Monday, November 15, 2010

self-indulgent meta-update

Howdy, folks!

New posts have dropped off around here and I thought I'd let all y'all know why.  I just got accepted into grad school, which at least initially I am going to attend part time while working full time.  It has been almost 15 years since I participated in the ritual appreciation of Important Literature™ as observed in the Orthodox Church of Academia, so I'm trying to bone up on my main man John Milton before class starts in January.  I still plan on continuing with my game group, but I'm not sure if I'll have time enough to do that and yammer about gaming on the internet.  Going back to school may not turn out to be the life-altering disruption that it seems right on the cusp of the operation, but I wanted to make sure that anyone who cared was in the loop.

Wish me luck.

34 comments:

  1. Anonymous3:07 PM

    Oh Mr. Rients,

    I have done the part time grad school / full time working thing. Good news: doctorate with minimal debt. Bad news: five years of unremitting *hell* stemming from idiotic decisions and errors, driven by sleep-deprivation.

    I wish you all the best of luck.

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  2. 1-Good luck!

    2-Do not take any guff from those swine.

    3-Yay! Milton!

    4-When studying literature at the graduate level, remember that the person using the shortest words is usually the smartest one in the room. This could quite possibly be you.

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  3. Congrats on re-entry to the Ivory Tower. I enjoyed grad school a lot more by waiting almost a decade to go myself. After going through the work grind, the whole thing just seemed more leisurely and enjoyable.

    Amen to Zak's point 4. Conversely avoid like the plague those who use words like "languaging" or "intersectionality" rather than perfectly functional everyday ones.

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  4. Have you read Lucifer by Joost Van Vondel?

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  5. Congratulations, Jeff, and good luck.

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  6. No, but one wikipedia search later I'm intrigued.

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  7. Congrats, and best of luck.

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  8. Anonymous3:30 PM

    Congrats & best of luck on your journey!

    Ciao!
    GW

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  9. That's awesome Jeff! Have fun in your new academic pursuits!

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  10. Don't pay any attention to the ideologues and don't learn any jargon.

    I think you'll enjoy it as you come across as a very smart guy to me.

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  11. good luck and congrats

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  12. If you think graduate school offers more opportunity for advancement than inventing dracula combat tables, then go for it.

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  13. Anonymous4:22 PM

    Good luck with it! Grad school can be simultaneously the best and worst times of your life, so I hope you enjoy Dickens. ;)

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  14. Best of luck Jeff, and we'll all be here when you get back/out.

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  15. Since you've got my vote as the most creative mind in the old school blogging business, I can't help but think that you'll find immense success in grad school. Unless they manage to bludgeon you into submission. Good luck.

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  16. Congratulations and good luck!

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  17. jake k5:43 PM

    Good luck and all!
    Can u work yer blogging into grad school credit?

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  18. Good luck! I'm in grad school full time right now for library science and I'm literally reading somewhere around 4 or 5 books a week. Not much free time for gaming, unfortunately...

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  19. Good luck, Jeff, and try to escape with the important portions of your brain intact. Law school wrecked my ability to write creatively.

    I'm still contemplating a similar return to academia, and I have no doubt you'll do well. :)

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  20. Oh, awesome :3 Sending the good vibes!

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  21. Anonymous8:30 PM

    Congrats and good luck! Grad school can be fun, if you don't mind a lot of reading and writing, and my impression is you read and write a lot, so it should be a good time.

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  22. May you be luckier than Augustus and better than Trajan!

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  23. Best of luck! What degree are you pursuing?

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  24. Congrats! Question everything, answer nothing!

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  25. I gave up a not-lucrative RPG freelance career in exchange for some non-lucrative grad school time. I wish you all the best. Remember when you were a young punk in college, and those annoying non-trads kept showing you up with their superior work ethic? Now you're that non-trad. Have fun.

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  26. Good luck, Jeff! I think you'll find that exercising your brain will, if anything, give you lots of creativity to throw at your gaming projects. I started teaching grad school last year (International Security Studies) and seem to be even more motivated to work on my campaign.

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  27. Anonymous9:48 AM

    Good luck!

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  28. "What degree are you pursuing?"

    MA in English

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  29. Congratulations and happy studying!

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  30. If it's OK for one of your recommenders to congratulate you, congratulations!

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  31. I missed this when you posted it, Jeff- because I'm in grad school and I don't have time to read all the blogs I'd like.
    My advice is to blow off your reading for two weeks mid semester and do your final projects.
    Why?
    Because everyone else will wait until the end of the term, which will lead to some uncomfortable seminars wherein no one in attendance has done the reading. If you have done the reading it gives you a chance to shine, and takes some of the heat off your fellows.

    Also, never forget grad school is all about- WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY?

    Good luck.

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