Thank You, Uncle Sam

Since this blog began I’ve been noting observations on my progress with balancing graduate school with the rest of my life. I have yet to achieve success in every area, but when it comes to balancing work, I don’t really have any issues. There is no juggling act, because work time is work time – everything else falls outside of the work realm and thus is balanced separately (school, social, volunteer work etc.).

Actually, it’s fairly easy to compartmentalize my professional life right now due to my current job situation. Earlier in the year, I began life as a government consultant which was a major departure from my jet-setting life in the corporate world. I no longer travel 4 days a week. I’m no longer responsible for managing a team. The pace is a bit slower, and for the most part, I’m able to control the exact amount of time I spend in the office each day. I still work hard, but in my contract the government has capped my hours 43 per week. Nowadays, I can complete my projects, impress my client, leave work before 7 p.m. and still get home in time for homework.

Government consulting is a pretty good gig, and for the moment it represents a pocket of true balance. I know it won’t last. I should be grateful.

So allow me to take my star-spangled top hat off to you, Uncle Sam, and thank you for helping me maintain equilibrium (in at least one area of my life) during these time-challenging times.

Number fifty-six

pythagorean theorem

It's all a proof for me. One one side, I see my vision and know exactly what I want - and that end result is far reaching. On the other, I reside in the elementary stages of progress to reaching that ultimate goal. while work allows me to build that network, school hones my skill set in the communication field.

Never that great at proofs, I always struggled in prioritizing. However, being able to apply exactly what I learn in the 32 degree room of Mary Grayden (third floor) has shown significant results at 1909 K St NW. I've been able to translate a full Earth Hour strategic plan into an FDIC Minority Outreach plan. I've keyed in on specific tactics that make sense and written my own collateral material as a result.

In essence, the two complement each another and the match of my passion with my talent continuously surface Monday - Saturday 9 to 5 (and in the wee hours). American University and Porter Novelli are secretly engaging in love affair.

I am grateful for the balance and hopeful that a squared + b squared = c squared.

imani

Define "work"

I think most of us can agree that we struggle with keeping balance between our work lives and our personal lives. I know that for most of my professional life, I’ve struggled with trying to have a social life of some kind while balancing a demanding job. (Is there any other kind of job?) So what happens when you throw grad school into the mix?

Mine is an unusual story. I’m in the weekend program for working professionals and I’m not working. I should qualify that statement. I’m not working outside the home and getting paid. I am working, however, at handling all the paperwork and legal documents that come with trying to sell a house in Florida and I am working at trying to find a new job. Trust me when I say looking for a job is a full-time job.

Every so often I go on the usajobs.gov website which posts the available jobs in the federal government and I may find one to apply for. It takes about two hours to complete one application. Despite uploading my resume, which I think is pretty clear, I must then turn around and answer anywhere from seven to 10 essay questions on the experience I have in various fields and how it correlates to the job I am applying for. By the time I complete one application my brain hurts.

It can be quite challenging to do reading and writing assignments for graduate school after completing 10 essay questions or running around looking for a notary public to notarize all the documents needed for a closing. Even though I’m not “working”, I find that I don’t do my homework until the evening. Just like my “working” classmates.

So how do I maintain balance? It’s like I’ve said for the last two weeks. Prioritize and sacrifice. Homework is a priority so it takes preference over my desire to go and see D.C. as a tourist. Hopefully, the Capitol will still be there once I graduate. And hopefully I’ll be “working” before I graduate.

Millicent

i heart my job...

Challenges can definitely arise when you have to juggle your 9-5 with school. Being a full time student wasn't an option for me, and honestly, I'm fine with handling both responsibilities. But, when are you crossing the line? Is it fine for me to complete homework while at my desk? Can I submit a press release, that I created for work, to my teacher as a class assignment?

Despite these concerns, the work (for both commitments) must get done. My studies clearly benefit the USO, so they understand school commitments, especially if they aren't posing problems in my professional performance. My employer values higher education, and that makes the balance easier for me. Even though my direct supervisor doesn't quite get it (she made me travel on a Sat. when she knew about my class commitment), the USO appreciates my decision to learn, as its making them a stronger organization. They've made HR changes that include giving professional development credit for grad school classes and offering tuition reimbursement. These things make the task of work and school a little more bearable.

The stress of balancing won't last always, and the beginning really is the toughest part. May 2010 will be here before we know it.

-Patrice

GPO versus AP style guides: keeping my mental sanity!

Do I use serial commas or not? Should I capitalize government and federal? What about Senate-confirmed appointments? Are those capitalized even when the title doesn’t precede the name? Is embassy capitalized? These are just a few drops in a bucket full of differences between the Associated Press Stylebook and U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual.

The conundrum: keeping my brain from exploding from the laborious task of using the right styles for grad school and my government job (yes, I had to think twice whether to capitalize government in this situation!) When I started my job as a writer/editor for the Department of State’s Office of Inspector General, I had to forget everything I learned as an Army journalist whose bible was the AP Stylebook and learn to love GPO. My brain rebelled for a while and suffered migraine-like withdrawal. But eventually, the pain ebbed and like most change, I got used to it. However, that blissful nirvana came to a screeching halt when I started my second grad school course--public communication writing. All of a sudden, I was thrown back into the world of AP and forced to balance the teeter-totter of right and wrong between AP and GPO.

Fortunately, there’s a silver lining to this daily mental torture. Practice makes perfect, so constantly consulting both style guides not only keeps me on my toes, it also forces me to learn these differences. Eventually, I’ll only have to consult the books for uncommon style applications.

What happens when I’m done with grad school? Will I have to unlearn AP style once again? Hopefully by then I’ll have transitioned into a government job that shuns GPO and embraces AP. Meanwhile, I’ll stock up on Excedrin Migraine…just in case!

-Misha-