on the verge...

tomorrow i defend my dissertation, which will hopefully result in only a few minor steps for me to complete so that i can finally be finished with my Ph.D. i'm a little nervous about it, but feeling confident. mostly i just want to get it over with. rip the band-aid off and be done.

having said that, it is a bit surreal that this is already happening. i've been working on this for what seems like forever, and now i'm almost done. i know i'll be able to fill the time and mental space with something else, but it's almost incomprehensible that i won't have this on my plate anymore. i just can't imagine the relief, though i'm anxious to feel it. :)

i know that i won't be done even if the defense goes well tomorrow. i have to format the beast for the thesis office and do a real proofread since i haven't yet. but hopefully that will be all. maybe other corrections can wait until i try to publish it. so i'll still have some work to do, but will also have a tremendous weight off my shoulders. this could the first time in a long time when my shoulders actually have reason to relax. as my closest friends (and my yoga instructors) will tell you, that's where i keep all my stress. so relaxed shoulders...that could be the real mark that i'm done. :)

anywho, much excitement is in the air right now. once this is done, it also opens up a world of fun. i get to have a great time in texas and FINALLY get to see mike after two very long months AND i get to catch up with the aggie friends that are still around. then next weekend is homecoming and i get to catch up with friends from undergrad. and the next weekend i have yet another trip! so lots of fun coming after what feels like many months of stress.

here's hoping that when i next post, i am just a few grammatical errors away from being dr. parks.