Happy New Year!
Hello! I hope this finds you happy and well at the beginning of another year.
It has been quite an exciting year for me. First off, I am pleased to share the news that I have finished the coursework component of my Ph.D. program. Now, it is time to begin preparing for my prelim exams in August, and the writing of the dissertation during the year after that. It is hard to believe that I finally passed this milestone, but there really is an end in sight now.
The first part of this past year saw me busily finishing up another semester of coursework and going into a new one. I worked two jobs (the university bookstore, as a stocker, and also at a card shop) in late December of 2000 and early January 2001. It is sometimes VERY tough, but I am slowly reaching my goal of getting through my degree without taking out any student loans. I make extra money by cleaning a friend’s house, teaching at the local community college once a week, and doing occasional freelance editing.
I spent early January tucked into my apartment in Bloomington, doing freelance editing for extra money and putting the finishing touches on my apartment. By mid-January, my living area’s decorations were completed. In late January, a friend (Patrick Osborne) from England, came to visit for a day during his business meeting in Chicago. I had a great time showing him around Bloomington and finishing up with tea at my place.
Travel, Visits, Work, and Progress
This past spring was very busy with yet another full load of courses. Eric and I also continued to enjoy and develop our relationship via long-distance. Tough, but possible with a sense of fun, trust, and our own busyness. I have at last found someone who loves to stay as busy as I do! He continued to teach children as an environmental educator at a camp associated with Boston University near Hancock, New Hampshire. In March, he visited during his birthday and was able to see the university, visit a few classes (those I taught and took), and we also managed to fit in lots of hiking and caving. After I finished a very busy spring semester, I visited him in May in New Hampshire and accompanied him and that weeks group of students. It was quite a change from my classroom setting to a camp full of active schoolchildren and shared meals!
This past summer was very rewarding, busy, and fun. In late May, I attended the International Communication Association in Washington, D.C., where I presented a paper on my research of the Australian newspaper media. I stayed with Oberlin friend Rob Levy and his fiance, Deb (to whom he is now married). I also had the chance amidst conference proceedings to have dinner with Ajiit Joshi, a childhood friend of Paul Dreifus who works at a government agency in D.C. I thank all of them for their generosity, meals, and a place to stay during the conference.
Here’s some photos of my visit to New Hampshire in May, and my visit with Rob in D.C.
I returned to Bloomington and immediately began my required summer French translation course for my degree. In early July, my friend Monica and I attended the Environmental Communication Association conference in Cincinnati. I taught a summer course in communications during the second part of the summer, which was an incredible experience. The small class ( 15 students) was unusually bright and confirmed my desire to teach at a better liberal arts college. Our discussions over the material were really
incredible and everyday was a joy. I learned valuable teaching skills, such as how to moderate a class discussion, ask the right questions to spark a discussion, and how to negotiate such a bright and inquisitive class. I ended the course with a renewed direction in my future career and what I want to do.
During this past summer, I worked the most enjoyable part-time job that I have ever had. Almost on a fluk, I found a part-time job cleaning kennels at the Bloomington Cat Hospital. The job descriptive sounded messy, but it was anything but. I cleaned the lab areas, played with the cats, helped out in the waiting area, and earned a good pay that eventually paid off my car in August. The cats were wonderful therapy during the busy summer. In a welcome twist of fate, the cat hospital staff asked me to come back and work during this upcoming spring semester. I plan to work there several days a week to help me save for my move in August and visits to see Eric.
Surprises and New Beginnings
In August, Eric shared his exciting news that he was moving to Bloomington to work at Bradford Woods, an outdoor education facility run by Indiana University. It was quite a change to have him near me while I finished my last semester of courses. We spent our weekends together. We always have lots of fun and we get along great. In October, we had an exciting visit to Chicago to see Sarah Matthews (an Oberlin friend) wedding in Evanston. It was a wonderful time that brought me together with old Oberlin and
former Oberlin Review friends Leah Mitch and Anneke Tryzelaar.
Here’s some photos of the wedding:
In late October, I attended the National Communication Association conference in Atlanta, where I presented a paper on Australian nationalism and the media coverage of that event. I won a top student paper award and received the award during a ceremony at the end of the conference. It was a wonderful experience writing the paper and I am thankful to my professor, Michael Curtin, who helped me develop my thoughts on the topic.
November was busy with Eric’s end of camp, his visits to family in Minnesota and to Paul in Milwaukee, and my courses. After I finished in early December, we traveled first to my family’s homes in Ohio, and then to the Boston area to visit his for a few days.
We took some walks in his hometown and I had the wonderful opportunity to meet up with Meg Chambers, my first semester roommate at Oberlin. Meg is just about ready to release her first album and she has been working on a project of children’s lullabies, which have been released.
I returned to spend some of the holidays with my family, and Eric and I met up again in Bloomington to spend New Years there. Eric’s father, Phil, accompanied him as he passed through Bloomington on the way to California (see below) around New Year’s. On New Year’s Eve day itself, Eric and I shared a wonderful lunch of warm apple cider and salad. We then spent the afternoon exploring old railway bridges along an abandoned rail line south of Bloomington. That evening, we met up with his father and we all shared a wonderful meal in a local Bloomington restaurant on New Year’s Eve. At the stroke of midnight, Eric and toasted with sparkling grape juice (we don’t drink), and then tried to waltz to a very fast piece by the S & W String Band. It was quite a work-out!
Saying goodbye after our New Year’s celebration was very hard. This coming spring, Eric is working at the Yosemite Institute in California while I prepare for my exams, submit articles for publication, and do traveling related to conferences and such. Neither of us is thrilled about doing a long-distance thing for the next 6-8 months, but we are supportive of each other’s endeavors and particularly believe that each other is worth hanging onto.
This coming fall 2002, I am going to leave Bloomington to take up a teaching fellowship post at one of the university’s branch campuses. I’m in a department that is rapidly moving in a film studies direction and is really no longer the right place for me. I am interviewing at departments that have more of a print media and international focus. If all goes well, I’ll write my dissertation during the fellowship and will probably take a contract position while I finish the following year. I’d prefer to hold off seeking a tenure-track job until the degree is in hand. If all goes doubly well, in the summer of 2003 I’ll leave the midwest for good and move to New England, which I have always loved and feel kindred toward, or out to the Western coast. I’ve started scanning the job ads to see what’s available in both places. However, having that said, who really knows what ultimately lies ahead? Life is a journey and I’m making rough plans, but also enjoying every minute and surprise involved in it!
Also this coming October, I am going to join my Oberlin friend Megan Schulte to walk the 60-mile walk on the CA coast for breast cancer research. The walk will be a great goal to work toward as I get back into shape and lose the 30 pounds that I gained during these past very stressful two years of courses. I am planning on starting yoga in addition to walking and cycling once I settle back in this January.
In closing, I wish all of you a happy and productive new year. Below you will find a link to my larger home page, which is now overall complete and I hope is a fun read!
Please also feel free to link to it from your own sites. My homepage address is: http:php.indiana.edu/~tlheinz/home.html
Stay in touch, and all the best,
Teresa
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