mini-update

- BC rules! Having fun.
- Best Basement Artists show EVER!!
- I like pop-tarts

As I've told people who ask how it feels to be done; it doesn't feel real yet.

I defended my thesis at 2pm on September 10th, the most stressful hour and a half of my life thus far. My examiners were tough, which I expected given my flashy topic. It's interesting how exhausting it can be to sit and answer questions; after the first hour my eyes were glazing over and I had to ask one examiner to repeat the question, having zoned out.

When I was sent into the hall for the panel to discuss my fate, I was sure I'd have major revisions to do. I expected at least some. For a thesis defense, the panel can arrive at one of three options:
1) thesis accepted "as is" - no revisions
2) thesis accepted with minor revisions - can range from adding/deleting a paragraph, to rewriting a few pages
3) thesis rejected

Apparently, the department won't convene for a defense if #3 is even an option; for me to have gotten a defense date meant it was good enough to pass, so it was just a matter of how much revisions needed to be done. I was nervous about this, because in order to graduate on time and avoid further tuition payments, I need my finished thesis to be in to the department by the 19th of September. Not a lot of time.

I was told I'd have to wait outside for about 30 mins, but they came to get me after 10. When the chairperson said my thesis was being accepted "as is", I think I might have actually fainted a little bit. Not from elation or pride, but just from sheer shock. My examiners put me through the ropes, and I felt like one perticular line of questioning had me backed into a corner I couldn't defend my way out of. I do have to do some minor grammatical revisions. As luck would have it, my external examiner was from the English department, and found issue with my gratuitous overuse of the semicolon (which I'm sure my diligent readers have noticed I like to use while blogging.)

Immediately after the defense, my supervisor took me for a few beers in the campus grad bar. Cold beer on an anxious, empty stomach went straight to my head and the rest of the evening was a blur of hi-fives and congratulations.

Now, less than a week later, I'm working on the revisions and I still can't believe it's almost over. I work a fair bit this week, and there's a Basement Artists show at Babylon on Saturday night. Sunday morning I'm off to Vancouver/Victoria for a little vacation. I'm hoping that when I return home from BC, I'll really be able to feel that my masters degree is over and done with.

Then, on to bigger and better things (?)

In defense

A prof once suggested that all graduate students keep a blog to practice writing and writing and writing; writing about something, writing about nothing, writing whether or not you feel like it. I don't agree about writing when you don't feel like it, as this makes for the most tedious and dull of posts, but it's still good advice. Maybe if I were a more diligent blogger, I wouldn't be having so much trouble writing an opening statement for my thesis defense tomorrow.

That's right; thesis defense tomorrow, haven't done the opening statement. I'm drawing a blank. It's a mere 10-12 min speech, which I've done a million times before. I even have permission to sit and read the damn thing; memorization and visual accompaniments are not expected. So why am I having so much trouble?

a) I'm sick to death of my thesis and don't want to talk about (much less think about) zombies for a long, long time.
b) Persistent distraction of a romantic variety
c) Other stresses/concerns; need of a new job, neglect of undeadclothingco.

Pick one, they'll all do. 24 hours from now I'll be freaking out in nervousness and 36 hours from now I'll be drunk with relief.

I received a very nice message from a woman on etsy.com who stumbled across my website and blog having seen my bat curtains on craftster.org. She took the time to send me a message letting me know how she found me and that she liked my stuff and plans to tell her friends about me. In the abstract imagination of interweb possibilities I'm sure this kind of thing happens all the time, but it's not often that people take the time to let you know about it. Now that I know how good it feels to get a message like that, I'll start writing some.

- I've written an email of appreciation for Katie who maintains the
Oh My Stars craft site . The site is packed with easy-to-follow tutorials of some of the most popular DIY projects out there, from T-shirt surgery to knitting. The amount of time this girl puts into her site is awe-inspiring to say the least, not to mention her willingness to share techniques for free rather than just selling her creations.

- I should write one to Veronica Varlow at Danger Dame. I've found her attitude and aesthetic to be very inspiring; in my head, I think I've envisioned undeadclothing to look a lot like what she's got going on.

- I've donated to support craftster, which remains a source of inspiration and encouragement for all my crafting endeavours after several years.

It really isn't enough to be another blip on the hit counter. Of the apparent 119 visitors I've had on this blog, I could count the ones I've heard from on one hand. Take the time to shout at someone who's inspired you! Make their day.

undeadclothingco

A long overdue update for undeadclothingco! The website needs a total revamp, but I've added some new items to etsy... here's a sample

What are you looking at?

I've started noticing that I'm being more.... noticed, lately. Not me entirely, but my chest. Lately I've noticed that lots of people full-on stare at my tits.

At first I just wrote it off: ie - "that guy is a perv", or "that lady just wishes hers were bigger/smaller/whatever". Then I started wondering if I was dressing skankier all of a sudden. Were my tank tops too revealing? If so, had they been that way all summer? Why weren't people looking at me like that in June? Then it hit me. They were; but before I had contacts, I didn't know it.

Yet another great example of how perception shapes reality.