Prelims...

Might just kill me. For those of you that are unaware, "prelims" or "preliminary exams" must be passed by a person pursuing his/her Ph.D. before that person is really considered a candidate for a Ph.D. This milestone varies between schools and programs, but is generally living hell just another stressful experience.

For me, prelims consist of a written grant proposal on a topic of my choosing. It cannot overlap with the grants that have already been funded to my lab, but it does not have to completely stray from my overall work This written proposal must then be defended orally in front of a committee that asks you questions and decides overall if you pass.

I'm currently neck-deep in a pile of quicksand that is the grant-writing process. It seems like no sooner do I find the answer to one question, than another, more important question crops up that I don't know they answer to. I find the answer to that question, and realize that there is a giant hole in my thinking process... well you get the picture.

On top of that, my PI asked me to present the aims that I'm intending on writing in my actual grant, which will be submitted in August, in lab meeting on Friday. So despite the fact that I have the whole week off from classes {thank you Winter Break!} I am spending all my new-found time for the week working on this lab meeting.
{For those of you thinking -it's grad school, shouldn't you be in lab? You are correct. However, the 12 credit hours of class I'm required to take this semester for my training grant would disagree.}

My best friends this week: my hubby {of course}, ginger-lemon tea {does wonders!!}, and oatmeal with dried cherries

9 things I love about being a graduate student...

...or wish I loved :) Why nine? Because I couldn't think of a tenth.

1. Never having a lack of things to do. Really. I hate being bored or getting to take a break and spend time with my friends and family without feeling like I should be running experiments.

2. Being at work before the sun rises...

3 ... and leaving after the sun sets. I should be better at taking my Vitamin D supplements.

4. Spending more time writing grants, reading research papers, and applying for conferences, than actually doing experiments.

5. Leaving work on Friday and telling my co-workers - "See you tomorrow." Because we all know some of us will be there again on Saturday.

6. Taking 12 credit hours of classes in one semester to fulfill my requirements for the devil a training grant, while studying for preliminary exams.

7. Hanging out with some of the coolest, smartest people I know {seriously!} when we actually do have a little bit of a break.

8. Going to research presentations and understanding about half of what the presenter says {as opposed to the 0%  I understood a year ago...}

9. Feeling like I'm getting to figure out something about the world that no one else knows yet.

Some other accurate representations:
{click on image for original source}