I love visiting my parents in the spring because they live on a farm and there are always baby animals there this time of year. This time around, they have some chucklings and some kittens. First, the chucklings: a hen kept trying to set on some unfertilized eggs (we have no roosters) in the usual egg-laying spot, preventing the other hens from laying any eggs. My mom got tired of this and stuck the chicken inside an old cage. She then went around the property gathering an assortment of duck eggs that our lazy ducks weren’t caring for, and stuck them under the hen.

I had my Master’s defense this morning, and I’m very glad it’s over. It went well, but one of my committee members was seriously making me nervous with all his very specific questions. I suck at theoretical stuff, and he asked questions like “did your tool produce 2ⁿ or n! pages?” and “can you give a proof why this language is not regular?”. The more I gave him “I dunno” answers, the more grim he looked. I was mentally kind of panicking, with thoughts along the lines of “does he hate my project? he must think I’m so dumb”. After they kicked me out in the hall and my advisor called me back in a few minutes later, though, the committee members were all smiles and congratulations. Pfhew. Now I just wait to receive my diploma in the mail this August (unorganized me didn’t submit the paperwork in time to get the degree this month).

As of this coming Monday, I’ll be done with school. My defense is in the morning, and then I’m through. Provided my committee accepts my Master’s project, but my advisor tells me not to worry. It’s crazy, though: eighteen years of school, and I’m finally done. I don’t think it’s really hit me yet. After my last final the other day, I chatted with a classmate on campus about the final, then just went home. I didn’t even realize that I probably won’t be back to that part of campus or that building for a long time, if ever. Lying in bed this morning, I felt incredibly free, because I realized not only do I have the rest of the weekend free from studying, reading textbooks, and doing homework, I have the foreseeable future free of such activities. I no longer have to balance my time between what I want to do and what my class schedule dictates I do. I can come home from work and immediately go to slacking off on the couch, or exercising at the gym, or whatever, because I don’t have homework due the next day that I’ve been putting off. It’s a lovely feeling.