fantastic news!

this blog is 99.9% about me. so, i i'd like to take a moment here and talk about someone else. my husband. for those of you who read this and don't know, i've been married for 7 years. since i was 20. six years ago, my husband -the history major - decided he wanted to go into mathematics and earn his phd. with absolutely zero math background. we're talking a phd in PURE mathematics here - stuff that you and i and 99% of the rest of the world couldn't comprehend if wanted to understand it. he took prerequisites and was admitted to the graduate program in 2001 and got his masters in 2004.

ever since then, he's been working very hard to gain his phd. only 10% of people that enter the program he's in will graduate from it. besides rigorous courses, he has to take 2 preliminary exams and write his doctoral thesis. the preliminary exams are extremely difficult and most people fail 1 or both. jim took the algebra prelim (and when i say algebra - i do not mean the algebra you and i learned in high school - i once looked at the proofs he had to do for this test, and i could not locate one number or letter or notation that looked vaguely familiar!) . he failed it. algebra is the hardest of all the prelims and many people do not pass. he had one oppportunity left to take that prelim. he had planned to take it last december/january. but crosby died, so he had to push it back to this summer. he's been studying hard all summer, and he has been very, very worried about this prelim. if he failed, he would be out of the phd program - and all his work from 2004 on would have been a waste.

he took it the wednesday before last - and after a week of waiting for his results- they're in. HE PASSED!!! i'm so proud of him i can barely stand it.

he still has to take 1 more, but algebra is the hardest of all the prelims - so we're not too worried about that. he did a great thing, and i'm happy and proud - especially considering all we've been going through lately.

YAY for my hubby!