Prosem Talk

Today I presented my Master's thesis at the Child Language proseminar.  Despite having a bit of a nasty cold, it went well.  I managed to talk for about 20 minutes, and everyone asked questions.  I also got some good suggestions to try out.  It was nice to have such a positive experience sharing my work with my peers.  None of them had ever heard me talk about it prior to this afternoon.  To be honest, I was very worried about how it would go, so it was a relief that it went so well!  Next step:  presenting at Gatlinburg.

Master's Thesis = Defended

Today I successfully defended my Master's thesis!  I passed without revisions!

My advisor and committee members told me not to worry too much about it, but of course I did anyway.  The defense itself lasted only an hour, and it went very well.  I presented my study, and then answered questions from the faculty.  One of my colleagues was there to provide moral support and take notes for me, and she tells me I didn't seem nervous and that I handled the questions well.  It's nice to know that what I've been working on for the past year has a tangible result.

I say I have my MA now, but I'll officially have it on December 31st.

Master's Thesis

I have scheduled my Master's thesis defense. 

It's a scary and exhilarating idea - to defend my thesis.  It means I have to justify why I did the study I did and explain what I found and why it is important. It also means that my last two full years of work haven't been for naught.  I'll have something tangible to show for those long days and short nights.

We are Go for Year 2

I feel like I should have something profound to say in the two days before I begin my second year as a graduate student, but nothing comes to mind.  I did get more unpacking done this evening, but there's still a ways to go.  Thankfully the weather is more or less cooperating so our two-week excessive heat warning has been lifted.  That makes carting boxes to the garage(!) much nicer. Yes, I do have a garage.  It is amazing.  It will be even more amazing once the snow starts this winter.  It was great during the heat wave because it meant the car didn't get nearly so hot.  Now, this is only at home, so the car still bakes in the parking lot at work, but hey, I'll take what I can get when it comes to cooling off my car!  Oh, and I suppose having the A/C checked and fixed had something to do with the fact that my car quickly becomes an igloo.  Speaking of my car, I got to work via driving and riding the Park & Ride bus for the first time today.  I think it's gonna work, and it sure will save me a lot of hassle trying to find a spot to park either in the close parking lot or on the street near work.  And the Park & Ride bus drops me off right across the street from work, so you can't get much better than that.  Hopefully I'll still feel the same about it come Thursday when the rest of KU's student body emerges from the summer!

This will be an interesting but busy semester since I'll be enrolled in only 3 classes so that I can work on my Master's thesis.  This time next fall I should have my MA in Child Language!  I was accepted to be on Dr. Mabel Rice's training grant for this year, which means I'll make a little more money but I'll have more responsibilities.  The point of the traineeship is to train new researchers in Child Language via coursework and multiple research experiences.  So, in addition to my current work in the Fragile X lab, I'll also be starting a secondary lab experience in Dr. Hugh Catts' reading lab.  It should be interesting.  Oh, and in the FXS lab we're almost finished with data collection for Time 4, which means we are talking about posters and papers to draft in the very near future.  I can't wait! 

Semester 2, Week 1

Whew! I've made it through a full week of classes (though one hasn't met yet, so technically I'm not out of the woods yet).  So far I like them, but it will be a much busier semester than Fall '09.  However, I'm all for that.  I didn't really feel challenged and fully engaged last semester, but I know I will this time.  I've got some great professors and at least three major projects.  Of course they all want me to do 'something relevant or practical' with the project.  I agree, but I don't know if I can come up with 3 separate parts of a potential Masters thesis that fast!  I guess we'll see how it goes.

In other news, I'm excited to have two consecutive weekends in which I do not have to traipse across the country.  I enjoy the trips - both the flying and the visiting - but it is also very nice to have my weekends to myself.  I never really realized how much I look forward to them!  I think this will be my last respite for a while, however, because we've got quite a few families to see over the coming months.  During the school year, we usually can only see the kids on the weekends, because we and they have class during the week.  Thankfully we try to make sure we balance the trips such that no one travels more than 3 weekends in a row.  Still, those three weekends can be exhausting!  And usually there's only one weekend 'off' before jumping back in.