Visits, birthdays and finals

Now the first year of classes is officially over for me, and I breathed easy over the weekend. It was surprisingly nice to discover that there is life outside of the 4th floor of Symons Hall, where I had spent the last few weeks preparing for finals and writing papers. In April, after Katie's visit, I had visits from two more friends, Laura, and Kiki. Both stayed at my apartment, and I was able to spend a little time with both of them, although school got in the way of my normal hosting activities. Nevertheless, I definitely enjoyed the company.

Eric, Kevin, Laura, and Kristin - all out to dinner without me (I was studying)

On our birthday, Eric and I, along with Rebecca and Kristin (and Kiki, who was in town), went out to a really nice dinner for our birthday. The food was delicious, and it was great to be able to spend my birthday with Eric, something that I haven't been able to do for the past few years.

Eric and I post birthday dinner
Rebecca and I after dinner

Eric and Kiki and I (she went to high school with both of us)


The following Friday (4/27), Eric and I threw a birthday bbq at my apartment, and a lot of friends and classmates came over to celebrate. It was a fun, although exhausting.

Me with my classmates and their family (no, Anna is not that prodigious!)
Janessa, Eric and I on my front porch
With Rebecca and Janet
Post parties, I had to buckle down and finish off the semester, which I did as of Friday. I haven't received the results yet, but it feels nice to be done anyway. Now, the real work begins. Two make-or-break exams, June 14 and June 21, to determine who advances to candidacy in the department. The exams are 3hours, written, and test the material learned over the first year (for the uninitiated, we learned a LOT of material in the first year). I will be spending the next month getting ready for those. June 22, I plan to do as little as possible.

Lest you think that my summer will be over at that point, fear not: I have to work full time until classes start in the fall, to make up for my less-than-halftime workload during the school year. It will be a nice change from schoolwork, though, so I am looking forward to it. They don't yet know about my vacation plans though...hmmm.