What's New for Mrs. W.

Today marks one whole month since we first arrived in New York. The boys of the W. family have really settled into a routine. Eric seems to be adjusting well to being a working man (although things have been slow, so he hasn't had much to do since his project last weekend). He's contemplating how to decorate his office and is already captain of the firm volleyball team. And Achilles has figured out all the most comfortable places to sleep in our new apartment (including the laundry basket on the floor of the closet), has found his favorite places to...umm...take care of business (I get the feeling this is very important in a dog's life), and really enjoys strutting down the streets of New York.

The only person who seems to still be in a sort of transitional period is me. And those of you who know me well know how much this thrills me, because I just LOVE being uncertain about my future (I understand you can't hear my tone of voice, so just to clarify, that last sentence was exceptionally sarcastic). I am still unemployed, although in all fairness, I haven't really started the job search yet. I do have another project lined up with my DC boss for November in Columbus, OH, so that's good. There's also a jury consultant here in NY who has worked with my boss in the past, and I was actually able to meet her when I was up here for business back in May. She is a solo consultant (doesn't work for a big firm) who might be able to use my help from time-to-time, so I do plan on contacting her to let her know I'm here, in case she can ever use me. I've also got my resume updated and am waiting for feedback on it from my DC boss before it really starts making the rounds. So, I'm not a total unemployed slacker.

However, my biggest focus right now is applying graduate school. Yes, again. I've decided to apply to the Experimental Forensic Psychology PhD program at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The school is right down the street from us, just about 5 blocks, so it's very convenient. And the program sounds awesome. They have both a Clinical and Experimental Forensic Psychology program, and the Experimental program sounds perfect for me. It involves fewer classes to take before just focusing on my dissertation, because it cuts out all the clinical diagnosis/treatment type classes, which I don't need. I have no intention of being a lay-on-my-couch-and-tell-me-about-your-daddy-issues type of psychologist, so the clinical stuff is not much use to me. Instead, the Experimental program focuses almost entirely on research design and statistical analysis, which is what I do, but feel I could use more training in. Plus, there are a number of faculty members in the program who focus on jury research, including one who focuses on capital jury decision-making, which is what I'd like to focus on, too. So, it sounds great, and will make me so much more marketable in my field.

So, the decision has been made to at least TRY to get in. I'm trying to stay detached and take a "If I get in, great, and if I don't, at least I tried" outlook. Because although I know it's a smart move for my career, I'm just not sold on another 5 years of school. What if we don't want to be in NY that long? What if we want to start a family before then? Etc. But, I'm going to just see what happens.

So for now my job is studying for the GRE. I have to take both the regular and Psych Subject GRE tests. I've signed up for both of them and now will spend the next 6-7 weeks studying all day to prepare. I've also sent out transcript and letter of recommendation requests, so I'm on my way.

And that's the update on my life! The bottom line is, I don't know if I'll get in to grad school, I don't know where or when I'll start working on a permanent basis, but for now I know that I have to study. So I'm making progress. Wish me luck!