Whoa! (It's May...!)

Best wishes to everyone who's finishing (or starting) a term paper, working on an article, grading exams for the profs you've TA'ed for, dealing with students you've taught, and now also looking ahead to what's on your agenda for the next few months...

What are your plans and hopes for the summer?

Elizabeth ("fullmoonblue")

Good thread idea, Fullmoonblue.

I finished my last term paper today, so I'm breathing a sigh of relief. I've also recently celebrated the fact that my summer is unexpectedly much freer than I'd planned, as my husband just got a new job with a much better salary. The upshot is that I won't have to work full-time, or perhaps at all--so I can spend my summer composing and reading.

Good thoughts to everyone else in their final days! (Ooh...sounds so drastic. :)

At the moment I'm still waiting to hear if my final papers have been accepted for the semester. If they are, I've been done since Friday. If not... well, what does the word "semester" mean to a graduate student? :)

Over the summer, I'm planning a few stops for a book signing tour. My first fantasy book is being republished, and I'm doing some promotion for it in preparation for the second book in the series coming out in November.

I've just started my very final class, a Spring/Summer accelerated one that will be over at the end of June. After that...I'll be done. Hard to believe.

Probably I'll spend the Summer scheming about ways to make myself a more appealing job candidate.

I am taking French in July. Other then that working at the school for June in their coffee bar- an excuse to get paid to do homework.

I laughed when I saw the title of this thread - it mirrors my reaction the morning of May 1st, although in my case the exclamation was not quite that polite. I'm coming up to my PhD confirmation in a few weeks. Ye Gods.

Best wishes to everyone.

MysteryWatcher:

Same here, though it's hitting me every couple of days. (Whoa! It's almost halfway through May!)

Congratulations on approaching The End. I'll be receiving an MA at some point this month, going straight on to the theoretical physics PhD. I need to get through the final oral qualifying exam around the end of the summer, so I'll be spending my summer putting together a committee (the easy part) and doing some research worth talking about (the hard part) -- probably on Lattice Strong Dynamics. (Before you ask, yes, I'm sure they picked their acronym quite purposefully. Physicists can be funny like that.)

A highlight's going to be getting to sit at the big kids' table, which has got me excited. I'm not presenting anything, but I'll get to see the "big time", such as it is.

I'll also be spending a lot of time checking out stuff on the arXiv, and hopefully putting something up there as well.

I have one final take-home exam left (which I'm obviously not doing if I'm on LT), and then I am going home for a month.

After that I'll be in Ukraine for 2 months doing intensive language training, and looking for potential research sites.

This semester has been ultimately the worst ever, and I am sooo glad that it is over! (well, 2 days, but close enough)

I started summer semester last Friday, so I'm at the beginning, not the end. Although in the bigger picture I am approaching the end, as my plans for the summer involve finishing my Masters of Library Science in August and then no longer being eligible for this group.

I'm writing my dissertation this summer and only teaching TWO courses instead of my usual 3-4 -- if they make that is, while heading into divorceland after a 17 year marriage that should have lasted only 3 years. Always the optimist, me.

I'll be doing the same as always this summer, research,research, research. In the sciences, generally after your first 2 years you're done with classes and work full time in the lab. A couple of vacations are planned though!

I met with my director yesterday to review my final chapter & conclusion on my dissertation. He wants only a few more sentences to expand on a couple points and then, folks, I will get hooded in October--barring an unsuccessful defense, of course!! As for the summer, I'm mulling over little library reseaqrch for a possible article--how sick can I get??

YEAH! Congratulations! YEAH! What did you do your dissertation on?

AAARRRGGHH.

I'm on the quarter system, so I just finish FINALLY grading my students' midterms only to find out that their final is in 2 weeks. I've been helping them with study sessions and most are telling me that I'm the best TA they've ever had (which makes me blush) but still, I feel so rushed, it's crazy.

After moving into my new apartment, I plan on sleeping for all the hours I gave up staying up late grading papers.

Yay, I made it through my first year of grad school. I am glad to be done now for the year, but I would give my left foot to be back on the quarter system, even if it meant several more weeks.

Now on to the summer job/new apartment search.

I've done 4, 5, 5 1/2, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 16 weeks --I prefer 10 week quarters. Sixteen weeks is just too long -- everybody quits about week 12 or 13. Of course, 12 is optimum, so no one does 12 anymore. I'm teaching 2 4-week courses this summer 5pm-10:45 pm for 15 days. Phew!