Due to circumstances that are beyond my control, I have to teach this semester. It's a little disappointing since this will be the eighth time in ten semesters of graduate school that I have to teach. During a normal semester, teaching is a lot of work, but I don't usually mind too much since I feel like I am making a difference for some of my students. This semester is different though.
I am scheduled to graduate in May (W00t!!!). Practically, that means that this semester I have to give an exit seminar to my department, which is no big deal. It's just a 45 minute talk on my research, and I'm not really worried about it. Then I have to finish writing and, no doubt, revising my thesis. So far I've finished 3 of the 5 chapters and am about halfway through another chapter. Unfortunately, my advisor hasn't looked at it yet, which means there will likely be an overwhelming number of revisions and rewrites. After those two things are done, I have to meet with my dissertation committee and defend my thesis (SCARY!!!). I will meet with a group of 5 professors who each have a copy of my thesis. They will take turns asking me anything they want about my paper, my research or anything else that pops into their heads. They usually try to keep the brutality to within an hour.
I honestly don't know how I'm going to get everything done and still keep my sanity. There isn't really a way to prepare for the defense, so you just go in praying that Dr. Dupureur had her yoga class that morning so she's in a nice mood.
In any event, I have to do all of this while teaching. It sucks. Luckily, both of the sections I'm teaching are on the same day, so I can just count Tuesdays as a wasted day. I have obligations on campus on Mondays and Fridays, and some Wednesdays I will be doing experiment stuff. This leaves us with Thursdays.
My advisor has agreed to let me work from home on my thesis whenever possible. The only day that will work is Thursday. So here I am, sitting at my table with my lab notebooks spread out, wearing my pajamas and slippers. I have deemed these days Naked Thursdays, mostly because I think it's funny.
Luckily for me, Bob has to work, so I can stay in my PJs. It's one of his pet peeves. He always tells me that only sick people and mental patients wear pajamas all day. I am neither, just a very busy woman who is excited about being comfy while she works. Besides, what does he know? He's a boy, and it is a well-known fact that boys are dumb!
Well, I'm going to get going on compiling this data so I can get some writing done. Keep me in your prayers, I'm going to need them!
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