I can't believe that Christmas is this Saturday! What happened to 2010? I feel very underprepared for the holidays this year. Typically, I don't do much shopping until I make it back to Michigan to visit my family. This year is no different, but I would normally already be back in the states at this time, and I don't actually fly out until the 21st this year. I guess I'll be part of the mad dash to buy presents at the last minute. Really, though, I can't get terribly worked up about the commercial aspects of Christmas, because that's not really what it's supposed to be about.
Last year was not a good Christmas for me. E and I were going through a really rough period relationship-wise. We chose to drive to MI, which is a pretty stressful 2 day trip no matter what the circumstances are. The trip was ok, mostly because E and I never really stopped being best friends regardless of what was going on with our romantic relationship. The family part of Christmas, however, was TERRIBLE. How do you answer questions about your life when you are unhappy and unsure about the future?
Without spilling a bunch of relationship details that aren't completely mine to divulge, E and I obviously worked things out. Frankly, E has always known what he doesn't want in life. I spent the first 7 years of our relationship hoping that he would change his mind and want the things that I want. It took me about 6 months of turmoil before I realized that I couldn't be happy without E, regardless of the finer distinctions of our relationship. And now, I am happy not because I've gotten what I want, but because I want what I have. Not to mention that I am also thankful for all the good things in my life other than E.
This Christmas promises to be much better than the last.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
How it feels to be a PhD candidate
In a word: FANTASTIC!
Although everyone tried to assure me otherwise, I was really convinced up until my oral comprehensive examination started that it was still possible for me to fail. After the third of my six committee members told me that I did a great job answering his question, I think I realized that it was really going to happen. In the end, every single one of my committee members let me know that I had done a good job answering their questions. None of them really asked me any questions that I didn't know the answers to or tried to trip me up. The whole process was actually quite painless.
Now that the business of comprehensive exams is behind me, I feel like I may actually finish this degree. Granted I have A LOT to do before I can defend my dissertation, but the only thing standing between me and being a Doctor of Philosophy is lab work and writing.
Although everyone tried to assure me otherwise, I was really convinced up until my oral comprehensive examination started that it was still possible for me to fail. After the third of my six committee members told me that I did a great job answering his question, I think I realized that it was really going to happen. In the end, every single one of my committee members let me know that I had done a good job answering their questions. None of them really asked me any questions that I didn't know the answers to or tried to trip me up. The whole process was actually quite painless.
Now that the business of comprehensive exams is behind me, I feel like I may actually finish this degree. Granted I have A LOT to do before I can defend my dissertation, but the only thing standing between me and being a Doctor of Philosophy is lab work and writing.
Friday, December 10, 2010
A Story About My Comprehensives...and some other stuff
Well, I handed in my written comps almost two weeks ago. Don't ask me what I've been doing since then that kept me from blogging, because I have basically been wasting time in a rather unfortunate way. Aside from having 2 wisdom teeth extracted and spending one day cross-country skiing, I have accomplished absolutely nothing lately. Not even work. Not even a little.
The whole wisdom teeth deal really wasn't as terrible as I thought it was going to be. I didn't want to go the whole go to sleep and have all 4 removed route, so I just had the two on the left side of my mouth extracted. While I was awake. With only local anesthesia. It sounds terrible, but it was actually not bad at all. The worst part of the whole thing was when the dentist walked into the room, and I saw that he was about 24 years old. But he was really good. And also cute.
I do have to go back to have the other 2 wisdom teeth pulled at some point. I am definitely going to have it done since my bottom wisdom teeth are/were both partially covered by my gums at the back of my mouth. This led to a GIANT cavity in the bottom wisdom tooth that was already removed, and will probably do the same in the remaining one. Since I actually have great dental coverage right now as E's common-law spouse, it's the time to do it.
By the way, I have had $1700 worth of dental work done in the last couple of months. The last 2 wisdom teeth will be another $600. Dentistry isn't actually covered by Canada's universal health care system, so I'm very lucky that E works for an employer that carries a generous supplemental package. (Plus, we can get free massage therapy!!!)
Last Sunday, E and I took the two German students that are currently visiting our lab to Prince Albert to go cross-country skiing for the day at Little Red River Park. I am going to try to download our pictures and write a little essay about that to post here this weekend.
Currently, I'm not actually sure how I did on my comps. My committee did agree to schedule my oral exams (this is a good sign), but they don't actually have to return my scores until Monday of next week. Since the exam is pass/fail, it's unlikely that I'll ever know exactly how I did, but I do have to score at least a 70% on every question to even qualify for the orals. I guess the committee members were pretty sure I would pass the writtens (hence, orals were scheduled), but it's not a done deal yet!
I did get a little comprehensive-related surprise today though.
One of my committee members was assigned a question with the (fairly broad) topic of mechanism of action. He asked me a question about metals and how they interact with the aquatic environment and with fish. This is NOT my area of study at all, but I figured that it was a fair enough question. Comps are supposed to evaluate your general knowledge of toxicology after all.
So, this prof stopped me in the hallway today and asked whether I thought his question was a little strange. I told him that it wasn't really in my area of expertise, but that it was definitely a mechanistic question so I just went with it. Well, it turns out that he had written that question for a different student that does work with metals, and the administrative assistant that compiled my questions accidentally used that one instead of the one written for me. So, I answered a question from someone else's comprehensive exam!!!
The good news is that I apparently did a good job answering said question. Comparable to the answer of the student that actually studies that stuff. (I'm not sure whether this means I'm smart or he's in trouble.) The even better news is that the prof told me the question he was going to ask me so that I can study up on it and talk about it for my orals. And we're just going to forget about talking about metals.
So, I'll be studying up on sex determination in amphibians for my oral comprehensive exams. By the way, my orals are scheduled for next Thursday. Wish me luck!
The whole wisdom teeth deal really wasn't as terrible as I thought it was going to be. I didn't want to go the whole go to sleep and have all 4 removed route, so I just had the two on the left side of my mouth extracted. While I was awake. With only local anesthesia. It sounds terrible, but it was actually not bad at all. The worst part of the whole thing was when the dentist walked into the room, and I saw that he was about 24 years old. But he was really good. And also cute.
I do have to go back to have the other 2 wisdom teeth pulled at some point. I am definitely going to have it done since my bottom wisdom teeth are/were both partially covered by my gums at the back of my mouth. This led to a GIANT cavity in the bottom wisdom tooth that was already removed, and will probably do the same in the remaining one. Since I actually have great dental coverage right now as E's common-law spouse, it's the time to do it.
By the way, I have had $1700 worth of dental work done in the last couple of months. The last 2 wisdom teeth will be another $600. Dentistry isn't actually covered by Canada's universal health care system, so I'm very lucky that E works for an employer that carries a generous supplemental package. (Plus, we can get free massage therapy!!!)
Last Sunday, E and I took the two German students that are currently visiting our lab to Prince Albert to go cross-country skiing for the day at Little Red River Park. I am going to try to download our pictures and write a little essay about that to post here this weekend.
Currently, I'm not actually sure how I did on my comps. My committee did agree to schedule my oral exams (this is a good sign), but they don't actually have to return my scores until Monday of next week. Since the exam is pass/fail, it's unlikely that I'll ever know exactly how I did, but I do have to score at least a 70% on every question to even qualify for the orals. I guess the committee members were pretty sure I would pass the writtens (hence, orals were scheduled), but it's not a done deal yet!
I did get a little comprehensive-related surprise today though.
One of my committee members was assigned a question with the (fairly broad) topic of mechanism of action. He asked me a question about metals and how they interact with the aquatic environment and with fish. This is NOT my area of study at all, but I figured that it was a fair enough question. Comps are supposed to evaluate your general knowledge of toxicology after all.
So, this prof stopped me in the hallway today and asked whether I thought his question was a little strange. I told him that it wasn't really in my area of expertise, but that it was definitely a mechanistic question so I just went with it. Well, it turns out that he had written that question for a different student that does work with metals, and the administrative assistant that compiled my questions accidentally used that one instead of the one written for me. So, I answered a question from someone else's comprehensive exam!!!
The good news is that I apparently did a good job answering said question. Comparable to the answer of the student that actually studies that stuff. (I'm not sure whether this means I'm smart or he's in trouble.) The even better news is that the prof told me the question he was going to ask me so that I can study up on it and talk about it for my orals. And we're just going to forget about talking about metals.
So, I'll be studying up on sex determination in amphibians for my oral comprehensive exams. By the way, my orals are scheduled for next Thursday. Wish me luck!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Things I Am Thankful For - Comprehensives Edition
I'm in the middle of writing my comprehensive exams for my PhD program. Comps are scary, stressful, and time-consuming. To finish, you live, eat, breath, and sleep comps for 2 full weeks. I'm currently on day 10, and these are the things that my comprehensive exams have made me thankful for.
#1. Food that I don't have to cook.
#2. Underground parking near the Toxicology Centre.
#3. My winter training bike class
#4. Coffee
#5. Crappy weather that makes staying inside for weeks seem like a reward
#6. Candy
#7. Diet Coke
#8. Laptop computers
#9. Sweatpants
#10. Other graduate students to complain with
Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends and family in the US!
#1. Food that I don't have to cook.
#2. Underground parking near the Toxicology Centre.
#3. My winter training bike class
#4. Coffee
#5. Crappy weather that makes staying inside for weeks seem like a reward
#6. Candy
#7. Diet Coke
#8. Laptop computers
#9. Sweatpants
#10. Other graduate students to complain with
Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends and family in the US!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Things I Am Thankful For
#6. Books. I am not sure I would survive the long Saskatchewan winter without books to read. Right now, I am especially excited about reading books all winter long on my new e-reader. Electronic or paper, I am definitely thankful for books.
#7. Bikes. I like bikes. A lot. I rode bikes as a kid, but I didn't own my first 'real bike' until 5 years ago. Now I have 3 bikes. And I'm considering buying another. Some of my best friends in Saskatoon are people I met through biking. If I ever leave Saskatoon, I am going to miss my bike shop more than any other business. I like riding so much that I commute to school all year round, including when it's -30C. I want to ride a century and start bike touring next year. I am always happy when I ride my bikes. Even when I crash. Biking makes life better.
#8. Shoes with a wide toe box. I have duck feet. When I started running, I didn't realize that this was going to be a problem with many shoes. The first time I ran 7 miles (in a pair of shoes I had been training in for weeks), my pinky toes wore through the shoes, popped out of the holes they had created, and I got the most painful blisters I had ever had (at that point....there have been worse since then). So, I went and bought a pair of shoes that fit me better. As all athletes know, the search for the perfect pair of shoes is a never-ending one, but I am still thankful that I can buy shoes with a wide toe box and avoid ever having my toes on the outside of my shoes again.
#9. Peanut butter. I am pretty sure PB is one of the most perfect foods ever. It is good for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack. It goes with sweet or savory foods equally well. You can even eat it straight out of the jar. Chocolate + peanut butter is one of the most heavenly combinations ever. I heart PB.
#10. Mountains. Or even just hills, I guess. Michigan doesn't have much topography, but living in the prairies has made me appreciate that at least MI isn't completely flat. It makes me sad that I have to drive 7 hours from Saskatoon to get to the mountains, but I am thankful that that 7 hour drive puts me in the most beautiful part of the Canadian Rockies.
#7. Bikes. I like bikes. A lot. I rode bikes as a kid, but I didn't own my first 'real bike' until 5 years ago. Now I have 3 bikes. And I'm considering buying another. Some of my best friends in Saskatoon are people I met through biking. If I ever leave Saskatoon, I am going to miss my bike shop more than any other business. I like riding so much that I commute to school all year round, including when it's -30C. I want to ride a century and start bike touring next year. I am always happy when I ride my bikes. Even when I crash. Biking makes life better.
#8. Shoes with a wide toe box. I have duck feet. When I started running, I didn't realize that this was going to be a problem with many shoes. The first time I ran 7 miles (in a pair of shoes I had been training in for weeks), my pinky toes wore through the shoes, popped out of the holes they had created, and I got the most painful blisters I had ever had (at that point....there have been worse since then). So, I went and bought a pair of shoes that fit me better. As all athletes know, the search for the perfect pair of shoes is a never-ending one, but I am still thankful that I can buy shoes with a wide toe box and avoid ever having my toes on the outside of my shoes again.
#9. Peanut butter. I am pretty sure PB is one of the most perfect foods ever. It is good for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack. It goes with sweet or savory foods equally well. You can even eat it straight out of the jar. Chocolate + peanut butter is one of the most heavenly combinations ever. I heart PB.
#10. Mountains. Or even just hills, I guess. Michigan doesn't have much topography, but living in the prairies has made me appreciate that at least MI isn't completely flat. It makes me sad that I have to drive 7 hours from Saskatoon to get to the mountains, but I am thankful that that 7 hour drive puts me in the most beautiful part of the Canadian Rockies.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Things I Am Thankful For
Even though we should probably be doing it all the time, many of us relegate thinking about and appreciating the things we are thankful for to a few select days of the year. While November isn't traditionally the month associated with Thanksgiving in Canada, I thought I would let the closeted American out and do a thankfulness theme this month. I'm shooting for coming up with 3o things I'm thankful for before the end of the month. Since I've got a climbing trip, a conference, and my comprehensives (YIKES!) all going down in November, we'll see if that actually happens.
#1. My family. They are, without a doubt, the most important people in my life. I am thankful that we love each other. I am thankful that we are enough alike to be a big group of best friends in addition to being related to one another. I am thankful we vacation together. I am thankful that my sister is my very best friend. I am thankful that my mom and dad were my parents. I am thankful that my niece is the cutest kid on the planet.
#2. My friends. I am thankful that I have friends all over the world. I am thankful that we'll remain friends no matter how far apart we live or how often we talk (or don't talk). I am thankful to have friends that are pretty darn close to family.
#3. My dog. Those of you that know Niki need no further explanation. I am thankful that Niki is the best dog EVER (even if she annoys the crap out of me sometimes).
#4. Caffeine. Oh caffeine, I wish I weren't so dependent upon you, but I am thankful for your help in waking up in the morning and staying awake when I'm tired. I am extra thankful to have discovered the magical elixir that is the cafe latte.
#5. Powerpoint. My supervisors delight in telling anyone who will listen about the bad old days of giving lectures and presentations before computer-assisted graphics programs. I am thankful that we no longer use overhead and slide projectors. I do wish, however, that 'professional' color schemes included colors other than black, blue, gray, and white.
#1. My family. They are, without a doubt, the most important people in my life. I am thankful that we love each other. I am thankful that we are enough alike to be a big group of best friends in addition to being related to one another. I am thankful we vacation together. I am thankful that my sister is my very best friend. I am thankful that my mom and dad were my parents. I am thankful that my niece is the cutest kid on the planet.
#2. My friends. I am thankful that I have friends all over the world. I am thankful that we'll remain friends no matter how far apart we live or how often we talk (or don't talk). I am thankful to have friends that are pretty darn close to family.
#3. My dog. Those of you that know Niki need no further explanation. I am thankful that Niki is the best dog EVER (even if she annoys the crap out of me sometimes).
#4. Caffeine. Oh caffeine, I wish I weren't so dependent upon you, but I am thankful for your help in waking up in the morning and staying awake when I'm tired. I am extra thankful to have discovered the magical elixir that is the cafe latte.
#5. Powerpoint. My supervisors delight in telling anyone who will listen about the bad old days of giving lectures and presentations before computer-assisted graphics programs. I am thankful that we no longer use overhead and slide projectors. I do wish, however, that 'professional' color schemes included colors other than black, blue, gray, and white.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Not that kind of girl
I just got home from a friend's Halloween party. Everyone else, including E, is continuing the party at a local bar. I really didn't want to go, so I bailed. I feel like I should have stayed. I want to want to do the social thing...but it's hard for me for some reason.
The past couple of months I have been making a concerted effort to go out more. That all kind of fell apart this week. Since last Saturday, I skipped a concert that I was really looking forward to, missed a wrap-up party for my soccer team, and I didn't dress up for Halloween for work on Friday.
Don't get me wrong, I am perfectly happy to be a homebody. I like to be here in my comfort zone. I just feel like it shouldn't be so hard for me to not stay home. I don't know. Maybe it would be easier for me if I had more friends that wanted to do anything other than drink in a noisy, crowded bar. I think I am becoming an old.
Oh dear.
The past couple of months I have been making a concerted effort to go out more. That all kind of fell apart this week. Since last Saturday, I skipped a concert that I was really looking forward to, missed a wrap-up party for my soccer team, and I didn't dress up for Halloween for work on Friday.
Don't get me wrong, I am perfectly happy to be a homebody. I like to be here in my comfort zone. I just feel like it shouldn't be so hard for me to not stay home. I don't know. Maybe it would be easier for me if I had more friends that wanted to do anything other than drink in a noisy, crowded bar. I think I am becoming an old.
Oh dear.
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