On Wednesday Josh organized a just-for-fun poker night with some of his colleagues. He plays for money once a week with these fellows, but I had never played before and he wanted me to learn how, so an exception was made. It was mostly HPS students, but Kari and the Werewolf came along as well. Kari just watched, but the Werewolf
cleaned up - he was really really good. I was not very good, but I won a couple of hands and at least I wasn't the first one out. It's really quite fun, and I'm hoping to get another chance to play sometime.
I've also been sort of pre-training to run the
Indianapolis half marathon in October. I had planned to run the half in Bloomington, but it was moved to the spring. It had been my plan to run my first marathon in Australia when I started studying there, but a recent email from my college adviser reveals that all of the logicians at Melbourne are leaving or have already left, and their department is being merged with Anthropology. I was thrown completely for a loop by this information, as it had been my plan to study in Melbourne. I've since rallied, however, and am currently considering a transfer to one of the following schools:
- University of California at Irvine
- Colombia
- Pittsburgh
- St. Andrews
- City University of New York
I had been thinking about New Zealand, as well, but at the moment it looks like just these five, and I'm not sure about CUNY. As some of you may recall, I had pretty good reasons for turning them down the first time - mainly, that they could only offer me $20,ooo a year, which is not a lot to live on in New York. (Not to mention that this time around they would most likely offer no more than $18,000.) That's why I'm thinking Colombia might be worth another shot - I'd be in New York, where my logician idol is headed, but I imagine Colombia could offer me a better grant - if they let me in. So that's my new plan, and it'll all be swell if I can just get up the nerve to ask Joan and the Badger for recommendations.
This is such a terrifying prospect, and I spend a lot of time these days mentally composing speeches to explain how it's not IU, it's me, and I owe it to myself to find a better fit if I possibly can. And maybe I can't. The above list contains two schools that rejected me the first time, and it's unusual for graduate students to transfer, so it might be even less likely now. Nevertheless, I am going to try. I know I can be a better scholar than I will be if I stay here.
2 comments:
Is that St. Andrews in Scotland? The golf course? Pity about Melbourne - what are they thinking? Logic in Anthropology? Doesn't seem right. As I recall from my days at Milbank Tweed, it wasn't terribly unusual for law students to finish their degree at a better university than where they started, in order to achieve a better start after graduation. But I don't remember anyone doing the same with a PhD. It seems inflexible. Far more sensible, I think, to be able to move around a little and broaden one's exposure.
Columbia, as opposed to CUNY, probably has more money to throw at you but probably not enough to live well in NYC in any case.
Disappointing about Melbourne. Especially as we'll be there for the Tennis Open and to tour that city in 1/09. Maybe you should hold off until we've scoped it out. Did your "idol" say when he'd be leaving Australia? Maybe he'll change his mind.
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