Someone I am excited and proud to call my friend

So, this is not by me.  This is by my dear friend Najla who I went through (perhaps am still going through) the PhD process with.  You need to read this, you need to share it ...

Wearing the Hijab

... and the next President of the United States is ...

I am excited, I mean REALLY EXCITED, about President-Elect Obama.  I have been waiting for an actually eloquent, intelligent, and real president for a long time.  I would argue that, even in Clinton's second term, we lost that.  I have many hopes, I have concerns.  We all should.  What we should not do is think that he is going to solve all of our liberal-leaning woes.  He won't - he can't.  Here's why.

If you listened to both he and McCain's speeches Tuesday night (and you really should.  Heck, if THAT McCain had shown up during the campaign, I may have voted a different direction), they both have this underlying narrative, this permeating argument, of unification.  This country is broken, cracked, shattered.  The overt challenges of two wars, the economy, the disdain for present-day politics in the US - all of these simply signify the underlying systemic failures that are occurring all of the time.  Watch the news, read the paper, open your eyes and look around the community that is yours.  Rather than people excited about their futures, they are frightened by their next 24 hours.  Obama cannot change that.  You can - We can.  I think he said it best when he pointed out that this will not be easy.  There is work to do.  All of us have to roll up our sleeves and do the work.

So, what kind of work is that?  Not bitching about it, that is for sure.  It is time to ask for a little less and do a little more.  Whatever work you are doing, whether it is in your job or in your community, make it count.  When I teach my students, I always ask them to consider the following - What's in it for me? (The WIIFM?)  What does this theory tell me about the world?  What does this argument strategy help me achieve in the end?  Now it is time to update that precept - What's in it for Us?  What does the work I choose to do accomplish for the greater good?  How does this act serve something more than me?  I will be the first to say that the individual needs to be happy with her or himself before they can serve the greater good (you cannot build something with a tool that does not work right!).  Once you have reached that, through working out or meditating or finding the right job or what have you, what is the next step?  THAT is what is important.  And THAT is the question I pose to you now.

Be well, have fun.  Live the moment and Enjoy life!  But remember to work towards the greater good. There is work to be done - are you ready?

Nosdrovie!  Adam.

... and it is done ... and it is ... green?

So, this afternoon, after returning from my over 5 hour writing extravaganza with Lynnette (See previous post), I see a large package waiting for me in the apartment lobby ... from NDSU.  Inside, protected by the strangest packing material I have ever seen, are two bound copies of my dissertation.  One is mine, the other goes to Dan and Kara, who wanted a copy on their shelf.

Yep, there it is, bound in its glory.  

So, does that mean that it is done?  Does this mean that I am official now?  I still have not received my diploma in the mail, so it is hard to say.  What I do know is that it looks pretty darn cool on my bookshelves (which you can see behind me), I think I may end up reading through it once (then wish I had edited just a little bit more), and afterwards, well, I think it will be an interesting piece to have on the coffee table for some light reading.  I will say this, though - having your name on a bound copy of something that you wrote ... it is pretty darn cool :-D

Now, I just have to figure out something witty to write in the copy that goes to Dan and Kara ...

And here we go ...

New town, new job, new people ...

That is what I have been experiencing since July 1.  A quick rundown of the way things have been progressing:

1) successfully defended the dissertation in May.  A week later, I walked in graduation.  However, I was not fully declared and officially "Doctor Tyma" until August 2008, when my degree was actually cleared, approved, and posted to my transcripts.  They want to keep their hooks in you as much as possible.

proof that I really do get the goofy cool stuff.

2) I am now the assistant professor of visual communication and culture at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.  I am living in the School of Communication.  The people I work with are pretty darn cool.  My students are excellent.  They are so motivated that it makes me almost jealous, like I am not good enough for them.

3) As can be determined from 2, I am now living in Omaha, NE.  I dig my apartment and my neighborhood, which is like this near-perfect blending of Grand Avenue, DinkyTown, and NordEast.  In other words, I am extremely comfortable there.

4) I have met some pretty cool people.  Mark and Lynnette are both faculty on my campus.

Mark is in the College of Business, and Lynnette is down the hall from me.  They are married, by the way, and crack me the hell up.  The third in the picture (from your left to right) is Lori.  She teaches Art in two area schools (k-12).  We are trying to convince her that she needs to apply for a position with our Art and Art History department, so the three of us are not the youngest faculty on our campus.  It is ridiculous!

5) Now my life starts again.  Learning a new town, trying to keep in contact with my old friends, making new friends, figuring out what this town has to offer me.  All in all, I am very happy with my decision.  I could have been closer to the people that I know in Fargo, but I would have been limiting myself drastically.  And, anyway, that is what roadtrips are for, right?

Just starting this one up ...

Hey there!  So, I was blogging a little bit on MySpace.  However, since I am not using that too much anymore, but wanted to start up the blog again, I thought I would construct this here.  There will be more to follow.  A lot is happening in my life, so I need to lock it in somewhere.