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good news and bad news
Oct. 2nd, 2015 03:52 pmThe good news is that my master's thesis is done, fully and finally. As in signed, delivered, accepted by my committee and the university, "published."
Yay!
The bad news is that I still have to complete one more requirement to receive my MS. The department requires something called a "culminating experience," which is sort-of-but-not-really a thesis defense. Sort of, because it's an oral presentation. Not really, because it's not tied to the acceptance of the thesis (see above).
So basically, I still have to give a talk. I was supposed to do it this summer, and if I had gotten my act together I would have received my degree on August 15. But did I get my act together? Nooooo. This means extra headaches in the form of paperwork, and it will delay conferral of the degree for another semester. I feel like a slacker. But now I'm working on my talk and trying to set a date for it, so it will happen. It just feels like a let-down. I feel like I ought to be more excited about completing my degree. It's hard to be excited about it given that I was supposed to be finished with it nearly a year ago.
The last six months or so have been difficult. I'm pretty certain that the antidepressant that I've been on since 2003 has finally pooped out; in fact, I suspect that this began happening over a year ago. During the time I've been taking it my doctor has gradually raised the dose to the maximum, so there's not really much choice except a) go off antidepressants altogether or b) try a different one. I am nervous about both of these choices, for various reasons. I suppose there's a third choice: c) continue taking this medication, even though I don't think it's doing anything for me. That doesn't seem very smart.
I think part of my inertia is also due to the fact that I've been in school for a long time, and once I finish my degree I'll have to do something else. And what will it be? I hate job hunting (like most people, I suppose). I know I don't have the right temperament for freelance work. So I'm wondering what I'm going to do with this degree now that I've (almost) got it.
Yay!
The bad news is that I still have to complete one more requirement to receive my MS. The department requires something called a "culminating experience," which is sort-of-but-not-really a thesis defense. Sort of, because it's an oral presentation. Not really, because it's not tied to the acceptance of the thesis (see above).
So basically, I still have to give a talk. I was supposed to do it this summer, and if I had gotten my act together I would have received my degree on August 15. But did I get my act together? Nooooo. This means extra headaches in the form of paperwork, and it will delay conferral of the degree for another semester. I feel like a slacker. But now I'm working on my talk and trying to set a date for it, so it will happen. It just feels like a let-down. I feel like I ought to be more excited about completing my degree. It's hard to be excited about it given that I was supposed to be finished with it nearly a year ago.
The last six months or so have been difficult. I'm pretty certain that the antidepressant that I've been on since 2003 has finally pooped out; in fact, I suspect that this began happening over a year ago. During the time I've been taking it my doctor has gradually raised the dose to the maximum, so there's not really much choice except a) go off antidepressants altogether or b) try a different one. I am nervous about both of these choices, for various reasons. I suppose there's a third choice: c) continue taking this medication, even though I don't think it's doing anything for me. That doesn't seem very smart.
I think part of my inertia is also due to the fact that I've been in school for a long time, and once I finish my degree I'll have to do something else. And what will it be? I hate job hunting (like most people, I suppose). I know I don't have the right temperament for freelance work. So I'm wondering what I'm going to do with this degree now that I've (almost) got it.
