Miscellaneous Graduation-Related Good News and a Cupcake

I had a meeting yesterday with The Queen, and she gave me the green light to schedule my 6 month meeting!  Woohoo!  My outline is done, and I have a list of all the figures I think I need, so it's time to get going on those figures.  She also ok'd the rearrangements I wanted for my committee - including replacing one of my originals, and keeping another of my originals even though she's moved to another university.

The new committee member I wanted agreed to do it, and should be available the week my out-of-town committee member will conveniently be in town.  So it's looking like this meeting will be sometime the week of December 12th.

A while back I asked my advisor if she minded if I did some of my dissertation writing remotely.  Remotely as in at Boyfriend's place in Pennsylvania.  She was pretty busy at the time, but her response was really quite snippy and non-positive, despite saying that was fine.  She instantly drew comparisons to a completely and utterly different situation that really weren't fair, and frankly a bit insulting.  Other labmates in far more similar situations have done what I have in mind with success and complete approval.  But whatever, I made plans to write from PA after both Thanksgiving and Christmas anyways (may as well combine trips east).  Yesterday during our meeting The Queen said (much more kindly and politely) that she really is ok with me writing from Pennsylvania, she's just feeling rather empty-nest-ish about my leaving.  For real, her term, not mine.  Funny, no?  I can certainly understand the sentiment though - there aren't exactly a plethora of capable and competent junior students.  She also said that another analytical faculty member, completely unsolicited, asked her what she was going to do when I left.  Surprising, but also pretty darn nice.

Several weeks ago E and I baked cookies for a friend's second year seminar (the first good one of the year! but that's a story for another time).  As Dallas' advisor was taking cookies, she asked, "What are we going to eat when you two leave??"  Another analytical prof said, "What?!  They're leaving?!"  I told Dallas' advisor not to worry, that it would be an opportunity for a division-wide diet.

Speaking of baked goods, yesterday was my labmate/officemate's birthday, so for the occasion I made these Toffee Crunch Cupcakes from Annie's Eats.  They're divine.

I'm off!  Headed to the east coast tomorrow for the next week!  Woohoo!  Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!