This Is Nothing

Insane Graduate School Edition

5/21/2009

Right now is a strange time. I usually say it’s a crazy time, but I think strange, and maybe wonderful covers it better. Andy’s defending his thesis this coming Tuesday, and I’ve managed to wrestle together a rough draft of my paper whilst chugging away on remaining research for it. It’s the kind of time where it mostly seems best to keep your eyes on the ground and keep stepping forward, because the big picture is almost too big. You spend so many years imagining the thesis defense, and suddenly his is here! It’s one of those events that reminds you how much time has passed and how distant this time used to seem.

It’s strange to think about only one of us being in graduate school. We’ve stayed parallel up until now. It’s the end of one phase and the beginning of another, and I guess I could be terrified about such change but I’m feeling calm and ready. That’s part of what I think has made this time strange is that feel like I can handle things. Like my tires are finally gripping the road. Even though I’m not even the one graduating. Maybe it’s that I’ve seen Andy go through it and seen that it’s difficult but not impossible. I can do that. I can write my papers and my thesis and graduate. Hmm. I didn’t really even come to that conclusion until I typed this entry.

In summary, it’s a strange time and I’m diggin’ it. It’s nearly summer here in Madison, and the undergrads have gone home. Bethany and I are running the Couch to 5K program and we’re on week 4 and it’s not killin’ me. I’ve almost finished my first big crochet project: a throw blanket. We’ve caught 3 mice in our apartment in the last month, and had a bat show up during a seminar. I’ve got nothing to complain about, and plenty to do. Now it’s time for the summer to fly by!

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