Next week I'm presenting my PhD findings at this conference in Washington DC; in March I'm presenting a similar paper at the Michigan Speech and Hearing Association's conference. I need to actually write it up into a journal article but am too unmotivated (see earliest wiblogs for evidence).

I'm teaching one class for A/SLP this summer on Audiological Rehabilitation; I'm currently teaching an entirely online course in a very similar area for the University of Southern California, which I'm enjoying immensely.

I've also applied - and been shortlisted for interview - for a tenure track faculty position with A/SLP here. I only found out about the interview today, so this actually counts as a current log too :) . Please anyone reading this offer prayers that I'll get it - apparently it's a fairly strong field of applicants, and I don't have US speech therapy qualifications (though this was only 'desirable' rather than 'mandatory'), and my teaching experience is limited. Having a tenure-track job would allow me to get a green card and thus have permanent residency in the US, which would give terry and I the security we need. It'd also make me eligeable for a lot more funding, workshops and so on.

It's a 2 day interview, including meeting students, faculty members, the dean, and an hour with Alex, the head of the department. And dinner on the first night, which happens to be my birthday. Oh, and I have to give a half hour-45 minute presentation to an audience of students and faculty. The only downside is the timing - it's the day after I get back from the Folk Alliance conference in San Diego, so I'll be exhausted, jetlagged, sleep-deprived and not-at-all focused on work! The dates are March 3rd and 4th - prayers will be appreciated.

Next update ... the wedding!

With certificate in hand, I photocopy and fax it over to an agency who I'm paying an absolute fortune to evaluate my qualifications - i.e. certify that this is indeed a valid PhD and not something I bought off the internet. They are then meant to send that asap the Office for International Students and Scholars at Wayne State who are processing the visa application for me. I get a call in mid-June from the person handling my visa application at OISS who tells me that the fast track fee they're paying only covers the US side of things, and that I'll still need an appointment at the UK consulate for the visa itself to be issued.

So I ring the US consulate (on their premium rate number) only to discover that the earliest appointment they have for me is August 30th. They don't get cancellations, take-it-or-leave-it. Oh, and pay them large sums of money for the privilege.

And here's where I go into complete panic. I'd been working on the erroneous assumption that I could just take my passport to the US consulate, wait for aaages, but walk out with a visa the same day. Nope. Not going to happen. The day that I find this out is the day after the packing firm has come and taken all my things to be shipped to Michigan. It's 4 days before I've arranged for all the utilities to be turned off, and the letting agency to re-let the flat. I had a flight booked to Michigan for July 31st, thinking that would be plenty of time to take care of visa stuff. Oh, and I'd arranged with Wayne State to start work in August. Plus Terry and I have our wedding on October 11th.

I was now technically homeless (after, oh irony of ironies, giving all my furniture and worldly goods to a charity that helps homeless people get set up in new housing), with no job, no source of income, and a large amount of unforseen time on my hands.

Luckily I have friends with spare sofas and floor space; a supervisor who was willing to take me back for 7 weeks and Greenbelt festival to let me say goodbye to friends I thought I wouldn't get to see.

Around late July, I get a letter through, via my parents, with all the forms that have to be completed before hand, saying that I have an interview at 10.30am, and not to be early and not to be late. When I get there at 9:55, having killed time in a bookstore before hand, is a long line of other people who all had 10:30 appointments. Tagging on to the end of the long line of people who had 10:00am appointments. Intersperced with a few people who were early for their 11am appointments. I waited in that line for 45 minutes to hand over our forms and passports and receive a number. I then sat down and waited for an hour until my number was called. And that was fast - they seemed to have one window that was processing the work visas only. And, after 30 seconds through the glass.. ("Where will you be working?" "Wayne State". "What's your area of research?" "Speech Pathology." "Very good, you'll get your passport back in 10 days.") ... I was done.

My passport showed up, and on September 19th, I flew out to America. A 9 year long distance relationship was about to become full-time live-in; I had a job starting on Sept 29th, and a wedding on Oct 11th. Info to follow in subsequent updates if anyone is interested.

So.. following completion of PhD thesis and a few months doing post-doc research for the Newborn Hearing Screening Programme, I finally got to graduate. In a maroon/burgundy gown, that didn't clash with my hair too badly, and a floppy black hat. In the grandiose surroundings of the Sports Hall at Nottingham. The whole thing was webcast, and is actually archived here if anyone should be interested. Click on the afternoon ceremony for July 3rd - the medical school one. I was the very last person to graduate, because they worked upwards from associate degrees, ending with PhDs, in alphabetical order. Though if you watch the video clip, you can also catch me on the end of the far side rows, 17 seconds in as the procession passes. And at 36 seconds in,you see Terry in a red jacket on the far side of the procession too, with my mother next to her. My actual graduation is at about 51:15. See my hair fall over my face as I bow to the vice chancellor.

Yep, Terry came over for the event, which was just wonderful. Adrian, my supervisor was there, as was Sally, my 'good as supervisor', and Fr Philip and Dave, the assistant Catholic Chaplain were on the platform as well. It was great fun, and even watching the video clip now to get the timings stirs up a real feeling of accomplishment.

Terry and I took off after graduation for a few days at Ampleforth Abbey which has been a real spiritual touchstone for me in my journey to Catholicism. And it's always good to hang out with monks. We travelled a bit around Yorkshire, did fish and chips on the beach at Whitby, visited James Herriot's surgery, and basically just had some vacation time together. Much needed, and much enjoyed.

Next stage ... the big move!

So.. let's start with the big one - the PhD. I basically forced my supervisor to read and evaluate my final draft, going so far as to sit over him at his house one Sunday while he looked over my changes. I realised I had a very hard deadline if I wanted to graduate in Summer 03 - which I needed to do in order to get to the USA and take up my position there.

I submitted, one day before the deadline, and then had to deal with all the difficulties of finding a date on which my two external examiners were both available to come down to Nottingham. Needless to say, that took a while. And it had to be a day on which Adrian, my supervisor, was away. But it was between him and them ... and we didn't need him!

I prepared as best I could, and even went as far as to arrange a 'mock viva' with the former Institute director, who'd semi-retired down to Cambridge. He's known for his obfuscating questions, and his ability to find weak points, so I figured if I could survive a run-through with Mark, I could survive anything. It was actually really helpful - he gave me a lot of his time; found what he thought were the things they'd pick up on; helped me prepare an answer to the probable opening question (and he predicted it exactly right); and took me through the other common questions that get asked.

So when it came to the real thing ... it went really well. I was disappointed that it was over so fast - I spent just over 45 minutes defending my work. The changes were minor - along the lines of "add the word 'unilateral' to this paragraph for clarification", with only one analysis to redo, as I'd used parametric rather than nonparametric tests. It didn't alter the result or story, so I had most of them done that day.

The next hardest part was getting my internal examiner to sign off on the changes, as he was away in China, and busy when he got back... and again, the deadline was looming by which I had to have a hardbound copy, with signoff from the internal examiner that all was to his satisfaction. We made it - again, with me running over to the Medical School several times each week, and wanting to strangle the computer tech people due to last minute printer woes. But, five box files in hand, I made it to the binders ... and returned a week later to collect the Real Thing. Black, gold letters on the spine ... it looked really official! Oh - one word of advice to any PhD students out there - try and go for a shorter title than I did. You get 50 characters free, but the rest you have to pay extra for. Children with Mild and Unilateral Hearing Impairment: Current Management and Outcome Measures sounds good, but cost me 6 quid or so in letters!

I still remember the feelings - a mixture of absolute elation, and yet somehow a grief ... that a chapter in my life was coming to an end; that there were Big Scary Things awaiting me; that it was finally time to step out of being 'student' and become 'professional'.... and that the thing that had been the entire focus of my life (and procrastinations) for the past 5 years was finally over.

Next ... graduation!

If anyone's still reading ... hi! Let's see if I can make this a new habit.

In other news, I spent far too much time today playing the Mystery of Time and Space adventure. And, in the shameless plug department, please do check out and support my friend Ms Ordinary in her quest to steal Lord Archer's glory: People vs Peer