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That was ... oddly less stressful than I'd imagined. Like, a lot.
Today I had my DPhil viva voce examination, and passed with minor corrections (which is normal). This, in itself, was lovely, of course. What was somewhat more lovely was that it was ... almost easy.
The examiners get copies of my thesis a few months before the viva, they read it, then I give a presentation, and they ask questions to make sure that (a) I wrote the thesis, and (b) I understand the field, not just the tiny bit I wrote my thesis on. Apparently, my thesis was written with great clarity, and I answered most of the questions they had in the presentation, so there wasn't too much to say in the end. Most if not all of my corrections are typographical in nature, or requests that I add a little more detail to a given section. In particular, my external examiner told me to stop underplaying my achievements, which was a nice boot-to-the-head piece of perspective after spending five years elbow-deep in this field.
Once the examiners had agreed their verdict, called me back in and shaken me by the hand repeatedly, we all went off for lunch in the cafe and discussed nuclear reactors. All a bit anticlimactic, really ...
I'm now really, really tired, all of a sudden. The next few days I plan on taking very easy, as my brain is entirely toasted at the moment. Back to work properly on Friday, just in time for the weekend.
But yeah. I'm a Doctor, technically (not actually until graduation, of course). How'd that happen?
So, viva prep proceeds apace, aside from a little moment when my internal examiner "reminded" me that it was on Monday the 14th. It appears he can't operate his calendaring software, which is fine: I'd much prefer that to ANOTHER un-notified rescheduling on such short notice.
The presentation is basically written, just needs a little tweaking, then I need to write the prompt cards, then rehearse the damn thing 'til it flows (I hear it's sort of de rigeur to be repeatedly interrupted with questions, and I'm historically quite poor at regathering my threads once interrupted).
I'm kind of annoyed that I've gotten so little done today, but what with following the news in Japan (massive earthquake, possible containment breach in a nuclear reactor, etc), the sudden and heavy cold that has struck me at the worst possible time, WASHING ALL THE THINGS so we can move the drying racks out of the guest room in time for houseguest next week.... there's been no time. It's like being nibbled to death by cats...
Tomorrow I will make the time. Tomorrow I will finish and rehearse the presentation, reread my thesis to ward off unpleasant surprises, and get ready for the week. 's gonna be a tough one.
So, my viva date is finally set for the 15th of March. Which is ... next Tuesday.
So I guess I better get started on my presentation, huh?
(long story, but basically due to Politics and Colliding Calendars, it's been kinda tricky to get a date. It was the 16th for a while, then it got moved to the 22nd, then to early April, so I relaxed a bit, and got on with some of the actual work I'm doing at, y'know, WORK. Then it was the 15th. Drop everything, write ~40 slides, rehearse presentation, flail.)
On the up side, I was footling with my CV the other night, and discovered that done right, the "Experience and past jobs" section I was leaving blank on account of not having left university yet actually holds an awful lot, if you look at it from the right angle. Front-line tech-support, both telephonic and over desk. Systems administration. Contract work for ... certain people. Embedded Systems research, design and implementation. So perhaps my CV isn't as tragic as I thought it was.
That said, I'm revisiting my thesis while prepping this presentation, and it's not as bad as I thought it was, either. Couldn't stand to look at it or read it immediately I'd finished writing, but now? Not so bad.
Maybe there's a lesson in that.
These are the boxes you use in defence of liberty. You use them in order. Someone appears to have gotten over-excited in London tonight, I'm not sure who yet, and tried to jump from 2 to 4. But it should have been somewhat obvious, I think, that when you do this, you will often get this (and man, that first one's NOT an image I'm comfy with). Both photos sourced from this slideshow.
I don't disagree with the student protesters. Hell, some of them were my students. Some of them were my friends. I strongly suspect that most of the most violent protesters were not students. I think the raising of the fees cap deserves a great deal of attention, given that it is being supported by a party that I and many other people voted for on the express understanding that they would oppose (not review, oppose) a raised cap.
I also think it's a crying shame that the tuition fees protest is overshadowing the other issues involved in this latest financial package such as similar fuckery currently going on in the incapacity benefit system, not to mention the emasculation of the Fleet Air Arm.
I fear that this is not the government I voted for.
EDIT: Some suggestion that the Westminster Bridge kettle is still closed, people and children trapped on the bridge by the police, at 0120, in the freezing night. If true, that's fucking criminal. Warren Ellis has friends on site, and expresses my thoughts better than I do: "She’s silent right now: I’m presuming her phone ran out of charge, as predicted, and hoping she’s not still in the kettle, which, others on Twitter are reporting, is still active at 1230am. There are children in there. This is how we treat our children when they question us, now: by cowing them, in the dark and the cold."
EDIT THE SECOND: After-action report from a journalist who was in the main body of the protest. An interesting read.
Funny though it may sound, I sometimes need reminding that I'm not superhuman.
There's a whole load of (fun, interesting) things I'm doing when I'm not at work at the moment, which I want to keep doing. And, of course, I've got my thesis to write up.
I've just been handed possibly the biggest responsibility I've ever had. I'm now at the head of a team of ten people, including three newbies that still need hand-holding, working on the primary research project that will generate funds for my lab (and thus, for me) for the next three years. There's a scoping study due on Friday, the same day as the Research Group Christmas Party, and I still need to do a hell of a lot of reading before I can set goals, assign subtasks etc.
If I look particularly mangled in the near future, do me a favour and remind me to delegate, will you? Sure, it's a huge project, but I've got a huge team. It only looks unmanageable because I've forgotten to account for their contribution.
The Glass: broken
