Blah

After starting off the year with a gung-ho attitude, I've already hit a low point. I feel like I'm stuck in limbo, playing the waiting game. Waiting for a committee member to confirm my defense date and to sign off on a thesis paper I'm hoping to submit to a conference. Waiting for comments on a manuscript from one of my PIs. Waiting for a followup meeting with both of my PIs to discuss my research plan for a fellowship application.

I know everyone's busy, but I'm still frustrated. I wish everyone operated like my academic advisor. He must be one of the busiest people I know, but he still responds to email promptly, even if it's just to say that he'll get to my manuscript/question/etc. soon. And then he actually keeps his word. He's all kinds of awesome. I seriously don't think I would have made it this far through grad school without someone like him.

2010 is the year

I will finish my PhD this year. It's been a long haul, but I can finally say that with conviction. But then what? That's what I need to decide. The default plan is to stay with my current group, in a postdoc of sorts, while I figure things out. With uncertainty looming, I'm struck by the desire to chronicle this transition and what might come next.