I am officially advanced to candidacy. I have to pass part two of the comp exams, and that is scheduled for the second Saturday in November. I also have to either pass the Spanish proficiency test or take the full year at De Anza. She said either is fine and I don’t have to worry about taking additional MA classes to maintain standing.

Have I mentioned that I have 19 books to go on reading? And six more weeks till the test? I’m becoming less and less fretful by the day.

Oh, and my Spanish class? It’s a cakewalk. I’m putting in more effort than anyone else in the class and she seems to grade mostly on pass/fail. Pshaw. Taking the whole year might actually be the least stressful way of accomplishing the task. I’m going to try and take the exam at the end of the term just to see if I can get it done already.

Wow. I’m really close. This is so amazing. To be honest, there have been a few times lately when I’ve had thoughts about not finishing because it seemed like more stress than it was worth. But when I look at how little I have to do and how little stress is left I am really confident that I have to finish.

Wow. So, who is going to start calling me Master once I have the degree? I refuse to be a Mistress though. Hey, doctorates give you the right to Doctor…