1-24-12

I know we are only to work on thesis related material in class, but I have a scholarship due tomorrow, so I am fudging...
Last night, I planned to get this application done and out of my life. Naturally, disaster also scheduled an appointment for the same time. My godfather, who has been a father to me my whole life, was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer last October. The doctors said he had only days left, or weeks if he was lucky. His survival thus far has been nothing short of a miracle.
However, last night he collapsed on his way to the bathroom. He had a stroke that has now paralyzed the right half of his body and made him mute, because he can't make his mouth form words. Last night, friends and family gathered from all over at the ICU unit he is in - some drove over four hours to be there. We cried and prayed for several hours, until about 5AM, when I drove back home to get my things for school, and resume my normal routine.
I have probably set a record for the longest excuse ever, but this is why I am not doing thesis work today and have been nodding off all day. I will resume thesis work on Thursday.

I do have a dilemma, though. I am having difficulty grasping what my final thesis project is supposed to be about. Because I will be presenting to a group of judges who already know more about psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) than I ever will, I know that I should leave details of the field out (i.e. what it is, how it applies, etc.). But if I am writing a research paper, what do I say in the presentation? Mr. Correa says the presentation is about what I have done, but "I researched" isn't much of a presentation, and I shouldn't include what I found in my research, because the judges already know that, and I may bore them. It's a very circular issue. Mr. Correa says he'll post a succinct description of the final presentation. I'll look forward to seeing that.