Milestone and moving

Okay, my dissertation proposal has been "successfully" defended...funny how your definition of success changes the longer you are in grad school. All in all, it was pretty good, didn't even bust a sweat...I think sitting down in a few weeks to actually process the discussion I had with my committee will be a bit painful...actually committing to a dissertation seems a bit painful. It seems like such a gamble...will I get the data, are the data high-quality, blah, blah. I did receive a genuine complement from a committee member. Amazing....I'm suspicious....

So, onto the next project....KENYA! Damian is taping up the final boxes (I'm sitting on an air mattress in our empty house (we still have coffee, cereal and diet sunkist, believe it)), weighing our suitcases (we have 5 of them, haha) and enjoying unemployment (and me not being a little stress ball:) ). I don't think it has sunk in yet that we are leaving...for Africa...for nearly a year. I know it will sink in shortly...especially when I have so much to share with everyone and they are not "just a phone call away." Luckily, my grandparents and parents drove down this past weekend to help us pack up and say our final good-byes. It was fun and sad, just as it should have been. My parents took my Bugga and Number Two (our other dog, Laddin). Again, very sad....even worse was waking up the next morning with out my cute little muffin doing her morning stretches and giving mommy kisses. Ugh. Damian will have to do (minus the cute morning stretches since he can't even touch his toes).

So, I'm clearly a little sleep deprived...one of these days I will actually fill everyone in on my plan for the upcoming year as a Fogarty Scholar and bread winner. I'm sure that whatever I think I'm going to be doing will change once I get there (there being Kenyatta National Hospital, which is where the study for my dissertation is being conducted with HIV-discordant couples). More nerd stuff later, just you wait.

Damian has asked me to share his (minor?) anxiety about all of tomorrow's traveling. He is not exactly cool, calm and collected in airports or public transportation...yup, this year will be a learning experience. He has also asked that I make it clear that he will be hauling (like on his back?) seven pieces of luggage (really, only our two carry-ons, and giving his proclivity to become completely overwhelmed in security lines, he will hardly be "hauling" any carry-ons!).

Sunshine and roses.

Catch up with you all when we get to Kenya!!!!!!!!!!