Yesterday, I successfully defended my dissertation proposal and I am now officially a Ph.D. Candidate!! Or, as Wikipedia so eloquently describes that..."at this stage the student (yours truly!) has completed the prepatory coursework, qualifying examinations, comprehensive examinations, and defended her (that's me again!) dissertation proposal. To complete the degree, the student must carry out the proposed research which must be original research and write the dissertation that defines the Ph.D. or equivalent research doctorate." All I can say is that I am relieved beyond belief that it's over. As suggested in the comic above, this proposal defense brought me to tears, nightmares, anxiety, nausea, irritability, and delirium. And while the defense is now behind me, I must now tend to all of the things that I abandoned in it's wake: laundry, bills, cleaning, grocery shopping, grading, car washes, and showers (just kidding!).
My dad flew in from San Diego to see my presentation and it's been great hanging out with him, considering that I don't get to see him very often these days. He and Andrew have been undertaking several home improvement projects and it's really nice to see them bonding together.
I also have to thank my friends/colleagues in my department at UNM for being so incredibly supportive throughout this whole process. We are so lucky to have each other as friends, colleagues and distractions!
