. A blogumn by Emily Farrell Now is an exciting time to be studying public administration. When my Economics and Public Finance class first met in August, we talked about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and just how exactly the housing bubble had been created…and then burst. Since September, class time has been spent on the financial meltdown and government bailout. What role should government play in the private sector and in people’s lives? When and how should government intervene? How will government (i.e. we the taxpayers) pay for everything? Already I feel like I have a better understanding of how different levels of government gather revenue and the issues they have to consider when spending for both shifting and fixed expenditure priorities. The week before the election, my Introduction to Public Administration professor asked who had taken advantage of early voting in Colorado; more than half the class raised their hands, and most of the rest seemed to intend to get out and vote in the next seven days. Even with an estimated 60% voter turnout this year, that is just 60% of registered voters, which in turn make up about 70-75% of eligible voters. That means that only 40-45% of potential voters are actually deciding the course of our country. I expect people in the field of public administration to have a vested interest in voting and participating in the election process, but it was still exhilarating to see proof in the classroom. In my final class, Leadership and Professional Ethics, we have talked about both historic figures (Gandhi, President Johnson) as well as the contemporary examples of Kwame Kilpatrick and Eliot Spitzer. After the election, we spent time discussing Obama’s leadership style and vision. What challenges does he face as a...

So after a not-great day, I trudged up to our house to find… a package from FedEx. At first I was confused. I had put in a big overnight order for progesterone (apparently after IVF, your body needs a little help making the stuff for the first trimester). But the last time I checked, FedEx didn’t have an option for getting something ordered at 2pm PST from New Jersey to California same day. Then I realized… It was my book. Back from my copy editor (and friend), Emily F. Now the manuscript is sitting on top of the Fierce and Nerdy office (aka my bed) and staring at me accusingly — it also doesn’t approve of me using an adverb to describe how it’s staring at me. The thing about sending your novel off to a book editor and then a copy editor is that it’s gone for awhile. It’s like you get a free multi-week pass from it, where you don’t have to obsess about all of it’s plot points and character peccadilloes during every waking moment. Sure, I missed it while it was away. But I kind of got used to not having a sovereign master. And I’m a little surprised by how quickly it’s taken over again. I can almost hear it saying, “Why are you blogging when you could be working on me? Why are you eating when you could be working on me? Why are you breathing when you could be working on me, me, me?!?!” So I guess I better get to making those (fantastic — thanks Emily!) copy edits ASAP. Because as any writer will tell you, the only way to shut up a novel is to finish the damn thing. Besides, once I’m done-done, I’ll be...

. A blogumn by Emily Farrell A few days before I started grad school, a friend at work gave me a present—a Trapper Keeper folder. And not just any Trapper Keeper, but a purple one (my favorite color). I’ve been slowly filling it with handouts and Web printouts from the three classes I’m taking this semester. But other than this binder and a spiral notebook for taking notes, I haven’t taken part in America’s traditional back-to-school shopping orgy. I started thinking about being a kid and what it used to mean to go back to school—backpacks, pencils, lunchboxes, new clothes, book covers, and all the fun, brightly colored, themed products you could buy every year. That gave way to graphing calculators and 40-pound book bags in high school. In college it meant a plane ticket across the country, numerous trips to bring boxes out of storage in the basement, and the fun of decorating a new dorm room. I’ve always enjoyed those back-to-school rituals and the sense of anticipation that struck every August. Starting grad school this year, however, didn’t seem to have any milestones that really screamed “back-to-school.” In high school we would be issued copies of the standard text books, which we then lugged back and forth to school every day. In college I loved the thrill of reading the course catalog, picking the perfect classes, and then fighting crowds at the bookstore to get all my texts. This year, my course selection was limited not only by what was offered for my specific graduate degree but also the core classes I wanted to take first. I created an online schedule and registered for classes with a click of the mouse. With a few more clicks I found the required books and...

. A Proof of Nerd ID by Emily Farrell What’s the difference between going to college and grad school? Definitely not lipstick. My undergraduate education at Smith College (Massachusetts) was a love affair. From the academics, to studying abroad in Paris, to the dorms, to Northampton, to the people—it was everything I dreamed of and all I could have hoped for in a college. I delighted in my double major—art history and French—and wasn’t too concerned about what kind of job I might get after graduation. I know I received the best possible education at Smith and that the school was a perfect fit for me. I remain a passionate supporter of the college, am active in my local alumnae club, and am eagerly looking forward to my 10-year reunion next spring. Last month, nine years after I took my last final and proudly received my diploma from Smith, I started graduate school. This time around it is more like an arranged marriage, one that both party’s agree to and went into with an open mind. I had had my love affair at Smith and, after graduation, flirted globally while serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in West Africa. So now it was a calculated move that led me to begin pursuing a master’s in public administration at University of Colorado, Denver. My husband and I have been living in Colorado for almost two-and-a-half years—with friends, jobs, and a sense of home here. I didn’t want to uproot us both for my master’s degree, only to move again after graduation. The program at UCD would give me the degree I wanted, while allowing us to keep our life and home and my husband’s work intact. I’ve been working for the federal government for the...