i cut my hair. a lot. and got a new tattoo.



i love it.

the university of central arkansas, located about 40 minutes away, seems to have everything i'm looking for in a grad school. i'm going to take my GRE this fall and try to start grad school in january, if they'll have me.

my hope is that they will accept me for a graduate assistant position, which means that they would pay my tuition and give me a stipend.

just think... i could get my MA by the time austin gets his BA.

speaking of which, eight months today.

at some point, this blog will stop being so mechanical. being a teacher changes things.

i'm researching graduate schools.

based on what i've read so far, i am going to approach graduate studies with an eye on value and quality instead of prestige.

mistake? how much does prestige matter with a masters? does anybody ask you where you got your masters? aren't they satisfied enough that you even HAVE one?

i don't know. i'm concerned that i might be waiting too long.

i would like to clear the air--i do not dislike rain. i made several disparaging statements about rain earlier today and yesterday. they weigh on my conscience. i like rain; i just don't understand why rain must be so cold in september. is that fair? i think that's fair.

my new "adult" life drags on and on. my fundamental happiness is punctuated with dashes of passionate worry. money... i realize that i don't have the best spending habits for somebody of my current income. i'm finished resisting that. my name is karyn kiser, and i like to spend money. ("hi karyn.") i get my first harding paycheck on friday, which is fantastic considering that i will have ~$35 in my checking account after the checks clear for rent, gas, energy, water, and cable. i do not believe that this is a result of poor planning, but of the fact that i've drained my savings account living off of only three paychecks from the group home. i haven't worked there since july 31st, which means i've gone from july 31st to september 7th without a paycheck. my parents are wonderful people, and i now owe them a great deal of money for my work clothes. my first paycheck will only take care of the clothes i had to buy for the job. adulthood is weird.

weeks with very little money are spent planning which purchases are the most important for me once i get back in the cash. i've determined that i need to pay somebody to investigate the strange things my car is doing. after that, i'm going to look into buying a new sound system for my car... a cheap system, to be exact, but anything that will play an actual cd. after those two things and my normal bills, i need to wait until next month.

you know what, though? there is joy in the planning. thanks, brooke.

today, a police officer left his car running outside of a coffee shop. i love this town.

i wrote a poem about god yesterday.

that's pretty much it... how are you?