Brain dump.

I've been learning. And thinking.

• After all the scheduling drama, driving around various counties for hours on my days "off", and listening to the same stories hundreds of times, it's still worth it to see kids' faces light up when they see the progress they're making in reading fluency (reading with speed and accuracy). They are excited about their progress, right? I mean, it's not the pencils and stickers they can earn that they're excited about. Right?
  
• If I could get as motivated to work on the nebulous dissertation as I was to plan and execute Interview Day for my program, well, wouldn't that be nice?
• My need to have a general life plan over the next 3-5 years is complicated by this amazing person I call my husband. Who would have thought that my goal-setting and planning would be foiled by the one I love?! I think it's just that he's so very laid-back and not into planning, so he can't give me answers today on things like "Will you be ready to have a kid in month x of year x?" But see, I need to know these things! I'm actually in a place where I can decide whether I want to work hard and finish my program in 3 years (2011) or 4 (2012), and if I went with 4 it would basically allow a year where all I'd need to do is teach for a couple hours a week and work on my dissertation. This is also known as perhaps the only year of my life where I'd get paid but have a mind-bogglingly flexible schedule. See where I'm going with this?
  
• Then again, there's this thing called the recession. Do you ever feel like you were born at a most inopportune time? Like, right when you're getting into the real world, getting a job, considering the remote possibility of someday owning a home, the economy tanks? I try not to whine too much because we are incredibly blessed to have what we have, but I still sometimes pine for how it was in the corporate world just a few years ago. Jonathan could have gotten a substantial raise after his first year on the job, there would have been multiple bonuses throughout the year, et cetera. *Sigh* At least we're not really losing things we once had or anything, though. I mean, when you have no money in the stock market, downturns really don't make you sad. It would be nice if we came across a hidden stash of Benjamins with which to buy a house, since those are a dime a dozen these days.

Next week is Spring Break. In a classic Chelsea move, I opted to use the break to get more work done. So I'll be working on a clinic case, which is a huge time drain. However, I do plan to do something fun. Maybe I'll convince the non-planner to accompany me to the ocean... or should we see the mountains this time? I will pencil something in.