Pulling out of a Funk

I've been in one of the downhill swings on the emotional roller coaster ride that seems to be my graduate career. It's not b/c I have it tougher than anyone else - I'm actually in a really advantageous position right now (on fellowship, only doing my research) - but it's lonely and I miss having comrades to talk to on a somewhat regular basis. Between my own feelings of being overwhelmed with how I'm going to get through my material (slowly and with lots of coffee and run breaks), and what feels like the pending collapse of the University system in CA (UC, CSA, CC), it hit my confidence and motivation much harder than I ever anticipated.* Fortunately I think I've turned a corner with my work at least and I'll try not to be so doom and gloom about "I cant' do it... is it even worth it..." I can do it, and I already know that for the world at large it's not "worth it", but that for me it is. Now let's hope this spark of motivation is still going strong at 2pm...

To keep things interesting I've been baking. Are we surprised? I tried out these two recipes: Triple Chocolate Brownies and Kona Coffee Cookies. The Triple Chocolate Brownies are very rich and fudgy, almost more like a thick fondant or a more solid Chocolate Lava Cake. I made them with chunks instead of chips and they were wonderful. The Kona Coffee Cookies were part of an attempt to expand my cookie repertoire. They didn't taste overwhelmingly like peanut butter or coffee (and I added at least 1 extra Tablespoon), but an interesting combination of the two. I definitely recommend them with coffee, and if you make them, under bake by a min or two. If they're too dry they're hard to eat.

*If you're following the privitization of the UC system, and if your a grad student you probably are whilst clutching your tattered security blanket or perhaps security under grad degree in computer science, you've probably seen these. For every one else, here's your summer reading list to get you up to date: Remaking the University (UC specific, but important for most other large state "public" universities), Tenured Radical (if you're not yet reading her, you should be), How the University Works, and Chris's Blog. I'm sure there are more good ones out there, and if you leave them in the comments I'll be sure to add them to my reader list of "scary reality shit".