End of (one of my) eras

Friday is my viva.

PhDs are a bit of a strange ride, the end is spread out into a series of achievements and celebrations and the actual finale isn't really clear. I handed in in September, this was really the biggest milestone, personally. It's the beginning of the end, when you know the wheels are in motion, the dragon is mostly slain. But it generally passes without much fanfare, and this was the case for me.

Friday is my viva - in the UK this isn't nearly the ordeal (or so I've been told) that it is in a North American defence. However, it is still the next step to the end - after that I'm pretty much there. After that I need to sort out my corrections (there will definitely be a few!) before next Friday, the deadline to hand in to graduate in December. And that handing in, that is really the end - sort of! Graduation in December, a bit of pomp and circumstance with the parents in attendance, this is the final step in the process.

But the one we usually make a fuss over here, it seems, is the viva, so Friday we'll go for drinks and dinner and I'll mark it in my mind as the first day of the rest of my life. It is a strange feeling to be at this place. I have hoped to be here for so long. It's a time to form new goals, I've been thinking about that a lot today. What do I want to, and what will I accomplish in the next ten years?

Next Friday I have an interview for a fantastic postdoc, I'm living for that day now.

google - shockingly fast indexing

Ok, I thought this warranted a post - I only started this blog an hour ago, and there is already a google index listing for it! I guess that shouldn't surprise me since blogger is a google acquision. I am not sure how I feel about being indexed at lightening speed - perhaps there is a way to opt out, I will look into it. :-)

back to jolly old Manchester

I'm back in Manchester after a wonderful restful visit home to see my family in northeastern BC. I had such a great visit with loads of friends and family, old and new. It's amazing how fast a month goes though, I was barely getting started!

Here is a photo from my layover in Vancouver on the way back. I took so many sunset photos on this trip, I missed our wondeful skies so much, it will be something to comfort myself with as we move into the dreary winter - though hopefully UK weather will improve as we head into the autumn. :-)

Now that I am back I have a busy month of writing and editing ahead of me. I am keen to finish up and move on to the next chapter of my life, namely getting a job!

greetings!

Hello friends! I'm starting this blog to keep in touch with friends who don't facebook due to slow internet or ethical concerns. :-) So we can keep in touch! Also so that I can keep track of people's blogging URLs.

xxx Schwa