Victory.

I'm finished.
When I was formally introduced in the lecture hall at Maxwell-Dworkin I could barely hold my notes. My presentation was full of stops and starts, of nervous pauses and quivers in my voice. But I made it, and as my mentor encouragingly reminded me, I said everything I wanted to say. My data is good. My poster was pretty. My defense was shaky, but thankfully my work speaks more confidently than I do.

I'm enjoying my last few days in Boston and will meet my family in DC on Sunday. Today I packed my whole room into two massive suitcases and wheeled them half a mile down the street to the nearest UPS store to be ground-shipped back to Provo (far easier said than done. Try navigating Cambridge's packed sidewalks with both hands behind you, lugging suitcases that when put together weigh more than you do), and yesterday I planned a wonderful day (after Jerusalem and this experience, I've become a very experienced personal itinerary planner) for myself in the city: a three-mile morning walk; a pumpkin-chocolate-chip pancake at The Friendly Toast; quality time at The Garment District, an "alternative department store" in Cambridge at which I found an adorable Betsey Johnson blouse for just $18; an entertaining tour of Fenway Park (and the chance to sit atop the famed Green Monster); a ride on the Swan Boats and quality time at the Make Way for Ducklings statue in the Public Garden; and an outdoor performance of Othello for free in Boston Common. This is a lovely way to end my summer--as long as I stop thinking about the fact that it's ending.

P.S. I got the job for which I talked about interviewing in my last post, even though I had to run frantically around my lab building in search of a semi-empty room from which to conduct the Skype interview. I ended up on a couch on the communal twelfth floor, hoping that no one around me would be too loud during lunch or be bothered by the fact that I was talking to a computer (and trying to seem intelligent while doing so). Meet Independent Study's newest Instructional Design Assistant. What can I say? I needed a second job. :-)