Dissertation Update

I have been meaning to do this post for a couple of weeks now and I just haven't had the opportunity. I fear, even now, it is going to lack a lot of the details I had originally planned on including, but I want to get the blog up to date. And really, in the end, mostly you just want cute pictures of Finn anyway, right?

So, the big news was that I went back to Akron to give a departmental seminar on my research. This was the last big requirement to complete prior to the actual defense of my research. I was really nervous having been away from academia for over a year and not doing any public speaking in that time. I was also nervous because it was the first time I would be away from Finn overnight.

It turned out to be a really great trip. It was wonderful to see everyone and I had some good meetings with Professors involved in my projects. I really enjoyed working in the lab a bit and looking at those cute little clam shrimp again. It was really nice to chat with my advisor face to face and come up with a game plan for the next few months. I feel very much renewed and motivated to push through this last bit of analysis and writing. I also gave a pretty good talk and got a lot of good questions and feedback. I was a nervous wreck, but apparently it didn't show and my advisor was exceptionally pleased with my performance. So, big yay for me all around.

And, really, Sean and Finn did exceptionally well in my absence. Frankly, I don't think it was that big of a deal that I was gone. They had a great time going on hikes and other outings during the day and Finn's sleeping habits remained the same. I missed them so much and I was so excited to see Finn when I arrived at the airport. He just looked at me and started pointing at the fun things he was seeing at the airport as if I hadn't been gone at all. It was a good feeling to know that he can do so well without me.

So, now I am running some DNA analysis and plugging away on the writing. It is going to be tight, but I am still trying to shoot for the summer deadlines. Wish me luck!