It's finally over!




Passed my prelims!!


So i passed (with flying colors...self commentary). I was told that the writing was good. I had my doubts though, while in our 2 hour meeting. Basically, I sent the proposal (see below) to my 5 committee members 10 days before my meeting so they had a chance to read it over. We then had a formal exam where I presented the paper for 20 minutes in a keynote presentation, then was asked questions (i.e. repeatedly hit on the side of the head with a blunt object) for about an hour and a half.

It's been a solid 3 months since returning from Japan, and most days followed this pattern:

10:00 am-wake up, make coffee, look at the stack of papers to read while watching golf channel. maybe have some cereal. feeling good about the day.

11:15am-showered and invigorated, head to the coffee shop.

11:30am-more coffee, and starting out on the papers. reading the articles that i need to support the day's writing.

2:15pm-Lunch and a slight uneasy feeling from morning's journal articles. The thought, "my specific aim is bullshit!" creeps in.

3:00-6:00pm-writing writing writing. more coffee. headache, nausea, frustration, "God why am I doing this!?" are all common occurrences.

7:00ish-dinner with susan. A brief brightspot in an otherwise bleak day.

9:30 to 3am-read, write, wrestle with self doubt. repeat.

needless to say, it was a marathon, and i am happy for it to be over. Thank you to Susan, who made it all possible. I know it wasn't easy, but you were such a great help!!
This comic is for you:



These comics are from Jorge Cham (http://www.phdcomics.com/ ) who will be visiting the campus tomorrow, and I am looking forward to attending his seminar. I am also enjoying my newly gained freedom to attend said seminar. Started working again in lab, started an experiment, and biked to campus. It feels great!! The sky is bluer, and the grass is greener. I actually feel like I was in a 2 month coma. I hadn't noticed how the trees had turned color in our neighborhood! Anyway, it's great to be done!!

You can download the final version of my prelim proposal as a pdf here .

I will be updating much more frequently, so stay tuned!





Posted: Wed - October 19, 2005 at 03:15 PM          

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