Halfway Through

I am almost halfway through another semester - school for me, not work (but that semester is almost halfway through as well). I'm taking three classes this Fall. Fortunately two of them are online so I only have to drive up to Denton for class one night a week. And this week it was canceled. Boy that feeling never gets old. It's almost akin to hearing "Snow Day". I've been crunching numbers and looking at my degree plan. I was going to meet with my advisor tonight to turn in my NC State documentation so we can get the official transfer of courses done, but she's the one who canceled class. It'll have to be next week. I'm hoping to map out with her the rest of my coursework and file my degree plan. Last time she and I met we discussed my potential dissertation topic. Rather than a study, I asked if I could do a historical analysis of a topic in education for my dissertation and she said yes. Oh happy happy day. This means no IRB! No SPSS or SAS! Heavenly words to my ears. I'm very excited about the possibility of finally merging my love of history (and my undergraduate major) with my current field of study. If everything goes according to plan, I should finish coursework next December and then start writing after that. My own personal drop dead date for writing is for it to take no longer than a year. As a procrastinator this worries me. I do better on a deadline. My writing is better that way. But I also know I want to be finished so that may light a fire and hopefully I'll be done in summer. If I can start reviewing literature this summer, then I may be able to pull off finishing in Summer term. We'll see what happens.