"Let's get down to business to defeat the" thesis... and those standing in the way of my graduating

There is so much to write about, so much has happened in the last few weeks that I've failed to post on here, the question is, where to begin? I suppose that I should start with the obvious. 

My thesis defense date is less than a week away. Next Monday I will be standing in front of friends, family and the entire Chemistry/Biochemistry department presenting the research I've been conducting over the past several years. Where this is nerve wracking, it isn't as terrifying as the Q&A session that immediately follows. Anything and everything is fair game and sometimes there is nothing you can do but say "I don't know" or "I don't have an answer for that." This, to me, is the worst thing a person can say up there; I mean, in all fairness, I would rather someone admit ignorance than try to proffer an explanation that has no reliable material. I, however, am doing my best to circumvent any potential questions by having more back-up slides with didactic and explanations than I have actual presentation slides. 

I gave a practice talk this last Monday with just my professor listening. It well fairly well; minor corrections and suggestions. She suggested my saying a few things differently, displaying things slightly differently and overall said I had made a huge improvement over the last time I presented it (2 weeks ago). My thesis talk is mostly scripted and memorized, leaving very little time for anything extemporaneous. The talk is supposed to be about 40-45 minutes in length, currently mine is about 47. So I am almost at that mark and I have some more modifications to make...but I'll get there.

Additionally on Monday, my professor gave me another round of revisions of my thesis. These corrections are definitely welcome as I would prefer that my final version is devoid of errors, incorrect information or formatting issues. That being said, she also mentioned to a member of my committee that I have a new version that I'm working on. Apparently said committee member has a lot on their plate and didn't appreciate the fact that I've got a new version of my thesis and have yet to hand it to her. This committee member addressed me yesterday (at a point where I had only been give approximately 24 hrs with this new version) asking for the version in a demanding tone and almost in an accusatory fashion; almost as if she had thought I simply was withholding the newest version out of spite. Having explained the little time I've had with it, she still demanded I hand it to her as soon as possible. I don't appreciate the intonation or the manner in which I was addressed...so...now I'm updating my blog. Score 1 for passive aggressive behavior.

I don't believe I've mentioned previously, but my professor, as a means of a thank you of my service, is sending me to a conference in Italy. Having never left the Americas, I am excited to see what Italy has to offer. I was accepted into the conference and immediately began filing all of the necessary paperwork required by the university for international travel. A daunting and overwhelming experience to say the least, however, it was made easier by discussing this with some of the department staff who guided me through everything. They've been wonderfully supportive and I know I wouldn't have been able to sift through it all without them. 

I'm extending my stay in Italy and my girlfriend is meeting me there. Together, her and I are going to travel for about 2 weeks through several different European countries (with a guided tour group). The whole experience looks like it will be an exciting adventure, exhausting but exciting. I'm glad my adventure buddy will be with me for this. 

Lastly, and most recently, in filing for graduation the university reviews your academic history and sends a summary know as a Degree Audit Report (DAR). Last week I received my DAR and did not look closely at it; however last night I began reading it and saw that one category of my degree had not been fulfilled. Immediately I had to reread the statement and began scanning for an explanation. I searched through out the document and found nothing. I had my parents read it, they too found nothing. Checking the online requirements I found that some of my classes may not have counted. My heart sank and I felt sick. I started recalculating everything trying to see where I've fallen short. In one attempt, I figured that I was about 2 units short. I felt even more ill and began to wonder how, between now and this PhD program, I would be able to fulfill this requirement. Questions like "when would I get this done?", "If you don't get your master's, will the PhD program rescind their offer?" and "how could I've let this happen?" began to fill my head. I spent another hour or so trying to identify what may be preventing my graduation. I finally fell asleep, but awoke this morning remembering the terror of the night before. I got myself into the lab and contacted some personel on campus. Much to my surprise, and my pleasure, it was simply that my "thesis units" have not been assigned a grade. My panic was over nothing and I spent the time worrying needlessly. Anticlimactic, I know, but I finally felt like I could breathe this morning and now can focus, once again on my edits for my thesis.

In less than a week from today...I will have defended my thesis, I will be in the final stages of graduation, and I will let nothing...not even my own procrastination attempts, stand in my way!!!

Onward and upward.

Wish me luck

The Deadlines Approach

This will be a brief post as I really do have very little time lately.
I've been working diligently, the last week or so to make the needed corrections to my thesis; however, due to the large number of distractions present in the lab, I've found that I really am not making the necessary progress. I am hoping to have these done within the next few days as I also have to make quite a few corrections to my slides that will be used for my thesis defense. The defense itself is on the 29th of this month, a day that is rapidly approaching. Further, I am also approaching the point of no return with grad schools. My back-up school now appears, as I've mentioned previously, to be The school I will be attending; while I'm still not sure about being wait listed at the others, I will (in all likelihood) accept my current offer and, should the opportunity arrise to attend a different university, rescind my agreement and attend the other. This option is not one I'm fond of, however, it may be in my best interest.

Currently, I'm highly anxious, pensive and agitated  The number of corrections I have to make are extensive and time consuming. Some require more reading of primary literature while others require I construct figures to add to my paper. This is going to take quite a bit of time.

Wish me luck

Here Comes Crunch Time

The time left until my first rough draft of my thesis is due is quickly coming up and I've still got quite a lot to do. I'm currently holding at the 30 page mark and focussing my attention on reading articles that will be helpful for the introduction. So far, I'm 7 articles in and have about 40+ more to go. The current dead-line is the 11th of this month. So, I figure if I do nothing but read for the next several days and then spend a couple days writing, I could meet that goal. Of course, I still have to write a discussion section and finish off the results area...but those are minor details. The clock is ticking...

This past weekend, rather than working and stressing on my thesis, was spent celebrating my 3 year anniversary with my girlfriend. It was a wonderful get away and was very much needed. We did nothing but relax, have good food and lots of alcohol. I even scheduled us a couple's massage, so that helped with the stress of what was to come. The scenery was lovely and it made for quite a nice anniversary/valentine's day present.

Also, I've scheduled a meeting with my thesis committee for 1 week after my draft is due to my advisor. This is the prelude to a lab meeting I will have just 2 days after this talk (on a completely different subject). The following day (Feb 21st) I leave for my next interview. So, These next few days...things will be very close and the pressure is on.

On top of all of this, my birthday is coming up, as is valentine's day...so I have several evenings that will be spent with family and my girlfriend which means less time on the presentations. That isn't a bad thing, I mean, no one can work 24/7 on science...you'd just go insane. Well...Tesla could, but he was the exception.

I suppose I've procrastinated reading for long enough and I've fulfilled my requirement to myself of writing once a week.

Back again I go.

Someone wish me luck.