How To Survive Your Thesis

Take an occasional weekend off...well at least part of the weekend. Friday I did nothing. We went to this odd little mall in South Carolina called Plaza Fiesta Carolinas. It's a mall designed to look like a "Latino" plaza. It's weird but cool at the same time. The store fronts are made into what looks like stone buildings, and there are fountains with blue tile. They string lights across the "avenues" which bear the names of different Latin American countries. The kids like it because it has a huge candy store (with Mexican candy) and a giant playground (seriously giant). I wanted to take pictures, brought the camera, and discovered that H had removed the batteries!?

Well I started this post last week! Which shows I'm surviving my thesis...not writing on my blog. But it's done. Okay I have to do the conclusion but first draft is pretty much over. And tomorrow I'll be hammering out the second draft of my introduction. And then next week will be spent writing conclusion and rewriting Chapter 1.

But really...take time off! I'm realizing the value of just giving myself a day or two off. This week, I spent the whole afternoon at my friend's M's house. It was so wonderful. I got to hang out with the moms that I like the best. We talked about schooling, ate potato chips, and finger knitted. In a lot of ways the mommies keep me sane. I wish I could take them with me when (if) I start my Ph.D. I needed the time away from the thesis to just be human.
Me working on my thesis...note the look of dedication.

And I got my official rejection letter from UNC. I almost cried! I mean, I knew it was coming but it was rough to see it in writing. It made me feel discouraged about the thesis being any good, and about applying next year. Sigh.