Mountains in my mind

My thought process, as I try to synthesize my thoughts about all these books, is speeding up. My body is slowing down.

Officially, my remaining two papers should be due tomorrow at 4:30 PM. My committee is generously extending this, for reasons I won't detail here.

Medical concerns unfortunately might mean postponing my oral. We'll see. I hope not. I don't particularly want the comps process to be longer, but at the same time, I am grateful that they are accommodating. I was afraid that asking for mercy would be met with stern refusals from professors whose hands are tied by policy; I needn't have worried. We all share a single goal: for me to get through this process with minimal adverse effects to my general well-being. At the very least, this lessens my anxiety.

Today I've situated notes on a few texts where I want them to be in my papers, and written some solid paragraphs. If I could sit up and type for an extended length of time, I would be able to finish by the end of the day. I am hoping now for Saturday, so that I can still have time afterwards to prepare for the oral, still scheduled for Wednesday. I like where one of my papers is going, in terms of writing and analysis. The other is a bit more typical, and less fun to write, but I'll have to satisfy myself with something fairly ordinary. I'd been looking forward to taking a long hike in the mountains after finishing in the afternoon tomorrow. I suppose the hiking will be metaphorical rather than literal; I'll take a walk through the woods of my words, the mountains in my mind, barrens of my brain.