I am very sorry for my lack of updates. I have come here several times and started writing, but my heart just hasn't been into blogging. I haven't felt like myself for awhile. Quitting my job was much harder on me than I thought it would be. I have felt depressed and just blah. I actually asked Dan what he would think about me going back to work if/when there is an opening, and he said I need to do what makes me happy. I worried that he'd get on my case because he would be stuck at home all day with the three birds I brought home, but since they all get along so well and are relatively independent, he is ok with it. He said he is glad I was here to get them adjusted. Well, of course this is all contingent on Wendy hiring me back, so I texted her to express my interest, and I got no reply, so I fretted for days and worried that she was not interested in having me come back. However, a couple of weeks ago I went up to CSU to have lunch with Billie, and afterward, she invited me to come up and say hello to my old coworkers, so I ended up staying an extra hour and a half making the rounds. Wendy wanted to see me before I left, so I stopped into her office, and she told me she would hire me back once a position opened. I was SOOOOO happy! If I had known how much I would miss working there, I never would have resigned. It would have been difficult to get everything done for my oral exam, but I would have found a way to do it. Anyway, it's hard to say when someone will move on, so I will just be patient until it happens.
Speaking of my oral exam, I took it on Wednesday at noon and I was finished by 12:30. I passed with flying colors, according to my professor. I was so stressed out, but she and Dr. Wesolek, the other examiner, went pretty easy on me. They asked me about my study and how I plan to carry it out. I assume that since I was able to respond to all of their questions easily, they decided not to ask the basic questions. My guess is that they assumed that I was well prepared for anything they could throw at me. I am just so extremely happy to have that roadblock behind me. I have one more assignment to submit for this class and then I have two weeks off. I think a trip to the beach is in order for Sunday.
On another note, my flock is complete and has been for awhile. Phoenix (not Harley, it just wouldn't stick) came home on August 23
rd and Jack came home four days later, so they have both been here for an entire month already. It worked out well, because it took Rio a few hours to warm up to Phoenix, but when we brought Jack home, because he'd already had his world rocked, he wasn't phased, and Phoenix, being so new, wasn't phased either. They have become very good friends over the past several weeks, and they are all sharing a sleeping cage now. Things really went so much better than I could have hoped they would.
Well, I should press the post button before I end up back here in two weeks revising this blog post yet again. Now that I have the stress of my oral exam behind me, I should be able to focus on other things. The next step in my doctoral journey is writing my prospectus. That will occur in my next (and last) class. After that class, I am on to my dissertation classes. My journey should be over in less than a year, although they have me scheduled for another year's worth of classes. I am hoping to have my dissertation completed by next June, but I guess I'll have to wait and see how quickly they are willing to let me progress.
