Monday, October 30

What to Look Forward to When Graduating from NIU

The sign in front of Lukulo's Resturaunt for homecoming weekend, a quasi-fast-food-college-hang-out by campus:

"Welcome Back Alumni! Now Hiring Cashiers."

Saturday, October 28

When it Rains, it Pours...

Ok, I still think that's funny. First, it was a shitty week leading up to taking the GRE on Wednesday. Just a lot of work, lot of prep time, and not really a moment to relax. Then, with all that practice and studying, I didn't do nearly as well as I was expecting. Don't get me wrong; I'm still a genius and all that. But my verbal definitely wasn't impressive. So I came out of that just bummed to all hell, needing nothing more than a pint at the Bulldog or a mudslide dacquiri on the fraternity roof. So after another night of busy PhD preparation Wednesday evening, I was looking forward to a long over-due trip to New Orleans this weekend. And, after packing my bags, taking the bus to class Thursday afternoon, and getting ready for a good friend of mine to drop me off at O'Hare, I get a voicemail: Your flight to New Orleans, departing from O'Hare international at 8:20, has been cancelled. We have rescheduled you on the next available flight, departing from O'Hare at 2:30pm tomorrow, stopping over in Milwaukee, then Fort Worth, and arriving in New Orleans at 11:53pm tomorrow night. Apparently the misty weather and slight breeze were too much for the American Airlines, especially considering they cancelled the flight over 3 hours before take-off in that mild of weather.

Well, you know what they say, when it rains, it pours. (drum-cymbal-comedic-effect-thingy!)

So this weekend, contrary to what you might expect with my previous intentions of BBQs and pitchers, I'm actually getting a lot done. I know, I really should take some semblance of a break soon. But in the meantime, I've got my letter-writer packets just about finished. Since the forms basically all came as PDF files, and not those cool "I can change the fields" PDFs, I'm using my typewriter to fill in all the informational fields (recommender's name, title, etc.). As I told ASH, it really comes down to the fact that, since I own a typewriter, it pretty much necessitates me using it. It took a little while to get to using it efficiently, at first. Considering all 17 of the schools have different spacing and information required. But I'm getting a bit faster at using it. Oh, and I'll wrap this post up with an updated list of schools I'm applying to. I know, there's a hell of a lot on here. But, better to make it an expensive application process once than two costly application processes if I weren't to get in the first time. Anyways, here's the updated list (the numbers that follow the list are the application deadline, then [my preference]/[Leiter's ranking]). Let me know if you have any comments or suggestions to make.


  • Princeton: Dec. 1st, 2006. 2nd/3rd
  • Stanford: Dec. 5th, 2006. 6th/6th
  • UC Davis: Dec. 15th, 2006. 10th/27th
  • Duke: Dec. 15th, 2006. 14th/29th
  • Ohio State: Dec. 31st, 2006. 12th/21st
  • North Caroline, Chapel Hill: Jan. 1st, 2007. 7th/11th
  • Harvard: Jan. 2nd, 2007. 5th/6th
  • UC Berkley: Jan. 3rd, 2007. 3rd/15th
  • Rutgers: Jan. 5th, 2007. 1st/2nd
  • Madison: Jan. 5th, 2007. 11th/23rd
  • Maryland, College Park: Jan. 5th, 2007. 9th/25th
  • UC Irvine: Jan. 15th, 2007. 4th/17th
  • Cornell: Jan. 15th, 2007. 8th/11th
  • Carnigie-Melon: Jan. 15th, 2007. 15th/34th
  • Wash U: Jan. 15th, 2007. 16th/38th
  • U Colorado, Boulder: Jan. 19th, 2007. 17th/38th
  • UMass, Amherst: Feb. 1st, 2007. 13th/27th

Monday, October 16

The Courage to Change the Things I Can

A couple little known facts, 2 points for honesty: my undergraduate GPA was crap at around a 3.2, and my philosophy major's GPA was worse at just barely 3.0. Ironically, my psychology GPA was somewhere around 3.8. The verbal section of my first round of GRE scores was not impressive; 520. The math and analytic portions, though, were my saving grace at 720 and 5.5, respectively. I've made one 'B' while doing my graduate work, bringing my current GPA to 3.83. And, whether it turns out to be a good thing or a bad thing, my personality and aptitude have never been hidden in this program, so those I will be asking for letters of recommendation know enough about me to write an accurate letter.

But you can't just go into an endeavor with no control. You have to pick out at least one thing and say, "Regardless of the rest, I can do something about this." Well, everything above exists and is true; nothing I can do about that now. So a couple days back I registered to retake the GRE. This time, I'm actually using those books SLC lent me a couple years back. I'll be learning about 75 words a day, if not a little more, and I've got just about 10 days worth till the test. The math section, though I will brush up on, shouldn't be a problem. I remember having one enigma on the last math portion that hung me up for a bit. Provided I can bust through a similar situation this time, I have full expectations of increasing that score. But the kicker will be the verbal. My goal is to walk out of that test with a 1450+...and with the rate I'm going right now, I might just have a chance at that. So my letter writers will be approached this week (if they haven't been already), the packets for the letter writers are just about finished (including nifty mailing labels so they can use official stationary), my writing sample is polished, my CV is in good shape, and my personal statement is coming along. My plan is to have everything done on my part by the first week of November. The first deadline is December 5th (Stanford), so that will put my application in their hands with plenty of time. Plus, that'll give me the entire month of November to actually be worried about my coursework, as I'll have quite a few papers, etc.

Anyways, you know how I write on themes for awhile with a borderline obsession? This is it for the next two weeks. I'm doing everything I can to change what I can to help my chances of getting into a top program. We'll see if this all pays off (unfortunately, we won't see till around March, but I can wait). Till the next bought of boredom...

Namaste'.

Thursday, October 12

Updated Plan of Attack

A few changes in both additions and subtractions have occured. I'm planning on taking the GRE's again in roughly 2 weeks time. Letters of reference forms have been compiled, and I'll need to use my type-writer tomorrow to make sure every field that I can fill out will be filled out (I'll try my best not to mark in the percentage blocks). It's going to cost me roughly $1000 to apply to PhD schools...let's hope it turns out well. And, again, if you've any suggestions or comments, please let me know.
  • Rutgers: 2nd
    • Excellent: Language, Mind, Metaphysics, Epistemology, Cognitive
    • Good: Religion, Science
    • Decent: Logic, Freewill, Decision Theory
    • Minuses: New Jersey
  • Stanford: 6th
    • Great: Language, Logic, Freewill
    • Good: Mind
    • Decent: Metaphysics, Cognitive
    • Notable: Epistemology
  • Cornell: 11th
    • Good in: Language, Metaphysics, Logic
    • Decent in: Mind, Epistemology, Science, Religion
    • Pluses: No GRE score, no language requirement, in Ithica NY, close to TDZ
  • North Caroline, Chapel Hill: 11th
    • Good: Mind, Language, Epistemology, Logic, Freewill, Cognitive
    • Decent: Metaphysics, Decision Theory, Science
  • UC Irvine: 17th
    • Excellent : Science, Logic, Decision Theory
    • Good: Language
    • Decent: Metaphysics
    • Pluses: New Port Beach, CA
  • Ohio State: 21st
    • Good: Mind, Logic
    • Decent: Language, Metaphysics, Science
    • Pluses: Close to EJR
  • UC Davis: 27th
    • Decent: Mind, Language, Metaphysics, Freewill, Science
  • UMass: 27th
    • Good: Metaphysics, Epistemology
    • Notable: Logic
  • Carnigie-Melon: 34
    • Great: Decision Theory
    • Good: Logic, Science
  • UC Santa Barbara: 41st
    • Good: Language
    • Decent: Logic
    • Notable: Metaphysics
    • Just a recent addition...it might not make the cut.
  • U Missouri, Columbia: >50
    • Decent: Epistemology, Decision Theory
    • Notable: Religion
    • Pluses: Close to AKW, Home

Wednesday, October 11

Plan of Attack

A few notes on notations: The number following the school listed marks their placement on Leiter's gourmet report. This is just a benchmark and not something I'm focusing on. However, within a range of 10 or so, it's still a fairly good estimate. Following this is the breakdown of their specialties. Naturally, I have not included any information on ethics or histories, but only those sub-disciplines that are specific to my interests (for words like 'Science' or 'Language', assume I mean 'philosophy of ____'). On a few of them, I've included some "pluses", which is outside information that would influence my decisions. So, have at it. Pick me apart. If you think I've no chance at a program, let me know...2 points for honesty. If you have any other information, please feel free to let me know that as well. So, without further ado, my plan of attack:

  • Rutgers: 2nd
    • Excellent: Language, Mind, Metaphysics, Epistemology, Cognitive
    • Good: Religion, Science
    • Decent: Logic, Freewill, Decision Theory
    • Minuses: New Jersey
  • Stanford: 6th
    • Great: Language, Logic, Freewill
    • Good: Mind
    • Decent: Metaphysics, Cognitive
    • Notable: Epistemology
  • Columbia: 6th
    • Great: Science
    • Good: Mind, Language, Metaphysics, Epistemology, Logic
    • Decent: Freewill, Decision Theory, Cognitive
    • Minuses: New York
  • Cornell: 11th
    • Good in: Language, Metaphysics, Logic
    • Decent in: Mind, Epistemology, Science, Religion
    • Pluses: No GRE score, no language requirement, in Ithica NY, close to TDZ
  • North Caroline, Chapel Hill: 11th
    • Good: Mind, Language, Epistemology, Logic, Freewill, Cognitive
    • Decent: Metaphysics, Decision Theory, Science
  • UC Irvine: 17th
    • Excellent : Science, Logic, Decision Theory
    • Good: Language
    • Decent: Metaphysics
    • Pluses: New Port Beach, CA
  • Ohio State: 21st
    • Good: Mind, Logic
    • Decent: Language, Metaphysics, Science
    • Pluses: Close to EJR
  • UC Davis: 27th
    • Decent: Mind, Language, Metaphysics, Freewill, Science
  • Syracuse: 32
    • Good: Metaphysics, Decision Theory
    • Decent: Mind
    • Pluses: Close to TDZ
  • Carnigie-Melon: 34
    • Great: Decision Theory
    • Good: Logic, Science
  • U Washington, Seattle: 34
    • Good: Epistemology
    • Decent: Science
    • I actually have no idea why this is on here, now. It might be deleted.
  • U Colorado, Boulder: 38
    • Decent: Metaphysics
    • May also be deleted. Though it's an up-and-coming school with a good location, it really doesn't have much to offer in my interest range.
  • U Missouri, Columbia: >50
    • Decent: Epistemology, Decision Theory
    • Notable: Religion
    • Pluses: Close to AKW, Home

Sunday, October 8

A New Hobby?


So most of my good friends know that I make a pretty mean pumpkin bread. I've also made a decent wreath, and one spring-break a couple years back I crocheted a beanie. What brings me to take on these, uh, projects, is that I need something to do with my hands. I spend too much time traveling around the ether; a side effect of which is that I often don't see any finished, real-world product. And while I'd like to make a bench or a room-dividing-bookcase, the lack of a work space and a couple necessary powertools makes that a problem. So, instead, I decided to pick up knitting. It's more difficult than crocheting, which gives me a bit of a challenge. But I can still make beanies (of a little better quality than my first attempt) and it gives me some small meassure of sanity; a confirmation that I have actually been productive to some extent in the past couple days. I only picked up the yarn and such today, but I've already made a good half of a potholder (start small, right?) Anyways, I figure if I'm taking this on as a hobby, I might as well beat you to the punch-line, so check out the linked title of this post.

(...as a side benifit, if this doesn't invite my readers to leave a comment, I don't know what would...)

The Edit Button is Stuck


Just for the hell of it, I thought I'd post one of my less polished moments. I was at a bar tonight, and in the course of a conversation, in response to another's question and without thinking it through beforehand, I say, "I'm too smart to be modest." And what was worse, I looked back at that sound bite and thought it was intrinsically, increadibly funny (I mean, common...how self-fulfilling can one statement be?). So after saying one of the more assholish comments in recent memory, I don't apologize or slink back in my chair, but instead start laughing. Anyways, not one of my better moments, but I still think it's a pretty funny concept.

Saturday, October 7

Unceremonious Philosophy

People always tell me that philosophy is hard to understand or too verbose. But I disagree. Not to deal in absolutes, I will admit there are those philosophers who feel they need to say something several times over to get their point across. But, as in any written work, individuals who feel that way tend not to say anything at all, nor really have a point to tell even if they could write perspicuously. But not to stereotype based on the worst type, I'd like to say what I love about reading philosophy; good philosophy is unceremonious and, with perhaps a tangent of interest, direct and to the point. For example, I'm currently reading about Presentism (a philosophy on the nature of time, stating that "It is always the case that, for every x, x is present"). In the course of this article, Thomas Crisp has a subsection about the change thesis (based on descriptions taken at a particular instant, or i-descriptions, this states that the i-description for me, at-present-ten-years-ago, is naturally different from the i-description of me, at-present-right-now. He brings this up as a metaphysical commitment for the presentist). To conclude this impressively short subsection, he states, "What can be said on behalf of the Change Thesis? Other than that it seems obviously true, I have no idea." And then he moves on to a linguistic commitment. It makes me happy to know that the highest quality of contemporary philosophical writing embodies such directness.

Friday, October 6

Third Time is a Charm

I know...I'm a roll. Just wanted to put it out there that I just bought my flight to New Orleans (and, unfortunately, bought a flight back, too). I'll be getting into town around 10:30pm on the Thursday before homecoming weekend, and staying through around noon or so on Sunday. This has already put me in a much better mood.

Namaste'.

Stuck in an Infinite Loop

Here's a funny story/sign that I'm going insane. I set the alarm on my phone as my cue to wake-up. But this morning, it goes off like normal...only I'm stuck in an infinite loop. While standing at my dresser (which the phone sits on top), I keep trying to turn the damn thing off. Only the whole process is repeated in a Groundhog Day instant replay. Just as I get close to hitting the off button, everything is reset and I have to start over again (ok, given, this is a very small infinite loop). So, after several failed attempts, I figure the problem can't be tackled by going through the proper pattern of buttons...so I take the back off my phone. No joke, the infinite loop kicked in again and I was back where I started. But now I had a plan...I pry the back of my phone off (again) and dig my fingernails under the battery. But it's stuck. I can't get it out, and the infinite loop is about to reset again. So I grab a dime from my loose change jar and jam down the side of the battery, and as the closing second ticks away I pop the son-of-a-bitch outta there. Then the wierd transcendental cloud that surrounded me dissapated and time went back to it's well-worn pattern.

fin.

Who I am...

"We all make choices. What's yours?"

First...I am not Zach Braff. Ok, the nice guy part, sure...and I've heard I'm unbearably adorable, too. But I didn't link this post with the title it has for that reason. No, it's because I must frame what is to follow by starting out with a review of the movie, "The Last Kiss." It's a really good film, one of the best I've seen recently. The acting is also some of the best I can remember. Take "Closer" and tone it down a little on the cynicism (add a little hope), but the movie is a whole is still very intense. And for the very serious subject matter, they still blended in plenty of extremely funny parts, too (the kind that elicit a guffaw out of me, i.e. subtle humor). And not to mention the amazing soundtrack it's got (worth it's own purchase).

Ok, I started this post with a review of the movie because it plays an important part in my mental track for the rest of the night. After the movie, we went to Fatty's, there I realized something interesting; I miss New Orleans. As a tangential pre-excuse, what follows does not mean I don't severely miss my friends for who they are, themselves. But something else I miss is how my friends knew me. Naturally, we all have many faceted personalities, certain sides showing in certain situations. Well, I realized that the people I loved in New Orleans knew a side of me that hasn't been seen in too long. Imagine putting on pretenses for a formal event, and afterwards going out and making fun of the whole thing with friends at a bar. It feels like I should just about be making my excuses for an early leave and heading out to Happy Hour (and maybe catch a movie the likes of "The Last Kiss" at Elmwood, afterwards).

So what is this part that's all but forgotten (and only remembered in the unexpected phone calls or movies such as tonight's)? Well, I have the unfortunate task of specifically not naming it. I'd like to. I like to give you a couple good anecdotes. I could tell you about '&' (twice), or about the back-balcony and the smile JMD called me out on, but the kicker is that none of that would make a dent. Call it a freer (more free?) spirit, better adventures, or just sucking the marrow. The point is that it feels a bit too long choked by the top button. I really can't wait the couple weeks till I'm down for homecoming (ASH, you got room?).


But, outside of this introspective, esoteric look back of my own nature, I do recommend seeing the movie. See it with someone who knows your different facets (and goes to see a movie with you anyways); it's best that way.