Highs and Lows

When I was a Resident Assistant way back in undergrad (or a year and a half ago), we would go around the table before our staff meetings and do “highs and lows.” One good thing that happened to you the previous week, and one not-so-good thing. 

I think that’s the best way to sum up my day today.

Low #1: Completely sleeping through my alarm, waking up at 10am, drinking cold/bleh black coffee, having a pounding headache/generally feeling crappy all day.

High #1: Biking to school and being able to fly through nearly every single light. Even the hills seemed like nothing.

Low #2: Having to pay $1 to print one measly little thing in color. (Yay reference letters!)

High #2: (And maybe the ‘highest of the highs’ from today.) I found out that a poster I submitted to my field’s huge annual conference in April got accepted…I also found out that a symposium I’m on (meaning actual speaking presentation) got accepted as well! There are some big name people in my line of research in the symposium, and I’m super, super excited about it.

Low #3: Another poster I was working on with two fellow students for the same conference (that we were/are all really excited about) got rejected. Boo.

High #3: My friend asked me to go on a Starbucks run before our lab meeting. We never go on Starbucks runs before our lab meetings, so this was particularly awesome.

Low #4: Getting about zero work done today. Bah.

High #4: Finding out I should be getting not one, but two late birthday presents this week.

Low #5: Biking home in the cold rain, and then not being able to stuff my bike in my closet like I usually do. Also the subsequent rage-fest I had and snapping at the boyfriend. Ouch.

High #5: I’m just making this one up…maybe I’ll stay up late get a bunch of work done tonight since I slept so much yesterday? Maybe?

Oof. It’s been a long day.

Cauliflower and chickpea stew = a success. Although my eyes hurt a bit from all that onion and garlic. Phew.

I’m going to tell myself that I didn’t actually need to get that much work done today. That’s what the weekdays are for, right? 

Oh god. I’m a grad student. Long weekends stress me out. 

Going for a 5 mile run in the pouring rain on a Sunday afternoon = maybe not my best idea ever.

But it felt good. And I think it was a good way to wrap up my long weekend. A hot shower after I got back and a late lunch was enough to warm me right back up. I’m also drinking a glass of AirBorne (just to make sure I don’t get myself sick!). 

Oh, what a dreary day. 

I’ll be spending the rest of it catching up on the work I didn’t do all weekend, and then making some cauliflower and chickpea stew. (I swear it looks more delicious than it sounds!)

Thankful.

I meant to write this last night, but fell blissfully asleep before I could finish it. But here are some people and things I’m grateful for this year. (And every.single.day.)

My family. If there’s anyone I know I can call at the end of a long, hard day, it’s them. As hard as it was on them to watch me move across the country over a year ago, they’ve supported me every step of the way.

My friends. Both the ones I’ve kept in Michigan, and the ones I’ve found in Oregon. They remind me every day that I’m not alone, and that someone will always have my back. And when I’m not with my family on Thanksgiving, they remind me that I’ll always be able to find “family” to celebrate it with. 

My boyfriend. I find myself grateful on a daily basis for the support he’s given me, his patience when school is making me crazy, and his never-ending ability to make me laugh. 

My intelligence, drive, and the blessing that is my education. The first two have allowed me to make it to graduate school, and I recognize that this is a wonderful opportunity that not everyone is able to receive. Which is exactly why I’m going to make the most of these next few years.

My physical health. It’s allowed me to do amazing things this year—including run my first half marathon and spend two months practicing bikram yoga. 

My financial situation. Yes, I’m a graduate student. Yes, I pretty much live month to month. But somewhere in there, I know that I’ll always have enough to pay the bills at the end of the month, which is more than enough to be grateful for. 

My new apartment. So it’s not really “new” anymore if I’ve been living here for four months, but it’s new and clean and doesn’t have cockroaches or rats. I’m still in love. 

Skype/Google Hangouts/Gchat. Yes, it’s trivial. But these things allow me to keep in touch with people that mean so much and are so far away (see #3). And for that I’m endlessly thankful.

Books. For the pile of unread books I hoarded collected over the summer that I have yet to read (but will get around to!), I am thankful.

My opportunities to travel. I’ve been able to visit my family twice so far this year (three times next month!), have gone to Chicago for a conference, and have gone to Cincinnati on a work trip. I’ve been grateful for each of these trips.

For tea and coffee. Thank you for all of the late nights and hard mornings you’ve gotten me through this year. 

Yes, there are many more things I could list, but for the sake of brevity, I’ll keep it at this. I really should make this a regular thing. 

Awesome Skype Dates with My Man:

Involve us him finding this fun little feature on Google Hangouts:

Yay mustaches! 

(And yes, he was totally warned this was ending up my blog tonight.)

I’m a “Master”…sort of.

This past Friday, I defended my Master’s thesis. I mentioned this event as it got closer a few times here on my blog, though overall I kept pretty quiet about it. I had a ridiculous amount of anxiety about my defense, and I think I was way too hard on myself in terms of the stress I put my body under for it.

Finally, though, Friday afternoon rolled around.

I gave my 20-ish minute presentation on the project I have spent the last six months working away on (which does not count the several months I spent preparing for my initial proposal). One of my committee members was so nice about complimenting my skills as a presenter, going so far as to say, “It’s a really hard thing for a lot of people, but you make it look so easy.” My three committee members asked me several questions about my project—some of which were easy, some of which I hadn’t anticipated, and one or two of which I knew exactly how to answer. Several of my good friends in the program came to support me, which was so wonderful. They asked several good questions as well, and the whole thing ended with a pretty good discussion. I’m going to try to publish work from my thesis, and I even walked away with some new models to test and new ways of looking at my data. 

Then…we were all kicked out of the room so my committee could confer. As I was finishing answering questions just moments before, all I could think to myself was, “This is it? I’ve been killing myself for this? Finally…I realize what the faculty really meant when they said the proposal would be so much harder than the defense.” After waiting several minutes, my adviser finally came out to congratulate me! (Yay!)

So, all of that to say…I passed!

My committee wants me to make a few changes to the final document, all of which are totally do-able. I plan to have my final thesis document turned into the university by the end of the quarter. (In two weeks…yikes!) And to explain the title of this post…usually defending your thesis means you get to say you have a Master’s degree. Well…I still have two quarters of classes to take. (This is a result of being freakishly ahead of schedule with my thesis.) Which means come June, I can put “M.S.” after my name! (And you better believe I’ll be putting it on everything.) 

Thank You, TumblrBuddy!

This past Saturday I celebrated my 23rd birthday. And on Thursday, I opened my door to find a package from my AMAZING tumblr buddy sitting on my doorstep! The package made my day, and included all sorts of fun little things!

Inside I found an awesome card (with a very generous gift card inside!), a bag of my favorite candy bars (I had already nommed on the cookies and cream Hershey’s bar by the time I snapped this picture), two nail polishes, chap stick, gum, a face mask, and some new mascara (how did you know I’ve been avoiding buying new mascara for weeks now?!). 

Tumblr Buddy: You are nailing it. Thank you so, so, so much for your thoughtful, generous, and incredibly kind gift. I appreciate it so much! 

*Your post-it note “A box of things I love, but hate buying” was awesome. I know exactly how you feel!

I am alive.

I promise.

Things have been rough this week. I have so many things on my plate right now, that I feel like I’ve had to fight for any time to prepare for my thesis defense this Friday afternoon…which is obviously huge. I’ve been staying up way too late this week, eating horribly…all things I’ll kick myself for next week. 

But, I shall prevail.

I’m sending out some positive energy tonight, go to bed “early,” and spending tomorrow preparing. And then I’m going to rock my defense. 

And then I will celebrate.

And then maybe next week I’ll get around to posting some actual updates.

Hey love!!! I hope you’re excited about your birthday (which is 5 DAYS AWAY!) I just wanted to give you a heads up that your birthday package may be a day late :( I have to work tonight so I’m going to do my best to get it sent out tomorrow, but since I’m all the way in Georgia, it takes a little while to get things to you…I apologize and I hope you understand! XOXO – Tumblr Buddy

Tumblr Buddy, you are AMAZING. I wasn’t even expecting a birthday package, especially since you just sent me cookies! Thank you so, so, so much. Your thoughtfulness means the world to me. I seriously already can’t wait to find out who you are! 🙂  

Oof.

1 week until I defend my thesis.

1 week + 1 day until I turn 23.