Chipping Away

Well, it's been a bit of a haul this last semester, but I was finally able to grind out a dissertation proposal. Something like 85 pages, double spaced, 1" margins, 12-point font. This doesn't include my references (I don't even want to think about how long those will be). And it also doesn't include any appendices (which will be at least a few pages long). And more importantly, it doesn't include any data analysis, discussion, or conclusions. I'm killing a lot of trees.

So, on May 28, I'm going to do my proposal defense. I'm guessing that it'll be OK, as I doubt that my advisor would have been willing to get things scheduled if it wasn't going to be OK. But we'll see how that goes.

In the meantime, I'm teaching summer school this year. It shouldn't be hard, since I've already done it once. But my level of apathy is starting to amaze even myself.

But more importantly, I'm starting to golf more. It's an interesting sport, particularly when you're bad, like me. You walk around for about 6 miles, carrying a bag full of clubs and beer. Then you stop periodically to either drink a beer or to take hack at a golf ball. Or some woodland critter that has the misfortune of crossing your path. But golf gets pretty tiring, when you have to walk back and forth looking for your ball. Plus, I take about 125 swings, so I end up getting a nice little ab and back work out. You also end up with cool tan lines if you wear a hat and sunglasses. But the best part of golf? You get to gamble. And if you're betting on holes, you can pretty quickly forget things when you take a dozen hacks at the same hole.

I don't know what this has to do with anything, other than I definitely blew off my afternoon responsibilities to shoot 18.

Maybe this is why I didn't get my proposal defended in May 2007.

But you know what?

So worth it.

-Chairman