This is a dual purpose post. First: the item having nothing to do with pumpkins. I got my box checked. Now, yeah, that sounds gross- but it's PhD talk for 'my dissertation advisory committee thinks I have contributed enough to the body of scientific work and I have progressed to a point that they checked a box on a official form indicating that I may now coalesce everything into a written thesis, defend such thesis [by March] and obtain a PhD.' Saying 'checking the box' is so much faster. Although the long winded explanation more closely mirrors the long-winded 5.25 years of work [I am now a G-6] I have done to get to this point. I am relieved and happy but a little bit dreading everything I have to do. And I'm a little sad that I have to pretty much stop all my experiments now so that I have time to write. But this is what we all aim for and strive for and agonize over- so I will continue with this smile on my face.
And in other news, we had our first Halloween [in also that same amount of time] living in a place that we can hand out candy and put pumpkins on our porch. Mine is the one on the left. It's supposed to be the mustached pig from Angry Birds. I think if he were green it would be more obvious. Damon carved a rocket ship. Because that is how he rolls.
