Random Happiness

Walking back to my car after yesterday morning's meeting, I happened by some knit graffiti. Multi-colored, it made me ridiculously happy despite the stress of the week. 

Last Lizard Ridge Block

Every night during this qualifying exam process, I have been spending that last hour of my waking day in front of the television and knitting. It gives me a chance to think about the progress of the day (never enough) and plan for the day to come while creating something I can hold in my hands. That's the thing about qualifying exams: you exert so much energy on them but never actually produce anything, at least until you print it out. I haven't printed anything out yet, primarily because I'm avoiding any and all editing until closer to Friday, when these writings are due. 

Ah, but I digress. That picture above? That's my last Lizard Ridge square. Two years later and all the blocks will be knit. Well, knit soon enough. I'm hoping it will be done by Friday. That would be two large projects off my hands by the time 11:59pm rolls around. 

Seven Days

I've been working nonstop on qualifying exams for twenty-three days now. I will turn them in next Friday and hope they are solid enough to promote me from doctoral student to doctoral candidate. Fingers are crossed, breath is being held. That's not to say the entire twenty-three days has been nothing but work - there have been moments of respite, like Wednesday's bowling challenge. The Dissertators and the Qualifying gathered for an afternoon of throwing heavy objects down a lane in hopes of causing some mass destruction. It was therapeutic and definitely more of a metaphor for the moment than I would like to admit.

I've the outlines of my questions done. The major readings I need to do are complete. Now to thread together all the snippets of what I've written and smooth it over into something readable. It can be done. There is an end point at which life will resume.

To remind myself of that, a list of what I'd like to complete before the summer is over, post-qualifying exams:

Craftiness
* Clara's holiday gift. Lots of sewing involved in this one... hopefully the month of July?
* Finish my Lizard Ridge. This has been the knitting project that never ends, but I am a block and a half away from my thirty. May the massive amounts of sewing and knitting edging begin! So close!
* Begin the zig-zag quilt. I've had this stash of Hope Valley for a bit now and am itching to actually do something with it. I love the zig zag tutorial and think it will be somewhat doable. At least more doable than the last zig zag quilt, which I still need to pull apart and either make into something new or turn it back into a quilt. One that doesn't look like the person sewing it was on crack.
* Maybe even finish a wedding afghan. Especially since the wedding's already passed... I have a year, right?

Leisure
* Read at least three books not related to school. I'm thinking this, this, and this should be delightful.

This is, of course, ignoring the fact that I have (a) 2 classes to finish by the first week of August and (b) have to move out of the House of Whelmed by the end of July. (This last point has me a little verklempt.) I'm going to think that there is all the time in the world to do these things. Don't try to convince me otherwise.

Yes. Now must go write. Dialogue and teaching. I'm so sick of writing about dialogue and writing at this point... but I will finish it today, finish the second question tomorrow, and write through the workshop leading up to Friday's turn-in date. Doable, yes?