I ramble to myself, and that's okay.
As far as life goes, this week has been remarkably productive. Despite the WoW patch, even. The only downside has been the roller coaster of emotions that life has been attached to - grad school really is brutal sometimes, and that's only the tip of everything that's been going on. I wish I liked the person I saw in the mirror a lot more than I do some days.
Work continues on my thesis proposal outline. I had another extensive meeting today with Jonathan about it (the third or fourth since I've started working on it - 2+ hours) and things are finally at the point where I'm going to start writing. The goal is to have one of the sections done by Halloween (what should be the easiest one to write in theory) and get some feedback on it before I plow into it as a whole, with an eventual first draft done by the end of November. I also finally sent e-mail to my committee members today, asking what days they were unavailable in a block of time in February/March. Small steps towards getting things ready.
Jonathan mentioned today that the whole process is about discovering what you don't know. I feel like I'm all too aware of what I don't know and am desperately trying to play catch up to some reasonable level where I have a small chance of passing. I think he's a lot more optimistic about my chances right now than I am. I suppose that should be a good sign, but I don't like being in the position of feeling utterly unprepared. It's scary and bad and stressful. Too much stress.
Yuki's parents are in town as of next Tuesday. I am both looking forward to this, as I really like his folks and enjoy spending time with them (it doesn't hurt that they like me too) and dreading it because the house is still not ready for company and oh-god-must-clean. I straightened things up in the living room last night and that's helping some, but there's still the kitchen to tackle on top of the standard cleaning that I just need to do for everything plus grocery shopping and I'd really like to cook dinner for them one night but have no idea what to make or anything. We're going to go to Tahoe while they're in town though, and that will be fun.
I know what at least part of the dedication of my thesis will say, assuming I a) make it to that point and b) am still involved with Yuki at that point. I hope so. I pray so. I made the arrangements yesterday to mark a year from our first date - something that still gives me butterflies in my stomach to remember it and a high I can't ever seem to come down from. Watching the sunset, holding his hand, knowing it was something magical. November 25th will mark one year (October 24th marks one year from meeting in person for the first time) and I'm hoping he'll enjoy the plans that I've made.
The new patch in WoW has been one of the few other things keeping me sane. I've really been enjoying the achievements system and chatting with guildies in Vent and laughing about stupid shit as the clock inches closer to 1am. Yuki and I have also been running three nights a week for the past three weeks (tonight marks 9 runs!) as I attempt to get into better shape. I don't really feel like I'm making tons of progress, which can be disenheartening, but at least I have a buddy to do it with so I'm not slacking off. We even went running while we were at Blizzcon.
I did get my new computer on Tuesday. I looked at the specs for the new Macbooks that Apple announced and decided that the older machine fit my needs (and my budget) better so I picked one up at the bookstore. Yay for student discounts! I've been really happy with it so far - the spaces thing is wonderful - and it's so quiet! Granted, part of that is because my other one was so loud, but it's still a nice change. I got the black one, so it's shiny and awesome and the evil twin of my little sister's Macbook.
I didn't know until Mom told me, but my little sister listed me as her inspiration in a mini-interview thing about her Gold Award project. It's kind of hard to put into words how much that's meant to me this week, but it really did touch me. There's a lot in life I've screwed up (I can think of some huge examples that impacted my family in ways I never, ever want to repeat and have worked very hard for a long time to make up for) and so to be valued and meaningful in something like that was incredibly touching.
Enough rambling. It's late enough on a Friday afternoon that I think I can go home, so I should start the walk to the car so that I can get home at a reasonable time to run and get dinner and take care of those three or four things around the house before I get to relax for the evening. Isn't my life exciting?
Work continues on my thesis proposal outline. I had another extensive meeting today with Jonathan about it (the third or fourth since I've started working on it - 2+ hours) and things are finally at the point where I'm going to start writing. The goal is to have one of the sections done by Halloween (what should be the easiest one to write in theory) and get some feedback on it before I plow into it as a whole, with an eventual first draft done by the end of November. I also finally sent e-mail to my committee members today, asking what days they were unavailable in a block of time in February/March. Small steps towards getting things ready.
Jonathan mentioned today that the whole process is about discovering what you don't know. I feel like I'm all too aware of what I don't know and am desperately trying to play catch up to some reasonable level where I have a small chance of passing. I think he's a lot more optimistic about my chances right now than I am. I suppose that should be a good sign, but I don't like being in the position of feeling utterly unprepared. It's scary and bad and stressful. Too much stress.
Yuki's parents are in town as of next Tuesday. I am both looking forward to this, as I really like his folks and enjoy spending time with them (it doesn't hurt that they like me too) and dreading it because the house is still not ready for company and oh-god-must-clean. I straightened things up in the living room last night and that's helping some, but there's still the kitchen to tackle on top of the standard cleaning that I just need to do for everything plus grocery shopping and I'd really like to cook dinner for them one night but have no idea what to make or anything. We're going to go to Tahoe while they're in town though, and that will be fun.
I know what at least part of the dedication of my thesis will say, assuming I a) make it to that point and b) am still involved with Yuki at that point. I hope so. I pray so. I made the arrangements yesterday to mark a year from our first date - something that still gives me butterflies in my stomach to remember it and a high I can't ever seem to come down from. Watching the sunset, holding his hand, knowing it was something magical. November 25th will mark one year (October 24th marks one year from meeting in person for the first time) and I'm hoping he'll enjoy the plans that I've made.
The new patch in WoW has been one of the few other things keeping me sane. I've really been enjoying the achievements system and chatting with guildies in Vent and laughing about stupid shit as the clock inches closer to 1am. Yuki and I have also been running three nights a week for the past three weeks (tonight marks 9 runs!) as I attempt to get into better shape. I don't really feel like I'm making tons of progress, which can be disenheartening, but at least I have a buddy to do it with so I'm not slacking off. We even went running while we were at Blizzcon.
I did get my new computer on Tuesday. I looked at the specs for the new Macbooks that Apple announced and decided that the older machine fit my needs (and my budget) better so I picked one up at the bookstore. Yay for student discounts! I've been really happy with it so far - the spaces thing is wonderful - and it's so quiet! Granted, part of that is because my other one was so loud, but it's still a nice change. I got the black one, so it's shiny and awesome and the evil twin of my little sister's Macbook.
I didn't know until Mom told me, but my little sister listed me as her inspiration in a mini-interview thing about her Gold Award project. It's kind of hard to put into words how much that's meant to me this week, but it really did touch me. There's a lot in life I've screwed up (I can think of some huge examples that impacted my family in ways I never, ever want to repeat and have worked very hard for a long time to make up for) and so to be valued and meaningful in something like that was incredibly touching.
Enough rambling. It's late enough on a Friday afternoon that I think I can go home, so I should start the walk to the car so that I can get home at a reasonable time to run and get dinner and take care of those three or four things around the house before I get to relax for the evening. Isn't my life exciting?