Things are largely normalized for me. Not in the "return to normal" sense, but in the "this is how it's going to shake down from here on out" sense. My time since August 5 has been spent trying to get to this point, so it's exciting, actually. I am completely moved into my apartment in Gilbert Hall back at University of Delaware. It's two more years of school for me as I start the pursuit of my MS in computer science. It's very interesting to be in the same place and have everything feel completely different despite the fact that the jist of my experiences will be the same. The people have mostly changed, the duties are different, and the pace of everything is very different this time around. They say grad school is a different world and I'm learning about that clearly, now.
August was spent nearly entirely on training for my hall directorship -- the way I'm paying for graduate study. If it wasn't hall director training, it was RA training -- helping the six people I guide in this crazy adventure learn the ropes and settle into their new positions. So to put it to all of you that read this: I am a
hall director, not a "head RA," not an RA. I
do not live on the hallways and I
do not look after drunk kids on the weekends. I am the management for two buildings that house 214 students. I am the direct manager of six RAs (they live on the floors and work directly with residents) and I run their meetings and coordinate their efforts. I'm involved in committees on campus and am part of the 34-deep "paraprofessional" staff of hall directors that make all of the administrative, parent-complaining, and educational aspects of campus living work. It's hard to describe it to people when I discuss it, because most people have no real basis for understanding the position (no point of reference from when they went to school) or had no idea there was anything that was that involved in the residence halls (only thought the HD talked to you when you got in trouble). For my efforts, I am rewarded with an apartment, full out-of-state tuition payment, and a bi-weekly pay that is nearly triple what I made last year. Oh, and a reserved parking space. It's work that's fun and it's work that I love.
The grad study is in computer science. I don't want to work in the residence halls or higher education forever (though I think about it fairly often), so I'm trying to continue my work from undergrad. It makes sense for me to make this move at this point and the opportunity to do it for free is something I cannot pass up. I'm leaning towards exploring artificial intelligence as a research discipline and am currently taking three courses (two plus a special interest group): System Architectures, Artificial Intelligence, and New Grad Student SIG. All are starting off well and I'm enjoying the study thus far. There is certainly a higher set of expectations out there for grad students, a longer leash with which to move about, and a completely altered balance of in-class and out-of-class work (there's A LOT more going on outside of the classroom). The program takes three semesters without a thesis and it should not be difficult to make it all happen with a thick thesis in two full years. THEN I can try my hand at the job world, again.
Personally, I've been having a good time meeting a lot of new people. Jacqueline (Jacks) and David are the closest of my new friends -- the other hall directors of the Gilbert housing area. I've met all of the other hall directors, a host of new and returning RAs from campus, and a handful of new grad students also in the computer science program (it seems there are many people in our program beginning their PhD, with the MS folks like me in the minority).
I'm trying to hold it down and make sure I stay in touch with the other people that I know are still around on campus: Quentin and Kaes come to mind as the people solidly a part of my life. There are a handful of other people still around that I'm excited to get at least one more with. The hope is that in the coming weeks I can re-engage the social aspects of my calendar and really get back to some people and meet up. Pete is living in Newark, Drew is closer than in previous years in southern NJ, and Justin lives in Philadelphia, now, so it makes things interesting.
"Two More Years" by Bloc Party is the tune currently in my head. I just saw Bloc Party in concert this past Saturday night and it was the best show I've seen. They are definitely my favorite band right now. Give a listen if you've the opportunity. They're all over iTunes.
Bedtime after some more reading for me.
