Edumucation and Gradumuation

So I graduated yesterday*! I got to wear the ridiculous puffy hat and hideous pink robe that distinguishes those crazy enough to do a Ph.D. at UBC. And I would LOVE to post some photos of me in said robe and hat, but I'm on my sister's Mac laptop at the Fairmont Waterfront hotel* and Macs make no sense to me, so I cannot for the life of me figure out how to shrink my photos to a reasonable size in order to upload them on Blogger. So you'll have to wait until I get home for the photographic evidence. But trust me - pink, hideous.

I'd also like to point out that lining up a bunch of graduates to proceed onto a stage to be granted their degrees was much like trying to line up a bunch of kindergarteners to go into school after recess. There was much "can you re-fold my hood, maam? I dropped it again!" and "we weren't supposed to bring our coats? wear do I put my coat?" and "What did he say? Where are we supposed to walk? What's going on??" There was a set of fairly simple instructions... like, (1) go on the stage and hand your name card to the Dean, (2) stand on the X and face the photographer, (3) walk over to the Chancellcor and shake hands when you hear your name announced, (4) take off your hat so the President can put the hood over your head. And there were people looking in the exact opposite direction from the photographer; walking right past the Chancellor (the Chancellor being the dude who actually grants you the degree... you know, the only reason that you are even in the auditorium wearing such a stupid robe in the first place!) or standing next to the President, looking out into the audience like an idiot and wondering why the President isn't putting the hood over their head.... because they hadn't taken their hat off!!)

Wait a sec! Just as I was typing this, Blogger finally saw fit to upload my photos! Sweet! Now you will get treated to my photography goodness! Lucky you!!

Other highlights of the day included: our graduation "procession" from the Graduate Student Centre (wear we were robed and lined up) to the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts (where the actual ceremony was held) included a trip through the parkade. Yes, the parkade. Because we didn't feel ridiculous enough in our "academic regalia" (read: clown suits), we needed to juxtapose these outfits with concrete and exhaust fumes. Also, my hat was too big for my head. Even though they gave me the extra small hat. So most of my photos make me look like a total mushroom head. You know you are jealous.

OK, perhaps I should actually show you this robe at which I scoff. Here is one of the few decent pics of me in my wicked cool regalia, with my mommy:

I would like to point out that I have some smoking hot shoes.

The next picture is to prove that I did, in fact, get my Ph.Dizzle:


And finally, a pose that I have been waiting to do for the past 4 years, even since I saw a photo of a UBC grad who posed this way on their graduation day:

Dr. Beth... she robs from the rich and gives to the poor.

OK, I'd like to tell you more about my action-packed grad day, but I'm super tired and my mom and sister, who refuse to even set their watches from Toronto time to Vancouver time will undoubtedly wake me up at the crack of dawn, so I best get to bed. I'll tell ya more stories once the fam has gone home. And when I can get the photos from my roommate's camera... 'cuz she took to best photos of the day anyway!

LONG LIVE THE PUFFY HAT!!

*You may be wondering why this is the first you have heard about my graduation ceremony, being that this is ostensibly a blog about me writing my thesis. Well, as you may or may not recall, I am a highly superstitious person. I have a fear that if I tell people about something that is supposed to happen, there will be some screw up and it won't happen, because I've jinxed myself (e.g., my defence that got postponed and my job that evaporated). As you can imagine, this makes planning things somewhat problematic for me. But given that so many things have gone wrong for me in this past year, I had this terrible feeling that I'd show up at graduation and they'd say, "Oh, didn't you get our email? You forgot to fill out the TPS form in triplicate, so you don't qualify to graduation." So I avoided mentioning my upcoming grad on here until it was over. And I have my degree. I'm pretty sure they can't take away now (can they?).

**my mom and sister came to Vancouver for my grad and we staying at the swanky Fairmont Waterfront.