Deez White Boyz Got Skillz!

There's a commercial at the beginning, but it's worth it!

Tips for Temporary Bachelorhood

I'm glad I have really smart friends like Tim. (Ok, so I've honestly never met Tim, but he married my friend Jean, so he's definitely smart.)

Tim struggled through a period of time being wifeless, and made it through like a champ, without any problems. I knew if he could do it, I could do it! So I've been following his example. Except we didn't have any peanut M&Ms, so I've been using Reese's Pieces. And we have possums instead of raccoons. Otherwise, it's pretty much the same.

But, I have learned some valuable lessons since Deidra has been gone. And, since I am in a giving mood, I will share them with you. Hopefully these tips will help you as much as Tim's blog post has helped me:

1. Meat is a must; fruits and vegetables are overrated - Eating meat helps to maintain your primeval instincts. Fruits and vegetables make you lose your edge and turn you soft.

2. Do laundry only when you're out of underwear - But the trick is to leave the laundry in the laundry basket when it's done. No use putting it in the drawers when you're just going to wear it and then throw it in the hamper, right?

3. Do not make the bed - Like putting the laundry away, it's an unnecessary expenditure of energy. Just move all of the fancy (but useless*) decorative pillows over to your wife's side of the bed.

4. Making a "To-Do" list helps show you what could be done - You won't do any of it, but at least you had good intentions.

5. If you tell people at church that your wife is out of town, they just might invite you over for dinner - Two days in a row now!

6. Maximize your cleaning time - And by that, I mean you shouldn't waste time cleaning every day. Just do one round of extreme cleaning the day before your wife gets home.

Ok, well that's what I've learned so far, halfway through the absence. I'll be sure to keep you posted if any new inspiration hits.

* Actually, I recently realized that the pillows aren't useless. If you want a fan going for white noise, but don't want it blowing on you, just build up the pillows as a wind barrier. (You could also turn the fan so it's not blowing directly on you, but that requires getting out of bed.)

When I'm my only company

This is what I do when my wife is gone and I have a whole Saturday to myself:

Some may say I wasted my Saturday away (though I did go see Purdue lose both their football game and their starting quarterback today also), but I count it as a learning opportunity. I finally got to fiddle around with iMovie '09 for the first time.

And it was definitely worth the $3 investment in lime green wrapping paper. 

Looking forward to Friday!

Since I have started this PhD program, I have looked forward to Fridays each week for a few reasons. First of all, I have no classes on Friday, so I can spend the whole day planning for the upcoming week, doing research and catching up on schoolwork and reading.

But the main reason I look forward to Fridays is FREE FOOD!

Yeah, that's right, PhD students are no different than undergraduates, in that we will do almost anything for free food. Each Friday morning, a wide variety of bagels, pasteries and juices are waiting in the kitchen for PhD students in the business building. Luckily, its a locked room and you need the right access on your student ID card to get in. I usually grab a pastry in the morning and, depending on what is left later in the afternoon, a bagel or two to bring home for later consumption.

In addition to that breakfast, I also take advatage of the LDS Institute Friday class where lunch is included. So that's two free meals (and sometimes extra bagels) every Friday! It definitely makes for a good end to my school week. In fact, last Friday, there was a dinner BBQ for all graduate students at Purdue. So - you guessed it - I got three free meals last week. Score!

T.G.I.F.T. (Thank goodness it's Friday tomorrow!)

Update on Purdue

I'm now four weeks into my new life at Purdue (if you count the weeklong orientation before classes started). Things so far are going well and I am excited for the road ahead. As Deidra alluded to, I made some seemingly random decisions at the outset of the program:

1. Wear a tie to school everyday

Putting on a tie kind of helps me focus and take things seriously, and I think can help others (students, professors, etc.) to take me seriously as well. Unfortunately, this goal lasted about a week and a half before I came to the realization that I don't have enough slacks or enough tie-friendly shirts unless I want to look like a missionary and wear a white shirt and suit multiple times per week. I have settled for wearing a tie at least once a week, and at least a collared shirt every day.

2. Never spend money on lunch

I don't make much money as a student, and the money that I do make can be much better spent than by buying a $8 burrito or salad every day. This decision was tested in the first week of school, as a number of students wanted to get together every Wednesday and go to lunch. I made my voice heard and everything has worked out for the best. We still meet for lunch once a week, but some of us bring lunch from home while others go out and get their lunch. We then meet together in the Krannert building to eat.

3. No schoolwork on Sunday

This is a holdover from my Masters program, as I have seen the benefits and blessings that come from keeping this goal. Sundays provide a much needed respite from worrying about work/school. In addition, I am trying to keep Monday and Friday evenings available for family home evening and date night.

4. Treat school like a job

Even though I only have classes Tuesday through Thursday, I go in to school Monday through Friday from morning until late afternoon. I am often the first PhD student to arrive in the morning (even though I don't get in until 9am, usually), though I am not usually anywhere close to being the last one to leave when I walk out the door around 5pm. I use Fridays to plan out all of the textbook readings, articles, assignments, etc. that are coming up for the following week. And Monday gives me a chance to get a head start on the rest of the week. Hopefully, keeping to this schedule will help me keep a majority of my nights and weekends free.

5. Take the bus

We have two buses that pass within a block of our house and Purdue students ride the CityBus for free. So there is really no reason not to take the bus to school and save on gas, especially as a one car family. Alternatively, about once a week I take running clothes to school and run home at the end of the day, which takes approximately the same time as riding the bus.

So there you have the low down on my initial school-related decisions, whether you really cared or not. :-)

Taste the Rainbow

What do you do when you have 40+ bottles of various flavors of Powerade that you are trying to fit on a shelf?

Arrange them by color into a Powerade rainbow, of course!

Iris

My newest recording, a cover version of the Goo Goo Dolls song "Iris," is now available online (iTunes, Napster, Rhapsody, CDBaby, etc.). It's only 99 cents! You can listen to the 30-second clip on any of those sites, or you can check out the whole song on YouTube here:

The sound levels aren't exactly the same quality as the downloadable version, but at least it gives you a general idea.

(And sorry it's just a picture, and not an actual "video," but I'm not that talented with iMovie as of yet.)