Another Anniversary

One year ago today, I defended my dissertation and became Dr. Eddleman. I don't think I've quite recovered yet.

What Relief Looks Like

L to R: Dr. Ronald Schroeder, Dr. Natalie Schroeder, me, Dr. Colby Kullman

(Not pictured is my fourth committee member, Dr. Ralph Braseth,

who kindly commemorated the event for me.)

This picture was taken right after defending my dissertation at Ole Miss last Wednesday afternoon. I was confident that the defense had gone well, but I have to admit that I was still pretty nervous as I sat in the hallway outside Bondurant C208 while my committee conferred. When Dr. Schroeder opened the door, smiled, and said to me, "Congratulations, Dr. Eddleman," it was a pretty amazing thing.

Time to Celebrate

I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. Henceforth, there is laid up for me a big piece of paper from the University of Mississippi (that I plan to frame) and the right to put "PhD" after my name.

I'm celebrating. You're welcome to join me.

Then I'm gonna rest for a while.

If I remember how.

4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . .

Prayers, good wishes, positive vibes, and happy thoughts deeply appreciated! The defense starts at 1:30. I'll let you know how it goes.

Dissertation Defense Don'ts

Only three more days . . .

Bottom of the Ninth . . .

No rest for the weary.

I will be spending the weekend preparing for my dissertation defense. (Four days and counting . . .) I'll be teaching most of the day Monday, so I can't do it then. I teach again Tuesday morning, so that's out. It's now or never. I'm not really worried, but I want to be prepared. It's important to me to do a good job.

I've decided to go down to Oxford on Tuesday afternoon. My defense is scheduled for Wednesday at 1:30, and I really did not want to have the added stress of worrying about getting caught up in traffic or having a flat tire and ending up late. And I thought a nice calm morning to relax (and pray, and pray, and pray . . .) would be better preparation than a three-and-a-half-hour drive.

A funny thing happened yesterday. I had not even looked at my dissertation in probably at least three weeks, so I sat down to read it through. This is the longest time I've had away from it since I began writing the dissertation, and I had the strangest reaction. It was almost as if I were reading it for the first time. It was something strangely distinct and separate from myself. It was hard to believe that I actually wrote it, that those were my ideas and my thought processes, my arguments.

I hope that muse comes back for a visit on Wednesday.

Countdown

One week and counting til the defense . . .

I had a stressful week last week. I went down to Oxford the week before and filled out my application to graduate and took care of all the paperwork across campus. I came home feeling on top of things and thinking only of preparing for my defense. Then, last week, late Thursday afternoon, I get an e-mail from the graduate school telling me that I don't have enough hours to graduate. And I'm not lacking just a few hours. It's a huge chunk.

Well, of course, panic sets in, even though I'm one of those students who micro-manages her schedule. I read the catalog; I keep a checklist; I visit with my advisor regularly. I knew I'd dotted every i and crossed every t. I also knew that I'd been evaluated every year by the whole English Department faculty and given a "Satisfactory Progress" rating. And how could I have been allowed to take Comps and enter dissertation phase if I hadn't finished my course work? I called my advisor. He said he'd check on it. He sounded a lot calmer than I felt.

Then the University shuts down for the 4th. Of course. A long weekend with no information.

I heard nothing Monday.

By Tuesday I thought, "Enough." And I called. "Oh, yes," she said calmly. "We forgot that you entered the program already having earned a Masters Degree. That was the difference in hours. I'm approving you for graduation today. Sorry."

Well. I feel better now.

Can You See Me Smiling?

I found out yesterday that my dissertation advisor has approved my revised dissertation. Now, it goes to the rest of my committee, but I don't foresee any problems there. We're shooting for a mid-July defense.

If I'm this happy now, just imagine how ecstatic I'll be after the defense.

The long-awaited Ceremonial Note-Card Burning is drawing closer.