I know it's been a while, but it has been a crazy month! It's a long entry, but it is really like 5 posts in one. Here are the highlights of the month of September (in order of occurrence):
Weekend at the Lake
Patrick and I spent Labor Day weekend at the Lake of the Ozarks with Patrick's "hetero-lifemate" Andy and his family. The highlights from this weekend include great food (Andy's brother is a world-class chef...literally...not just in the way that people sometimes say that about people who cook well), the cutest mini spider web I have ever seen, great friends, lots of laughs, and a new revelation that I discovered about myself.
More about the spider web. It was a tiny spider web INSIDE of another spider web, AND there was a tiny spider inside! I am not the type of person to find spiders cute, or anything having to do with spiders for that matter...but this was a special case. It was cute and mini (see photo).
Now more on my new revelation. It happened when Patrick, his hetero-lifemate, and I drove around the lake on a speed boat, after which my fingers were numb from gripping the side of the boat so I didn't fall out (I should mention that I didn't even come close to falling out, but you can never be too prepared). Anyway, I decided after this experience that I prefer to live my life on land and at a moderate speed. I have come to terms with the fact that I am more of a lazy river type of person (the lazy river still counts as land since I can see the bottom) than a roller coaster type of person, and I won't be jumping out of any airplanes any time soon. I am ok with this, and embracing it was my revelation. Patrick loves adventure, so I may "take one for the team every once in a while", but I am perfectly happy lounging on the pontoon boat going 5 mph with my drink that won't spill because we aren't going too fast (see photo), and with my hair still looking somewhat cute since it hasn't been mangled by the wind (see photo of the opposite of this).
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| Patrick and his hetero-lifemate Andy |
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| Cute mini spider web |
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| Me lounging on a pontoon boat with a drink and somewhat cute hair |
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| Me on the speed boat with no drink and NOT cute hair |
Wedding Weekend in Minnesota
Photo Shoot
A select few... 
The Longest Shortest Trip of our Lives
At this point, I am starting to realize that my doctoral oral exam is fast approaching. Luckily, September was so busy that I didn't have much time to worry about it, but the time came to get down to business. This time happened to coincide with my cousin Eric's wedding in Richmond, VA. Patrick and I like to call this weekend the "longest shortest trip of our lives." We left St. Louis at 7 pm on Friday, spent the night at my parents' house in Lexington, KY (a 5 hour trip), woke up Saturday morning and drove 9 hours to Richmond to make it with just enough time to get dressed for the wedding. We had a great time that evening, and then hopped in the car on Sunday morning to drive the 14 hours back to St. Louis. Not the best planning on our part, but this gave me tons of time to study for orals in the car! Plus, the whole trip really was worth it just to be able to say that it was the "longest shortest trip of our lives." I would drive 3 times that distance (and by drive I mean sit in the passenger seat while Patrick drives) just to be able to spend a few hours with my family. When all of my aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, parents, grandparents, etc. get together, we always have a blast. My uncle Kevin really taught me everything I know about snapping (see photo).  |
| My uncle Kevin teaching me how to snap |
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| Practicing to perfect it |
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| How low can you go? Not very. Well, really I just choose not to... |
Doctoral Oral Exam
The day finally came for my orals. I started the day off with a training session with Tom and then ballet class, of course. I wanted to be distracted for as much of the day as possible. I have never not wanted a ballet class to end so badly in my life! It did, and I arrived at school about 2 hours early so that I could study my notes in the room I had reserved for the meeting. I was hoping to have the context of the room work for my memory retrieval (e.g., Godden and Baddeley, 1975). I am kind of joking, but kind of serious. Anyway, after about 10 minutes of sitting in the room, my nerves started to get to me, so I decided I needed put my notes away and do something else. There are not many un-psychology related things to do in the psychology building, so I basically just started pacing the hallways. I could not have picked a worse pair of shoes to wear that day. They are basically just solid blocks of wood that make the loudest sound imaginable with every step...but they are really cute (these things sometimes go unappreciated with Ph.D.'s, but I still make the effort). Anyway, after basically disrupting the entire building for 2 hours with my walking around, the time finally came.........................(pause for the 90 minutes of interrogation about my research).............................. It went great! My mentor (and committee chair) said that I did a "fantastic job," so I can finally breathe a sigh of relief! It was a very intense 90 minutes of questions and discussion, but by the end it was actually kind of enjoyable! The anticipation was definitely way worse than the event. That is what I say every time I get a flu shot, too. Now I am officially ABD (All But Dissertation...it's a real thing, not just something people say). Once I propose, carry out, write up, and defend my dissertation, I'M DONE! Actually, that sounds like a lot, but the hard part is definitely over.
What's Next???
I watch TV! Finally! Oh, and I have a performance this Saturday at "Dancing in the Streets"!
And the eggs didn't hatch...I don't want to talk about it...
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