As the Decade Ends

As 2010 draws to a close, I'm still not sure how I feel about it.  Sure, I had some good moments this year, but I also had some not-so-good moments.  There were also some things this year that I can't label as either good or bad.  So, without further ado, here is the year in review.

First, the good:

• I advanced to candidacy (okay, this isn't official until the first of the new year, but the work and paperwork was completed in 2010).
• The first wedding in my group of friends went off (congrats, Mairead and Alex).
• Reunion weekend in June was a good way to spend a summer (okay, late spring) weekend.  Among other things, I went sailing for the first time in my life (yes, I was a bad SMCM student).
• I have been much more social this year than in previous years.  Well, it seems so, anyway.
• I now get to write the ATT math questions for Frederick County.

Now, the low-lights of the year:

• I now have only one living grandparent.
• It has been over 3.5 years since my last date; over 4.5 years since I've had a girlfriend.  Granted, I sort of knew going in that 2010 was probably not going to be the year to break this streak.
• *Bleep* Snowmageddon.
• It took Pepco a week in July to restore power after a thunderstorm.  
• Frederick County put the patients in charge of the mental health facility known as the county government.

And the things I can't quite label:

• My church's preacher left.  Thus, I've had to serve and preacher a couple of weeks (and start off 2011 doing so, as well).  While I enjoy preaching every once in a while, I'm a little worried how long this may last.
• More seniority in the math department means more responsibilities (like helping with orientation and proctoring qualifying exams).

So, while my 2010 has been better than that of many others, I think I'm ready for 2011 (more on that in the next post).

Christmas=???

While Christmas was good (among other things, I did receive everything I asked for on my admittedly short list), there were definitely some, shall I say, interesting moments. 

1. The Lutheran pastor at Mount Tabor (of the other congregation at my church) jokingly referred to me as a colleague as the "UCC pastor" at Christmas Eve service.  I know I've preached twice since the UCC pastor left (okay, three times after next Sunday), but what?
2. Having two cats high on catnip in the room Christmas morning makes opening presents more difficult than it should be.
3. I got hints that it has crossed my parents' minds to consider a move to Utah.  Can you say, "out of the blue," boys and girls?  However, I don't know how serious the considerations are.
4. My sister admitted to an illegal, but not surprising, activity at Christmas dinner.  Hey, I tried playing Law and Order and advised her to keep quiet.  Unfortunately, two glasses of wine have significantly more influence than an older brother.  I also found out that my dad's drinking may have surpassed my drinking in quantity over the past few months.  (Granted, this doesn't mean much.)
5. The people who made the Bushisms desk calendars are back in business.  They owe John McCain a few bodily limbs for introducing the nation to Sarah Palin.
6. Wait, did the Redskins just beat the Jaguars?
7. Boxing Day "snowstorm" = dud in the DC area.  In the span of 24 hours, six to ten inches became one to two inches.  (Insert your own joke here.)  After last winter, I'm not complaining about this development.

Well, that's the Christmas recap.  Expect what have become the annual look-back and look-ahead posts in the next week.

It Is Over

The preliminary exam is complete.  As such, effective January 1, 2011, I officially will be a doctoral candidate at the University of Maryland.  With this comes a small pay raise and the end of taking classes (for a grade, at least).  However, my advisor is giving me most of the semester break off (which has already started for me) save for reading a paper she is going to send to me at the end of next week.  As such, I get a break until then.

However, I have volunteered for more work in Frederick County.  This year, I am responsible for all of the math questions in the Frederick County Academic Tournament.  (I may attend one of the early weeks, if anyone is interested.)  Also, this morning I volunteered to preach my fifth sermon at my church on January 2, 2011.  Again, if anyone is interested in attending, let me know.  Be advised that I don't know what the sermon is going to be about yet.  Maybe I'll touch on the new baptismal agreement between the UCC and the Roman Catholic Church.

But for right now, I'm taking a break for a little while.  The semester is over.  And I'm going to enjoy that fact.

Rest for the Weary? Please?

I can feel myself beginning to panic.

The next two weeks will be interesting to say the least.  Here is the agenda in a nutshell.

1. November 29, 3:00 p.m.--RIT meeting.
2. December 1, 1:00 p.m.--Bible Study.
3. December 2, 12:30 p.m.--A one-problem, in-class final exam for my SDE class.  This should be the last written exam I take as a student, though.
4. December 4--Teaching preferences form is due.
5. December 6, 3:00 p.m.--RIT meeting.
6. December 8, 1:00 p.m.--Bible Study.
7. December 9, 12:30 p.m.--Preliminary exam.  
8. December 9, c. 2:00 p.m.--Pending successful completion of the preliminary exam, run around getting candidacy paperwork filled out and submitted.
9. December 9, 3:30 p.m.--Wavelet project and homework due.  The homework is finished; the project needs a few revisions.  This will probably be the last class I take for a grade.
10. December 9, c. 5:00 p.m.--Go out drinking with grad school friends.  I think this one is mandatory.
11. December 10, evening--Departmental holiday party.  More drinking is likely.

Note that this list does not include meetings with my advisor, which may occur close to daily up to the 9th, nor does it include regular class meetings left this semester.  Thus, if I don't respond to emails/instant messages/texts/calls/slaps over the head for the next couple of weeks, it's probably not anything you have done, but that I am working/stressing/some combination of the two.

Note also that the week after all of these activities involves at least one trip to Frederick County for new tires and an oil change for the car, a haircut, Christmas shopping, and the return of Tupperware to my parents.  I should also think about sending out Christmas cards in the near (i.e., December 10th) future.

But after all these things I can relax a little.  I do have the standard holiday functions with the family and church, possibly some math questions to write for the Frederick County Academic Tournament over break, and a qualifying exam to proctor on January 10, 2011, but otherwise, barring a sudden request from my church to have me preach again, I should be free until the new semester starts on January 24th.  So if anyone would want to do something on the fly during that time in the DC area, I'm just going to throw it out there that I'll be available.

Eleven days, eleven days, eleven days,...

And Down the Stretch They Come

I had a productive weekend.  A very productive weekend.  As such, my list of things to do this semester, academically at least, has been shortened quite a bit.  After tomorrow, I will only have to

1. Finish the summary of a paper for my wavelets course
2. Complete my teaching preferences form
3. Take a final "exam" for my SDE course
4. Take my preliminary exam.

Also in that time, there will be Thanksgiving with my parents, the Black Friday dinner (hopefully), and new tires for the car.  In any case, there will be a chance a record will fall the weekend after finals at UMD.  A very good chance.

Fortunately, after this sprint for the next month or so, I will get a chance to relax.  In fact, my advisor has already told me relaxation should be a main goal of my semester break.  Thus, aside from proctoring a qualifying exam, I can look forward to spending some time with friends.  And who knows, maybe I'll be able to make some headway on something I've neglected the past few years.  (Hey, a guy can dream, can't he?)

I See the Light, and I'm Pretty Sure It's Not a Freight Train

As my probable last semester of classes winds down, I find myself in an interesting position on several fronts.

• I gave my talk for the RIT I'm in.  Now, I just need to polish it before I give my preliminary exam sometime between December 6 and December 9.  Since my final exam for my SDE course will be the next week, I will probably be doing some "celebrating" the weekend of December 17-19 (or, depending on how the end-of-semester schedule looks, the weekend before).
• I'm still upset that Discovery's last launch had to be postponed until the end of the month.
• The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear was fun.  I missed some of the jokes being in the mass of humanity that day, so I spent part of the next day watching the DVR recording.
• Yes, the proof I was at the rally is still visible.
• For some reason, my sleep schedule has morphed into a 1-9 a.m. schedule.
• I get to proctor a qualifying exam on January 10th.

But yes, I can sense the end of the semester, which means a few weeks off before the real work begins.  You know, writing the dissertation and some papers for publication before graduation.  And who knows, maybe I'll have to preach again over break as well.

Must...Be...Productive...This...Week

Well, this is going to be a fun week.

On November 2nd, a project/midterm exam (the professor has not been very precise as to what this assignment is) for my class on stochastic differential equations is due.  Fortunately, I have finished one of the three problems already.  Note: waking up in a cold sweat at 7 a.m. on a Sunday with a revelation on how to do a math problem is an interesting sensation.  Add that to the talk I have to give on November 8th, and I have a lot to do this week.  And of course, much has to be finished before Friday, because after that, academic productivity will be negligible for a few days.

• October 29: Tidy up the apartment, go to a dinner party with some grad school friends, host a crashing-spot for the next day's activities.
• October 30: Rally to Restore Sanity (and that march Colbert is having).
• October 31: Halloween (i.e., recover from Saturday).
• November 1: Scheduled date for the last(?) launch of Discovery.
• November 2: Election Day--remember to vote, and due date for "midterm".

If anyone needs a spot to crash for Saturday's festivities, drop me a line.  I can probably put up a couple more people if need be.  I just would like to know ahead of time so that I can have some extra food around and get parking permits.  Hopefully, the heat will be working by next weekend.