8 Bookish and Not-So-Bookish Thoughts (12)

Bookish and Not-So-Bookish Thoughts is a weekly blogging event hosted by Bookishly Boisterous.
It allows book bloggers (and non-book bloggers) to write about pretty much anything, bookish or otherwise (i.e. sharing exciting plans for the weekend,
rants on things they've encountered during the week etc.)

Phew, it´s been almost half a year since I last did one of these ´Thoughts´ posts! High time for another random update of many areas of my life ;-)

1. Personally, I've been rather busy. After my PhD defense in June, I got an extension of my contract until the end of 2016. I was ofcourse really happy to still have a job! I've been working really hard as our group is trying to fit as much experiments as possible into these few months, before the project (and funding...) really ends. And ofcourse, at the same time, I have to keep on applying for new jobs as well. I've decided to take a 'sabbatical' in January and February. I need time to breathe, recharge and do things I've been wanting to do for years but didn't have the time for. So, who knows, I might post a lot of reviews in these months....

PhD defense!

Hello all! Last week Tuesday, June 21st 2016 was (finally) my PhD defense! It was a very special day and I wanted to share some of it with you through some pictures. 
A little bit of background for you all. In November 2011 I started my PhD at Utrecht University in the veterinary faculty on the use of so-called host defense peptides as alternative antimicrobials, especially in poultry. In The Netherlands, the thesis defense day is more of a ceremonial and celebratory identity than in many other countries. Meaning that you cannot actually 'fail' and the actual defense is open for the public. Ofcourse it's still nerve-wracking, as you want to answer the questions of the committee well. All your colleagues, family and friends are watching and you will remember this the rest of your life.

But, first things first, I promised to show you my finished thesis books. They came around the beginning of June and what a feeling it is to have stacks of books writting by yourself in front of you!! The days afterwards I handed them around to colleagues, collaborators, friends and family and soon the stacks had all but dissapeared.

8 Bookish and Not-So-Bookish Thoughts (11)

Bookish and Not-So-Bookish Thoughts is a weekly blogging event hosted by Bookishly Boisterous. It allows book bloggers (and non-book bloggers) to write about pretty much anything, bookish or otherwise (i.e. sharing exciting plans for the weekend, rants on things they've encountered during the week etc.)

1. Hello everyone! I've been rather AWOL lately.... My life and most of my free time has been swallowed by preparations for this little thing called my PhD defense in June... Lots of organising, preparing, last minute changes to the manuscript, filling in forms, etc. However, it's all coming together and last week I held the proof print of my thesis in my hands! It looks great, all official and shiny ;-) In less than two weeks I most likely have the final products and will ofcourse show it to you guys as well! 

Thesis talk

I submitted my PhD thesis yesterday! Four years of work on paper and now out of my hands :-S

  

The thesis will now be read by the so-called 'reading committee' of 5 professors. And then I will have to have the thesis designed and printed as a booklet. And then there's the thesis defence date at the 21st of June. So, I'm not completely done, but this is one big step nonetheless!
(No more writing and editing, no more evening and weekend work in the coming time, more time to read and relax!)

8 (Bookish and) Not-So-Bookish thoughts (10)

Bookish and Not-So-Bookish Thoughts is a weekly blogging event hosted by Bookishly Boisterous. It allows book bloggers (and non-book bloggers) to write about pretty much anything, bookish or otherwise (i.e. sharing exciting plans for the weekend, rants on things they've encountered during the week etc.)

1. Hello everyone, I hope you´re all doing well and enjoying autumn! My life is rather busy and stressfull at the moment (see 2), but here and there I've been finding time to enjoy the beauty of this season, if only during my commute to and from work! Here, have a picture of the view from my livingroom window, it's quite nice if I say so myself!