| Whew. I'm back from 2 months in Shanghai. That was interesting.
what's also very interesting is my attitude towards life in Southern California....I suspect that it has changed significantly from before I left to afterwards. Oh well...I'm planning on staying here only a month, anyways...
Onward to Japan!
|
| |
|
I PASSED!!!
PRAISE GOD!!!
|
| |
|
One weekend left. Gotta finish my introduction and conclusion chapters, and revisions, by Monday.
Following up on my last post's mention of cake...do you know what the opposite of STRESSED is?
DESSERTS. yum
|
| |
|
So for those who don't know (which is probably everybody), I am scheduled to give my final PhD defense on May 5th. I'll be giving a 45-min. public seminar/presentation of my research, then followed by a closed-door thesis defense with my committee. If they pass me, then I essentially become Dr. de facto. (although I won't get the actual degree in hand until October. grr, darn deadlines...)
What this means is that for the last 3 weeks or so, I have been writing my dissertation HARDCORE. I spend about half my waking hours in a coffee shop here or there...it's gotten to the point where I bring a seat cushion with me (couldn't survive without it...). I'm tempted to mention the coffee shops in my acknowledgments b/c they've played such a large role in helping me write.
That being said, I need to give my completed dissertation to my committee members by the end of this week. It's been so stressful these past few weeks that I am dead tired, yet I find myself suffering from insomnia some nights. I can also tell that there's spiritual battle going on, like somebody's trying to throw whatever it takes at me to keep me from finishing. Things like old insecurities, negative thinking patterns, regrets, loneliness, discouragements...the stuff that kept me stuck in grad school for so long. Also, I'm praying hard that my health will hold up - I battled bronchitis this semester and possibly 2 bouts of stomach flu and stress-related gastrointestinal issues.
So to be honest, I seriously could use some prayers, and especially some encouraging words. Not stuff like "You can do it!", but more like reminders or affirmations about God's presence in my life and His love for me. As much (or as little) as I read the Bible and pray, I've been feeling these days that having people say it to me could help me internalize it, believe it, know it.
So perhaps this will be the last week of the suffering? (I say this week, because after I finish writing, preparing the presentation will be like cake. A sweet cake. mmm...)
|
| |
