Friends

I have the most outstanding, amazing, supportive friends ever. Whenever I feel down, I just remind myself of how lucky I am to be surrounded by such great people. It perks me right up. Whether near or far, we can always pick up right where we left off last time we were together.

I'm headed to California tomorrow to visit a couple of these fantastic friends for Thanksgiving and I'm very excited about it. I haven't seen them since June and we've all had some very stressful months in the interim, so I'm hopeful that we can all sit back and relax for a couple of days and just enjoy each other's company. That to me is the perfect holiday.

So happy Thanksgiving to all of my wonderful friends out there! May you all be surrounded by friends and family and happiness this weekend. :)

My Sigh of Relief

Greetings from Dr. Meredith! :D

Eight years of graduate school later (in two different degree programs), I've finally successfully defended my PhD thesis. I don't think I've ever been so happy or relieved about anything in my entire life. There are moments from my defense that still make cringe a little bit (I couldn't have added 2 and 2 at one point if you had asked me), but overall it went well. I think I handled most of my questions well and I actually got off a little bit easy because of a technicality in the rules. I know that thousands of people earn their PhDs every year, but for this weekend at least I am darn proud of myself. :)

My parents came out here to attend my defense and that was really nice too. I think they were a little bit overwhelmed, but I'm glad they got to see it. Neither one really has any idea what I do and I kind of like the thought that I was able to impress them.

As it Approaches

I found this post several months ago on another blog and bookmarked it. I thought it would be wise/worthwhile/comforting to read it again as my thesis defense approached. It details many of the different types of committee members one can have on their thesis committee, and some of the combinations that might make one's defense easier or harder. As I reread it now, I feel the need to remove "comforting" from that list of descriptors.

I fear that I have put together a more difficult committee than is necessary. I have two people that I know will find something barely tangentially related to my work to latch onto at all possible times. I've run out of ways to figure out how to prepare for that. (Plus, they're both coming back into town from elsewhere around the country specifically for this event; I hope my scheduling has not pre-irritated them.) My thesis advisor has never not slept through a presentation of mine, so I am working on the assumption that he'll sleep through my defense. Then he'll pipe up with some criticism of my work that he's never mentioned to me before; this seems to be his MO. My thesis topic is somewhat interdisciplinary, so even my "outside" person isn't really all that outside. And the last member of my committee is a new faculty member; I haven't a clue what to expect from her.

I still have a list of questions/topics on which I could royally embarrass myself if they come up. I have two days to whiddle this list down (preferably) to nothing. But the real fear is the questions I cannot anticipate. I know everyone worries about this, but taking comfort in knowing that everyone has to go through this rite of passage really does nothing to quell my fears right now. I have just over 48 hours to go. I cannot wait until this is over and I can sleep, eat, and maybe even live again.

So Close

Well, my thesis is turned in. Actually, it has been for nearly a week. I'm still living in fear that one (or more) of my committee members will call me up and say that it's not good enough and I shouldn't defend. But as the days go by and I hear nothing but crickets (and the train that goes by at 4 am outside my apartment), I'm hopeful that they think it's ok.

My defense is a week from tomorrow. I vary between thinking that I'll do well and being completely terrified. At this point, though, I'll be over the moon just to have it done.