It is 245 pm and a rainy day. It is an amazing feeling to be at the library working on post DBA tasks. Two bound copies of my thesis are sitting in my home office and I must say it brings a smile to my face when I look at them. The underlying emotion is a mixture of pride and amazement that I actually wrote a thesis and now have a doctoral degree!! Speaking of doctoral degrees, mine arrived in the mail yesterday. I am going to get it framed later today. I also finalized my grad photo selection today, my parents are eager to receive them especially given the reality that I was not able to attend the official ceremony. No matter how many grad photos I take, they always look sort of cheesy in my view, but are definitely good for posterity.
My other focus today is to continue my sending out “thank-you” emails and cards to the many individuals that provided guidance and support along the way. First stop is the librarian here at U of T who helped me many years ago on a few items, and was incredibly thorough and kind. Since that initial contact she always took the time to smile when she saw me over the years and this small act was comforting to me whenever I saw her. Another person is a statistics guru at OISE who delivered a series of SPSS workshops that I attended several years ago. She also provided some additional 1-1 tutorials for me. Her teaching laid the foundation for my practical statistics knowledge. I also have a number of emails to send to Henley DBA Graduates, both in Canada and the UK, who provided empathy and advice when I was getting started on my thesis. I am planning to get all of my thank-yous completed this week.
In addition to wrapping up post-DBA tasks, my husband and I are knee deep in renovation plans for our home as well as some other activities. I have a bit more time on my hands these days, but not as much as I thought! We are also planning a celebratory trip before year end which I am looking forward to.
I am going to give myself until the end of the year before working seriously on my next paper, but hope to set up a few calls with some researchers who I am hoping will want to work with me on a joint publication. That said, I am going to do my best to continue to post weekly and continue to read articles in my field. This stage of my research life feels great!!!