I Feel Like Poop - Mean Poop, at That...

Well, Sprout is at daycare... and I am sitting here alone for the first time in about seven or eight months - the last time I had the apartment to myself was the day before my dissertation defence, I think. Man, it's eerie.

He cried and cried. And I tortured myself by standing outside the door listening to the "mooooooooommmmmyyyy!" for about a minute, before I couldn't take it any more and ran. I do hope he enjoys himself, though he looked so small and confused. :(

I don't like this.

***
ETA: When do you think is too soon to call and check in?

***

ETA2: Sprout made it through his first day in fine shape, and so did I. :)

Out With the Old

Today, a lady at Grad Studies managed to make my dissertation into a secure PDF, so now it is officially over - it's time to start letting go of the dissertation as a dissertation. So, this weekend and after Monday's job app, in the midst of doing other Real Life Stuff (money matters, private sector job hunt, daycare process, etc.), I will be weeding out the last of the dissertation errands.

To Dos:

• Burn all dissertation materials onto a CD and hide this somewhere safe. Maybe a backup, as well.
• Make sure all major drafts are stored in the Gmail.
• Go through dissertation files, and save all homeless material and bibliographies for future use in a separate file on the hard drive.
• Save my new secure PDF and the last draft of my dissertation in Word to a fresh file.
• Keep all the PDF articles I might need in the future to a new, organized "Research" file.
• Clear out my USB jump drive and laptop - save the secure PDF and latest Word version on there, instead.
• Delete all dissertation leftovers from my hard drive.
• Go through all paper articles and notes, to toss or file. Return all library books, and box up my books that are no longer needed within arms' reach.
• Move all dissertation related labels, tabs and folders from all sidebars and desktops.
• Archive all dissertation-related emails, etc.
• Close out the dissertation blog - maybe cut and paste it and delete the blog?
• Clean the comp hard drive and de-frag (I can hear it sigh in relief already).
• Send secure PDF off to the fellowship people on CD and via email to my committee.
• Send out thank you cards to dept admin, grad studies contacts and to committee.
• Make sure university business office account is squared.
• Go pick up bound dissertation when it is finished and find a nice shelf for it some place.
• Start moving forward with derivative publications. Say good-bye to the diss.
• Get my manual on how to convert a dissertation to a book, and start in on that.
• Apply to graduate when I can afford to do so.

And then it shall be done... Is there a ritual for such a life stage? I wish there were.

Oh, by the way: FIVE YEARS OF BLOGGING!

I forgot to mention it. On April 17, the day after Charlie Chaplin's birthday (which I also neglected to mention), it was five years since this blog opened.

That's a lot of typing, navel-gazing and repetition.

CONGRATS TO ME!

OH MY GOSH!

I forgot TWO IMPORTANT THINGS! I can't believe I did that!

April 16th was Charlie Chaplin's 118th birthday!

and...

April 17th was
MY TWO YEAR BLOGOVERSARY!

How could I have missed those things? Blame it on stress, I guess, but that's just awful.

Weblog One Thousand

Yes, indeed, this is my one-thousandth post!

SEND IN THE HORRIFYING CLOWNS!**

Sadly, I had planned to write more for this occasion, since it seems like a milestone, but something important that was due on the 4th is now due on the 1st, and I think my last brain cell is now just lying on the floor of my skull going "whoop whoop whoop" in fear.

However, have no fear kiddies! My second bloggoversary is coming up on the 17th of April, so I will make sure to give you all the juice you crave then.

Until then, here's a note of party-down-ness:



** Thanks to Amanda for the direct steal of this pic, but I figured she wouldn't mind a ghost of Octoblog coming for a visit on today of all days.

EEEP

Blogger forced me to switch my nearly-1000-post blog over to the new system just now. Am too scared to look at the results. Haven't looked at the archives yet.

Let me know if you see anything amiss.

...

Follow Up: Well, all seems ok, I think, so I am likely on solid ground. However, you will notice none of the superfluous bells and whistles or unnecessary make-overs here. This Old Blog will stay exactly as it is, as I get over the trauma of a bunch of technocrats changing things that were fine as they were, simply to legitimize their jobs.

Drop down archive menus and fancy link lists are fine and dandy, but spending hours converting this thing to "mod" for no reason except to say I did it...? That hardly seems like something I would enjoy right now.

*

Happy HollyBloggerDay!

Well, folks, it is one year today since this blog opened its proverbial doors. One year, 356 days, and 455 posts. In this short time I have gotten very attached to this thing, and I hope I have improved since my first post!

The very best part is that I have beaten the stats! Unlike so many of my blogging compatriots, I have not wandered away and abandoned this thing after 3 months, and for some reason that feels like an accomplishment. I have beaten my on-again/off-again attention span and actually stuck to this thing and made it into a sort of a habit, as well as a hobby.

As for how I am celebrating, I can assure you that there is no champagne in my immediate future. I am still editing and referencing my Chaplin paper, and will probably still be attempting to stuff its already bloated 25-page corpse with research until the sun comes up. That’s the problem, I have found, of actually writing about something you like; there’s never enough room to say all you want! (How does one write about Chaplin in 25 pages, when it took 88 years for his life to play out??)

Thanks for reading, and I hope we can meet again here in another year.

This is Post 400.

Yes, 400-posts-strong and growing!

We survived another St Pat’s Day intact, and the grindstone continues without let-up. Had a meeting with my ritual studies prof on Friday, and we smoothed things out after Wednesday’s loggerhead, so life rolls along without too much hostility. Just a lot of work left before I can start my summer tasks.

A brief summary of the rest of my term:
- Must read interlibrary loan book before it turns back into a pumpkin and the jerks take it back on Monday (and another due back on the 27th).
- Must prepare script and rehearse for mc duties for the IAC conference on Friday.
- Mark 50 dialogues and prepare final tutorials (thank heavens) for the 27th.
- Prepare RE700 seminar for April 3rd.
- Prepare 80 minute undergrad lecture for April 3rd.
- Write ritual studies paper for April 5th.
- Write RE700 term paper for April 18th.
- Mark 50 final exams.

And there is a possibility that I may take my French exam this Spring rather than next, “just to get it out of the way.”

So? How does that sound? Doable? Not quite? Oh well, I will make it – like I always do. Just won’t be pleasant. However, on the bright side, preparing for comps for the three months following this mad dash will seem like a cake walk in comparison!

Life continues as normal, I’m afraid.

***

But, on a nicer note, it is Charles Chaplin, Sr.’s birthday today. He would be 143 years old today if he hadn’t died in 1901. He shared none of his sons’ longevity, but the acute alcoholism probably didn’t help with that. Let that be a lesson to you all!

Oh, and congrats to Jerry Lewis for receiving the Legion of Honor from France this past week. Why am I not surprised? Still, you’d think they would have realized that their choice was a bit on the nose and saved themselves the ridicule. Ah, the French!

Oh well, félicitations, mon schmucko!

And joyeux anniversaire, mon grand lush!

De tout mon cœur!

300 Posts, and I Wonder Where My Time Goes.

Yes, folks, this is my 300th missive from the front. The battle against the PhD forces still rages, but I am confident that the boys will be home by next Christmas… or at least by Christmas 2009.

So how am I? Well, I got my first PhD mark back today, and it was my absolute favourite vowel, so I think that is something to celebrate. I am currently wrestling my final paper topics for April to the mat, and I hope to do them better justice than the last ones, but you know how that goes. (By February, I’ll have lost my missionary zeal and will be back to thinking I have loads of time.)

I just got word today that my PhD seminar prof forgot to tell us sooner, but we have two books to read for the first class on Monday, totaling well over 700 dense pages. I guess that’s a moot point as I don’t even have a copy of one of them, so I have, in my oh-so-efficient way, reduced my work load to 500 dense pages. Probably not the way he would have recommended it, but I think it’s genius.

I am still waiting for my last mark, which should be in tomorrow, but as long as it stays above the Equator, I’ll keep my funding and I won’t have to resort to ritual suicide… this time. That being the case, and I may live to see my next birthday, I am branching out into new skills and landscapes.

I am undertaking a brand new hobby. Don’t laugh, as I am sensitive (believe it or not), but I am actually learning to throw my voice. (If you knew my aptitude with sports, you’d know that’s about all I am up to throwing.) If all pans out, and I practice for three hours every day for the next two weeks and get better, I will be buying my first dummy. In a few years I can take the training wheels off, and it’s off to Vegas with me. You know that the kids are just crazy for ventriloquism these days…

So, as you can see, I am reaching out to grab life with four hands… Of course two of those hands are made of wood and are attached to unfortunate metal rods, but what can you do? We will not accept your prejudice against our love.

In other news, I am back to working on my novel, and, while it’s no masterpiece, it does amuse, so I hope for the best, as always. (Actually, no, I don’t always hope for the best as I tend towards the pessimistic. But, you know, it’s time to change that, right? I watched Celebrity (1998) tonight, hoping that it wouldn’t make me want to open a vein. That was optimistic, right? Turns out incorrect optimism, but, hey, it’s a start.)

So, after 300 posts, I still have plenty to say. Maybe you don’t want to hear, but that’s fine. I am becoming proficient at talking to myself, so soon I won’t need you.

I’m looking forward to 300 more! (Which, at this rate of neuroses, will be by April…)

My 100th Post- Wasted

Yes, sir, 100 posts since April... This year chewing your ear off, next year world domination.

Just wanted to drop you a line on some recent links sent to me by my friend Catherine, and one that John and I enjoyed once upon a time in a galaxy far far away.

First, Episode III in poor translation, on a fellow blogger site that is sure to get all the ratings this week. Far be it from me to miss a band wagon.

The second is an oldie but a goodie. Psychedelic Star Wars adventures in Kenner figures. Um, Um Good.

Enjoy, and please sample the links on the side if you have time- this means you Catherine. I highly recommend the Lego Bible.

The internet is pretty crappy, but it does offer some finer joys...

How I got my Blog...

Well... it all started innocently enough. I thought I needed to log in to post a message on my friend's blog, and now it appears I have one. The name says it all, actually, so now I'm going to hide in my 50s-era bomb shelter, 'cause I'm sure anarchists started this whole thing. Think of Charlie, and everything will be alright...