countdown to convocation: day 23

March 23
Convocation Countdown: 40 days
Presentation Countdown: 14 days

Yes…you totally read that correctly. 14 days (and technically even a bit less as it is now evening on Friday, March 23 here and my defense will be late afternoon so less than fourteen 24 hour periods from now it will all. be. over.)

On the preparation front, I’ve had an exceptionally commuter-ish week doing long driving stretches so I’ve been listening to my presentation a bunch in the car. It is oddly surreal to listen over and over to yourself give a presentation. I am at the point where I can almost lip synch. I am not quite at the point where I don’t wince a little at how my voice sounds recorded but…I’m learning to live with it. Tomorrow I will stop traveling so much and begin talking it again in earnest. Maybe I will also try to develop an accent that says, “smart , cosmopolitan, and deeply authoritative with a hint of whimsy.”

You know that point where you read the same word or say the same word over and over again and it loses all meaning to you? I’m totally there with my dissertation. What has been so fabulous (and so in keeping with all I’ve been learning about the meta narrative of community that has so infused this journey) is that I received presentation input and question potential from all corners of the world. Seriously. You all are amazing and I am still astounded by the support.

*Insert community to save the day.

That said, I will be real….reading question potential has legitimately made me put into practice once more all the anxiety countering deep yogic breathing techniques I’ve learned this year because if someone were to ask me these questions right now about my dissertation…I don’t know that I would have good academic answers. However, it is also tremendously empowering because I do have time to prepare. 13 days is more than enough time.

So if you have sent me stuff…Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And if you still want to send me stuff…I am ready to receive it with open arms because as it is all speculative at this point anyways, more is more!

Speaking of more…as this process has unfolded I have added about a page more to my acknowledgements. I am 100% okay with this.