Blowout

Well, ladies, the bad luck continues...

I left work around 5:30 today, tired and ready to change into pjs and relax. I was cruising along around Mount Vernon (go figure)going over my to-do list, when all of a sudden I heard a weird noise coming from my car. My heart was pounding as I fought the urge to puke. I turned down the radio to hear better and realized I had a flat tire. I pulled over, turned on the emergency flashers, crawled to the passenger side, and jumped out to check out the damage. The damn tire was totally blown out--not low, not just flat--BLOWN OUT. Surprisingly, I didn't cry. I called mom, who got dad (after a few minutes, because he was in the bathroom) and they gave me the number for AAA, since I'm an idiot and didn't have my card with me. I called AAA and they said it would be about 45 minutes, but I was top priority since I wasn't in a safe place. They said they would call when they were on their way. In the meantime, I needed to clean out my trunk. You've both seen it. It's full of JUNK. So I frantically pulled crap from my trunk and threw it in the backseat so that I'd have access to my spare. I was talking to my mom through all of this when all of a sudden, a truck pulled up and a nicely dressed man started walking toward me. He asked if I was ok and if I needed any help. I kept thinking "Oh my God, he's going to abduct me." So I politely told him that AAA was on their way. He chuckled and said "oh, I'm the manager for AAA." He showed me his card and said he was going to check to see how much longer it would be before help came. I frantically whispered to Mom, who told me not to trust him. I kept saying, "but Mom, he has on a bluetooth headset and has a laptop mounted in his car. I think he's legit...OH look, he has a bright yellow reflector jacket. He IS legit!" So the man came over and said it would be about 30 minutes. At this point it was getting dark. He told me he'd just change the tire himself. So he did. He told me not to go over 50, but I could at least make it back to Richmond.

So, I drove off on my little donut of a tire, going 45 on the interstate. I called my mom to see what I should do. She informed me that my tires are special-order only and that places probably wouldn't have them in stock. Well SHIT! She started calling all the car/tire places in Richmond and finally called me back with good news. Tire Discounters (in the new shopping center) had my tire in stock. They even said they would stay open for me if I wasn't too much longer getting there. Well, at this point I was still about 20-30 minutes away. Mom called them back and told them I could wait til morning. They told her to tell me to stop by anyway and they would check the air in my spare to make sure it would hold through the night. So I stopped there. Let me just tell you...THAT GUY WAS HOT. What is with me and cute guys and bad luck with cars? Well anyway, they checked my tire, put some air in it, and told me to come back in the morning. They said the spare should hold up all night as long as I don't do any drag racing lol. Anyway, I'm going back in the morning and then heading to Corbin. What a day!

FBA: Future Bitches of America

Consider this a warning: After this weekend, I will turn into a complete psycho-bitch.


I had a thesis committee meeting tonight and they basically ripped my thesis to shreds. They say I have a good and interesting concept, but it's more "dissertation material" than "thesis material". Apparently I'm trying to go too big. Personally, I think I can do it. It's now my mission to prove them wrong.

They gave me a TON of stuff I need to do and threw some wrenches in the gears, but I'm DETERMINED to get it done BEFORE graduation in MAY. I will have WEEKLY committee meetings with deadlines for each step in the process. Now, I ask you, why was this not happening all of last year? Oh well, it's happening now so I'll just have to deal with it.

So, with externship, 2 classes, and weekly thesis deadlines, I'm going to have very little time for fun, relaxing, and sleep. I'm going to turn into the spawn of satan and you will probably want to kill me or de-friend me. I just ask that you bare with me. It will get better once this is all over with. Then I will throw a huge party and buy you presents and maybe even dedicate my thesis to you.

No worries, ladies, this will in no way effect our weekend together. I am putting all thesising aside for the weekend. It will be my last weekend of freedom. I'm ready to live it up.

I can't wait to see you girls. It's going to be tons of fun! I miss you and love you lots!

%^&* SCHOOL

WARNING: I need to vent. Yes, Katie, you have to read this whole thing because I haven't told you all of it and won't tell you on the phone. There will be a quiz next time I talk to you.

For the first time in my life, I HATE school...I hate it! I'm not entirely sure when this hatred began. I think it's been growing since this summer, but really came to a head at the end of last semester. Let me backtrack.

Over the summer, I did speech camp and therapy every morning then had classes every afternoon. It was a lot to handle, but that wasn't even the bad part. My dreaded thesis is what started the hatred. I worked HARD to get my introduction and literature review done by July 24th. I spent countless hours in the library and countless more sitting on the living room floor with books on autism spread all around me. I submitted my 20-page rough draft on Thursday, July 23rd- one day before my deadline. I had been told that a good literature review is about 20 pages. When I submitted it, I was told that it was "a good start." I was enfuriated. After meeting with my thesis advisor, I was told not to worry about submitting my proposal to the IRB (Institutional Review Board) until I had a strong introduction and lit. review (meaning, not until after I'd edited my rough draft).

Skip to last semester. Last semester was HELL. I struggled to adjust to student teaching all day and being a student all night. I was taking two online classes, student teaching, and trying to have a life. I had family drama, stitches, and the swine flu. My thesis was the furthest thing from my mind, not that I could have worked on it without edits from my advisor. Finally, at the end of the semester, I met with her to discuss my thesis. I told her that I didn't feel like I could go any further without her feedback. This was on a Friday. She told me that she would have it back to me by the following Tuesday. I checked the following Wednesday, and it was still not in my clinic mailbox...same thing on Thursday...then again on Friday. I had a breakdown over something completely unrelated while in the halls of Wallace. She saw me and the first thing she said to me was "You don't have to do your thesis. It's not too late to back out." I told her that I wasn't crying over my thesis and she said "Well, I hope everything works out" and walked away. She didn't mention my edits at all. I stopped by her office and I emailed her about the corrections. Still, nothing. I went all through Christmas break without hearing from her. Finally, during the last part of my break, I emailed her again with no response. I decided I couldn't wait on her any longer and emailed another professor for help. That professor emailed me back with a fully edited copy of my thesis within 2 days. So, 6 months later, I finally had some feedback.

This semester: The very first day of school, I had to be on campus. I ran into my thesis advisor and she FINALLY gave me the corrections. This was three weeks ago. In the meantime, I've been driving to and from Corbin everyday. I leave my house at 6:30 in the morning and generally don't get home until 6:30 at night with the exception of a few slow days. In addition to my externship, I'm taking two classes and trying to work on my thesis. I work from the minute I get home until right before I go to bed (except on Tuesdays when I watch Biggest Loser). I desperately need a break, but the end is in sight.

Two weeks ago, I was on campus to ask about reimbursement for mileage. I was talking with Dr. MB and she brought up my thesis. She asked where I was on it and whether I had completed my IRB proposal. I explained EVERYTHING to her and she basically told me to take matters into my own hands. She also told me that I needed to call a committee meeting. My plan was to work on my edits and schedule a meeting in a few weeks. Last week, I saw another one of my committee members. She also mentioned that I needed to set up a meeting within the next couple weeks. So last week, MB emailed me basically saying that since I wasn't scheduling the meeting, she would. Rather than look like a slacker, I emailed everyone about the meeting. We got everything set up and I thought I was ready to roll. I've been working hard on finishing edits and wrapping up what I need to have done before my meeting. Today, I got an email (forwarded to the rest of the committee) from my thesis advisor saying that she is looking forward to reading my manuscript and my IRB proposal. She also sent an email (just to me) saying that I needed to have them both turned in to her by tomorrow night so that she can look over them before the meeting. I promptly emailed her back and told her that she had told me not to do the IRB yet, so it wasn't done. I explained that I could work on it though. She sent an email back, sounding a little pissed saying that she would send a correction to the committee about the IRB. She also said that we needed to communicate before sending an email to the whole committee.

What was I supposed to do? MB would have scheduled the meeting if I didn't. My advisor is just holding me back anyway. I think this meeting is a way of moving things forward. There's no need to meet with just her when I can meet with everyone and get insight from all of them. I'm aggravated and just want to do it all myself without having to worry about going through them. I'm sure she feels like I'm stepping on her toes or going over her head or whatever, but it's MY thesis and damnit, I want to graduate in May.