Autoethnography, Question 8

Were there points when the group played a role in keeping you engaged when you might otherwise have disengaged?

This question really resonates with me, and perhaps in ways that it might not with the others in the group. There are times when I find qualitative analysis quite boring. I love interviewing participants, I enjoy writing up results . . .but coding? . . . analysis of the data? Hard pass. 

Forced to Hire

I'm being forced to hire someone. Yes, I know this sounds weird, but it's true. I don't want to . . . I shouldn't have to . . . but I'm being forced to. 

I remember one of my professors talking about how jealous they were of me when I told them that I was being asked how many research assistants I wanted. Little did they know that I don't want em!

Autoethnography, Question 7

How, if at all, did participation in the study group influence your motivation to persist in the program?

This is a good question and one that I have often considered. I'm a fairly persistent fella. When I think about this question, I think about other challenges in my life. I completed Ranger School (9/10 on the difficulty scale), Scuba School (10/10 for different reasons), Basic Training (6/10), Airborne School (3/10), RIP (5/10), and Pre-Ranger (7/10), and several other sundry Army Ranger training missions. All were challenging in their own way. And I completed them all. 

I completed my MBA (3/10), my bachelor's with a double major in 3 years (4/10), and I will even include in these challenges some of the projects I've worked on through my jobs (3/10). I've written three novels (8/10), which took years of persistence to complete. 

The Further I Get . . .

The further I get from my last job, the longer I stay with my new job, the more astounded I am that I stayed with that group so long. I understand that this requires a bit more explanation, as most things do here. 

I told my close friend and colleague, who just got an amazing new job after leaving shortly after I did, that I was "embarrassed" that I had been a part of that group for so long. She pushed back and disagreed with me. 

Ghost at your Own Risk

I was listening to a podcast about emotions, and I was considering my "challenges" with ghosting. Anyone who has read my thoughts in these blog posts before will no that I'm not a fan of "ghosting." I think it's a horrible way to deal with things. Not only am I not a fan, but I think it's a perniciously bad thing to do that can be devastating to relationships. 

One of my good friends, who has quite a bit of background in conflict resolution, disagrees, and he says that ghosting is a viable form of "conflict avoidance." He is probably right, and it's a good thing for me to think about, self-authorship and all that . . . being able to put oneself in another person's shoes and see things from the perspective. Still, I think it's horrible. 

Autoethnography, Question 6

Can you describe a moment when you felt the group was “doing something together” that mattered academically?

This may be the strangest answer imaginable, but the one that truly sticks out in my mind was our statistics and probability class. This was a time when I think the whole group took full advantage of the study group. I remember we had a genuinely bad professor. Not that he didn't know statistics and probability, he did. He may hve known too much. The analogy might be he was Michael Jordan trying to coach a high school team. Where MJ might just say, "drive to the basket and make the bucket" a high school team might need a bit more scaffolding than MJ is ready to provide. That was our professors. He was just too smart to be our professor. I believe the entire class felt this way. 

Additionally, I believe it was a summer class and only 6 weeks. We moved FAST. There was no time for straggling or confusion. Then there was the challenge that 3/4 of the study group already knew that they were focused on or leaning toward Qualitative methodologies. I think at the time Anne may have been considering mixed methods. This class might have been her tipping point where she decided to eschew stats and quantitative methods. 

Lose It Resolution

Another resolution I'm considering is a Lose It resolution. I've been testing it out. And maybe it makes the most sense if I describe the process I'm working on and then, at the end, tie it up with a written declaration. 

About three or four years ago I did a diet that worked very well for me. It was basically, when you boil it all down, severe calorie restriction. I think I did it for 2 or 3 months and lost about 30 pounds, maybe a bit more. There were other aspects to it, there were daily and weekly check ins with a coach, there were food packets or "fuelings" . . . all of which were about 100 calories. There were readings and videos, etc etc. But when you boil it down, I was eating probably 5 times a day, only 100 calories per packet, so 500 calories, and a meal that was limited to about 800 to 1000 calories. So, what? 1300 to 1500 calories a day? 

Bring Sally Up Resolution

So, I'm already working on some of these resolutions. I've already signed up for a fun run. I've started Roomba-ing, but the other one I'm already doing could be the easiest to remember, but the hardest to complete of them all.

A while back, there was a little internet fad around the song, Bring Sally Up. The goal was to do pushups every time the song cues you with the phrase, "bring Sally up, bring Sally down." The problem is that the song lasts about three minutes, and you'll end up doing only 30 pushups, but most of your time will be spent in the down position. 

Fun Run Resolution

Another resolution that I have for 2026, is to run a fun run a month. I did this same thing a couple of years ago, and I almost made it through the whole year, too. I think I missed one in August. Apparently, there aren't many fun runs in August in Houston. 

I recycled it the next year. That year it was 10K a month. It could be a 10K run, or two 5Ks. Again, I think I almost made it, or I did make it through the whole year. 

Autoethnography, Question 5

How did shared language, routines, or norms develop within the group?

This is the toughest one to answer. I can't think of any "shared language, norms or routines" that developed within the group. But as I consider it, I think of some small ones. For one, we almost always had our cameras on when we met . . . And we almost always met via Zoom. We didn't conference call (unless someone was driving or couldn't be at their desk). So, I suppose that was the norm. Now that I think about it, no one ever said we had to meet via Zoom, but we did. In fact, I can't think of a time, other than the few times we met in person, when we didn't meet via Zoom. The opportunity to just call each other was there, but we always met via Zoom, and it was always an expectation. 

Another norm was that during our coursework phase of the program, we met just about weekly. Weekly check-ins became a norm. Even if we couldn't make it, we checked in and at least canceled the standing meeting. I know there were times when I couldn't meet, and the rest of the group met without me, and times when others couldn't meet, and I met with whoever could show up. It was nice to have that many people in the group so that if one couldn't make it, someone else might be able to show it.