Instead, today, I just signed and mailed a letter declining $40,000/year to go to school to get my PhD. When I got ready to drop it in the mailbox, I had to call one of my friends who always gives witty perspectives so that I could laugh as I put it in the mail. Her response: "You don't want that money; it's New Jersey, it's mafia money, anyway." I chuckled, and dropped it and went on my way.

About two months ago, I struggled with the decision of what I would do, whether go to school in NJ and get my PhD in Urban Systems or possibly get a second Masters in Urban Planning somewhere else. This is all because of one event during the spring semester that put me behind. One class shattered the pathway to my PhD, and made it virtually impossible to make up over the summer. And by virtually impossible, I mean that it was possible, but I'd be so braindead that I'd not even want to begin studying in the fall for another program. I needed the summer to breathe, not study. And, it wasn't possible. So, I was left with a decision to make: PhD or less.

I told myself that I would wait until after my family vacation to decide. We went to Walt Disney World. In all truth, it only took one day with my family to decide what I wanted to do. As the week progressed, my decision was confirmed. As we returned home and tragedy struck our family, my decision again was confirmed. As I've continued to try to dig roots where I am now that I've decided to stay, there are so many ways that my decision has been confirmed, and I've not turned back. 

I may have been a tad nervous to drop that letter in the mail, but I never hesitated to sign my name and mark "I decline" on my response form. I'm completely confident in what will come forth in the upcoming days, months, and years, even though this decision is completely different from what I expected just a year ago. Yes, life is taking me a different route than what I planned, but isn't that sometimes the most fun part of the journey?

For now, I'm enjoying the scenery while not trying to break the bank, but also trying to see what options are available (which are often slim to none with my degree background, but plentiful with my skill set) for work. I'm thankful that I will be close to my family for a while, and I will continue to enjoy the travel, as I've got a list of places to see that is still growing. Mostly, I'm continually watching in expectation to see just how one decision can change my life.

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Except, this December, I celebrated my 30th birthday. It was great. I loved it. It didn't change much. I actually would always accidentally tell people I was already 30, and then have to correct myself. Maybe I was preparing for it before? Who knows…

But, with the insanity of December also came the end of the semester for teaching and for grad school, which I fortunately aced, but not without some bit of exhaustion. After I finished each of those, I felt I was due a vacation, so I headed off to Chicago. I am due for a recap of my trip to Chicago, and I hope to do that in a few days, and include some pictures. 

Also, my resolution for 2010: be better at updating my blog… Ha! It actually does keep me on my toes about my writing. 

So… a short update since my last blog was in November, but the #EpicDec Chicago update will be here soon!

I've been going at the fastest pace that I can go, and there is no way that I can keep up, and last week, I waved the surrender flag for one of my graduate classes. I'll have to withdraw, which means that I'll either have to take an overload next semester if I teach, teach and take only 2 classes and take the final class in the summer (meaning no graduation ceremony; at my school, on May & December), or take my last three classes in the spring and don't teach. I feel like I'm stuck with a massive decision that I don't want to make. Either way, it's a pretty major consequence that doesn't give me much breathing room for error. 

Hah. Breathing room… and that's where it all started… stupid pneumonia.

First, Joe Wilson shouts back at President Obama during the Joint Congressional speech. Then, Kanye West takes the mic from Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech. And it seems like everywhere else, there are random complaints about how kids today don't know the proper way to socialize or conduct themselves in a classroom or in a group. 

Folks, what we have here is a failure to communicate. Or even… to learn the basics of communication. 

Here are a few handy, dandy ways to combat the breakdowns in communication that perhaps you might be facing*: 

1. Don't be a copycat. 
   Do not in whatsoever way, try to impersonate the British Parliament. Seriously, they're on Sunday night TV for a reason in the U.S.: it's entertainment for us. We can't do that here, so we get to watch it. They make themselves out to be downright crazed lunatics by talking to the Prime Minister in whatever form they like, and we address the President with utmost respect no matter how much we like or dislike him. Also, we don't have soldiers that can pull off the demeanor of those in England. Those are the rules. Obey them. This is the way it works. George Washington said so.
2. Get your facts straight.
   George Bush doesn't hate black people. George Wallace did. Kanye got it completely wrong. He's blaming the wrong George. In fact, I'm pretty sure if he had blamed the correct George in the first place, this whole ordeal wouldn't have taken place, and poor Taylor Swift wouldn't have been shaking in her boots. And quite possibly, Lady Gaga wouldn't have terrified every living soul on the planet with "art."
3. Don't be "that guy."
   You know "that guy." He's the "guy" that eternally lives on in the butt of all jokes. For example, who will ever forget Poland now? Or, who can ever mention the planet Uranus now that some person made a dirty out of it? Or, remember "that guy" who yelled out during the President's speech in 2009? Or even "that guy" who yanked the mic out of Taylor Swift's hand to declare that someone else should've received the award? See… you know exactly who I'm talking about. "That guy."
4. Lose the cameras and TV.
   Remember when people actually read the news? And then formed their own opinion? And then remember when they stopped and all of a sudden people simply regurgitated ideas from talking heads like cows chewing on cud in the field? Yeah, me too. It's like we're living in Idiocracy, and I'm looking at the sharp decline of society.

Just a few ideas of ways that we can get back to basic forms of communication. Heck, if you'd actually make a phonecall or visit someone, it might build that communication instead of just sending a chat message, a tweet, or a Facebook message. But, of course, the Wall Street Journal is print, and print can be wrong, right? Perhaps it might not be in some cases. But still, I'm banking on print, because right now, the voices coming from the television are absolutely crazy.

Joe? Kanye?

That's what I thought.

*This is totally meant to be satire, folks… I LOVE watching the British parliament on TV, and totally respect them, and history still is unsure that George Wallace was or was not a racist in his later life. And who knows, maybe Lady Gaga's performance actually was "art."

It's quite amazing… especially for the situation, since they had to find someone. I had to find a job. And this one was RIGHT up my alley. I can't put into words how exciting it is! I'm nervous as all get-out, since my predecessor is practically brilliant. I hope I don't let him OR the department chair down. 

Here's to learning experiences, new adventures, and steps toward my big goals in life. Now just to get that Ph.D. program under my belt.