begin as you mean to go on
Confidential to 
genarti,
varadia, and
skygiants: I am on Chapter Five of That Book and its annotations, and am alternately laughing myself sick at the editorial commentary and mildly horrified at the novel itself. I owe you all something, even if what remains to be seen.
* * * * * * * * *
Between the last time I posted about the dissertation defense and now, I've gone through graduate school format review, final committee review, and my graduation audit. I now sincerely believe that both governments and academia have more than their fair share of red tape, but that said, I've finally snipped all but the very last bit of it. I have 3 signatures to obtain on one form, plus a figure reprint request approval to chase down (or modification to make if the publisher can't complete their process in time; I should know which tomorrow), and then I can turn everything in and graduate.
The paperwork deadline's Friday; I'm submitting on Wednesday at the latest, and sooner if I can manage it. Semester end is August 3rd; degree posting is in early September.
I'm still having trouble believing this day has finally come. I keep wondering if I'll wake up some morning and find that it was all a dream. However, my body knows better than my tired mind at this point; I quite literally felt the stress recede, and I now have an experiential understanding of the phrase "a great weight was lifted."
At some point I have to start thinking about next steps in more than an idle fashion, but that day is not yet. First paperwork, then vacation, then I'll focus on that, probably mid-August.
-- yes, vacation. Real vacation. I don't actually know what I'm going to do with it yet, but I have taken the days off of work anyway. I have some idea of heading into the mountains to go hiking, maybe even camping. I might go up to Yellowstone or down to Four Points, both places that I've meant to visit for some time but have never yet seen.
(I'd thought of Vancouver or Alaska, but thanks to some of the aforementioned red tape, cost is a bit of a prohibitive factor for the next little while. Besides, both of those are places I want to actually plan for in advance.)
I'm rambling right now, and I know that. In part, I'm doing that because I realized how long it had been since I'd written anything here, and I wanted to get back into the habit of doing that; of reaching out and saying hello through the words on this virtual page.
So, hello again, everyone. I'm back; I made it through, and what I'm finding here on the other side is as beautiful as I hoped it might be.
This entry was originally posted at http://silveraspen.dreamwidth.org/296679.html and mirrored to LJ. Please comment where you wish! (There are
comments currently posted at Dreamwidth.)
genarti,
varadia, and
skygiants: I am on Chapter Five of That Book and its annotations, and am alternately laughing myself sick at the editorial commentary and mildly horrified at the novel itself. I owe you all something, even if what remains to be seen.
* * * * * * * * *
Between the last time I posted about the dissertation defense and now, I've gone through graduate school format review, final committee review, and my graduation audit. I now sincerely believe that both governments and academia have more than their fair share of red tape, but that said, I've finally snipped all but the very last bit of it. I have 3 signatures to obtain on one form, plus a figure reprint request approval to chase down (or modification to make if the publisher can't complete their process in time; I should know which tomorrow), and then I can turn everything in and graduate.
The paperwork deadline's Friday; I'm submitting on Wednesday at the latest, and sooner if I can manage it. Semester end is August 3rd; degree posting is in early September.
I'm still having trouble believing this day has finally come. I keep wondering if I'll wake up some morning and find that it was all a dream. However, my body knows better than my tired mind at this point; I quite literally felt the stress recede, and I now have an experiential understanding of the phrase "a great weight was lifted."
At some point I have to start thinking about next steps in more than an idle fashion, but that day is not yet. First paperwork, then vacation, then I'll focus on that, probably mid-August.
-- yes, vacation. Real vacation. I don't actually know what I'm going to do with it yet, but I have taken the days off of work anyway. I have some idea of heading into the mountains to go hiking, maybe even camping. I might go up to Yellowstone or down to Four Points, both places that I've meant to visit for some time but have never yet seen.
(I'd thought of Vancouver or Alaska, but thanks to some of the aforementioned red tape, cost is a bit of a prohibitive factor for the next little while. Besides, both of those are places I want to actually plan for in advance.)
I'm rambling right now, and I know that. In part, I'm doing that because I realized how long it had been since I'd written anything here, and I wanted to get back into the habit of doing that; of reaching out and saying hello through the words on this virtual page.
So, hello again, everyone. I'm back; I made it through, and what I'm finding here on the other side is as beautiful as I hoped it might be.
This entry was originally posted at http://silveraspen.dreamwidth.org/296679.html and mirrored to LJ. Please comment where you wish! (There are
comments currently posted at Dreamwidth.)