It's out!

Just sent/gave my dissertation to my committee!  I only had to print one copy, as the other two committee members are out of town they got electronic copies.  I really should have taken a photo before handing off the printed copy.  It's just so pretty. :)

The Queen shocked me and actually read a second chapter!  Though why on earth she'd pick the two most boring chapters to read is beyond me (Intro/Background/Significance and Experimental)... Anyway, it's gone to my committee with my advisor's revisions on two chapters!  I think that might give me some sort of group record for highest % of dissertation read.  My labmate who's traveling with her now says she's actually reading another chapter, too.  Astonishing.

Helpful

The day my dissertation is technically supposed to go to my committee is a good day for my advisor to start reading it, right?  Helpful?  No.  Not so much.

This morning I was more than irritated to discover the only thing she had read over an entire weekend of travel was the 350 word abstract that she's already read.  And the only comments she made were ones she could have and should have made the first time she read the damn thing.  I got Chapter 1 from her this afternoon.

I decided last week that I was giving my dissertation to my committee on Wednesday regardless of how much she's read or not read or how many corrections I've managed to get through.

As punishment for The Queen aggravating me I decided to work from a printed copy (at her expense of course) of her revisions rather than juggling multiple documents on my screen.  I really should have printed them in color...

Marathon

A couple of weeks ago, as she was in the home stretch of her dissertation, my dissertation date buddy posted the following status on Facebook:

They say getting your PhD is a marathon and not a sprint. What they don't tell you is that writing the dissertation itself is a mini-marathon!

A friend who defended his dissertation last year commented:

The best part is that your dissertation doesn't have to be amazing, or even good - it just has to be finished.  Any by finished, I mean "nothing in mid-sentence."

I think my dissertation is at least a little more complete than "nothing in mid-sentence," but it certainly is heartening to hear from somebody who's survived this already. :)

Abstracts

The abstract was the last thing I wrote for my dissertation.  Each data chapter has an abstract, and then there's one for the dissertation as a whole.  Every time I write an abstract I remember a story Dallas told our first year.

Dallas had a student in his gen chem lab who refused to put his results in the abstract of his lab report.  A scientific abstract is supposed to be a summary of the entire paper/report, including the results and conclusions.  This student knowingly lost points on his lab report every single week because as an English major he refused to "spoil the ending" by giving away his results in the abstract.

Cracks me up every single time I write an abstract.

It's done!

As J mentioned, I finished my dissertation this week!  YAAAAAAYYYYYY!!  I can't tell you what an enormous relief this is.  Sunday afternoon I finished writing my last chapter.  Yesterday I wrote and revised the abstract.  Today I made my labmates' corrections on the last two chapters.  I emailed The Queen this afternoon and told her that all my chapters are in the drop box folder, and reminded her that the deadline to distribute my dissertation to my committee is July 9th (two weeks before my defense).  It's in her court now.  Anybody want to bet that she'll read it?

So I know posting has been sparse, but for good reason.  That dissertation HAD to get done, and the past six weeks or so have been utterly insane even aside from the dissertation writing.

The "normal" post I wrote was about that awesome chocolate cake (that Grandpa is still raving about, no joke) just after everybody came out for commencement.  Around that weekend I did a series of phone interviews with the company looking for "tactful assertive interpersonal skills."  Then less than a week after everybody left Tucson, I flew home for Little Sister's high school graduation.  That was a Friday.  At 5:45 am on Monday I flew to Vancouver for another ASMS.  During the conference I spent a lot of time chatting with the NJ post doc guy, and did a face-to-face interview for a government post doc.  Again on Friday I flew back to Tucson, only to leave four days later for an on-site interview in Delaware with the people I did phone interviews with earlier in the month.  That was a one night travel nightmare of a trip.   Immediately after the interview trip "pre-wedding combat" began, followed by E & J's wedding.  After the wedding I did a phone interview with another company, and then Friday of that week I got an offer from the DE interview. Phew.

I will blog about all of these things in near future.  I've certainly still got work to do while I wait for edits (that I don't think are coming) from The Queen, but it shouldn't be so all-consuming.

J's account of my life for the past month

Because I haven't been able to blog often enough to satisfy him, J (of E & J) has decided to step in and write a post for me.  Yes, he calls me Annie.  Here's his account of the past month of my life [with a wee bit of my own commentary thrown in]:

I am an avid reader of Annie’s life in a lab coat blog.  I am sure that her other readers are experiencing the same angst as I am, wondering what she is up to.  The following is my account of the happenings since her last irregular blog post.

1.       Lil sis graduated from High School.  This is a momentous occasion.  She is a smart and at times goofy young lady.  I think back to the mix of emotions that I experienced when I graduated from high school.  I was overjoyed to be done with a 12 year educational endeavor and anxious for the post secondary hurdle ahead a.k.a. college.  Lil sis was accepted to a good school and even got a scholarship!

2.       E. had her bachelorette party in Sonoita, AZ, in Arizona wine country.  The party of ladies took several tours of various wineries and handed out cookies to several of the operators who gave unscheduled tours of their operation.  Side bar: I am jealous of this trip as it is on my Tucson bucket list and I have yet to go but, E. had a good time and that is all that matters, ever. [Isn't J a great husband?]

3.       Anne went on several job interviews [actually just one on-site interview, plus a few phone interviews, and a couple face-to-face interviews at the conference last month] for post graduation aka the real world with a real job.  This should not be confused with some no-talent hollow a-holes who end up on MTV drinking too much and in general sucking at life.  She had the trip from layover hell.  To keep it short and sweet, she was supposed to get in at a reasonable time and have dinner with the infamous C. [aka Boyfriend] but, Murphy’s Law and the airlines [and the weather] took over and killed that dream.  She finally, after many hours of waiting, landed at 0000 (midnight for you non-24 clock people [--> E]) and made it to her interview at 0700 tired but there in person. 

4.       J & E FINALLY got married after ~6.5 years of dating!  Anne was the MOH and gave a great toast. The back story:  The wedding was on 6/2/12.  Annie returned from her interview and entered pre- wedding combat.  E. decided to make her own wedding and grooms cakes.  So, beginning on Thursday, she worked for two days baking cakes, making marzipan fruit, crumb frosted, frosted, decorated the cake, and flowers.   She did this side by side with E’s mom who is high strung [no comment].  Being my M.I.L., I will make no further comment.  I cannot express my level of thanks for her help.  The cakes were delicious and looked awesome.  Annie is a truly talented baker and any man lucky enough to have her in his life will eat well.  C. take note. [Yes. Boyfriend, take note.] Pictures to follow.

5.       Annie was offered a post doc position that is affiliated with one of the premier medical institutions [located at one of said institutions, I'll actually be employed by an instrument company] in the country.  Last I heard this was where she was going to accept as a job.  It is a bitter sweet event.  On the one hand it is nice to graduate and get the hell out of grad school.  On the other it is sad as she will be leaving a group of great friends and a town that she has come to love and hate.  I can only wish her the best of luck.  I know that she is a great chemist and will flourish at anything she takes on. 

6.       The dissertation is for all practical purposes done, yay!  [YAY!!!!]  I know this has been a looming cloud for a few months but, it is in the final stages of done and should be finished very very shortly.  Annie and I discussed her monumental achievement this evening; I was informed that she was celebrating with ice cream.  For those of you curious souls: Ben and Jerry’s Half Baked.

I am sure that I left some things out but, this should give you some much needed Annie news.

Thank you for reading this somewhat rambling post and have a good morning/afternoon/evening.

~J. of J & E

We interrupt this irregularly scheduled inactivity...

...to point out that the problem with going to a cafe to write by myself arises when I inevitably need to pee.  I can only hold it so long, and I become increasingly unproductive the more I need to pee.  Time to trust a random stranger to keep an eye on my laptop while I run to the restroom.

Ok, time to resume this prolonged period of inactivity until I emerge from the writing cave.  When I do I will have plenty to say.  Even aside from the craziness of finishing a dissertation life's been crazy for the past several weeks.

Dragging

The week hasn't even technically started and my feet are already dragging.  It's Sunday, I've been in lab for 10 hours, and I'm really not at all close to done with this dumb experiment...  So tired.  Where I was freaking out a couple weeks ago, now I'm just super tired.  Tired because I've been working all day, and even more tired thinking about the next four weeks.  It's going to be a giant blur of poster making, dissertation writing, my graduation, more poster making and dissertation writing, my dad's birthday, my sister's graduation, a conference, job hunting, more dissertation writing, dress fittings, bachelorette party, more dissertation writing, wedding cake making, and wedding.  When all that is done, I'll have about one more week to finish my dissertation.

This experiment took a while to get going, then was going ok, and then my capillary ran dry, so I refilled it, and of course the charge state I'd been working with is gone.  And then I couldn't get protein to spray to save my life.  GAH.  While I'm sitting here waiting on spectra I feel like I should be writing or doing something useful, but I'm just too tired.  I did revisions on a chapter earlier, and opened a new document for the next chapter I've got to write.  But I just can't do it anymore.  I almost wish these were hour long spectra rather than 10 minute spectra so I could nap.

Sleepless Ramblings

I can't sleep. It's quarter past 3 and I've been wide awake for the past hour and a half.

Aside from the predicted high of only 80 on Thursday, summer has hit in Tucson. We had a record high of 101 on Sunday. Overnight lows are in the 60s, so I suppose at least we're not to the worst of it when it stops cooling off overnight (lows in the 80s, which is still insane to think about after 5 years). But it's mid April, so the swamp cooler isn't on for the summer yet, I'm cold without my sheet, but hot with it, and not yet reacclimated to sleeping with a fan on me.

I've been dieting for the past 2 1/2 months with the help of an app on my iPad. It's actually been going quite well, except Saturday I got fit for my bridesmaid's dress for E's wedding in June, so I can't lose anymore weight before then of the dress won't stay up (the tailor is already taking it in 2+ inches on both sides...whoops...). So I switched the app settings to maintain my current weight, and after working out this morning and playing softball tonight I finished today 775 calories under "goal." After really not eating particularly healthy or skimpy today. I don't want to not work out between now and the wedding because that isn't healthy either and I don't want to lose all my muscle! This is going to take some getting used to... 

The anxiety in the office surrounding the move seems to have at least temporarily calmed as people are over the shock and looking into their various options, but my anxiety just seems to be getting worse. I'm getting more and more worried about my last experiments not working and not having enough (good) data to put on my poster for ASMS or the last chapter of my dissertation. ASMS is going to be a huge time suck between now and May 25th. I kind of wish I weren't going, but I argued my way into going because I was worried I wouldn't have a job by then and then I worked hard to gather more than enough outside travel funding, and got a poster abstract accepted and then had to convince the organizers to reschedule it for another day when it conflicted with Little Sister's high school graduation. So I have to go, and yes this means I'm taking the 5 am flight from Boston to Vancouver the day after graduation.

The whole not having a job yet thing is also a major source of anxiety. There's a potential post doc in northern NJ that looks promising - they've submitted an internal proposal for the project and if they get funded (they think their odds are good) I will have an offer. But the project would be a collaboration with The Queen, and the more the move situation unfolds the more I want to just cut ties and move on completely, and the outskirts of NYC/Newark is really pretty high on my list of places I've never wanted to live. I found a post doc opening actually in Lancaster last week that I am unbelievably perfectly qualified for and obviously applied right away, but I'm nervous I won't hear anything at all back from them (like most of the other jobs I've applied for) or that the salary will be garbage or that it will be another case of a company trying to save themselves $30k by listing a "real" PhD-level job as a post doc (yet another thing I've discovered I have to be wary of when looking at job postings). But speaking of "real job" vs post doc, I'd much rather have a real job than a post doc, but very few people seem to be hiring new grads and most want proteomics expereience, which I don't have and really hate anyways.

Then there's this weird pain in the lower right corner of my mouth. If it's actually something real I'm sure it would be super expensive to fix, and surprise surprise, the student health plan doesn't include dental coverage, and the thought of thousand(s) of dollars of dental expenses when I'm trying to save for a cross-country move and potential unemployment makes me nauseous. Not to mention I HATE the dental practice I've been going to and don't remotely trust 95% of what they tell me. And dental work = through the roof anxiety. Just listening to somebody in the next room getting a filling sets me on edge. I leave every dentist visit drenched in sweat and with achy back and shoulders from clenching my muscles so hard. God I hope my wisdom teeth haven't finally decided to make their presence known.

I'm terrified that between ASMS, mine and Little Sister's graduation schenanigans, and E's wedding (crap, have to figure out bachelorette stuff still) that I'll never finish my dissertation in time. Our group admin is trying to schedule my final seminar and defense for some time in July, because The Queen leaves in early August and I'm not sure I can be done any sooner, but The Queen is going to be out of town for like half of July (and who knows about the rest of my committee members...). On top of worrying that I won't finish in time, my best guess at the moment is that my dissertation will be about 200 pages, which looking at past dissertations out of my group seems inadequate. A friend commented today that she's at 236 pages and not even close to done. I keep telling myself that nobody wants to read even 200 pages of dissertation, never mind 300+ pages, but 200 pages just doesn't seem like it could possibly be representative of 5 years of grad school misery. And I'm quite sure I'd cry on the spot if they told me at my defense that it wasn't going to cut it (never mind that I'm not at all convinced that anybody - including The Queen - will read it and I've never heard of anybody failing their defense here, and my committee seemed satisfied at my 6 month meeting in December).

Great. Now it's 4. You can probably why see I'm having a hard time sleeping. Tomorrow/today is going to be a mess.

Wine vs Whine

I have to say, dissertation writing at home, with a glass (or two) of wine, is SO much better than dissertation writing in my office, surrounded by annoying, crazy, and or extremely stressed out people.  Not that their anxiety isn't currently warranted, but still.  It rubs off, and makes me anxious and less productive.  I've written 5 pages already today, and it's only 2 pm.  (While that may not sound like a lot, anybody who's written or currently writing a dissertation knows that it is!)

P.S. My classmate who came over to write, just asked me if "hydrogenator" is a word.  If it's not, it definitely should be.

Freak Luck

Ok, Techies of the World, help a tech-clueless girl out.  Last fall I won an iPad for filling out a survey at a users' meeting I attended at ASMS in June.  I wasn't convinced right away, but now I really like having it, and I'm sure I'll love it all the more when this God-awful dissertation is done and I can stop traveling with my 238956 lb laptop, external hard drive, stacks of papers and spectra, and lab notebook.

This afternoon I won a Kindle Fire just by chatting up some instrument reps at a meeting to get my name in the drawing.  Now what though?  Is there any reason to have the Kindle if I already have (and like) the iPad?  I can buy books and such to read on my iPad, though I'm under the impression that through the Kindle I could "borrow books" from my local library?  Frankly though, I like book books.  While I appreciate that digital reading means less to carry with me when I travel, I haven't used my iPad to read, and I still carry a book or two with me when I travel.  It's not like I exactly have a ton of time for leisure reading these days, but that's also something I hope will change if I ever manage to graduate.

Anyways, is there any reason I should keep the Kindle if I already have an iPad?  Any perks I don't know about?  Not gonna lie...I'm leaning towards selling it at the moment...

Pulling Teeth

Dissertation writing is hard.  It's a ton of material to organize into a coherent, well-written document.  What might be even harder though?  Getting people to read the damn thing.

My advisor has a policy that she should never be the first person to read anything.  Everything - paper drafts, dissertation chapters, posters for conferences - should be at least proof-read by another labmate before she reads it.  Fair enough, I get it, she's busy, the silly and obvious stuff, especially grammar, should be caught and fixed before it gets to her.  I've certainly done my share of reading for other people.  I also realize that my labmates have plenty of other things to do besides read drafts of my dissertation, but what is a reasonable time frame for this?  A week?  Two weeks?  Longer?

I gave two of my labmates a chapter 5 weeks ago and I haven't had any feedback from them yet.  In one labmate's defense, she explicitly asked if I was in a rush for it and said she had to get a draft of her own paper to her other advisor first.  Fair enough, but how long did she have in mind before being able to get to it?  A month?  Two months?  (Literally, this shouldn't take more than an hour, maybe 2 of their time.  It's 24 pages double spaced, 2 1/2 of which are references, and there are lots of figures.)  The other labmate has mentioned the chapter to me once or twice, but never more than, "Oh, I still have to do that..."  Gah.  If you're not going to read it please just tell me so I can give it to somebody else!  (Though frankly, I gave it to you for a reason, and other people will get certain other chapters for specific reasons as well.)

Now the question is, do I pester them, or give up and just go ahead and give the chapter to somebody else?  (Whom I'd now need to read multiple chapters...)

And if it's this hard to get my labmates to read things for me, how long is it going to take to get The Queen to read my dissertation?  My dissertation has to go to my committee 2 weeks before my defense (which is currently unscheduled), presumably The Queen also needs 2 weeks.  But frankly, hoping for your advisor to read anything within two weeks is like waiting for pigs to fly.  It never happens.  Bottom line?  I'm never going to graduate...

Cafe Reviews for the Dissertation Writer, Volume 8

Bar Edition!

Friday afternoon Dallas and I headed to 1702 for some dissertation writing for me and paper revisions for him.  Surely I can work just as productively with a beer in hand as a cup of tea right?  Turns out I totally can.  I got at least as much done, if not more, that afternoon than I usually do during a dissertation date.

Pros:

• There are lots of tables, and as long as you don't arrive during a meal rush, there are plenty of tables.
• They have totally delicious pizza and about a zillion beer options, including beers that this non-beer-fan enjoys.
• It's within walking distance of our offices, and a somewhat long walk from home.
• Free wifi

Cons:

• Timing is everything.  You're going to have a hard time if you arrive during the lunch rush.  We got there shortly after 11 (kinda early for lunch), started with a beer, ordered lunch later, and worked all afternoon.
• There aren't that many outlets, and none near the tables by the windows.
• The place is pretty loud when it gets full.
• When we go to a cafe I get a cup of tea or a chai latte - neither of which is particularly unhealthy.  However my waistline can't support a slice of pizza and a couple pints of beer all that often...

I enjoyed this dissertation date very much.  I'm quite sure this will be a quasi-regular thing.

Cafe Reviews for the Dissertation Writer, Volume 7

Last week Tiff and I tried Shot in the Dark Cafe, which is in downtown Tucson.  In short, there was one deal breaker which trumps all the good things about this cafe - we both left reeking of cigarette smoke.  The cafe part we were in was non-smoking, but the closed off adjoining room (which I think was more bar-like in character) allowed smoking, and the smell permeated the whole place despite the separation.  Anyways, here's the list:

Pros

• The cafe is open 24/7!  Coffee XChange is the only other cafe we've found open 24 hours, and sadly, we're not particularly likely to go back there (though far more likely to go back there than to Shot in the Dark!).  While I'm generally not a night owl, and midnight is usually plenty late for me, I really like that if I get on a roll, there's no reason to stop!  This actually came in really handy as it took me til about 12:30 to finish the section that I was determined to finish that night.
• They had lots of food, like legit meal-food, not just drinks and snacks.  Tiff had a sandwich that looked pretty tasty.
• They use real dishes - I had a chai latte in a beer stein. :)
• Free wifi
• The place was mostly empty!  Weird conversations are probably one of the most distracting things about working in public (or in the office haha), but no worries about that here.

Cons

• The cafe is downtown, which means it can be hard to find parking and you may have to park a couple blocks away.
• While the cafe is technically within walking distance (I run by it regularly in fact), but I don't want to make that walk home in the middle of the night by myself.
• Tiff's labmate who was also working with us reported that the bathroom was pretty gross.  I held it til I got home. :(
• Finally, the smell of cigarette smoke from next door!  ICK!  Get better ventilation people!  For this one reason I won't be back.

The place we're trying this week looks pretty good...including their dessert menu. :)  Let's hope it's an improvement otherwise, too.

Dear Dissertation,

Go write yourself.

Anne

Why Dissertation Writing is SO MUCH BETTER than Paper Writing

Let me count the ways!

1. There's no word, space, character, or figure limit!!  I can take up as much space as I need or want to prove my point.
2. Figures can be as big as I want them to be!  A full page if that's what makes it easily viewed!  There's no cramming what works best as 6 figures into Figure 1a-c.  No squishing what I'd normally fill an entire power point slide with into 2 inches by 3 inches.
3. No selectively referencing or citing the review articles in order not to take up precious space on references.  I can include as many references as I see fit!
4. Similarly, there are no reviewers to be offended that I didn't include their obscure, only sorta related paper!  My dissertation will be read by my advisor and a handful of other faculty from my department - not other scientists who also work in my field, very narrowly defined.  I'm sure my committee will have comments, some of which will be things to add, but they're unlikely to be references, and they're not going to be put out by the omission.  (Sidenote, "put out" is a great expression.)
5. I am the sole author.  No waiting for a collaborator to write something, no trying to merge pieces written by multiple people into a fluid document, no trying to figure out how to tell one coherent story with data from like 5 different people!
6. When I finish a chapter, rather than being particularly excited to go celebrate (remember, just about everything is worthy of a beer in grad school!), I'm super motivated to open a new Word document and crank out another chapter RIGHT NOW.  This may sound really weird, but one of my former labmates actually assured me this was quite normal.  And I'm sure that when I finish the last chapter draft and/or the whole thing that there will be much celebrating.  When I finish a draft of a paper (not to mention throughout the entire process) I just want to shoot myself.
7. The margins and formatting requirements set forth by the graduate college (1.5" margins on 2 of 4 sides, double spaced, 12 pt font) are so ridiculously spacious that you can feel like you've got a ton done in no time flat!  Seriously, I just opened a new document to start another chapter, set up the formatting, inserted the section headings, figures, and captions (that I had to have done for my 6 month meeting), and BOOM!  I've got seven pages already!  (Sidenote, no wonder these things wind up being 300+ pages so often.)

Yeah, there are days when dissertation writing is painfully boring and tedious.  And there are definitely days I don't want to do it.  But yeah, you're going to have a hard time convincing me that dissertation writing isn't WAY better than paper writing.

Cafe Reviews for the Dissertation Writer, Volume 6

Last night Tiff and I tried Ike's for a dissertation date - unlike everything else we've tried, it isn't particularly close to either school or home for either of us, but while I like being able to walk places, this wasn't really a downside.

Pros

• They had a big menu - lots of different kinds of drinks, AND actual food.  Since I didn't have a chance to get dinner beforehand this was much appreciated.  They didn't have much for sweets or pastries by that time of day, but that's probably better for me anyways.
• Reasonably priced.  I got soup for $3-something that was plenty of food for dinner.
• Free wifi
• It was quiet and not too crowded, and there were plenty of tables.  I think being a couple miles from campus had a lot to do with this.
• Open til 12.  I can rarely make it past midnight, but I can make it to at least 10 or 11 and I want a place that will be open at least as long as I can keep getting stuff done.

Cons

• It was kinda cold.  I eventually adjusted, but I considered keeping my coat on after I got there.
• Not walking distance of campus or home for either of us, though that alone wouldn't deter me from going back.
• The music kind of all over the place - on/off/loud/soft/changing in the middle of songs...It could be distracting.
• You have to go outside and around the corner to the bathroom!  There's no bathroom actually IN the cafe!  wtf!?

Despite the pros, and probably a lot to do with the distracting music and the weird bathroom situation my take-home impression of Ike's was pretty meh.

In not-so-meh news, I finished a chapter today!  Woohoo!  And in kind-of-meh news, only 6 more to go!

Cafe Reviews for the Dissertation Writer, Volume 5

Last week Tiff and I tried Coffee XChange, the cafe we wanted to try the night we wound up at the terrible Cartel instead.  Here's the break down:

Pros:

• Open 24 hours.  The late night options in Tucson are pretty few.  So far I think I've only found Epic Cafe that's open til midnight, though I think Caffe Luce might be too.  I appreciate the late night hours, even though I probably would only very, very rarely (or with a very, very tight deadline) make it past midnight.
• The place is big - by far the biggest place we've worked, with lots of tables.
• They've got a pretty big menu, with several actual food options, not just sweets and pastries.
• Free wifi
• It's a local business, and was actually started by a U of A alum.

Cons:

• By far the biggest downside of this place is that it's almost always PACKED, which is why we wound up at Cafe Disaster last time.  I'm quite sure the only reason we got a table tonight is because the semester hadn't started yet.  Any time during the semester it's over flowing with undergrads.
• Tiff was looking for a caffeine free, non-coffee items since she's been having trouble sleeping lately, but the only options were hot chocolate and a weird blended drink that turned out to be a blend of ice, water, milk, and vanilla powder that doesn't completely dissolve.  Ick.

Even thought the "con" list is pretty short, my reaction to Coffee XChange was pretty blah.  The place really doesn't have any personality or charm.  The low probability of finding a table to work at is a huge deterrent, and even the few undergrads that were there that night were pretty annoying.  While sitting at the next table over from a couple on a very awkward first date is highly entertaining, it's not particularly conducive to working.  Maybe we'll go back over spring break, but otherwise I probably won't be back.  Hopefully our next dissertation date is better.

Merry Christmas!

Dear Santa,

All I'd like for Christmas is a completed dissertation. Hope you and Mrs. Claus are well.

Love,
Anne

I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas and that you and your loved ones are all happy and healthy!

6 months to go! (ish)

I had my six month meeting with my committee this morning.  I think it went well.  They all seemed on board with my plan - that the work I have left can be done in the next semester or so.  The only "concern" they had was whether my timeline factored in how long it takes The Queen to get around to reading things.  (As if she's actually going to read my dissertation... Ha!)

In my department, there is a TON of folklore surrounding the oral exam.  While everybody's oral is a little bit different, if you ask around at all, you can at least get a pretty good idea of the process and order of things.  However, there's essentially ZERO folklore regarding the 6 month meeting.  I was able to get some idea from Tiff and previous grad students, but still had to kind of sit there awkwardly til I had some direction.  While each professor cared more about one thing or another here's what was discussed:

• General overview of my research - My biochem committee members are actually fairly familiar with my research as I've heavily collaborated with them both.  One of my analytical committee members in particular is not terribly familiar with my research (and I suspect she also wants to see how competently you can briefly summarize your research).  So I talked briefly about the bigger picture and broader themes and goals of my dissertation research.
• Chapters - Generally what's in each of them and the major conclusions.
• What's left to do - This is a big one.  I think I've got my dissertation pretty well planned and outlined, but I know there will still be some surprises and gaps once I really get to writing.  One of my committee members really only cared about what work was left to do and was it do-able in the time frame I think.  In my case, I don't have many experiments left that I already know I have to do (although I do have a ton of data analysis left...), and I'm expecting some more experiments to pop up - I discover a hole in my story while writing, or that some spectrum I want to show has kinda crappy S/N etc.
• Publications - How many publications do you have?  How many are you first author on?  What's submitted/impreparation?  What else will or can be published?
• Timeline - When do you think you'll be done?  When do you plan to finish labwork?  When is your final seminar scheduled?  When do you plan to defend?  Do you need to file in time to have your degree posted by May 2012?
• What's next? - The dreaded question I very much hoped to avoid.  I was SO close to escaping without talking about it when one of my committee members asked.  This particular committee member happens to know about the cross-country-boyfriend situation, and I swear she asks ALL THE TIME what I'm doing after graduation, like to the point where it's weird.  But anyways.  I told them I needed a job.  You know, somebody to pay me.  At which point one of my committee members interjected, "Wait!  What is this? An unemployed mass spectrometrist?!  That's unheard of!"  Fortunately my advisor told her I hadn't really started looking, and the snarky committee member kept his mouth shut.  They let it drop and the meeting was over.

Woohoo!  They're gonna let me out!