birds crossing the road, and you wonder how people manage to have such impeccable timing and witness it? Guess what? I did! I only managed to take a picture of the ducks after they had crossed the road, but hey! It was still something. There were a couple of adult ducks, and a whole flock of ducklings shepherded by their mother-- soooo cute! I love how all the cars on both sides of the street stopped for the ducks. 
  

What random things/ acts have you guys seen the past few weeks?

Back to Washington D.C.

I was thrilled to return to my favorite city in the United States--Washington D.C.-- two weekends ago for a workshop about federal jobs for historians.

TL; DR: There aren't any, unless you do military history. Which I don't. *Sigh*

Under the current administration, all the money is going into the Department of Defense, so that's where the jobs are. Meanwhile, the State Department, which is where I want to be, is going through a period of "restructuring," which is a nice way of saying "down-sizing" and "hiring freeze." I do believe that there are excessive federal jobs that can be "streamlined," but that makes it hard for graduates like me who are coming into the job market at this time.

The good news is that I spoke to the historian in charge of making hires in the State Department, and he said that I had good qualifications. The bad news is that his hands are tied, and he told me that these things are "cyclical" i.e. try again in a few years, maybe after we change presidents.

What am I going to do?

On a more positive note, I was able to visit the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, and the National Botanical Garden. The museum on Native American history is really cool, and I encourage people to check it out. It's also one of the newer museums, so the interior is nicer than some older ones (looking at you Natural History museum and American History museum).

The National Botanical Garden is supposed to be 😍😍😍, and it was when I visited six years ago (has it been that long?!). Unfortunately, this visit wasn't a good one because Spring came early, so the Spring flowers have gone already, but the Summer blooms haven't arrived. Hence, the very bare exhibits. I still managed to see some very pretty blooms though.

It was also lovely to meet up with an old friend, Miss B, whom you may recall from THIS POST back in 2012 when I first moved to Columbus. She had moved to D.C. in 2013, and this visit was the first time I saw her since her move. Time flies! She was gracious enough to let me stay at her apartment, and Saturday night, we went to eat El Salvadorian pupusas, and then went to the town of Alexandria for some delish ice cream at Pops. 

 Some pictures from my trip. I took the bottom right picture because do you see the "hipster"-people riding Segways across the street, in front of the Capitol? Such a D.C. thing! 

I loved being back in D.C., but hearing how dysfunctional the federal government is (even if Trump is not president) makes me disheartened. Am I trading the dysfunctional system of academia for the dysfunctional system of the federal government? I don't know.

At this point, I'm just trying to get my writing done. It hit my a week ago that I have to submit my completed dissertation by June 30, which is two months away. TWO MONTHS. I'm not even done writing my last two chapters, and I still have an introduction and conclusion! That's how screwed I am, and so I don't have the time to apply for jobs, and yet I need to do that, if not I'm going to be screwed come September. Ha, last year was a fantastic year for me, and this year, it's payback time.

All I can do at this point is take it one day at a time, and pray HARD!

The Best Thing about School Receptions

Narcissistic Miss Keesh time!

A few weeks ago I attended a reception for the recipients of the Fulbright and Fulbright-Hays awards. And the president of my school, Michael V. Drake, attended the reception and gave a speech. Woah! I feel so important. Bwa ha ha ha ha ha.

Probably the closest I'll ever get to the president of my school.

That's my name on the rotating slideshow!

My fellow Fulbright-Hays awardees, along with our coordinator, Joanna Kukielka-Blaser.

The best thing about the reception? Free, delicious food that wasn't pizza! No shame here. I'm a poor graduate student. 

The next day, I attended another reception for university fellows, and enjoyed another round of free food. I also received a paperweight. Guess it is the most appropriate (and cheap) memento to give graduate students because who else has stacks and stacks of loose paper lying around... 

On a more serious note, I am thankful to be blessed with these awards, and it's nice to know that other people have interest and confidence in my work!