The Event

At noon today I pick up my question and begin the final major exercise of the program. By Monday at noon, I will have completed my program. Well, there are a few small things left, like a 20 page paper in the one class I am taking and a few poems in the workshop.

How much can one write in three days? I think there is a novel writing contest that happens over the labor day weekend, so one might say one could write a little bit. Anyway, my weekend shall be invested in the exam. I am actually looking forward to this.

My defense went well Monday, but you already know that. The process was simple, I walked in, I read for ten, I answered some questions, I stepped out, I stepped in, I passed, I walked out, went across the street and picked up some channa masala to celebrate, I came home, I ate, I slept. In many ways, it has seemed anticlimactic. All those expectations and fears wrapped up in one small event, and then it's over and now what? As Carol says, I am nearly an official poet, but I don't know what that means/entails/is.

On the upside, it is going to be bitterly cold this weekend so I won't feel guilty for hiding inside.

I will see you all on the other side of Monday. Have a good weekend.

Defense

I had my defense this afternoon (4-4:45) and passed unconditionally. So, that means that a fair chunk of the program is now complete.

I will post greater details when I am lesser pooped. :)

For now, I am rather glad to have completed this step!

Onward.

February 7

Week 5 is over. Week 6 begins.
My defense is set for the 16. 11 days away. My reading is set for the 16 of April, two whole months later.
This has been a quiet week, except for lots of shivering cause it has been very cold.

Carol flew to D.C. and did a talk, got lots of praise, came home, missed a flight, had to stay an extra night in Charlotte, which she now despises.

Mags and Daphs touched noses, though they are still not real friendly.

I have a busy weekend planned, but I am going to make some time to go for a walk as well. For the first time in weeks the temps will approach almost acceptable levels. Unfortunately, the long range forecast looks icky, so likely no beach party for my birthday (44).

Friday

Yesterday I turned my thesis in to my readers. Another hoop hopped, with only two more of those to go. The next big one is on the 20th of Feb (the big exam). (Cue scary Hitchcock shower scene music here). The third week of this semester is now over. Only another 12 weeks to go. I am enjoying the term so far, interesting courses, great students, and the knowledge that it will be done in a few weeks. Though I do wonder if I am cursed as it seems every time I finish a schooling thing, I graduate directly into a recession, or in this case, a depression.

Even though I am stressed out, and not all that enthused about grading 21 papers this weekend, I am rather happy with my life. Yesterday, as I walked from the bus stop to the building I work at, it felt and smelt like spring. Warm, glorious day. I hope to be able to spend some time on my birthday visiting the arboretum and taking some flower photos this year.

This weekend is paper grading weekend, though it should not be too bad as they are short papers, with a lot of bibliography. Then the first two days of next week are filled with student conferences. I enjoy those, and it will help me put names to some of the faces. I have 16 women in my class, and I have not put names to 7 of the faces yet.

I shall begin to grade now. A few hours of work this morning will help me determine how long it will actually take.

Last week of January

How weird is that, last week of January already! Time flies when you are busy.

My weekend has been all computer fixing. I did a upgrade on my computer, and it flies now. I am very pleased with what I have built. I used Carol's keyboard, mouse, and monitor to help me with my setup and build. Once done, I returned both to her computer, and they were not being recognized by windows. After trying multiple fixes, I reinstalled the os on her computer and replaced the programs. It seems to be running fine now. She had a hdd failure a few months ago, and I think her raid setup never fully rebuilt the disk and with each new attempt, the disk was further corrupted. Hopefully it will run fine now.

I am pleased with my build, however. It zips. It rumbles. It sings. Best of all, it is designed to be upgradeable for a number of years.

So, this week is back to normal. I will get my thesis back from my adviser, make repairs, return it and send it on to my other readers. Gack, says I! Too fast says I!

The snow is all gone, but it remains cold. Can someone send some warm air my way?

Winter's lingers overlong and I grow weary of it

The weather has improved since Tuesday, but I grow tired of the white and cold. I do have hopes that the green and brown will peek through today, and maybe all that white stuff will be gone by the end of the weekend.

The heat is off in the school building where I work and study. Yesterday, classes were optional, but I am not sure what will happen today. I am torn, I hate missing so many days, yet I do not want to show up and shiver and freeze for the whole day. Thursday is a full day at school for me. My first class is at ten, the last ends at 4:30. It might be acceptable if I were physically active during that time, but instead I have to sit in a desk for hour on end. It becomes extremely uncomfortable. Earlier this year, when the temps in the barn were around 60, I was shivering after an hour or so. Ahh, well, I shall find out soon enough I suppose.

Because of the storm and such, this has been a rather inactive few days. I have completed most of the work I had planned for the weekend, so I am in a good place. With any luck, I can remain on top of things this term.