The semester's thankfully winding down. My students have just finished their in-class writing, which is technically a mid-term. They're past the half-way point and will be onto working on their fourth paper, the last one before the final, which is, like the mid-term, an in-class writing. This means that my job is nearly done. I have to prepare them for the fourth paper, and then for the final, but that's it. I've got about 15 more classes to conduct, and four or five more labs, that's it. Put like that, it sounds like a lot, but not when you consider that this class has upwards of 65 meetings between the class and lab. Considered like that, we're well on the downslope!
My classes are also going pretty well this semester, too. As the semester draws closer to the end, the work compounds, but it's not so much that it's insurmountable... I hope. My American lit class has just two more response papers, a long paper, and a final to go. Studies in the Teaching of Composition, which is a rhetoric of teaching class that addresses composition pedagogy, has much more work -- a long paper, a teaching philosophy statement, four more weeks of response postings and articles to outline, and a final. I'm substantially more worried about class, and all of it's work, than I am about the lit class.
The best news, right now, is that I'm finished with my thesis proposal. I've gotten the whole thing written, it's about 17 pages in all, if you include the cover page and the working bibliography. I've gotten the first round of corrections, which were relatively minor, and have completed them as of this morning! Next thing is to give it back to my thesis chair (Dr. Y), who will make sure all the corrections are made to her satisfaction, and then it will go to the other two members of my thesis committee (Dr. C & Dr. S) for corrections. Once I get all of the corrections done, it'll be ready to go to the Graduate College! I'm so very excited to have this step in the process completed, or nearly completed, anyway. It's been a lot of work, but I think that having done it will make the rest of the thesis fall into place. Not that I think it'll be a piece of cake, or that I'll just walk through it, quite the contrary, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is going to be a lot of work, but having the proposal done provides a nice guideline by which to work. Besides, I think that I'm going to enjoy writing my thesis. I'm very, very interested in the subject matter, which is helpful for any long project like this.
Okay, enough rambling about that, sorry! Let's see, what else? Oh, I've decided to take the summer off (probably) and work on my thesis, study for comps, and finish my novel. Matt will be graduating in May (hooray!!) and will be working full-time (he works from home), so there's no reason I should work when I have other things that need taking care of. I'm looking forward to having the time off to do what needs be done. I toyed with the idea of working in the Writing Center over the summer, the extra income would have been nice, but I think I'm going to let Matt do his thing and just do mine. I'm nervous about not working, of course, but I think it'll be for the best.
Also, I think I mentioned, at some point, that I'm planning to get my class ring soon. I've decided to get it in June, with my last paycheck before the summer, rather than in the fall. Matt thinks it's a good idea, too, and that way we can save a larger chunk of my financial aid for our rapidly approaching move! Melanie, Joey, Matt and I went to Swindle Jewelers yesterday to look at the rings, rather than just drooling over them online, since Melanie and I are both planning to get our rings. Believe it or not, in person, the one everyone liked the least online, I liked the best. It's this one...
They make it with a row of gold rope on the inside of the channel setting and I absolutely fell in love with it. I like the width, the way it looks on my hand, everything. Now, I just have a few decisions to make, like should I get white or yellow gold? Should I get diamonds or CZ? Matt says white gold and diamonds, it's a big occasion and worth the splurge. What he actually said was, "Oh, well you could get CZ's and wait to get diamonds for your next graduation." Smart ass, he knows I don't plan to have another graduation!
Anyway, I've pretty much decided on the diamonds, even though with the added gold it's going to make the ring $995! The biggest problem I have now is deciding about the gold. I've never owned anything white gold, and while I like it, yellow would match my wedding rings better. I think, though, that that ring is two tone, with the ring being yellow gold and the coin being white gold, and I'm not sure I'd want that. I want it to be all one or all the other. So, if it's two tone, then I'm going for white gold. Besides, it looks really amazing in white gold, so it's fine!
So, I'm going to put down $100 this month, and maybe $200 next month, and then in June when I get paid, I'll pay the rest. She said I could tell her, when I make the second payment, when I'm planning on paying the rest and they can have it ready for me. They're all custom, so they take four to six weeks to be made. I just can't wait! This is a huge deal for me, it's the last graduation I'll ever have, and because the rings don't have a year on them, or a BA or MA, it can serve to represent my entire college education. I know it sounds like a lot of money, but I feel like I deserve it. The only problem, right now, is the coming up with the money and we're tightening our belts and working around it.
Okay, okay, okay... so now that I've rambled on and on, about anything and everything, and realize that this should have been broken up into two posts, I'm off!
