Learning and Working in a digital world

Lots has been happening in my work life and personal life of late. Here's a recap- I work full time in a very fun job. I write, I edit, I guide the development of a massive Web site, manage a private social network, review all printed materials, manage the online store for DKG, take pictures, chose images for printed material, work directly with several committees and indirectly through my colleagues at work with most committees. I drive visitors to dinner, lead a department, have too many papers on my desk most of the time and answer phone calls and emails with tips or advice or to just answer a question or two. All of this is just during the day. I have a great job. It's fun, challenging, tiring, exciting, and has a bit of travel thrown in the mix.

But there is yet another side of me and my simple life. I just became a grandmother-a little boy, Naini Warner, 7 lbs. 20 inches. I have seen pictures and will be traveling to see the little guy in about a week. I have a stash of goodies to take with me from clothes, a toy or two and of course books. My daughter will be reading to that baby. You might wonder why I'm waiting so long to visit. Well that is the other part of me that is keeping my brain and my fingers working.

I am a doctoral student. Yes, I went back to school. I started this in 2006 and am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am a student at Pepperdine University in California. Much of the program was done online. Hooray for the digital world. So I work by day and study and write by night. Lots of nights I find myself not getting much done (imagine being tired at the end of the day) so on Saturday and Sunday into my home office I go. Between reading, writing, and doing more reading and writing, editing and starting again, I find I have used up another day. But in two days, I will participate in a preliminary conference with my dissertation committee. This is a huge hurdle. I can hardly wait. I've worked on a Power point presentation getting ready for this event. My presentation is extensive. This is a monumental event in the path to completing this work. The conference will be held remotely with my dissertation committee in California and me in Texas. We will be using Skype and all will have my presentation which is 26 minutes long. Try to guess how many times I've practiced and timed this thing. I might even dream about it. Then the committee members ask questions and make comments and decide if I can move forward with the research. Tomorrow I have a pre-conference call with my advisor in preparation for Tuesday. So needless to say, Tuesday is a really big day. I hope to be celebrating that night.