At 2:30 pm EDT say a little prayer for my mouth, that it doesn't flub up.

As you can see, the counter's down to less than a day. When I finish, I will have completed all my program's requirements, and other than some paperwork, I'll be a free-and-clear Doctor (Technically, I already am since the paperwork's in, but hey....)

I am so mental....

We're having a party afterward. I'll let you know how it went.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 12:51 AM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
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1 Best of luck! (and congrats!)

Posted by: Princess Cat at June 23, 2005 01:32 AM (qha9N)

2 Mazel Tov!

Posted by: Rachel Ann at June 23, 2005 01:43 AM (qE+If)

3 You know, they say in the theatre to break a leg? Well, BREAK A BRAIN CELL! YOU CAN DOOOO EEEEET!! We're rootin' for ya, gal. xoxo

Posted by: Margi at June 23, 2005 04:09 AM (nwEQH)

4 Party Party Party! You go girl!

Posted by: vw bug at June 23, 2005 08:08 AM (Q19td)

5 All the best, and congratulations!

Posted by: Laughing Wolf at June 23, 2005 09:17 AM (zI0Ey)

6 Congratulations! {{{hugs}}}

Posted by: Kate at June 23, 2005 09:32 AM (XargM)

7 Congrats!! will be thinking of you @ 2:30! BTW, I am SO jealous of your trip cross country. Looking forward to your moblogging...

Posted by: Marie at June 23, 2005 09:57 AM (cRiTs)

8 Best of Luck, Doctor!!

Posted by: Amanda at June 23, 2005 10:05 AM (ay+rD)

9 Saying a little prayer that you'll feel calm, cool and confident through your defense. All the best!

Posted by: Omnibus Driver at June 23, 2005 12:37 PM (6VG2d)

10 What Margi said Break a brain cell!

Posted by: Ith at June 23, 2005 03:35 PM (/Kiii)

11 Yay! It's sure going to be a busy week or so. Enjoy it as much as you can.

Posted by: Ben at June 23, 2005 07:37 PM (NIpoo)

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MommaBear's beloved PoppaBear has passed away.

So terribly sad. There's not much else to say. Our thoughts and prayers are with her. Drop be and let her know you care.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 10:17 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Mom and Dad arrive tomorrow, just in time to go to one of our favorite places for dinner (yummmmm....piggy.....)

I had to do an hour-plus power point presentation for tomorrow's class. Learning and Memory.... Need to do two more for Wednesday and Thursday and then make a test for Friday....

I'm baking a cake for Dad's birthday...

Need to bake banana bread tonight before the bananas completely die....

Need to build a 50 minute presentation for my defense

Public defense seminar on the 23rd, followed by party....

Need to make a list of people to email about the defense...

Text corrections from committee members need to be added to my dissertation and done in time to get all my paperwork in before I leave.

Moving van comes on the 29th

No (firm) job (for either of us right now), no house. Just winging it.

Mom and Dad leave on the 30th

We leave on the 1st.

Must Pack. Must Clean. Must finish graduation requirements. Must get mail forwarded.

Sleep??? Ha. I need no sleep. Bring me caffeine!!!!

Posted by: caltechgirl at 11:42 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Craig of MTpolitics and the Spousal Unit are the new parents of a daughter, Kiran Lee, born in the wee sma's this morning....

Go congratulate them and check out the pictures!

She couldn't ask for nicer parents....

Posted by: caltechgirl at 02:27 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Well, we're officially moving.

We've contracted with a moving company. For the charming price of 60⊄ per pound, these lovely people will load their truck with my stuff, drive it to CA, and unload it for me. All I have to do is pack and unpack.

They even solved a big problem for me. They told us that they can't guarantee a delivery date until the end of July. Which is fine. See, our friends are trying to move out of their house into a condo. We're trying to move into their house. But the landlord of the condo is giving them the runaround. The actual landlord is out of the country on vacation, and the management company won't do anything about them wanting to move in until this lady gets back. Meanwhile they're getting married and going on their honeymoon.... So we wouldn't be able to move in until they get back from Hawaii in the middle of July at the earliest, even assuming all of the variables fall into place and they are approved by the condo owner and we are approved by the house owner... Anyway, if the stuff doesn't come until the end of July, that's fine by me, now.

It's times like this that make me INCREDIBLY happy I own an SUV. We can haul enough stuff across the country on our own that we don't need to have furniture for a month. And we can stay with family and friends if we have to. We were planning on spending a good chunk of July in Fresno anyway.

Today's other good news: We went to Costco to pick up the dog's prescription and found exactly what we needed for a reasonable price. They had a "deluxe moving pack" from Allied, and it contains 30 boxes (most of them 18x12x12, which is great for books), 5 rolls of bubble wrap, 4 pounds of packing paper, 36 foam sleeves, 3 dividers for glasses, 3 rolls of packing tape, 2 tape dispensers, and 2 markers (not that we needed the markers....) for $50.00. Not bad considering that in the packing stores around here the boxes sell for more that $1 apiece and they really gouge you on the other stuff, like paper and bubble wrap.

The current plan is to have the stuff shipped to Fresno, and then we can UHaul it down to Pasadena when we know where we're going to live.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 12:41 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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1 Sounds like a good plan. There's one only one problem: when it's all over, you'll end up living in California.

Posted by: Xrlq at June 11, 2005 12:59 AM (4/bIn)

2 Hey, from where I sit that's the good part. But I'm in Massachussetts, so there you go.

Posted by: Deb at June 11, 2005 01:05 AM (8n5zS)

3 NC is similarly evil in some ways.... Like roads that curve in 4 directions and have at least 3 names depending on which street you've just crossed. Not to mention the dearth of alternate routes.... I wish you luck, Deb, in your possible upcoming move. I can't imagine trying to move with a somewhat mobile toddling rugrat....

Posted by: caltechgirl at June 11, 2005 01:12 AM (UNuTU)

4 Darn... I could use those boxes. You wouldn't want to move to Florida instead?

Posted by: vw bug at June 11, 2005 08:19 AM (n+JjT)

5 Thanks. It'll definitely be interesting. Luckily Sadie is a pretty cooperative kid, generally speaking. You know, I got all misty-eyed when you posted about streets laid out in grid patterns and people who know how to use left turn lanes. Left turn lanes? I soooo miss left turn lanes.

Posted by: Deb at June 11, 2005 10:30 AM (8n5zS)

6 Good luck with the move. Usually, I'd say don't move in, we don't have any water for you to drink! But considering you're a native, I think we can make an exception this time.

Posted by: Bill at June 12, 2005 01:13 AM (x0SOn)

7 Two extremely valuable pieces of advice: 1) Public storage is a wonderful thing, and relatively cheap. Put a large fraction of your boxed stuff (that you can move yourself) into a storage unit near the new place. It's a LOT easier to unpack without having to work around boxes. 2) The best moving boxes for any breakables are liquor or wine boxes. Very heavy duty cardboard with heavy duty dividers. Several sizes available, and liquor stores will be happy to let you have them. You just have to find out when deliveries are, because the stores tend to flatten the boxes very quickly after unloading them.

Posted by: Ken Summers at June 12, 2005 11:13 AM (YElNr)

8 I liked Cali believe it or not. But I was in a small town outside of Palm Springs :-) I hope the move goes well. I know that can be a pain!

Posted by: Sissy at June 12, 2005 10:59 PM (uXS+O)

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I just wrote the first of 2 tests that I have to give in the class I'm teaching.

65 multiple choice, and 43 fill-the-name-in-the-diagram questions.

In 90 minutes. Shouldn't be a problem.

The REAL problem is the M**^(^F&%^*$G COPIER that won't do more than 40 sheets at a time before the roller heats up and the pages stick......

And it's always THE SAME F*)^%$$@G PAGE!

ARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!

Did I mention it's past midnight?

So I'm here blogging and checking mail waiting for the stupid bitch copier to cool down...

Posted by: caltechgirl at 12:47 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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According to this new study, it's unsafe for kids under the age of 15 to ride in the front seat.

Therefore in some states, it's legal to drive a car before it's safe to sit in the front.

Hey, I've got an idea. Let's make the airbags adjustable. It is possible. The technology exists NOW. You can even have them removed in 2-seaters ifyou have kids. The driver just flips a switch: Adult setting and the airbag is armed, child setting, and it isn't. Of course in this day and age you have to sign a waiver saying that you accept responsibility for failing to protect an adult or a child adequately.

Then we could put rear facing child seats in the front for small babies again. That's been shown to be FAR safer than a rear facing seat in the back since it's a little hard for the driver to check on a baby they can't see.....

Posted by: caltechgirl at 11:18 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Gone too soon...

Anne Bancroft, the legendary actress who brought Mrs. Robinson to life in The Graduate, and wife of the incredibly awesome Mel Brooks, has died at age 73 of uterine cancer.

Born Anna Maria Italiano in 1931 in New York's Bronx borough, she got her start in movies in the 1950s.

She won an Oscar for her 1962 film "The Miracle Worker," where she played Annie Sullivan, the extraordinary teacher to blind, deaf and speechless Helen Keller in the movie directed by Arthur Penn.

Over her long career, she garnered a further four Academy Award nominations for "The Pumpkin Eater" (1964), "The Graduate" (1967), "The Turning Point" (1977), and "Agnes of God" (1985).

She also won two Tony Awards for her work on the Broadway stage, including one for the stage version of "The Miracle Worker" in 1960.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 10:21 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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June 4, 1989:

June 5, 2004:

June 6, 1944:

Posted by: caltechgirl at 01:44 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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So, flying from LA to Phoenix there was a 5 year old behind me. I was in the window seat, the middle was empty and DH was on the aisle. The kid's mom was in the middle and someone else was on the aisle.

I'm thinking, it's only an hour, it won't be a problem. WRONG.

For those of you lucky enough to have never flown out of LAX, take-off is over the water. That kept the kid occupied for about 10 minutes, then....

To find out the rest, read the extended entry.... more...

Posted by: caltechgirl at 08:13 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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I spent much of yesterday on a plane. More on that later.....

As if I didn't need a reminder, I missed 2 very important things....

1. Deep Throat is #2.

2. Jen's Beau is now Jen's fiancee (yay!)

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