Greetings from the winter holiday "break"

The semester may be over according the school calendar, and I might be home already, but I still have one more paper to wrap up. When a professor (who incidentally is the dean of your college) tells you take an incomplete so you can give your final paper the attention it deserves, you do not question it and you take it gratefully. So here I am, paying out the nose for internet at a Starbuck's, writing my last paper for fall 2009. It's only a 10 page memo... but one where we have to more or less solve the poverty problem in Cleveland. Gulp. I might as well tackle climate change or world hunger or peace in the Middle East or something. Technically, we're putting on our policy wonk hats to write a comprehensive community development agenda for Cleveland (which is a much less scary way of approaching this assignment). My outline is almost 2 pages already. I did my usual mind mapping stuff and am now turning it into a bona fide outline (just might be my first one ever). This should make writing this baby a breeze. If you've never mind-mapped a paper before, try it. It just might make it easier for you, especially if you're a visual person like me who doesn't necessarily think in a logical order.

I am really struggling not to turn this assignment into a "plan" à la what urban planners make. It is pretty clear I am no policy wonk!

I have learned so much this semester, but the most important that my limit is much less than my brain seems to think I can do. For next semester, my only goal (aside from the obvious ones of graduating and raising the $4k for Bike and Build) is not bite off more than I can chew.

An open letter to midterms and my readers

Dear midterms,

I know I'm 2/3rds done with you, but I'd like to talk.

First, what is up with you being so difficult this year? And time-consuming? I was not aware take-home exams would actually take that much more time than a paper or studying. Quelle surprise pour moi!

Secondly, can you stop making my classmates so panicky? I'd probably be done with you faster if I didn't have to take time to assuage fellow classmates' concerns.

Okay, that's it. Thanks for reading, dearest midterms. I know that you will be nothing but kind and friendly to me from here on out.

xoxo,

Furman

Dear readers,

Stay tuned for Amy's interview, post Kona. Also, am thinking about adding a weekly bike/urban/cool links post, distilling the best Twitter/Planetizen/etc. has to offer.

xoxo,

Furman

Finishing my educational career

"Educational career" is my way of elevating school to something other than, well, school. The fall semester is nearly here. Gulp. At least this time, though, it's my last first day of school, my last fall semester, my last year. In less than a year, I'll break my streak of 21 years of formal education in some form or another. But enough waxing poetic, and on to the nitty gritty: the course schedule.

I have one last required class before our capstone class in the spring. It's some kind of real estate market analysis. I could see this class being really useful, especially since I will probably get my real estate license if I end up in economic development. This leaves room for two electives. I could pick a concentration, and take all my classes in a certain field, but I'd rather take what interests me and gives me the broadest education. With that in mind, I registered for Sacred Landmarks. It's a historic preservation class that meets alternating Saturdays. I'm guessing (or hoping) Saturdays were chosen because there are field trips. Having done the 9-5 class on alternating Saturdays this past spring, let me tell you, one really needs field trips and other activities to break it up. The last class currently is Distressed People, Distressed Places. I had this professor back in the spring, and realized he apparently has a penchant for unique class names. A highly engaging professor whose lectures I enjoyed, but really, what is up with the strange names? Our introduction to economic development class this past spring was titled Urban Spatial Structures. So I'm not entirely sure what this new class is going to be about, but sometimes you just want to stick with the good professors. If that elective doesn't work out, I'll probably take environmental planning, which really interests me, but it is on a slightly less convenient evening for me. 

School starts in less than two weeks. The one thing I am excited about is that it is nearly over. I have only two more classes after this fall to take in the spring, and then: GRADUATION! But within these two weeks, I must write the essay for my summer internship course credit, and get a million things pulled together for the professional organization of which I am president. I'll get through it. *May 15, 2010* is going to be my mantra.