I heard a knock on the door. "Honey, it's bad news." I hesitated for a minute--maybe I could delay the onset of the consequences to come if I remained in ignorance for a moment longer. The desire for certainty, however, quickly took over, and I entered the bedroom, ready, as much as possible, for what …
Tag: grad school
PASSED
Finally. . . *finally!!* my exams are over. Here, comprehensive exams incorporate two steps, a written section and an oral section. The written section involves three four-hour test sessions, one for each of three historical fields, and the oral section is one two-hour session that must take place after the written section has been completed …
Written Exams, Done
I call this photo "the struggle is real." I think the reality set in after Stephen and I came back to Miami after we visited our families for Christmas. I still had several books to go through, I had to send a final revision of the Prospectus for my dissertation to my advisor, and …
Countdown
This evening, I was taking notes on one of the books on my comprehensive exam list, and I thought to myself: "You know, it would be great just to get away. I could go to York for a few days, maybe. Or, California. Or anywhere but here right now." And then, came the sobering reality. …
For the Love of Flannel
When I was in middle and high school back in the mid-1990s, flannel was everywhere. The high point of the grundge movement had led to store after store stocked with flannel shirts for men and women. Even rock-slighly-too-influenced-by-hair-bands-in-the-1980s-band Aerosmith deliberately featured some very 1990s styles in their iconic videos from their landmark album, Get …
When Your Number Comes Up: Miami, Land of Car Distress
There are a lot of firsts that are inevitable living in a new environment. And, today, one typical "Miami" first that I have been dreading finally came to pass--my first highway car accident. Miami is not the greatest place to live if you have to drive anywhere. Given the nearly non-existent public transportation system here, …
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The Last Epic Library Trip
In two weeks, the school year will begin. For the second year, I am amazed by how quickly the summer, which always appears to stretch out endlessly when classes end in May, slips by. There's no question that this was a very good summer in a number of ways. I criticize myself for taking vacation …
The Verdict
And, the verdict is: All books read -2.5 (I did read half of one book in the "incomplete" pile). Whew. This was not without challenges. In fact, I think that this whole process was one big learning curve. To even come close to finishing this list, I had to read at least 2 books …
Day One Verdict: Meh
So, I set an ambitious goal--get through one section of one bibliography focusing on the Reformation by the middle of next week. This means reading through more than one book a day. And, unfortunately, that didn't happen today. Today turned out to be busier than I thought. I had an unexpected project to take …
Medievalist in the Making 