Must not close eyes and procrastin....zzzzzz...

It's about that time to crack down on this presentation, which has undergone a successful round of procrastination. Mike will be here bright and early in the morning to get working on it. 8 in AM to be exact. We'll work until 10 or so because he has a call to take then he's off for a possible gym workout, but will return sometime later in the afternoon to continue working on the slides. I have a feeling Friday will look about the same.

Mood: Sleepy
Thoughts: I shouldn't have had that glass of sangria
Watching: Criminal Minds season 3
Eating: Oatmeal Raisin cookies
Should be: Sleeping and working on presentation

Sweden is quickly approaching

Du gamla, Du fria
Thou ancient, Thou free

I'm working strong, hard, and long on this presentation. I realize how wrong that sounds now that I've written it out. But I am working on the team's presentation for next Monday in Sweden. Things are moving along...far from smoothly. Thursday and Friday Mike will be working with me on the slides perhaps the last times I'll work on them before they fly out. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. Excited that I get to be working on something so prestigious. This presentation is going to be presented to over 50 individuals from around the world - Denmark, Ghana, the Netherlands to name a few. So far I've worked on this and an article (which I'll hopefully be getting money for). The best part is that I'll be getting my name on them.
How great is that? A post graduate college student getting her name on presentations and publications. I'll also be working on publications of my own, they'll have focuses in the Forensic Psychology and Criminal Justice realm. This is really is an enriching opportunity for me, regardless of what my mom and aunt say about it being too cushy of an internship. It would feel really wonderful to get published. I would love to get my fiction published (and of course finished) first, but this would almost be better. These articles would possibly be published in Criminal Journals or something like that - at least that's what I'm hoping.
It is depressing to know that Mike will be leaving for Oregon soon. Yesterday was his last official day at college. He'll still be assisting the Family Center on certain things. I'll then be working under Dan and Vivi. I still have yet to meet Vivi. She's still on maternity leave; she had a baby girl. Well I should try getting back to work.
Do you think if I drive a black SUV, people will think I'm part of the FBI?

Mood: Working! Working! Working!
Thoughts: I hope I can get this presentation done before Monday (Sept 7), and that its good
Watching: Criminal Minds season 2 - Gideon is writing his farewell letter for Reid to find, suspenseful
Drinking: Oceanspray Cranberry juice
Wish I Was: Outside in the pool soaking up some sun and my daily dosage of Vitamin D

Finally...some work to do at work!

Mike is back from his week long va-kay. This means I'll finally have something to do other than sitting looking at a computer or doing literature searches.

So Where Do I Go From Here?

I'm at the point in my life and career path where I'm starting to ask questions that could possibly open too many door and not have the inkling of where I should go. Do they make GPSs for this sort of dilemma because I need some direction?

I've started looking into graduate schools, now that my internship is underway, and their forensic psychology programs. I've been doing a little more research about the itself as well. This is where my problems start to arise. Some schools offer MA/MS in Forensic Psychology, while other campuses off it at the Doctorate level (PhD or PsyD). There aren't too many schools to begin with that offer the program but I have found quite a few. Thus, begging the question: Should I pursue the Masters program or shoot straight for the Doctorate?

From what I can gather so far, it would better me to have the PhD/PsyD than the MA. However, the MA is only 2 years of school and more than likely less costly than the doctorate, depending on the school of course. I’ve also looked into the possibility of pursuing the Criminal Justice track as well. Some of the schools I’ve found that offer the Masters program in either Forensic Psychology or Criminal Justice:
1. American International College – MS Forensic Psy
2. Argosy Univ.-College of Psychology & Behavioral Sciences – MA Forensic Psy
3. California Baptist Univ.-School of Behavioral Sciences – MA Forensic Psy
4. The Chicago School of Prof. Psych. – MA Forensic Psy
5. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ.-Univ. College School of Psych. – MA Forensic Psy
6. John Jay College of Crim. Jus.-City Univ of New York – MA Forensic Psy
7. Marymount Univ.-School of Education & Human Services – MA Forensic Psy
8. Mass. School of Prof. Psych. – MA Forensic Psy
9. Seattle Univ.-College of Arts & Sciences – MA Criminal Justice
10. Univ. of Denver-Grad. School of Prof. Psych. – MA Forensic Psy
11. Univ. of N. Dakota – MS Forensic Psy
12. Univ. of S. Carolina – MA Criminal Justice

With these schools and others that I’m going to look for I think I’ll just end up sending them a letter with my inquiry either by “snail”-mail or e-mail. It is the best route I think I can take as of right now. Include in the letters will be questions about tuition and costs, admission requirements (GRE scores if required, letters of recommendation, application essays), etc. It couldn't hurt and it could show them that I’m taking an active step in furthering my career (how bs does that sound huh?). Whether or not I want to go to these schools I think I might as well apply to most if not all of them.

That’s all I can think of for right now. I’ll think of something to get me out of this career slump!...

Mood: always hungry (I have a Cinnamon Raisin bagel here somewhere) and confuddled
Thoughts: Where is D. Feaster? He said he’d been in around 11AM….Maybe that’s him now…
Reading: Graduate school programs on Forensic Psych.
Drinking: Water
Wish I Was: Outside where it is sunny...well probably not today since it is stormy

Forensic Psychology...I think its what I want to do

Found this site while I'm supposed to be doing some editorial work while at my internship. I'm editing a chapter for a book publication on Functional-Family Therapy. It is interesting considering I have never edited anything to this level importance (the most I've done was in a short-story writing class in college). I can't really write too much about it now. I might have to be leaving early unexpectedly, but I'll report more on it later when I get back home.

Mood: Busy bee in slacks and heels, and slightly hungry
Reading: FFT article
Drinking: Water
Wish I Was: Napping or swimming in the pool =[

Internship Update!!

I've been busy since the last post including the start of my packing. But I come bearing good news!! I recieved an email on Saturday the 18th from Mike asking for my resume -- which I still haven't sent him yet but I'm working on it. He sent me a description of exactly what I'll be doing.

Person's name: Marie E. G.
Name of department sponsor: D. Feaster, V. Horigian
U.S. citizen or permanent resident (if not, specify status): Yes
Educational Status: Bachelors Degree
MARIE: What is this person's current position and institution:
MARIE How many months and hours per week will the person be here
MARIE Why does the person want to volunteer

What will the person be doing as a volunteer: She will be working under the direction of Drs. Feaster and Horigian. She will also work with Dr. M. Robbins, who will be coordinating ongoing research studies with the team at the Center for Family Studies. Her primary responsibilities will include assisting with the development, write-up, and submission of research manuscripts and scientific presentations. She will conduct literature searches, assist with assembling documents, run basic statistical analyses, and attend regular research team meetings. She will also attend weekly clinical supervision meetings to gain exposure to the core components of an empirically-based intervention. This later experience will faciltate her understanding of the challenges inherenet in implementing an intervention and monitoring fidelity in a clinical trial.

Will this person have patient contact: No

Where is this person going to be located on campus (research lab, clinic, etc.): Sieron Building, Research Lab

So I'll be a researcher's grunt. No biggie...but I'm hoping if it is an unpaid volunteer position, it won't stay that way for long. I'm looking to hopefully put in my time there for 4 months working up to 4 days a week, with 6-8 hour days.
The email has been sent with my resume and got a call from Mike yesterday as a confirmation!!

Internship News

Ended up emailing Robbins the other night confirming that I was thoroughly interested in taking the internship offer.

I can create the position for you. Again, it will be a very informal internship opportunity. In essence, you will be a non-paid volunteer functioning as a research assistant (Robbins, January 2009).

That was the basic information that I had to go a few months ago. After emailing him a few more times he gave me a better picture as what I could be expecting.

At any point, I can bring you on as an unpaid volunteer to "intern" on our large, multi-site clinical trial study. It will be a very rich experience, including exposure to research methods, clinical practice (family therapy), data analysis, and preparation of articles for publication (Robbins, April 2009).

I'm a little bummed that its going to be an unpaid position for the time being but there is some hope!

I will contact our administration staff ... to get any paperwork, forms, etc. that we may need to complete for you. Also, although I do not have a paid position at present, there is a reasonable chance that we are going to get a lot of research dollars in the next couple of months. If that occurs, we can try to figure out if any of these positions could get you some funding (Robbins, June 2009).

Only thing now is that I have to let him know how many hours I would like to work and for how long. I'm really starting to get excited about this offer. I still don't want to leave St. Augustine but I do realize that this will be a great opportunity for me and to put on my resume. I'm hoping that I'll be able to meet the expectations of this position especially since it was offered to me.

*Please forgive my APA citation there. I'm in the middle of writing a paper for my Deviant Behavior class.