Monday, April 23, 2012

At last

Well, I'm back.  Ursula has been awesome writing blogs for the both of us while I've been so busy, and as she mentioned in her last post, I'm now finished writing and defending my dissertation.  The dissertation was one of the most intensive writing assignments I've had in my life, so thanks goodness I wasn't trying to do blog posts on top of that.  As of a couple of days ago, the revisions are complete and submitted, and I'm basically graduated.

This semester has gone by in sort of a whirlwind.  We've both been really busy; for my part, I've been teaching an upper-level course, along with writing up my 80 page dissertation from scratch.  Applying for jobs has also taken up a large amount of time.  In addition, we've wrestled with car issues, computer issues (I'm STILL dealing with those), and all sorts of other things life has decided to throw at us.  Given all of that, it feels like a big victory to have managed to finish my degree this semester.  

While it is an incredible relief to have all of that off of my back, there are still some loose ends to tie up.  The course I'm teaching still runs for another two weeks, and I'm most likely teaching summer school as well.  As for a job for next year, that is still up in the air.  I don't have any offers yet from the first wave of applications (although a few of the decisions are still pending), so I'm starting in on the next round.  It's hard to know where we'll end up; there are several visiting positions around the U.S., as well as some post-doctoral opportunities in Australia, Korea, Belgium, and elsewhere.  

Maybe we'll end up here?

Finishing my degree has put a lot of things into perspective in terms of married life.  I never would have been able to pull it off without Ursula by my side supporting me.  She has also been incredibly patient dealing with me being a perpetual student, and everything that comes with it.  The stress involved with all of this hard work has really let me see how lucky I am to have her.  I hope I make her feel as loved and supported.

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