1. The day that I can open a magazine, read a newspaper, or turn on the TV and not read or hear a single word about the royal family. Seriously, I thought that the Americans declared their independence from the British more than two hundred years ago. So why are we so concerned with every move that William and Kate make? (No offense to the British or the royal family, though.) But unless the new royal baby turns out to be the real-life version of Harry Potter or James Bond, I don't really see what the big deal is.
2. Meeting a great guy who loves coffee, TV crime dramas, and judging annoying people as much as I do. It'd also be perfect if he DOESN'T want to date a girl who's young enough to be his daughter or his granddaughter. What is WRONG with these old guys? And what is it about me that makes me so appealing to seventy-year-old men?
3. Finishing my dissertation and then tossing it in the air like Mary Tyler Moore did with her hat in her TV show, or possibly setting it on fire because by the time I finish it I won't even want to look at the cursed thing anymore.
4. Completing my PhD and being done with grad school, so that I won't have to listen to the other grad students brag about their academic publications and conference presentations. Then I can go teach at a different school and listen to the other professors brag about their academic publications and conference presentations.
5. Finding out that those rate your professor websites where students bash their teachers online because they are angry about getting B-pluses or for being penalized for missing class twelve times in a row have shut down and can never be restarted.
6. Writing and publishing novels that people can relate to and that make them laugh out loud.
7. A life where I don't have to work two or three jobs at the same time just so that I'll have enough money to pay rent and buy staples, like milk and M&Ms. (I am and always will be a workaholic, but even I need some time off to relax, watch crime dramas, and track down the loser neighbor who's been stealing my magazines so that I can give her number to every telemarketer in the country.)
8. A family of my own, where I can be the mother to one or two little neurotic workaholics, who also obsess over the people who cut in front of them in line.
9. The time and the money to go to other countries, like Spain, England, and Ireland, so that I can visit the places where my favorite authors grew up, traveled to, and wrote.
10. Students who will never EVER complain about their grades, who will ALWAYS show up on time, who will never miss class, and who will come up to me one day and say, "You're right. Cell phones suck! I'm going to get rid of my cell phone and use all the money that I would've spent on my cell phone bill and apps to buy books. I'm also going to stop watching reality shows so that they'll all be cancelled. Then we will never have to see drunken hookups, catfights between people who are allegedly adults, or fake crying ever again."
Here's hoping....
What about you? What kinds of things do you hope for, or what kinds of things do you look forward to?
Goodall, Tolkien, Cryptid Factor, and a Stork!
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[image: I] got to attend a talk given by Jane Goodall!
The pictures are blurry because they're my own, and I was up on a balcony.
She's so inspiring, and s...
1 day ago
Those sound like great goals. I'm confident you'll reach them someday!
ReplyDeleteHi Johanna,
DeleteThanks! I especially hope for #10, because then my stress level would go WAY down.
You'll get that dissertation done! Maybe even before the news dies out about the royal family... ha!
ReplyDeleteHi, Emily,
DeleteI hope I do finish it; some days I think I never will, but I know that I have to. At least if I avoid reading online news articles while I'm studying, I won't have to read any more stories about the royal family. And I'll save a lot of time too.
I also have two "Hope fir's" (yes I tend to be a country girl)
ReplyDelete1) is the invention of a inst- confidence pill you can take like a vitamin when your confidence isn't the best.
2) Teachers never stop teaching. ( because we need you - especially those who love to teach)
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You'll get your dissertation done.
Deb
Hi Deb,
DeleteI do love to teach, but I must admit that those rate your professor websites really bother me. The students who created them claim that they're valuable, but I think that's something they tell themselves to rationalize their behavior.
I like your idea of the confidence pill; I wish I could have one, especially when I present my dissertation to my committee.
True, but aren't the websites anonymous so you don't know who they are. But to the teacher it can be daunting when someone makes a comment that may knock you on your backside.
ReplyDeleteHi Deb,
DeleteActually, the students can write anonymous posts on that site. But they do name the teachers on the sites; that's why the proprietors claim that the site is "useful". They say that it helps other students decide whether or not to take classes with those teachers. But I say that relying on those sites is like relying on Wikipedia to write a dissertation.
Your list is fair. Your list is doable. I hope the comos listen.
ReplyDeleteThese guys who want young girls drive me crazy. I don't blame you for being frustrated.
I want an agent. I want someone to buy my book and give me enough $ that I can write full time. I want someone to tell me they'll just give me a special ed. certification for all the time I've put in working with children who have special needs.
And I want a Mary Tyler Moore moment too.
Hi Theresa,
DeleteIt really does frustrate me and make me mad that so many guys, including guys in their 30s, only want to date women who are way too young for them. And what they don't seem to realize is that most of those women do not want to date them.
I want all those things for you too, because I've read your writing and I know that you deserve them. It would especially be wonderful to have enough money to write full-time, because then you can write even more stories.
#2 makes me shudder, and reminds me of something a friend told me once. She worked in reception at a doctor's office that dealt with older men's health issues like prostate cancer etc and she said invariably these old guys would come in and flirt with all the young women working there. Despite that all these women had seen the medical charts, the old guy patients still thought they had it going on.
ReplyDeleteAnd this is a great list! I think I'll go write one of my own right now.
Hi Karen,
DeleteI guess no one told those men that a doctor's office isn't really the best place to flirt with people, especially people who know the details of their health issues. Even most of the guys in their 30s on match.com only want to date women in their 20s and teens! Even if the women were willing to date them (which most of them aren't), those guys would still have to deal with all the men in their families. Not to mention I'm willing to bet that most of the women in their 60s and 70s aren't "winking" at the men in their 20s and 30s on match.com. But I digress.
Can I get an "AMEN, SISTER!" to #6? It's what I live and hope for!
ReplyDeleteHi Julie,
Delete#6 is one thing on my wish list that has never changed, not since I was a kid. And I hope it comes true for you too!
Love your list! Your summer sounds fun too! I've been hanging around the city all summer myself and not having a big vacation planned makes it easier to enjoy the festivals and things going on around town. Hope you get to do #3 soon!
ReplyDeleteHi Deniz,
DeleteWhen I finish my dissertation, it will be like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. And then I'll have more time for fiction writing, too, because I've had to set aside my manuscripts for my novels this summer in order to work on the dissertation.
That's great that you're getting the most out of the city this summer; "staycations" can be really relaxing.
That's a pretty good list. I do have the family - so my list would include a world where I don't have to pick up other people's used band-aids, snotty tissues, chewed toothpicks, empty wrappers, used ear-buds... the list could go on a long, long time.
ReplyDeleteHi Charmaine,
DeleteIt's too bad that we can't be like the Jetsons, where we could just press a button and everything would be clean. I wish I could bring that button with me outside too, because I always see people dropping stuff on the ground. Sometimes I pick it up and throw it away, because more often than not the trash can is just a few feet away.