The Department got its draft of my dissertation today. Now it is a semi-public document for anyone there can look at it and even read it (although I would be surprised if anyone actually did). I still need to write my acknowledgements and an appendix. But I am taking tonight off. I will get to that tomorrow.

Tomorrow I need to meet with Dr. Advisor to find out just exactly what goes on in a dissertation defense. I need to find out what will be expected of me and what happens if I suddenly run out of the room (and if it makes a difference whether I am crying or not). The only faculty member I am worried about is Dr. Advisor. The other professors are not the trouble-making kind. Or at least I don't think they are. Hmmm....maybe I should think this through some more.

Nah, no need to get worked up about this.

But Dr. Advisor does ask tough questions. He owes me though. As Eric mentioned in his comments to the last post, he has asked me to pick someone up from the bus station a few hours after my defense. The person to be picked up is probably the most renown historian who works on Italy. At least he will be flying into Boston from Italy and then taking a bus to Providence, so maybe he won't notice my stuppor. I told Dr. Advisor that I did not know what shape I would be in, but he reassured me that I would be ok. This is of little consolation because this man does not sleep and can read books in one sitting. So his expectations of other are always much too demanding.

Nonetheless, I feel equally intimidated about trying to keep an intelligent conversation with a great scholar after my defense as I am with the defense itself.

Back to matters of my other life...

I need to focus back on the course I am teaching. If anyone thinks that one can write, edit, and defend a dissertation and still be a good teacher, they are wrong. There are only so many places your brain can be at once.

I also got a call today that I am going to be interviewed for a postdoctoral position at a small liberal arts college. The problem? The college is in Walla Walla, Washington. Not necessarily the most convenient location. This is a problem because they want me to go there for a one day interview, but it takes about eleven hours to get there from here. It is also not good because it is eleven hours from Boston where Sara will be next year.

Problem one is a real problem. Problem two will only be a problem if problem one goes well. So I will take one problem at a time.

So I will probably take on problem one sometime during the first week in May (which causes a load of other problems that I won't go into right now).

Needless to say, I will be busy the next few weeks. Stop by an pat me on the back, I need all the help I can get. And the help and encouragement I do get is always greatly appreciated. :-)