The Eternal Student

Ok, so I’m feeling a little guilty about the lack of blogging, though I’m not sure anyone but myself and Catherine are really reading this. The point is, it’s been 2 weeks since I last posted, and I’ve actually had some things to write about. First off, I got my first (hopefully of 3) acceptance letters to grad school at Oklahoma State! I’m super excited about this and am looking to fly out there and check out the campus. Now I just have to wait and see if I get accepting anywhere else, and then decide where I’m going to pack my family to for the next 4-6 years.

Honestly, I have no idea what I want there. Utah State and BYU have very good programs in Instructional Technology, and are right near family (I even have two brothers and Catherine’s brother living in Provo). Oklahoma State also has a good growing program, and most important to me, my mentor, Dr. Curry. However, it is in Oklahoma, and that is really far from both of our families.

My other dilemma is whether I am really going to uproot my family and go back to school for an extended period of time, when I already have a job that I love! Don’t get me wrong, I really do want to go back for my PhD, I love Instructional Technology, and Catherine is also excited. It’s just scary, and I want a voice in the back of my head to tell me that it’s worth it. Now, just to be clear, this has nothing to do with John’s post, “How to Get an Instructional Design Education Without Paying Tuition“. Really, it doesn’t. I just love my current job and am scared about what life will bring if I leave it (especially supporting my family). Any comments? Can someone out there squash my fears?

Is anyone else tired of checking 15 accounts before they turn the computer off? Here’s a list of some accounts that I have online.

• 5 email accounts (that I can remember)
• MySpace
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Blog – The Eternal Student
• Moodle (including teachwardle.org)
• MSN Live Messenger
• Yahoo Messenger
• Not to mention banks, credit cards, FASFA, online store accounts, and Pizza Hut.

Granted, some of these I use almost never. Then again, I usually check gmail, myspace, facebook and my blog everyday before I turn off the computer. All of these things have their place, and I use each of them for certain things. For example, I use Facebook more than MySpace, but I still have many friends in MySpace that aren’t on Facebook.

My question is: At what point do all of these useful sites and accounts begin to become overwhelming and time consuming? My thought is I’m going to simplify my MySpace and point people toward my blog and Facebook. If they want to send me a message in MySpace, fine. But for now, I’m going to stop updating MySpace, and stop worrying about it. As for the rest of my million or so accounts, if you have any suggestions, please comment and let me know.

Cameron just had 4 month pictures taken yesterday. Here are the pictures.