So, it's 4:13am now on Tuesday morning.  I have a major paper due tonight at 6:00pm.  I've done some research, a lot of research, and compiled a good long list of potential references.  What's the paper?  Well, I'm not 100% sure.  How sad is that?  I've heard two things, which gives me a possible three things it could be.  First, this is a literature review over some topic, recommended to be related to the survey conducted earlier this semester.   Second, this is an IRB (Institution Review Board) proposal for a future study, recommended to be related to the survey conducted earlier this semester.  And finally, I've considered:  this is both.

I have no idea which to do or how much ... so I'm doing both.  Best to play things safe.  Oh, and I just found out, I made an 'A' in Training and Evaluation (Dr. G's class).  Barely, but it's still an 'A'.

~

So, about the previous post's ending question:  What's the cut-off age that says a sexual partner is an adult?  For me, it's a judgment call of their maturity level.  I prefer someone who is about as mature as I am.  I might be biased, but I think that's normal.  But what happens if a 25-yr-old meets a 16-yr-old (illegal in most states, if not all) and their maturity levels match?  Well, that's where rule #2 comes in:  Don't do stupid stuff to get thrown in prison.  So, matching maturity level and at least 18 years of age.  I don't care how much you "love" each other.  If you love each other, you'll refrain from satisfying your primal urges because that would be a risk to your chances of ever being together later.  Surely there's more to the relationship than the physical side ... right?

~

Okay, back to writing.

Currently Listening Queen - Greatest Hits By Queen see related

Taking_An_Undeserved_Break_Man

I'm desperately trying to generate a twelve-page paper within the next three hours or so.  So, I thought I'd take a break, because I'm on page two ... counting the cover page.

To join the popular media in their topic:  polygamist compound in Texas, allegations of sexual abuse of children, and a big administrative mess for the government to try to tiptoe around and not screw up.  I won't go into the controversiality of the no-longer-anonymous tip that brought the authorities into this place, nor even into whether I think sexual abuse of minors was occurring there.  I don't know, and I prefer to let the police do their job than to start rumours before the evidence has even been completely collected, analyzed, and presented in court (if any is found).  The question of the day is:  polygamy and incest?  So, what's the problem?

Polygamist unions have been around since recorded history began.  The common arguments against it, however, are either moral or genetic.  To moralists:  I can't make a logical argument against "It's just wrong".  Find another angle, and I'll gladly banter with you.  Otherwise, we'll just be going back and forth about exactly what 'God' said to whom.  What of the genetic question?  Polygamy results in mixed bloodlines, which means more people in a limited population are, at least to some degree, related to each other, limiting their options for non-relatives as mates.  Assuming, of course, you have a strong repulsion to sleeping with your third cousin's neice or anyone else who might share more than 0.001% of your genetic variance (yes, that number was just pulled out of my ... uhm ... hat).  Consider, though, that when a brother and sister procreate, the resulting infant is not much more likely to have any measurable deficiencies than any other infant, made by unrelated parents.  It is only until second-generation incest occurs that such problems are most likely to surface.

If you know much about how genetics works, you'll know that each individual's DNA is constantly changing (this is not a bad thing, and usually does not result in amorphous limbs protruding from inappropriate places or third eyes or whatever, because this is a bit different from true mutation).  If it were not, well, the entire human race would have run into massive inbreeding long before now.  Because of this, though, one pair of parents can easily produce dozens of children who all have a unique genetic start on life, partly because their parents' DNA changed between having one child and having the next.  Beyond that, the children themselves continue to alter their DNA throughout their lives, partly from solar radiation, partly from mineral radiation of what they eat, partly from chemical alterations of their diet or environment, and whatever else might affect it directly or indirectly).  This being the case, the chances of two siblings actually sharing enough DNA to be problematic are ... well, more than the astronomical chances of two strangers doing the same, but not as likely as one might believe.  Given a large enough population (and it doesn't have to be all THAT large), you can plan breeding (much like handlers do with experiemental rats and purebred dogs) so that you minimize the risk of genetic crossover.  We're talking about four to ten original people and their offspring continuing indefinitely.  This is assuming, though, that you've eliminated the major genetic redflags (i.e., Parkinson's).  If you haven't bothered, go with 40 - 80 or more.  I wonder, HOW many adults were on that compound?

This is not to say I don't favour genetic variability.  Sure, it is more desirable to have plenty of variance in your genetic pool.  It keeps you from having to ask, "So ... who were your great-grandparents?" before choosing to bear children with that person.  Also, exotic people are cool to have sex with.

Now, to pick on polygamy.  Why .... why .... why ... do so many who promote polygamy insist that it must be executed with multiple wives for each man?  Why is it such a crime to many of these same people for a woman to have multiple husbands?  Sure, we've lived in a patriarchal society for millenia, possibly eons.  Humans are jealous creatures (and men more overt about it), but the question remains:  is this a base trait of owning and not sharing one's mate, or is it a learned behaviour based on our self-oriented, power-mad social structure (and I direct that description at human societies in general, not just the West or the United States)?  Personally, I have absolutely no issue with polygamy, multiple wives, or multiple husbands.  Now, I'm perfectly happy with the one wife I have, and have no intention of asking her anytime soon, "Hon, think we could get someone else in this bed?"  However, if I had friends who felt it was best for them to live as a poly-marriage, I'd attend the wedding, show my support wholeheartedly, and make sure to get his and hers and hers towels or something as a gift.  Or his and his and hers ... whatever the case.

There is one more argument against polygamy I haven't mentioned yet.  Emotional health.  Is is emotionally/mentally healthy for people to have multiple spouses or share their spouse with another person?  Sure, we've all heard or read stories or seen movies about second wives and fourth wives fighting in the house when the husband is away, vying for household power or husbandly attention or favour.  That's called drama, and it's what sells books, movies, television shows, or whatever media is transmitting the story.  The tension and distress brought about in those stories are results of the people, not the situation.  In truth, there have been millions, perhaps billions of polygamies that did not end in some tragic civil war.

So, those are my unfiltered thoughts for now.  One last thought:  Sex with children:  ew.  No, no, never.  But here's the question:  Where's the cut-off age?  Discuss.  I'll be back.

So, what do you do as you approach the pinnacle of several years' work?  I have no idea.  In two weeks (assuming all goes as planned), I'll have a Master's in Industrial/Organizational Psychology.  For those who don't know what that means, I/O Psych is the study of human behavior with regard to work or formal organizations.  So, to catch you up on what I've been doing since the last post ... when was the last post?  *goes to front page to look*  March 31st!?

Well, alright, then.  Last week, I cranked out a six-page report in less than an hour (start to finish, including research).  I've spent the last month creating, distributing, and gathering a survey of the employees of a local grocery store (part of a larger chain of stores in the South).  The idea behind the survey is to get a measure of employee frustration, job-fit, and their acceptance level of a major construction change the store is currently undergoing.  This is not an experiment (or even a pseudoexperiment) in the way I would like, but it is as close as I can get given my current resources.  I am currently working on the paper itself and will be running all the numbers later today to be included.  The paper is due in eight hours.  Yes, I have a major paper due today, and I'm blogging instead.  Stress, anyone?  I just wish I could get this one done in an hour ... because I have another twelve page paper due tomorrow evening.

To help with the end-of-life-altering-experience stress, I've been going back to some older techniques: things that worked very well during high school and undergraduate years.  Reaching out to old psychological friends, so to speak, drawing upon their support and resources, funneling what I gather toward a goal.  These days, though, I find I need a break every couple hours or I think I'll break from pressuring myself too hard.

Okay, that's enough of a break.  Back to working on this paper.  I'll do more in a few hours.

Stressed_Man

So, life has moved forward, and a few things have changed.  I had to quit Home Depot in January, because they just couldn't schedule me off on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, so I could attend the two courses I'm taking this semester.  After getting nowhere, even offering to work weekends instead, I explained to the HR manager that this was my final semester working toward my Master's, and there was no way a part-time job stocking shelves was going to match the importance of my education.  I phrased it in a kinder way, but he got the idea.  Still, no luck.  So, I gave him a month's notice and, January 14th (the first day of school), I didn't go to work.  I spent another month without a job.  Have I mentioned how much I loath job-hunting?  Especially in a town supported mainly by the part-time food-service industry.  Finally, after several weeks of me doing my 'apply-at-many-places' thing, my wife brought home an application for H.E.B., which I filled out along with others.  So, I walked into H.E.B. the next afternoon, and approached the most important-looking person I could find quickly (turns out, he is a manager over the cashiers), told him I was there to turn in an application, but I wasn't sure for what positions H.E.B. might be hiring, or where to go.  So, he said he knew baggers and carryout were always hiring, and there was a position for overnight stocking (oh, boy, this again).  So, he called someone on his radio, then directed me to the back of the store, where I met the Grocery Manager, regarding the overnight stocking position (the only one of the three mentioned that was full-time).  We had a twenty-minute interview, which apparently went well, because he moved me up the chain for a second interview with the Store Director.  I was led to the front of the store, then upstairs to the manager's offices, where we had a fifteen-minute interview, at the end of which he said he had a different position in mind for me, in the store's Business Center, but that the Business Director would want to meet with me first, since that was her domain.  So, I waited in the office until she came in, and we had a fifteen minute interview of our own.  I was hired on the spot.  I'm now starting a till with nearly $4,000.00 in it, cashing paychecks, doing billpay services, selling money orders, and processing Western Union money-wiring.

Unbelievable.  What the hell did I say in these interviews that interested these people so much?  Well, I have my suspicions.  I did not say that I was graduating in May.  I did not in any way let on that this was going to be a very temporary thing.  I misled them into believing that I was planning to stick with H.E.B. for a long time.  I portrayed myself as a college student who would be taking a break from school after May.  Little did they know that "break" is going to be "graduation".  So, my beliefs are somewhat supported.  Part of the reason I couldn't find a job was that everyone looked at my résumé and assumed I was looking for a job to last me the next few months.  No one wants to hire someone for a few months.  I feel a little bit bad about misleading someone so I could get something out of them, but this was a maneuvre of survival.  I don't really feel guilty about it.

More coming later.  I have to go to work.  (It feels really good to say that.)

Edit:

So, currently, I have massive amounts of reading to do (probably about 150 pgs by Wednesday).  Further, I have an insane research project to complete.  I have to find an organization of at least 50 employees, conduct a study (survey style, cross-referenced with employee information provided by the company), run the numbers and write a paper.  I'm still looking for a place.  I've called a few businesses, only to be met with refusal because of concerns (mostly) about legal ramifications and employee privacy.  I'm going crazy trying to figure how I'm going to get this done in the next three or four weeks now.  On top of this, I have Comprehensive Exams coming up in a couple weeks, and I know I'm not prepared for them, because there are at least two courses I should have taken, but never knew until this semester (two sudden faculty changes threw everyone in the department off).  So ... prepare to try to get my Master's without knowing a damned thing?  I feel like I'm trying to win the lottery by buying a stack of tickets with my life savings.

Get ready, world.  This could get ugly.

Employed_Man

Okay, so now it's time for an update on my life.

After two and a half years of working for Site-hell, an era has ended.  As of September 5, 2007, I no longer dread going to work every day.  So, situation behind it:  Mid-August, the overnight shift was eliminated, and the entire building was forced to bid for new shifts ... for the third time in a year.  Ridiculous.  So, what shift do I get stuck with?   7 hours, no lunch break, from 6:15am until 1:15pm.  Not a bad schedule time, but I know that the scheduled breaks are going to be murder.  With the change in schedule comes a change in supervisor.  I get the supervisor who somehow has every single agent on her team on a write-up for something.  Nobody seems to think this is unusual, though.  She never did manage to write me up for anything (since I don't screw around or do the stupid stuff most people do).  She did keep on my ass about a few things.  Coming back from break less than 60 seconds overdue!  Oh, no!  How horrible!  Written policy allows a write-up when someone is over 120 seconds late on their break.  My precise wording of a non-scripted policy wasn't quite the way she would have done it, so she pulls me aside for a 10 minute "coaching" that includes such childish instruction as "if you're baking a cake, you need all the ingredients, like flour and sugar and such."  I retorted that customers didn't want cake, it wasn't healthy, and I gave them healthy whole wheat bread instead.  I also asked her not to use cake analogies and to quit speaking to her agents like we were her third grade class.  Essentially, she nitpicked every detail of everything I did, but she still couldn't get any kind of documented negative thing about me.  So what happens when she finally does get wind of something I did against policy?  I don't get any kind of documented counseling or guidance.  Instead, when I walked down to the convenience store less than a block away to get some food, because I was starving at hour five in my schedule, I get terminated.  What for?  For leaving the premises while on break, even though I returned with plenty of time and got back on the phones two minutes early.  Apparently, leaving the premises is against policy, and results in a full termination, no discussion, no questions, nothing.  I've seen agents who committed what amounted to credit fraud who simply got a written warning.  So, my suspicions?  I had worked there too long.  I was making $10.40 an hour toward the end of my employment there, and new agents are starting at about $7.25 an hour.  Replacing me with a new hire saves $3.15 every hour, more for overtime.

I don't feel so bad about it anymore, though.  I was the last person from my training class by several months.  The average length of service there is about three months.  I knew my job there better than all but perhaps three or four other people.  I had supervisors who would come to me if they had a question about policy or procedure.  The real negative thing for me, though, is that now I have to start over somewhere else, build my knowledge base on THAT company's policies, and build my reputation as a knowledgable and capable employee in that location.  Maybe the new place will have a better business model, though, and won't make me fight against them about the morality of directly lying to customers.

So, for now, I'm working part-time at the Home Depot, stocking shelves in the evening, 8:00pm to midnight.  Definitely not my ideal shift.  It's hard on a marriage to be working that time of night.  Circeo doesn't like going to bed alone.  I don't like her being alone at home when it's dark.  But we'll make do with what we have for now.  It's what I could get that paid decently and would work around my school schedule this semester.  Fortunately, I had a bit of money set aside should something come up, so Circeo and I have been alright, although we've been lucky enough to have been able to build good enough credit over the past couple years that my Visa card has managed to support us for anything beyond what I had saved up.

So, about school ... I'm taking a practicum that meets fairly regularly from 3:00pm to 5:00pm.  I'm interning in the HR office of Triumph Hospital, an intensive long-term care facility that rents a floor from Shannon Hospital.  So far, it's been fun, but the stress of changing jobs has made it difficult to enjoy much of anything.

My goals for the next month:  Find full-time employment that won't drive me out of my mind, will work around my school schedule for this semester and next, and pays well enough to support my wife and myself.