The aftermath...



I did my thesis defence.

I did well.

I got a relatively high mark, and I defended my thesis against two very separately opinionated scholars.

I will leave this blog up, so that people can see what a liberal arts blogger has to go through to complete a real research project.

Hundreds of articles
Tens of harcover, 10 font manuscripts and books
1 or 2 people who will drive you crazy, but make your writing better by editing or NOT editing
1 very long paper that even you might refrain from ever reading again...possibly because you memorized it.

Or at least I did.

=)

Today I handed in my thesis.


I was pretty alright with it.



.....


But now I don't know what to do with myself. I feel really empty. I ate a bunch of cookies, but that didn't have quite the effect I was hoping for. Made an appointment...um....need to do laundry and change sheets on a bed...not exactly exciting is it? AUGH THE LAUNDRY.

OK, I should be productive, even though I practically didn't sleep last night.

So.


I still didn't hand it in on time.


Details on regular blog forthcoming.

Needless to say...pretty down about it...but I'm doing alright. It was really bad for a day, and then it was fine. I didn't mind.

What I said, Part Deux



Prof ******,

OK, here is the story:

Prof. **** offered me a few days extension if I wanted it, earlier in May, until the 31st, and I assumed (wrongly, I'm sure) that he would handle the administrative details. I e-mailed him on Monday to say that I would like the extension, and that my thesis was finished, but before I handed it in that I would like to talk to him. He said to visit him Tuesday or Wednesday. I visited him on Wednesday morning, because I thought that he had handled the necessary details, and therefore I would hand in my thesis the next day, today. Unfortunately, he thought I meant that I had handed it in by the deadline itself when I sent him an e-mail, where I asked him about extending the deadline to the 31st. I would have waited all afternoon to see you if I could, but unfortunately I was required to work yesterday afternoon, and could not wait for a long time.

Anyways, the delay is now going through the right channels, which I would have no problems going through before, but, as I said, there was a problem between what I understood to be the case and what my promoter said.

As for visiting you earlier, I only read last week in an e-mail from the Institute that I should visit you if there was going to be a problem, and I didn’t think that it was the case that I needed to visit you, since, like I said, my assumption was that my promoter talked to the person responsible for deadlines.

Anyways, I appreciate your time invested into these matters. I’m sorry for the inconvenience. Thanks.


Sincerely,


Brennan Sarich


---And now, the paragraph I didn't include, because it was too controversial, and clearly would have put my promoter at fault. Whether that's fair or not, I am still unsure:

I wish I had a better explanation and that I was more active in pursuing and double-checking details, but I can't really offer a defense of that. What I can say is that I tried to do what I thought was most reasonable in this situation, and that I don't have a problem with deadlines, or this particular deadline, but only that I either misinterpreted what was said or took someone's word for something that was not actually possible. And that's what happened.



----So, now I wait. I have no idea what's going to happen, other than he's going to say, "no."

If that happens, I am SOOOOOOO going to take a three day break before I start block studying for my exams. I SOOOO am.

If he does say yes, I'll laugh. Because I wouldn't. I wouldn't at all.

Prof. ******,

Between me and my promoter, Prof. ******, there was a miscommunication about my thesis, and subsequently I did not hand it in on the deadline of the 29th. I came to your office during your office hours to discuss this problem (12:10-20) but unfortunately you were unavailable. Prof.****** has given me permission to hand it in this Saturday, the 2nd of June, if I so wish. I, however, need permission from you, obviously. (I had assumed Prof. ****** had already talked to you.) Anyways, if this is possible, or if I can stop by for five minutes to talk to you about this and give you Prof. ********'s letter of permission, please let me know either way. Thanks.


Sincerely,

Brennan Sarich
2nd MA


And the saga continues.....

I will know when I am doing my thesis defence in a day, or maybe even a morning.

Well, there, I did it.

It's finished.

88 pages, not including references and other pages and bits.


....


Now I need to edit it.

Honestly,

I just don't know what to do with myself now.