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.