Status update
Up until I told lindsaycb on Saturday, no one but me knew these particulars about my dissertation and Illinois status....
I was in a small funk after getting some comments back on one of my dissertation chapters. Not because they were cruel or unexpected but because of what they meant in terms of finishing. I was staring at a problem of not having enough material to write about and wondering how I would still be able to do my defense by December so that I could apply for jobs and move away in January.
Thursday I had a long meeting with my advisor about what was going on, talked over what I had and did some brainstorming over dinner at Eduardos (We got the Wolverines table!! You all know where I sat at!!!).
The end result was a number of good leads on characters and their functional correlates to work on and write up - enough to do the job well. However, the work that needs to be put in, which is quite considerable, means I won't be defending until sometime in the Spring semester and that I'll be staying here longer. This was an unpleasing development but I've come to terms with it.
Here are the pluses:
I get to write a kickass dissertation that I won't feel sheepish about.
I'll also have time to put out some publications.
I can adjunct in the Spring and Summer and further pad my resume.
I get to go to NIU basketball games with lindsaycb :-)
I get to help out with some anatomy dissections and get paid.
I FINALLY get to dissect the tree sloths my advisor has been teasing me with for years!
As much as I look forward to moving on, I'll be able to do so with a clearer conscience following this route. Now I've just got to put in the time and effort, which again is substantial. I may feel like I'm going to drop dead by the end of this semester but its going to be worth it. So when the posts from me become fewer and fewer, and I look more and more haggard, you'll know why.
I was in a small funk after getting some comments back on one of my dissertation chapters. Not because they were cruel or unexpected but because of what they meant in terms of finishing. I was staring at a problem of not having enough material to write about and wondering how I would still be able to do my defense by December so that I could apply for jobs and move away in January.
Thursday I had a long meeting with my advisor about what was going on, talked over what I had and did some brainstorming over dinner at Eduardos (We got the Wolverines table!! You all know where I sat at!!!).
The end result was a number of good leads on characters and their functional correlates to work on and write up - enough to do the job well. However, the work that needs to be put in, which is quite considerable, means I won't be defending until sometime in the Spring semester and that I'll be staying here longer. This was an unpleasing development but I've come to terms with it.
Here are the pluses:
I get to write a kickass dissertation that I won't feel sheepish about.
I'll also have time to put out some publications.
I can adjunct in the Spring and Summer and further pad my resume.
I get to go to NIU basketball games with lindsaycb :-)
I get to help out with some anatomy dissections and get paid.
I FINALLY get to dissect the tree sloths my advisor has been teasing me with for years!
As much as I look forward to moving on, I'll be able to do so with a clearer conscience following this route. Now I've just got to put in the time and effort, which again is substantial. I may feel like I'm going to drop dead by the end of this semester but its going to be worth it. So when the posts from me become fewer and fewer, and I look more and more haggard, you'll know why.