Traveling + School

Sometimes in grad school, we decide it might be a good idea to take some time off, go out of town, and have a good time.* Then the weekend ends and the inevitable stress and denial come crashing down: you have two books to read and a critique to write.

Okay, not you, me.

Did I bring my books with me? Of course I did. Did I have every intention of getting a slough of homework done in the evenings over the weekend? You bet I did. Did that actually happen? Hell no.

Going out of town in grad school is like a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, you get some much-needed time off and destressification. (I made up that word. Awesome, no?) On the other, there's a great possibly that you won't get anything done. Well, at least I didn't.

Lesson learned! I spent all last night skimming (or "gutting" as I heard a cohort say), all of today skimming, and writing a critique. For those of you who haven't heard the term "gutting," it basically means that you just read the first sentence of every paragraph and move on. This helps you fly through books while still g

etting the gist of the main idea. It's a last resort tactic and I do not condone it, but sometimes it just has to happen.

I will not be going out of town for any more weekends during the semester. However, there will be a Disneyland day next month. But the best part about a one-day deal is that it's really easy to account for.

Daily Advice: Be diligent if you travel or else it will bite you in the ass.

*I went up north over the weekend to the Northern California Renaissance Faire. It was awesome, ridiculously hot, and oh-so worth it.

Throwing knives!