I’m outta here…

Tonight is my last night in Maryland FOREVER.

For some reason, I’m completely emotion-less about it – I have absolutely no feelings whatsoever about this relocation I’m about to pursue. I mean, I’m moving to Connecticut (and soon after, to NYC)… that’s a big deal, right? I’ve never lived in Connecticut before.

But no. No emotions from me. I think I’ve been thinking too much about other things (mostly whether or not all of my crap will fit into my car) – and the idea of “leaving the place where I spent the past 2 years of my life” hasn’t really sunk in.

…so, it’s 12:06am and unfortunately I’m just realizing I don’t really have time to write at the moment. I have about 5 trillion other things I need to get done before 8:30am… I’ll have to write more when I get home (my parents house in Virginia). I’ll reflect a bit and perhaps try to conjure up some emotions.

Oh, and did I mention I’m really excited about seeing my dog when I get home? I even bought him an adorable doggie treat from the mall :)

Adios, College Park FOREVER. It’s been real. And by real I mean, bunk. And by bunk I mean, grad school has almost sucked every ounce of happiness and optimism out of my life and I’m so glad it’s over…

Update

My paper on Globalization and Colombia is done. 3.5 pages single-spaced. I’m so over that class. My teacher makes me want to rip my brains out…

Now, I have to start to edit the very rough draft of my project course/short thesis paper. I think I have it mostly written – 22 pages without graphs. Hopefully I’ll have the editing and final drafting done by tomorrow night so my fake advisers, Adam and Beth (and anyone else who wants to read and give suggestions on my paper) can read it tell me how much it sucks.

And off I go.

school books

Of course, as a grad school student in public policy, I have a crap load of reading to do throughout the semester. So far, all of the reading I’ve done has been straight up boring. I hate having to buy books that I don’t enjoy. Especially when those are the books that no one enjoys, so I’ll probably have a hard time selling them at the end of the semester.

Despite the fact that the first half of my semester readings have been dull, I’m looking forward to a few books.

1. And the Money Kept Rolling In (And Out): Wall Street, the IMF and the Bankrupting of Argentina by Paul Blustein

In the amazon.com review, they compare this book to a thriller and a detective’s tale. Wow. I don’t think the book is written as a story, but I need it to be an interesting read. The IMF and how it screwed over Argentina… sounds like a good time.

2. The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists’ Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics by William Easterly

I think half of my professors are bffs with this author. I’ve read a ton of his works. Generally, I like the way this dude thinks. This book should be another insightful read about not relying on economic growth to pull nations away from their problems.

3. The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It by Paul Collier

More possible solutions to extreme poverty? Why not. I enjoy reading others’ ideas. I like people who think outside of the box with this kind of stuff.

I do have other assigned readings, but I probably won’t read them. Partially because I’m not interested, partially because I hate wasting my time on dull books, and partially because I won’t have time with all the papers I will be writing. Grad school is all about prioritizing, right? Well, I’m making time for what’s important: the above 3 books and my writing assignments.

53 days until this grad school insanity is over. I won’t miss it.