Re: Jokes-Personal reply off list on list or..where-ever...

["darwin ramsey" <darwinramsey@hotmail.com>]

Good morning!  Several of you asked (on and off list) what I was going to 
study and since I'm due to go to ANOTHER meeting in just a few minutes I'll 
send a general note...

I have been accepted to the Social Psychology Ph.D. program.  I am not sure 
what I will focus on right now but I am most interested in symbolic 
communication.  As many of you know, my B.A. and M.A. are in anthropology 
with a focus on archaeology.  I have always enjoyed symbolic communication 
in prehistory, however, most of what I'm interested  in comes from burials 
(that's where people really express themselves).  Anyway, with the present 
political situation it is no longer a truly viable occupation.  That is why 
I left archaeology last year (after 13 years).  For this past year, I have 
been working at the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy in the Research 
and Development office. Our Organization trains all of the law enforcement 
that work in SC.  I do anthropological research for them.  Statistics, 
demography, attitudinal studies, evaluation studies, etc.  I told my 
supervisor that I feel like "the player to be named later" because I do such 
a wide variety of projects.  They love my background.  I believe everyone 
here is thrilled that I do not have a degree in Criminal Justice!

Anyway, the Soc. Pysch. program is only 36 hours (if they stick to their 
word and do not make me take my M.A. hours again).  Twelve of those 36 are 
dissertation prep. so I'll only have 24 hours of classwork.  The Department 
is going to let me attend part-time so I will take 6 hours a semester.  My 
employer is working with me to rearrange my schedule but I'll still be 
working fulltime.  Not to mention that I continue to have three children and 
one adult besides myself at home that I will still have to tend.  I have 
spent the summer teaching them how to run the dishwasher, do laundry, 
vacuum, dust, etc. because I will not have ANY spare time once school starts 
in August.  My first two classes are demography and regression 
methods...weedout classes.  However, as many of you know, I have the 
Sinclair stubborn streak and I like nothing better than a challenge.

A Sinclair story for the list,

One of my cousins, back in the late 19th early 20th century owned a sawmill. 
  A tree was growing up too close to the mill and needed to be removed.  He 
was just going to chop it down but all of his neighbors and family told him 
it was too close to the mill and that it needed to be tied and carefully cut 
so that it wouldn't fall on the mill building.  He apparently didn't take 
well to all of the unasked-for advice.  Once he was made angry he grabbed 
his axe, stomped out to the tree, and in front of several witnesses, chopped 
down the tree.  It fell on the mill and destroyed the building.  He was 
quoted as saying, "It was worth one damn mill to have my way!"

Kind of explains why I'm the way I am, huh?

Well, they're calling for me.  Y'all have a great day!  Thanks also for your 
good wishes and interest in my studies. Stubbornness makes it likely that I 
won't quit but your well wishes make it more enjoyable!

Darwin



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