The Eye of the Storm

Warning: This post/analogy is going to be nerdy. Very nerdy. But then again I’m pretty nerdy. I’m a grad student in a science field, after all, so I think that pretty much defines me as a nerd on at least some level(s).
But anyway, if the PhD candidacy exam were like a hurricane, then right now I’m in the eye, where it’s deceptively calm and clear, almost making you think the storm is over. Not quite. I already suffered through the first part of the storm, barely missing the worst part, the right-front quadrant. When I first got the exam and read over the questions, I thought I was sunk. Seriously, they were pretty tough questions, and none of them seemed immediately obvious at first glance. But then I dug in and just started plugging away on a couple problems, and 6 hours later I’d finished my 3 out of 5 problems. The two I skipped were both about waves, which kinda forced my hand to the other three. (Here’s a fun question from the test for y’all to ponder: What would the atmospheric general circulation look like if the Earth were cylindrical instead of spherical?) At any rate, while I didn’t ace any of the questions, I think I may well have done enough to pass, so I’m feeling reasonably good about how it went (I’m maybe 60 or 70% optimistic that I passed, so I’ll be really disappointed if I don’t). I guess I’ll find out in 4-6 weeks though. At the very least I’m not feeling demoralized after the test today, so that’s a plus! After studying dynamics ever since I got back to State College a week ago, it’s now time to switch gears quickly and review cloud physics, radiative transfer and turbulence. The other side of the eyewall is coming in on Wednesday morning with part 2 of the candidacy exam (physical meteorology), but by Wednesday evening the storm will be long gone! I’ll be able to relax at long last!! It’ll sure be nice to have a life again. Studying like this has really gotten old. Well, I should either get back to it or get to bed before too much longer so that I can really hit the books tomorrow. It’s almost over…