Milestones

I turned in a chapter of my dissertation today. A draft, at least. Which is something. I've been blocked on turning something in for over a year, and I just decided to light a fire under my own ass and I guess that's what it took. Here's hoping it isn't totally shredded by my committee.

I have been writing and re-writing for a while, and I finally decided upon a strategy that works for me. Instead of thinking I had to write an amazing chapter, I decided to really write a draft, something not completely OK, something that needed work, something that wasn't "good" according to my standards. I gave myself permission to turn in crap. It turned out to be really liberating. Now if they cover it in notes and questions, I will at least be expecting it and can actually use it to write the final draft much more effectively.

Anyhoo- my new favorite thing is Chad Johnson, the wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals. He recently changed his last name to Ocho Cinco. Here's the story from his recently updated Wikipedia entry, which summarizes it quite nicely:

"On October 25, 2006, in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, when his last name was still Johnson, he announced that he would prefer to be called "Ocho Cinco" ("8-5" in Spanish). During warm-ups for the October 29, 2006 game against the Atlanta Falcons, the back of his jersey read "Ocho Cinco" instead of "C. Johnson". Quarterback Carson Palmer ripped the label off the jersey to reveal the usual "C. Johnson". According to ESPN, Ocho Cinco was fined US$ 5,000 for the stunt (pending appeal) despite the fact that Ocho Cinco did not wear the "Ocho Cinco" name tag during the game.

He legally changed his name to Chad Javon Ocho Cinco on August 29, 2008.The NFL and the Cincinnati Bengals decided to allow him to have it on the back of his jersey."

I salute you Chad Ocho Cinco, for taking a joke further than anyone thought you could. But I am also pretty sure you are crazy.