My So-Called Thoughts

Well, I can see that my so-called blogging during my final 18 months of grad school was not the best idea.  It probably would be helpful to keep this up and add more balance to my life.  Considering this, I was reminded of a favorite poem of mine this past week.  I won't bore you with the details of what triggered this memory (which by the way is featured in a great episode of "My So-Called Life"), but every time I read it, I seem to gain more from it.

At a time when I suppose I am grappling with the thought of getting older, and at a time when I see so many young people looking up to so-called celebrities who are admired in this world for more of their appearance than their talent, I am reminded of the diverse beauty each of us possesses in our own unique ways.  Sure, it often is under the radar, and less often, acknowledged (at least outwardly).  But as I ruminate on this great video posted by a beautiful friend, and amazing breast cancer survivor, I think it stands on its own.  Thanks William Shakespeare.

My Mistress's Eyes

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; Coral is far more red than her lips' red; If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. I have seen roses damasked, red and white, But no such roses see I in her cheeks; And in some perfumes is there more delight Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. I love to hear her speak, yet well I know That music hath a far more pleasing sound; I grant I never saw a goddess go; My mistress when she walks treads on the ground. And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare As any she belied with false compare.

Take 2

A few years ago I started a blog called Simply Kaiser.  It was all about living the moments of life and appreciating them.  It was about nature and relationships and random ramblings that occur frequently in my brain.  I deleted that blog sometime around the time I embarked on a different journey.  I picked up and moved from the mountains to the plains, from a somewhat stable income (albeit insecure at the time) to a meager monthly graduate allowance, reduced my hobbies to a select few, and started over.  I am not going to lie.  The transition has been challenging, and many times I wonder whether it was the right choice.  I miss feeling like I have made a difference, seeing friends and co-workers on a regular basis, thinking about something other than a dissertation, and the moments that are now flashes of the past but which I cherish dearly.  Don't get me wrong, "Simply Kaiser" exists still.  But, sometimes I get bogged down in the busy details of the days that seem to overshadow all of the amazing and wonderful things around me.  So, this is Take 2.  But this one is started with a giant deep breath and a sense of uncertainty about what this blog will even include.  But in my feeble attempt to find a little balance and rise above the chaos (and boring chatter/drone) of graduate school life, I will Take 2.