And there was MUCH rejoicing

Guess what ... you guessed it ... I'M DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  All I've got to do is print the first page again - the computer lab doesn't have the font that I need.  Then I have to hand it in and then I'm done.  So, life is good.

In more good news, my thesis advisor and I were talking and he encouraged me to continue on in academia and pursue a PhD.  He also said that it is rare to find a student with the skill / talent and temperament necessary to do well in a PhD program, and he and the rest of my committee think that I would thrive in a doctorate program.  Crazy.  So, I'm certainly glad that I am taking a break from school to work, but I will continue my thoughts of pursuing a PhD.  wow. that's weird.

One thing I need to consider before pursuing this advanced degree is the manner in which I will manage my speech during lectures.  I need to talk with other professors that stutter to see what they do / what has helped them etc.

Anyway.  Other than that nothing much is new around here.  I"M DONE!!!!

Cappuccino and Labradoodles

So I'm dog sitting / house sitting this weekend.  Hamish - my professors' labradoodle.  He's a good dog.  Likes to lick feet.  He is, as my professors' daughter calls him, a 'special needs' dog.  He has seizures.  They aren't sure why, but he gets phenobarbital twice a day.  I think he had just come out of a seizure when I got here today (around 10:45 am).  His rug was wet (sometimes he looses bladder control), he was restless (pacing back and forth - he does that afterwards), and he was leery of going down the stairs (also, he does that afterwards too).  So, we sat on the floor, I petted him and read a book and he chewed on a chew toy.  30 minutes later he was just fine.

My professor's husband (ok, for clarification, she is my professor, he is a professor in the department, but has never been my professor), anyway back to my story.  He likes to have espresso in the morning.  I can completely understand that.  I would have espresso to if I (a) had the proper equipment to make it (b) got up in the morning in time to make it.  So, seems how it was here, and I was feeling like an afternoon pick-me-up, I made myself a cappuccino.  (for those of you who don't know, cappuccino is espresso with steamed milk) except I just realized that I didn't steam the milk, I only whipped it.  Eh, so I had mild temperature espresso, versus steaming hot espresso - next time.  

ANYWAY, sorry about the tangential conversation.  The cappuccino, it was (is) delicious.  It could be a little warmer (refer back to the fact that I didn't steam the milk).  On a second note, I have officially drank milk (well, not just plain milk) but nevertheless, cow's milk in something.  That is the first time I've had milk in ... I don't remember how long.  (for those of you who don't know, I don't particularly care for milk; thus, I never buy it and rarely ever drink it ... but I do by soy / rice milk - it's actually quite good you should try it.  I've got rice milk now, especially good with Cheerios).

In other news, I have submitted my thesis, in it's entirety, to my thesis committee.  Effectively, I am DONE writing.  DONE?!?  Yes, after my defense next Wednesday and then made the forthcoming edits from my committee, and then get all the paperwork and other "requirements" done, I will have finished all the requirements for my masters degree. It is an exciting time to  be Bryan.

Without further adieu, I think I'm going to go reward myself with reading a chapter in my book.  I will talk to you later. 

This, That and the Other

So ... I have some news.  I have turned in a rough draft of my thesis to my advisor.  39 pages of text, 11 figures, 1 table, for a grand total of 51 pages.  This is not including all the paperwork that must go in with it, so I'm nearly done!  SO close.

In employment news, I have decided that I hate contract companies.  They lure you in with the promise of lots of support, competitive pay, a great track record ... and then you still have to jump through all sorts of hoops in order to get them to begin looking for a job.  They apply pressure (what about early intervention, have you ever thought about early intervention ...NO, I said I wanted a pediatric medical placement.  If you can't find me that job then just tell me so and don't string me along, yes I realize that it will be difficult for a first year grad to find that type of job, but I am willing to wait for a great job than just taking the first okay job that comes along.  I don't want to do what everyone else is doing just because it's easy.  I know the 'best' place to work as a first year is in the schools ... but what they don't seem to understand is that I don't want to work in schools).  Also, they have poor communication within themselves - on multiple occasions I have been contacted by two people from the same staffing company.  I mean seriously.  Get your act together.  GAAAAAAAA.  I want a job simply so I can say to these people - sorry I already found a job.  rant rant rant grumble grumble grumble.  I suppose I should not complain about having to turn down jobs.  I am lucky to have the opportunity to do so (especially in this economy).  So, considering all of this, I am excited for a job I found by myself - a private practice in Seattle ... some barriers exist, though.  1) the job is part time, and will increase to full time if warranted (I asked when she would know and she has not replied yet) 2) whether the job and I are a match.  I think it will be, but we'll see. 3) whether they pay enough to support living in Seattle.  

Working through life ... my, how much fun it is.

Something's Brewing

Incidentally Something's Brewing is the name of a coffeeshop here in Kalamazoo ... I'm not there. right now I'm at Waterstreet (OOH! something new and different for me).  Anyway, so in my week of hard-core job searching I now have a private practice in Seattle and a hospital in San Francisco that want to interview me.  So I'm hoping to get one more interview in each city and then make a mad dash of the northwest coast sometime in early June.  Here is the plan: fly out to San Fran (stay with my friend Joel ... hopefully), interview, take a train to Sacremento see Ben and Crystal, then fly to Seattle (stay with friends of friends ... hopefully), interview, fly back home, and then get job offers in both places and pick the one that pays the most.  I don't know that it will work that smoothly.  I agreed to play at a wedding on June 14 - and that is really cramping my style, because ideally I'd like to push my 'mad-dash-of-the-west-coast' back a week, but then I'd be gone over that wedding weekend.  grrrrr.

Anyway, enough break ... "Back to the thesis grindstone, slave," the evil task master screams, his face purple from the surge of angry blood into his capillaries.  

My Union Debut

So I'm at Waterstreet (surprise!) working on my thesis (surprise!).  Well, I guess I'm literally taking a break from working on my thesis.  While on my thesis break I figured I would blog about my night last night.  It was a good night.  Some friends from church and I went out to the Union (for those of you are not from Kalamazoo, the Union is a semi-fancy restaurant that occasionally has live music from WMU students and other area musicians).  Anyway, last night Cliff was performing.  Cliff lives over on the east side of the state and regularly performs in restaurants and bars.  One of his trademarks is to get people up onstage singing.  So, fun fact - approximately 6 people got up on stage with him - and 3 of them were from my table (perhaps that's because 84.3% of were are on the worship band team).  

Anyway, Cliff asks for a guy (no, a 'stud') to go on stage.  My friends Jessica and Rachel point to me and tell Cliff to make me do it.  Instead he calls Jessica on stage to sing a song (I should tell you that Jessica and Rachel both know Cliff).  Jessica sings beautifully.  Cliff does some other stuff and then again asks for a 'stud'.  Again, Jessica and Rachel point to me.  This time I cave in and go up onstage.  I sing Blackbird by the Beatles.  It was great.  But weird - the monitor system was so bizarre that at first I didn't recognize my voice as my voice.  It was weird.  I thought that person is singing the same thing I am but that's not me ... oh, wait, it is.  So yeah.  Then to be fair Rachel got up and sang a song.  

After the set Cliff came over to our table and thanked us for participating, and told me that he was surprised and impressed by my voice ... it looks like, even though I'm not singing as much, I still haven't lost it.  It was fun ... my Union Debut.

That's about it.  Nothing else much.  Oh, I have an unofficial thesis defense date: May 28th.  As long as the 3rd member of my committee is available then it will be on the 28th.  Scary.  But that means that once the thesis is done we can go back through and fix the mistakes and then get it ready to submit to publication.  I'm going to be a published author (assuming it gets accepted).

Anyway ... back to the grind

Canada Goose Aggression

So, while walking into the building today and yesterday mornings I have seen spectacular displays of goose aggression. On both days I have seen two large geese chase away a smaller goose. Trumpeting their cries, craning their necks in anger, spreading their wings and beating at the air to display their power. Geese are weird creatures. Of course, when I was watching this large goose run towards me (before realizing he was attacking his rival) one thought ran through my head: he could break my legs with those wings ... where is the best place to run to and what can I throw at it. So, I guess that is really three thoughts. This morning was less eventful - there were no air-beating-wing-displays, just honking, chasing and pecking each other, with the victor returning to the gaggle triumphantly. It must be mating season. I thought it would be a bit late for mating, and they aren't near any water. hmm. I may never know.

In other, non-zoological news, I don't think the job in San Francisco is going to pan out. I've been emailing the director this week, and if I understood correctly, they have offered the position to another person, and she is just figuring out if she can accept. Honestly, I'm not that disappointed. It would have been a great job, but I'm not certain it was the perfect job for me. Also, I have two new prospects. A fairly large private practice in Seattle, and St. Lukes Hospital in San Mateo, CA (San Francisco Bay area). I have not heard back from either yet (it's only been three days) ... well, I have not finished the application for St. Lukes yet. It's an incredibly monotonous application process - very similar to the application process for grad school. There is also a hospital outside Boston that I am interested in ... but they do not want a fresh grad. grrr. And seeing as though it is 30 minutes outside of Boston and not IN Boston, I am less inclined to take it.

Other than a purposefully slow going job search, not much is happening here. I'm working on my thesis full time ... well, when I'm not blogging about my life. I bought some new shoes yesterday ... $7. I was pleased. They are a blue/green/tan plaid slip on shoe. I think my feet are shrinking. These are a 9 1/2 and they are big. Maybe these shoes just run big, but I want to cause a fuss and say that the sky is falling and that my feet are shrinking. What else is going on in life ... I'll be watching my professor's dog over Memorial Day. That makes three professors I have animal sat for. Interesting facts (or not-so-interesting facts).

Ok, back to the grind ..............