darthquantus

I didn’t actually imagine myself completing this thing. What a beast. My advisor was unavailable for months due to family health issues, and then a family death. I was unavailable due to my own family health issues where my wife was hospitilized several times (without insurance). Also, I had two young kids (pre-k), and had to work during my PhD. During my studies I had to overcome a stuttering/speech problem that made my presentations incoherent. I received no good feedback from my advisor in the six months leading up to my defense…. I went in BLIND. I had no idea what to expect. Somehow, I was able to pass with flying colors, and my family was able to survive the 5 years it took to complete it. My faith in God has been strengthened, and my self confidence has increased. I now have a position as a professor!!! If I could do it, anybody could to it.

Initiate, instigate, and chase everything you want proactively as if you had a choice. Take the risk, enjoy the failure by breathing in another day of life – know that more opportunities will come. Choose to do the things you do each day by putting 100% into each thing. Don’t look back unless you learn from it. Don’t wait for tomorrow unless you are certain you won’t die between now and then. If you aren’t moving the world around you then you are already dead.

I am SOOOO close to being done!!! I actually accepted a job in a different state, and will likely be moving before I have defended the dissertation!!! I am so Stupid!!!

That being said, I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. However, my advisor has suddenly become one of the flakiest people in the department – he hasn’t looked at anything I have given him in almost three weeks, and he even skipped a week’s worth of meeting!!! WTF!

In a few weeks, I will be marking this one off as DONE! Or my advisor will go from being a decent advisor, to an arch-enemy!!!