Not so fast, my friend.....

If you've ever watched College Game Day, you know this phrase. This was the phrase running through my head around 4:30 pm Thursday during the networking session.
I had just turned in what I thought was my final version of my thesis to my advisors when my phone buzzed. It was a message from someone I had asked to do an interview with for my thesis that I didn't think would be able to do it in time, so I had finished my thesis without the interview.
She CAN do the interview after all! An email to my advisors telling them to hold off and I'll be getting yet another revised version to them early next week and a meeting to do the latest interview later and I'm back at revising my thesis yet again.
I know having this last interview will only strengthen the thesis, so I don't mind doing it, but......as they say.....

Post #5 Revise, revise, revise....

As I stated in class last week, I was very relieved to have my final draft turned in to my advisors. I've already started to do some of the revisions that I noticed needed to be done during our peer review session, but there are many more left to do. I've already reformatted my photos appendix to have the captions under the photos instead of above. Just doing that alone has made them look so much better. Now begins the task of double and triple checking that I have all of my German words italicized, the punctuation in the right places in relation to footnotes, and getting my footnotes and bibliography in "Turabian" style. I used Zotero, but that isn't the same as Turabian, so I have to make sure I'm using the correct style. I also have a few grammatical things to clean up, but overall I'm fairly satisfied with how things have turned out.

I'm trying to let myself step back from it for a few days and be able to have fresh eyes when I look at it again, but I also want to get it done so I can be done with it and not have to think about it anymore.

But as they say, there's light at the end of the tunnel.... hopefully it's not an oncoming train! ;)

Post #4- Spring Break

I must admit, it was nice to have a break from everything for a week.
For Spring Break, I went to visit my family in Dacula, GA, north east of Atlanta.
If you ever get the chance to go to Atlanta, there are tons of museums to visit. I'd been to the World of Coke and the Atlanta Aquarium before, so this trip we decided to go somewhere different.

The first place we visited was the College Football Hall of Fame as both my father and I are college football fans, even if we root for different teams. When you enter the museum, you are directed to register and choose your favorite team. Every visitor is given a lanyard with a pass that links to their registration information. When the visitor approaches an exhibit the RFID recognizes you and your team and highlights exhibit items from that team. For example, when you enter, you're faced with a wall of helmets from various teams featured in the museum. As you register, the helmet from your team flashes so you're able to find it.

Partial view of the helmet wall. Photo: Jennifer Roeszies

Overall, I really enjoyed the museum, but of course I had to pick out a few things that most visitors would never see. Some of their artifacts were falling off of the mounting, things were falling apart and probably should not have been on display in the first place if they wanted to preserve the item, and empty exhibit cases were shoved in a corner but still visible on the exhibit floor.

 Empty cases visible on the exhibit floor. Photo: Jennifer Roeszies

Movable monitor which interacts with visitor pass. Photo: Jennifer Roeszies

 Helmet with pieces of leather falling off. Photo: Jennifer Roeszies

Some of the cool technology they have includes a movable monitor that allows the visitor to scroll left and right while interacting with the exhibit, and a place to record the visitor singing their team's fight song, which is then posted to their website. (Just don't tell my father, he didn't realize it was being recorded and posted. ;) )



The second place we visited was the Atlanta History Center to see the cyclorama. I highly recommend going to see this exhibit!! The fully restored cyclorama reopened in late February, 2019 and is a must see for Civil War enthusiasts. The 47 foot high painting depicts the Battle of Atlanta. The museum interpreter tells visitors the history of the cyclorama as well as the Battle of Atlanta and includes a 12 minute video. There are multiple interactive screens on the first floor that allow the visitor to get more information on the people, the places, and the changes made to the painting.

Section of cyclorama painting. Photo: Jennifer Roezies

An additional benefit of going to the AHC is that when you pay your admission, they give you a ticket for free admission to the Margaret Mitchell House which is also a part of the AHC. As someone who has never seen Gone With the Wind or read the book (shock and surprise, I know) I wasn't sure what to expect from this visit, but it was very interesting and I'm glad that we went. If anyone is a GWTW fan, I would recommend going.

Spring Break was fun, but now it's back to working on my thesis before the deadline. 

Update #3

Some days I feel like I have everything on track and under control, and other days I feel like I'm terribly behind and will never finish in time.
I look at the deadline for the final draft and it feels like it's tomorrow!
I know I'll get everything done, and some days it doesn't bother me as much, but other days I wake up in a cold sweat thinking I've forgotten a deadline or a huge section of writing that I forgot needs to be included.
The writing for our last deadline went well, and I already have 5 pages of the next section done, but I still have to finish that section and get at least three more sections done. I think this is what is making me anxious because I keep thinking that all of the sections need to be as lengthy as the first two, but they don't.
It will get done, and I'll be fine. In the meantime, I just keep plugging away.
At least my preliminary poster PowerPoint is finished and submitted. One more thing checked off the list.
On to the next!

Blog post 7: Break

My goals for my project over break are to have my two thesis advisors meet for the first time, to continue researching my topic to make sure that I'm providing as complete of an analysis as possible, to conduct some of the interviews with members of the dance group, and to relax for a few days so I can approach the topic with fresh eyes after the break.

I've already attended two Christmas parties for various groups within the Federation, and I will be attending at least one more in the upcoming weeks. While not during break, I will also be attending the Federation's Gala Ball in late January which will give me the opportunity to possibly interview a few more members of the dance group as well as members of the federation.

In the meantime, my thoughts are turning to going on our New Year's Eve cruise! Have a wonderful break everyone!!

Pulling in to Nassau, Bahamas aboard the Anthem of the Seas 1/2/18

Photo courtesy of Erich Roeszies