A really busy few months ahead!

I have finally entered my last (undergraduate) term! In just 2.5 months, I will have a Bachelor's Degree in History! My only regret is that I was unable to squeeze in a Writing minor. With my transfer credits figured in(online courses while in the Army), my three years at OSU is equivalent to graduating a semester early. I could have squeezed in the minor, but I did not want to add another Fall term-- the added stretch of Summer makes that one-term extension a bit too long. Good thing too, since this was decided before we found out we would have a July 2nd due-date for our first baby!

In the mean-time, a LOT of things are happening:

I am wrapping up my research project. Last term I finished my paper on spirit and traditions at OSU. I will make it available online later, after doing some edits recommended by my instructor. After it is touched up, I plan to follow her urgings and enter it into an undergraduate competition of sorts for large papers in the History Department. I think there might be a money (scholarship perhaps) prize involved, but I'm not exactly sure. If I end up being lucky enough to earn a scholarship, I hope it can transfer to a private school rather than be used just at OSU.

I am starting a new research project. I needed four more upper-division credits to graduate (since then it lowered to three since I added another band one more time), so I implored my instructor to let me basically retake her thesis course as an independent study for four credits. This one will be the first-ever extensive program history of OSU's Track and Field program (it was actually quite a big deal back in the day). I have started research on it already, and look forward to spending more time in the Archives, as if I didn't spend enough time there already! If only I could get a job researching OSU (especially athletics, band, and ROTC)... I would be fine with that!

I am wrapping up my undergraduate studies. Besides my Independent Study, I have Biology 103 (anatomy), History 341 (Russia post-1917), German 213 (only 9 weeks left!), Horn Ensemble, and a German conversation class (easy one-credit class that reviews for GER 213 and offers time to just talk in German). Related to German, I am also getting together with classmates to watch The Two Towers auf Deutsch. Wir hat "The Fellowship of the Ring" (auf Deutsch) gesehen letzte klasses. (We saw part one last term). Gimli is awesome as an angry German! They are just the dubbed German versions, with no subtitles. The Elfish is still Elfish, though it was mostly dubbed by the German actors for continuity. The History of Russia class is also pretty neat-- the instructor tailors the class towards those serious in their studies instead of those trying to fulfill requirements, and his lectures are basically 2-hour presentations rather than just boring lectures. Awesome.

I am still working at the OSU Archives. 17 hours per week, not including my hours researching Track and Field. My main task involves researching minorities in baseball, and I have already taken one field trip to the Sports Information Office's super-secret archives. Ok, not actually secret, just not generally for public use unless you ask very nicely, and maybe have a good reason to go.

I am preparing to be a dad. We toured the labor unit and had a one-on-one meeting with the nursing coordinator, and I have to say, I am very impressed. With just one exception, every single concern about hospital birth addressed in my Anthropology class is covered at our hospital. (I took a class which included a lot of information on midwifery, from an anthropologist who became a midwife in order to study the culture of midwifery. She has attended over 1000 births, holds her own practice, and along with her doctorate, is the first person called as an expert witness in pretty much any court cases involving midwifery in the state of Oregon.) I have also been signed up for numerous classes. No idea what they are, just that we (or sometimes just I) am going to. Thanks Deanna! I am excited... but also nervous. But also excited. I also feel ready, but also not at all. But still ready to take on the challenge, I think. All I know for sure is that I will miss sleep terribly, but can't wait to 1) try the patient's menu that I was denied while staff, and 2) hold my son for the first time. Not necessarily in that order. (Well, chronologically, the order is right, but you know what I mean...)

I have a ton of reading to do... for fun. Book 14 of Robert Jordan's (and lately Brandon Sanderson since Robert Jordan did not live to see the end of the series)The Wheel of Time, A Memory of Light, is coming out in January. In preparation, last Fall I decided to do a re-read of the series so I would be ready. This genius plan had a few hitches. First, I was using the audio book for book one, The Eye of the World.Great plan, except it only worked during car rides and in the gym. Then I discovered that Brandon Sanderson is an AMAZING writer. A. M. A. Z. I. N.G. Really. That side-tracked me over Christmas, and getting an XBox 360 during Black Friday didn't help either. During Spring Break, I dug into book two since I had the time, and now I am reading between classes if I don't have time to research (if only an hour break), on the bus, and sometimes instead of computer/XBox time. I am back to my former fast speeds in High School when I would slam through one a week... just required a reduced use of electronics. Only 10.8 more books to go! I want to be mostly done by the end of summer (maybe leave one for Christmas Break) so I have fewer things going on when I start school in the fall. Studies + Pleasure reading = not a good combination sometimes.... that is when I will switch to mindless video games to unwind at times.

I start Seminary in the Fall... hopefully. The plan is to start in the Fall as I begin a journey of earning my Master of Divinity in four years (can be done in three, but new baby means I will go slower). I am accepted by the school and my denomination, but am still waiting on word from the Army. I just got my fingerprints scanned, so hopefully my packet is now finally done and will go forward to the review board, unless my physical needs to go with it. If not, I will also look into the Navy and Air Force before giving up and finding a new direction in life. Hopefully that does not happen, though God does sometimes have a funny sense of humor! The biggest challenge there will be income. Tuition will be paid, but not by the GI Bill, so no more living allowance. Deanna may go part-time to her culinary school (which has a job placement program) so maybe I could transfer it and we could still get some of that income, but I still need to find a job as well. And even worse, unless we live in a drug-infested complex, we are going to have to get a co-signer for our lease, unless something amazing happens with income, like a huge influx of scholarships, etc. More to follow on that I guess... But really, it is to be expected. I mean, going to Seminary, how could I not expect some hard testing? At least I know enough to expect to not be able to expect anything.

So that about sums everything up...

Oh! Except for this blog! When I am a Seminary student, I can't very well leave this as "Tales of an Archivist," can I? We'll see what happens, but I think I'll need to find a catchy name describing the adventures of a seminary student/new dad... we'll see!

Beginning anew: Tales of an Archivist

After abandoning my dusty and untrodden blog for many months, I am pulling it out of oblivion yet again, this time with a new theme: Tales of an Archivist. Ok, so I'm not actually a "real" archivist-- I am a "Archival Student Assistant"-- but I don't care, I like the catchy title, and I work it the Archives. Basically, I am just blogging about random things I find interesting while doing research at work.

So first, a few things about this change:

• It will only last until the Summer of 2012. Unfortunately, that is when I will have to move on as my employment in the Oregon State University Archives can't come with me to Portland when we move from Corvallis. 
• As I come across interesting factoids and tidbits in my work, I will be commenting on them here. Sometimes my geeky awe of my discoveries is too lengthy for Facebook, but where words can become too many, an url in my status fixes all problems!
• Information will generally be OSU related, since it will have to do with my work, however if you don't really care much about OSU, keep reading if you are a fan of sports, music, history, or random odd factoids and anecdotes!
• I will try to include pictures when possible! My own, I can include at-will, however once I have permission to do so, I will also include some official Archives photos as well.

In Search of Work

We are looking for a job for Deanna... again. Unfortunately, while we keep having luck with jobs offering 2 or 3 hours per week (child care--only through the school year, and senior care), those types of jobs are meant to be a supplement. In the meantime, my hours should pick up this summer as I am available twice as often, although those hours are still not guarenteed.

Today we set out on a quest to get job applications. We stopped at several clothing stores, several restaurants (both fast food and sit down), movie theaters, as well as drug and department stores. During the first half of the trip, the most common phrase heard was "we're not hiring right now, but we always accept applications." It was starting to get frustrating, but then in the second half of our quest, things started to pick up with things like "we are hiring, but please turn your application in ASAP!" Such a lovely phrase to hear in this phase of a job search.

A Month at OSU

I have been a student at Oregon State University now for about a month, and things are going well. I have three academic classes: Writing 121 (required for all OSU students unfortunately), Intro to Film Studies (Film history part 1 of 3), and History of Africa prior to 1840. So far, Writing 121 is the most annoying, but also the easiest and least painless. Sure, I've had to write an essay and have a research paper and another essay to go, but it is relatively pain-free. History might be ok, but I won't know til after the midterm. Film is great, though its grade is 100% based on the final, which could be good, or it could be bad! It is the most fun class though.

The job search is still just a search, and if I haven't found a job by Christmas Break, I will grudgingly look into working at a fast food place. I've applied at Staples and left my resume with a Christian store which sounded a little interested, but I am still looking for other possibilities. I will check with the OSU bookstore again fairly soon. At the very least, I will soon be getting a small paycheck again from the Army as I soon start my Reserve contract, and I will be getting a decent stipend from the Marching Band at the end of the term, and of course, the GI Bill will give me the equivalent of a low-paying job just for going to school.

In just a little over a month, I will get my first OSU credits and officially have the 3rd most from OSU in my family! Ok, so one got hers at another unversity that calls itself a college, but I'm not letting that get in the way of that sounding like a real accomplishment!