That would be the fate of the thesis. Its not a sad moment, nor one of defeat... more like a moment of relief. On the advice of my professor I have decided to continue to work at my own pace and deliver a completed, hopefully well-written, insightful, thought provoking, body of work to her next Fall. After spending the last 2-3 weeks drowning in sources, harvesting notes, re-viewing videos, dissecting a 200+ page dissertation, staring blindly into my computer screen, beginning an introduction, deleting work that was probably worth saving, opening new documents, organizing materials and reorganizing my sanity, I accomplished a promising outline and a fantastic first page.

Although the professor was optimistic, at least in front of me, that I could complete 19 more fantastic pages before December 15th, she was secretly hoping that I would stop torturing myself and just move on. "Its not like you haven't been trying. Its not like you will never do it. Its an exciting project and when you are not stressed out you will enjoy doing it", she said. "Its ok. What's one more semester? Its not the end of the world. I'm not telling you what to do, just laying the option out there. Think about it and let me know... SOONER than later because, remember, decisions move things forward."

Yes, it is true. Decisions do move things forward, so I made the decision to accept an incomplete, in which I will use the remaining two weeks to study for my Swahili final and complete a final paper for another class. Then it will all be over for 30+ days. I will be able to regroup, then start the process of insanity all over again.

The Punany Poets will be back on tour next month and that's when I will pull out my inner anthropologist and get to work. The goal is to have a completed thesis before I have to work that cap and gown. I am NOT trying to put in a summer AND "one more semester". Uh uh, nope, hell to the naw. Must be able to say that I have completed my undergraduate career by July/August (which is the end of the summer term, although I will be walking the stage with my fellow majors and friends in May). Piece of cake, right?