Alamo II (or "how I defended my thesis")
Yes, I realize you poor shmoes haven't even had a chance to read the last bit of nonsense I posted here, but these things keep on happening to me, and... frankly I'm a sadistic bastard (read: "sadsack idiot using a webpage for an instant imaginary audience").
So this very afternoon at 3 o'clock, the Alice Bast Conference Room at the University of Waterloo (Ontario, Canada) was sandbagged, an army of examiners were brought in from as far away as London (the nearby one), a thesis was presented for 30 minutes (on the dot, very proud of that one thankyouverymuch), and then two hours of cross examination commenced. But now it is over and done with, and a platoon of crack interior decorators are spackling madly away at the holes letting dusty sunlight into the back hallway, and are applying the aesthetically correct amounts of duct tape and plywood where the windows used to be.
And when all was said and done, what was the verdict? Apparently I "clean up well" (said one professor), and "should wear that suit more often" (said another). Thanks Danny and Geoff! um. The only other real fallout is that I was told I "passed conditionally", which means that I have to make a few changes to the thesis and hand it in, and then it's good to go. For those not in academe, this is a fairly normal result to a thesis defence, especially one written inside of a month, and is nothing to cry over (unless you are the sadsack idiot who gets stuck making the stupid corrections). So according to local tradition I get to call myself "doctor" now, and next summer when the graduation ceremony thing happens (whether I am present or not) I get to call myself that officially too. Well sorta kinda... I'm not the medical type of doctor, you understand.
In other exciting news, we had the bachelor party for my friend Chris. We knew that he would be a good boy and not doing anything the least bit lewd, but we figured we could at least mess with his head... The stories wouldn't be funny unless you knew the people in qustion, but suffice it to say that we had him absolutely and totally convinced of some fairly outlandish things (someone's girlfriend he hadn't met before was an escort, etc). We also pulled stunts like marching into the local police headquarters, and persuading the staff seargent on duty to sign and put his badge number on a document witnessing Chris' promise never again to engage in the dangerous activity of "drinking and shopping cart riding".
So now I have one more day in Waterloo of madly meeting everyone I can fit in, I fly to Cape Breton Island for the wedding, fly back to Toronto to be with family for a few days, and then back down south to continue americanating myself.... ah yes. But in the meantime I'm enjoying being back in a town where I know my way around, and frequently run in to people that I know. It really is nice to see everyone again(did I tell you, I'm turning into a suck in my old age).
Comment wars: Nothing to report. You've pretty much all gone silent (i.e. "have lives"). Or maybe I was just too rude before in the face of nice and forgiving comments. Come back, come back, wherever you are!
(this pathos brought to you by the number 8, and the adjective "punctilious").
Flag report: Still up on the wall inside the appartment. I presume.
Blog report: Still obsessed with the stupid flag.
Well toodles folks (actually "folk". Thanks for reading whoever you are).
Look after yourself eh.
Alex
So this very afternoon at 3 o'clock, the Alice Bast Conference Room at the University of Waterloo (Ontario, Canada) was sandbagged, an army of examiners were brought in from as far away as London (the nearby one), a thesis was presented for 30 minutes (on the dot, very proud of that one thankyouverymuch), and then two hours of cross examination commenced. But now it is over and done with, and a platoon of crack interior decorators are spackling madly away at the holes letting dusty sunlight into the back hallway, and are applying the aesthetically correct amounts of duct tape and plywood where the windows used to be.
And when all was said and done, what was the verdict? Apparently I "clean up well" (said one professor), and "should wear that suit more often" (said another). Thanks Danny and Geoff! um. The only other real fallout is that I was told I "passed conditionally", which means that I have to make a few changes to the thesis and hand it in, and then it's good to go. For those not in academe, this is a fairly normal result to a thesis defence, especially one written inside of a month, and is nothing to cry over (unless you are the sadsack idiot who gets stuck making the stupid corrections). So according to local tradition I get to call myself "doctor" now, and next summer when the graduation ceremony thing happens (whether I am present or not) I get to call myself that officially too. Well sorta kinda... I'm not the medical type of doctor, you understand.
In other exciting news, we had the bachelor party for my friend Chris. We knew that he would be a good boy and not doing anything the least bit lewd, but we figured we could at least mess with his head... The stories wouldn't be funny unless you knew the people in qustion, but suffice it to say that we had him absolutely and totally convinced of some fairly outlandish things (someone's girlfriend he hadn't met before was an escort, etc). We also pulled stunts like marching into the local police headquarters, and persuading the staff seargent on duty to sign and put his badge number on a document witnessing Chris' promise never again to engage in the dangerous activity of "drinking and shopping cart riding".
So now I have one more day in Waterloo of madly meeting everyone I can fit in, I fly to Cape Breton Island for the wedding, fly back to Toronto to be with family for a few days, and then back down south to continue americanating myself.... ah yes. But in the meantime I'm enjoying being back in a town where I know my way around, and frequently run in to people that I know. It really is nice to see everyone again(did I tell you, I'm turning into a suck in my old age).
Comment wars: Nothing to report. You've pretty much all gone silent (i.e. "have lives"). Or maybe I was just too rude before in the face of nice and forgiving comments. Come back, come back, wherever you are!
(this pathos brought to you by the number 8, and the adjective "punctilious").
Flag report: Still up on the wall inside the appartment. I presume.
Blog report: Still obsessed with the stupid flag.
Well toodles folks (actually "folk". Thanks for reading whoever you are).
Look after yourself eh.
Alex
posted by X | 9:50 PM
3 Comments:
Yay Alex! Congradulations on defending.
- annoying little brother
Finally! Congratulations Ahlecks!!! *cough* Dr. Ahlecks... Tee hee hee... it just doesn't sound right... Dr. Ahlecks... hmm... well, I'm sure it will after a bottle of champagne.
G'night Doc!
- Friendly neighborhood Dilla
Who's in charge around here? I've been faithfully checking this blog and nothing is continually happening. Continually. Nothing. How is Missouri? How are the sandwiches? Do you really lose your commitment to the little people in your life when you become a doctor?
The Girl
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