600th post, or how I'm going back to school

Why, hello there, folks! It's me, Cait. Coming at you from the American Fork WIC clinic where I still have 20 minutes left of work but essentially I have absolutely no work left to do! And I feel too ill to make any more phone calls to newly breastfeeding mothers/I've called everyone and anyone I can think of and either a) they think breastfeeding is gross and plus their mom didn't make enough milk and please don't bother them again, or b) it's going so perfectly wonderful, and why the heck are you calling me? One day, I will post all about the funniest things people say about breastfeeding. Until then...

The latest news that you are all dying to hear (oh wait, you probably only care about hearing about my pregnancy). After months of deliberation, Tim and I have decided to send me on to school next fall. To get a PhD. In Sociology. It's something I considered for a long time, something that was always in the back of my mind through undergrad and has haunted me since. Haunted me because I didn't want to go back to school for 13 years, I wanted to do something practical like midwifery (but now I realize that I'm only very slightly interested in being on call all hours of the day and being up to my elbows in a woman's bodily fluids), and I did not think I was smart enough/motivated enough to do a PhD. But, now revisiting the issue two years out of school, I'm desperate to get back, and more than motivated. And hello, my calculated undergrad GPA is practically a 4.00 and if past success on standardized testing is any indicator, I should do more than fine on the GRE (taking a practice one Saturday.... so time shall tell). Plus, I've got heaps of research assistant experience and excellent recommendations.

The real challenge now is finding the right program with the right professors and the right research areas and the right living arrangements and the right cost of living and the right financial package and the right eateries.... no, ok, not eateries, but GEEZ, I didn't realize that applying to a PhD program was so complicated. It's nothing like applying to undergrad where you pick a good school and go with it. You have to contact professors and find aligning research interests and go visit and do interviews (sometimes) and write long personal statements about how you will be a good fit at their school. Applying to a PhD program is more than GPA and GRE and how brilliant you are... it's how good you "fit." But how do you even know if you fit somewhere? I'm still exploring the question.

Pretty much, it boils down to if I get into Berkeley, I'm going there. Unless I don't get in, in which I will be applying to 7 other schools I could potentially get into (many of which involve very cold winter climates, so please Berkeley, accept me!).

Also, applying to grad school is expensive. Like it's going to cost us close to $1000 at the end of the day. But no complaining, because once I'm in, I should have a fairly attractive financial package that will pay health insurance, tuition, and a stipend of living expenses (somewhere around $20,000? I think?)

Tim is thrilled with getting to be a stay-at-home dad for longer. I was pushing him hard for grad school and he wants to go but was stressed out with finishing school, taking the GRE, getting recommendations, and everything this fall. I'm more than prepared to apply, and it feels like the right decision for both of us.

So, my days consist now of researching programs, checking out the married student housing and on-campus childcare options, e-mailing professors I've never met and hoping I'm not bugging them, and spending hours trying to figure out just what the heck is going to be on the GRE (it changed last month, so the 2011 study guide book I was using is outdated, apparently... no more antonyms or analogies??)

Isn't it weird to think that three years ago when I was pregnant with Theo, I was applying for my undergrad internship? I'm getting so... old.

Theo Turns Two

See it on the other blog. Our internet has been down, and is still kind of spotty. But hopefully this starts another surge of blogging.

Yesterday:

Cleaning and running in the morning. I had class while Cait shopped, went to the doctor and prepared for Theo's surprise party. We had people over, it was great. Post to come.

2 Years

Here's photos of the last year. They show very much of what Atticus likes.

And so, two years:

Vs One Year:

He may not have gained much weight, but he's sure grown up.

Further Evidince

Although Cait continues to deny that she is pregnant, when she comes home with a picture like this, what am I to think?

Yesterday: Playing in the morning, early run and naps. Then we played with A. Grass and then went to her birthday party, where we ate homemade Cafe Rio and cupcakes. Charla slept on our couch.

Hatin' on the poors

The Daily Show - World of Class Warfare - The Poor's Free Ride Is Over
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Listen, I've read Atlas Shrugged. I like Atlas Shrugged. There's still no getting around the fact that the super  rich would have done what it takes to get super rich, even if they got taxed 2% more. Capitalism is not malicious, it is just easily abused (as is Communism). Controlling the means to production, controlling distribution of profits is necessary for a certain percentage of the population, but that does not mean that their retaining the vast, vast majority of money in the country is justifiable, fair or beneficial to the country as a whole.  I'm in favor (and Cait is with me) of redistributing wealth. CEO's, investment bankers, housing moguls didn't earn that money, they didn't generate that money, they were just in a position (with the compliance of the US populace) to hold onto an absurdly large amount of the money circulating through the system.

There are people mooching off of the system in the bottom 50%. Heck, we're mooching off of the system. But here's the deal, besides this summer break (the first one where we haven't had someone in school or work much more than full time), we've been working extremely hard. And we'll continue to work hard and contribute for the rest of our lives, easily as much as the CEO's, investment bankers and housing moguls, just like the majority of the rest of the poors. Which ones are the real takers and which ones are the real makers?

Three Doses of Opinion

So, I've posted before about reading Three Cups of Deceit by John Krakauer and I just finished Three Cups of Tea by Mortenson himself. After reading the criticized book, I still stand by what I said before. I don't really feel like either account approaches fair or unbiased. Of course, Mortenson's own account paints him in an overly favorable light, but I still feel like Krakauer is overly negative, especially with regards to people's motivations, as I felt reading Into Thin Air as well as from what I've heard of other books. A lot of Krakauer's criticisms aren't really confirmed. Yes, there have been no real audits of CAI, but Krakauer seems to automatically assume that those audits would return damning evidence of Mortenson's using the funds of the business for his own benefit. Yes, some schools are empty, but he doesn't say anything about the schools that are functioning. Yes, Mortenson lied about Korfe and about being captured by the Taliban (more about that in a bit), but does that mean he is trying to scam all his donors out of their money, like Krakauer seems to believe?

The truth when ardently proclaimed by two firm sides invested in their own belief, as often happens, seems to me to be somewhere in the middle. Here's a great take by Outside magazine (someone invested in both sides) that sums up well what I was thinking. I think a lot of people have jumped on to Krakauer's side because, as my friend Andrew Howell put it, we love to see hero's fall. Everyone was behind Mortenson for a while, but as soon as everyone buys in, it becomes uncool to be a fan of someone successful, and so everyone is willing to assume the worst when the person turns out not to be as perfect as everyone thought. I think he lied about the village because he didn't end up liking the bureaucracy in the first village. I think he lied about being captured by the Taliban because he lied to his wife about it first, in order to excuse his spending too much time in Pakistan, and so had to keep up the lie. I think the CAI seems poorly managed because Mortenson is an awful manager. But without him, none of the schools he built would have been built. Bottom line. He struggled and fought for years and years when no one believed in him. If he was in it just for fame or money, he would have given up when those things seemed impossible. But it seems to me, what he did see as possible, was helping some kids out in a country no one else cares about. I still wont call him a hero until the whole story comes out, but I wont call him a crook either.

Yesterday:

Cait worked all day. I cleaned in the morning, run, nap, run, park, Mom comes home. We ate some frozen food and then played around the house til the bedtime run.

Birthday Review

So, here's the story of yesterday. I wanted to get some pictures, but they are few.

The morning started with picking up some early birthday presents for Theo (and thus for me, because him playing on his own is a good thing) from a garage sale we knew would be good. The best purchase, along with some lamps and some paintings from another garage sale, was this small kitchen, which we knew from previous Theo experience, he would love, and he does.

The Picture and the Lamp

Then we went to The Awful Waffle for breakfast. It was good, but the portions were smaller than you would think for $3.50 to $4.00. I mean, they're waffles, you can afford to make them big. But still, good.

Then home for cleaning and naps and waiting for my sister Charity to show up to watch Theo. We drove into Salt Lake, picked up a sweet traveling crib for Theo now and Leroy (my blog name for the new baby) later. Then to REI for my new Vibram Five Finger Speeds, which were a present from my mom. They deserve their own post, but suffice it to say, I don't think I'll be buying any other running shoes for a very long time.

We looked around REI for a while, drove to Costco and bought food and then came home to eat.

I went on a good 8 mile run, the first little bit with Theo. The run lasted until almost 11, and I really felt like I was running into a whole new year of living. Hopefully I'll keep running.

Yesterday:
Church in the morning. Disgruntled in the gender unequal marriage class. No nap for Theo in the afternoon. Playing and watching shows. Theo went down early, so we adults had a rare evening together. Nice.

The 5k Without a Name

I ran a 5k on the 13th and it went smashingly. It was for employees of Utah County (Cait) and their families (me and Theo). Cait was much to sick to run, but I put Theo in stroller and took off. It was a little loop course down center street and around the state hospital. I accidentally left the brake on the first mile, but it hardly does anything. I ran in the lead and alone almost the whole race and ended in first in 18:55, which is a little slower than I would have liked (my stroller PR is 18:30), but that's okay. I don't think I have too much speed after marathon training. I won $25 to sports authority (I went to buy shoes but they didn't have any good ones) and it was the first race I've been in where only the top 3 guys get prizes and not the top 3 women. Tough for them.

Here's a picture on the podium with the third place guy:

Also, I like to imagine that Theo just spin on that kid's face, although that didn't happen

Yesterday:

We did all sorts of birthday things for me (and many other non-birthday things) which shall be the subject of another post.

Camping trips

Since getting home from our extended camping trip in Seattle/Portland/Idaho, we've camped twice, once with our friends Carl and Ash Mae and once with the ward. The pictures are all from the former, except the last one, which is from the latter.

Ashes are delicious

Bending a stick with muscles

Sure Theo, explore that cave

We ate some delicious tin foil dinners

Carl's family joined us for dinner

All Theo wanted to do was play by the river

Hiking Portrait

While it may look like I'm going to the bathroom, I'm not. I'm just reading Tom Jones.

The one good photo from the ward camping trip, once again, he only has eyes for the river

So basically, we are all camped out. And our tent broke. Twice. So, maybe we will revamp for next year.

Yesterday:

Family Seven Peaks trip in the morning. Hanging around the neighborhood in the afternoon. Nursing a sick Cait in the evening. Early bedtime run for the guy.

Eric's Endowment

My brother, Eric, went through the temple for the first time. Read a Mormon approved description here. Non-approved you'll have to figure out for yourself. I rode up with my sister Charity. I wanted to pick up new vibrams on the way up, but ran out of time, both because the guy and I stayed to long at Seven Peaks and because traffic was bad. So we arrived. It all went smashingly and it was nice to be there with my whole family. We went out to dinner afterword and I got home very late and tired, but it was nice. Here are the photos.

Sound of Music

Showing Eric the special back door

Yesterday:

Library in the morning while Cait worked. Park in the afternoon while Cait slept. Then we watched Charly (not the Mormon one) and went to bed.