I've Done My Civic Duty

I voted yesterday. I don't know why. Neither of the top candidates are worth much to me. I live in Texas, so regardless of who I vote for it has no effect on the outcome. And regardless of the state, the chance of my vote mattering is not statistically different from zero. So why did I vote? I have no clue. I guess just because everyone expects a Political Science PhD student to vote. This has to be the least interested I have been in an election in quite some time. Maybe it is because the election has been going on for what seems like four years. Maybe it is because neither of the candidates represent what I believe. Maybe it is because studying political science has killed the things I once loved. I have no clue. Anyways, go vote, but only if you want to. It is supposedly the "democratic" thing to do. Yawn.

Where Am I?

It's been a while, I know. Things have been kinda crazy around here. My wife got sick (feeling much better now), I hurt my back working out (still not quite 100%, but close), school got busy, and my wife has been working on some sewing projects at her mother's business.

All of these things have led to a lack of blogging, and quite honestly, a lack of spending time with God. It's amazing how much I depend on routine. I really need to work on that.

Anyways, . . . I will just go ahead and throw this out there, my wife and I need prayer. We are kinda clueless at the moment. Last week my wife told me that she doesn't know what she is meant to do. She is currently a teacher at a private high school. She took that job as a way to make a living while in college, not as a career. I'm a Ph.D. student in political science who is growing increasingly embittered with said area of studies. I don't know what I'm suppose to do either, I just know that it isn't political "science" research. For a long time I have questioned my purpose, but now that we both are clueless, it only adds to the enigma.

Also, my wife needs me to step up and be a better spiritual leader. This is something I have battled with. I am not confident in my knowledge or wisdom when it comes to spiritual matters. I am uncomfortable talking about such issues with people I know because I just don't feel that I measure up. That is one reason I started this blog. I yearn for the knowledge, and I find learning quite enjoyable. I just have trouble expressing my Biblical knowledge (or lack thereof) with others.

Back to jobs. I HAVE to have a job that makes a difference. I cannot handle doing irrelevant things. Honestly, since only God is relevant, I wonder if I should look into Christian organizations like Family Research Council or Focus on the Family, but I don't know what kind of job someone with a background in national security and conflict would be able to get at such an institute. And of course, going back to paragraph 2, I don't know how successful I would be at that.

So basically what I am telling y'all is that my wife and I are completely lost, wondering aimlessly through life at the moment. I'm 27, she's about to hit 26 and we are ready to find our niche. We just have no clue what it is or where it might be?

So, You Want To Get Your PhD?

So I've officially survived all of my classes at least once. The class I teach should be a breeze. The students seem to be very talkative and I like to think that I am a little more interesting than the average gray-haired, sweater vest-wearing professor. The classes I'm taking on the other hand . . . ugh. It is going to be a long semester. It isn't that the classes are difficult. It is that they are pointless. At this point in my PhD career these classes do nothing but waste time. The administration wants to get us through the program as quickly as possible, yet they drop massive amounts of pointless work on us. The bureaucracy around here is smothering and it's driving me insane. I, along with almost all of my colleagues, don't want to be here anymore. We want to be gone or done, . . . preferably both.

There was much more, but it was more of a rant about the fallacy of political science, which I'm sure no one cared to read.