Thursday, February 1, 2007

Pass

A mighty smiley hi and hello to you, February. I successfully defended my comprehensive exams this morning, gathering around with my committee for an hour-and-a-half as we wound our way through the exam answers and associated quandaries. About those associated quandaries: holy smokes. I started to wonder if the climate controls for the much-trafficked Gilyard Seminar Room (where it all happens) were accidentally bumped to 80-degrees, because, for more than a few minutes, phew. Can I simply explain it that way? Phew. To stay focused and to humor myself regarding focus, I brought in one of those pinkish kiwi-something A-lutein Vitamin Waters, the kind with "focus" on its label. But during one stretch I must've forgotten to take a sip because I might have approached a record for the longest answer-avoiding utterance (I'm still talking?) in the history of oral defenses.

While the successful completion of qualifying exams might, in itself, be enough to give a satisfying lift on any other day, today's not just any other day. It's also Is.'s 6 Mos.-Day. Almost grown! On top of that, Ph., who is battling the flu, stayed home from school on my insistence (It's the flu, kid; take a day). This meant we were able to stop in at Erawan for Gai Pad Kra Pow (I'm hooked on the sweet basil) and then run by the shopping mall to spend a few dollars from the generous and ever-surprising Future Professoriate Program funds disbursed late each January to participants.

So I guess that's it. Tomorrow, onward with the diss. prospectus toward a goal of proposing and defending it before April is up. Also, I've been thinking that rather than updating Exam Sitting to Exams Sat, I'd give the exam notes blog a new moniker, convert the old keywords into MT tags, and rejuvenate some of the note posting rhythms that worked so well for me throughout the fall. That's my plan, anyway.

Posted by Derek Mueller at February 1, 2007 6:00 PM to Qualifying Exams