This week is Spring Break and I spent four days of it in Chapel Hill trying to get my dissertation director and committee on board with a May defense date. The good news is that they’re all for it! Therefore, starting on May 4 I will only answer to doctor. It was a really fun week, I got to spend time with all of my favorite Chapel Hill peeps: Maureen and Tim, Katie, Carrie, Michele, Abby and Jim, Jake. Good times all the way around. While there was a bit of socializing that happened on this trip, there was a lot of business that had to get done as well. Overall I’d say there were three standout moments.
1. The meeting with Federico Luisetti: Professor Luisetti is my dissertation director (and just so you can visualize, he also looks exactly like Harry Potter). The real point of this trip was to meet with him and it’s always a little daunting to think about a meeting like this since the man is so smart I usually only understand about a quarter of what he says. This time I understood a good four fifths and I’m pretty sure that last little bit was because I just didn’t realize he was switching between English and Italian and I missed the English stuff. Anyway, when I walked into his office, he was all smiles and happy to see me. He very quickly revealed that he was google earthing Denton, TX and was excited by the fact that north Texas has lots of trees and lakes. Then we talked a little bit about what I’ve been doing since I left UNC in May 2009 and again, he was very happy to hear my stories. Then, it was time to get down to business. The bottom line is that he’s pretty happy with the trajectory I’m on (whew!) and thinks that the major changes are in expanding on some ideas and reorganizing thoughts. This is all good since my biggest fear was that he was just going to say, “Sorry, but there’s no way you will be able to graduate with this piece of crap.” So, he sent me on my way with some good notes and even wrote me a little motivational phrase on the final page of my conclusion.
2. The meeting with Dino Cervigni: Dino Cervigni is the scariest man in the history of UNC Italian. If you are in his good graces he can make your career. If you are not, I have no doubt that he has to the power to ruin someone for life (although I really can’t see him doing that). I met with him today for a coffee and came out of the meeting with 3 hugs, a free cup of coffee, praise for my new job, compliments on my Italian and the holy grail: “Oh Jessica, you have accomplished quite a lot in five years.” (Just so you know, if my plane crashed on my way back to Dallas, this better be the first thing that comes up in my eulogy: Dino Cervigni approves, Jessica has accomplished a lot in the last five years.) Another shining moment would be when he complimented my bibliographical skills and was impressed by the fact that I was up to date on some of the most recent MLA style changes. Great way to end a quick “business” trip to the big CH.
3. The meeting of the bird with my ankle: The one not so great moment took place yesterday morning when A BIRD FLEW INTO MY ANKLE AND KILLED ITSELF! Yup, that’s right! I was very calmly walking across the quad to the Undergrad library to check my email and some little sparrow was chasing another one. I’m not sure if it was the chaser or the chasee but one made it between my legs and the other one ran RIGHT INTO MY ANKLEBONE! And drew blood…..so if I start foaming at the mouth, this is probably why. Originally I thought it kept going, but when I turned around, the little things was splayed out on its back on the sidewalk. I didn’t know what to do so I kept walking, thinking maybe it just knocked itself out. Unfortunately, an hour later when I walked back by, the stupid little guy was still laying there. Hopefully he died on impact and didn’t suffer. The same cannot be said for my poor ankle which has a scratch and a rather painful bruise on the inside of my right ankle.
Overall, it was a great trip. I wish I would have gotten to see everyone, but there was so much to take care of and so little time that there just wasn’t time for everything. The good news is that I’ll be back in a few weeks for my defense (everyone send positive energy for May 3) and then there will be a big party…..in honor of Dr. Jessica!
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