Wabi Sabi Me Graduate School

Welcome to Goleta

July 5th, 2008

Wednesday, July 2nd was move-in day, and our new home town greeted us with a spectacular sunset, casting an amazing orange-pink glow. I’ve never seen anything like it, beautiful and eerie, all at the same time. Our “warm welcome” was the result of the Gap Fire that had just started to burn about an hour before our arrival.

There were power outages throughout the evening, but we managed to get moved in with the help of neighbors and several flashlights. Upon waking the next day, everything was covered in ashes and the fire continued to burn.

Tonight is the first night that we haven’t lost power, and it appears as if the flames are moving away from the populated areas. There are reports that those who had evacuated are being allowed to return to their homes.

Meanwhile, we continue to unpack and sweep up ashes. It is amazing how the ash sneaks through the shutters, the screens and into unexpected places…

2008 Jul 03 Gap Fire 2 Originally uploaded by Shooting Star Photos

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A Body In Motion, Stays In Motion

June 24th, 2008

So this is the view from where I stand. The storm clouds are starting to break and the sun is about to burst through…

Relocating my family in anticipation of starting a doctoral program 100+ miles away from family and friends, is definitely an emotional, mental and physical challenge. Weekly (sometimes daily) I struggle to keep the remaining items on my to do list from unraveling all my hard work. Thankfully, I am a firm believer in destiny and the basic principles of physics. As long as God keeps opening doors, I figure I’ll keep walking through them no matter how much effort it takes. And I’m finding that as long as I keep moving, doors keep opening. Inertia for the win.

Yesterday’s day trip to check out our new home town was fun and refreshing, despite the fact our day began at 4:30am and ended after midnight. The weather was perfect and the drive was lovely. The plan had been to check out the main resources active unschooling families require — libraries, bookstores, community centers, parks and beaches. We also wanted to get a peek at our new home and take a look around campus. It was an ambitious plan. Time ran out before we could make it to all of our destinations, but we did enough to get my children excited and on board for the move.

There is so much more to do, but the end is in sight. I’ll leave the details to God and just keep moving, decluttering, packing, making phone calls, answering emails and packing. Seven days and counting…

48 Minutes Later (32201)Originally uploaded by kstoon

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How to be a Graduate Student

June 6th, 2008

In a few weeks, I’ll be getting back on the crazy treadmill of graduate school. Ignoring warnings from the past, I will begin a directed research project for the summer. Why? Well, somehow I thought it would smooth the transition into the doctoral program if I started in the Summer versus the Fall. And on paper, it really did look easier. Practically though, well… not so much.

Mentally, I have yet to wrap my mind around it all. In two weeks I will have relocated to a beautiful beach town, downsized my family into campus housing, and immersed myself in reading, writing and the madness that is summer day camp scheduling.

Sigh.

I can’t figure it all out now. I’m just going to take six minutes and enjoy the video.

How to be a Graduate Student: A Guide for Young People from kate dohe on Vimeo.