Cue the Victory Music from Final Fantasy...

And so it is well and truly over. I’m still waiting on my grades, but given the timeliness of some of my professors, I expect I’ll be waiting for a while yet. Bottom line: barring any unpleasant surprises, I’m a graduate school… er, graduate.

I just got back from my graduation ceremony, which was blessedly brief. Some of you may remember a little discussion on how I feel about my campus bookstore. Well, I got one more nasty surprise from them when I went to put on my robe. See, silly me, I just assumed that the woman who got me my robes knew what she was doing, and I was in such a hurry I didn’t even check them. Irresponsible, I know, but I had other things on my mind. Turns out, these robes were sized for somebody who was 4’ 9”. Yeah…

So I looked absolutely comical in a set of robes that looked more like some kind of bizarre zip-up short-sleeved vest than the ceremonial garb of an accomplished academic. With the assistance of some very frantic but dedicated event staff, we managed to track down a spare robe in a back room. This took me half an hour and had me trekking across campus, however, and when I finally had myself sorted out the procession was already about to start. I hiked my (new, better fitting) robes and dashed across the campus, and found myself running directly towards the oncoming procession, which was beginning its march. I dashed aside, down into a parking lot and up some side stairs, and snuck into the back, finding my place in line just seconds before it was time for them to start moving.

A gentleman from the musical program determinedly sang the anthem as if it were the closing piece of Rigoletto. This was followed by a fascinating speech from a representative of the Kauffman Foundation about how entrepreneurs are The Way, The Truth, and The Light while big business that ask the government for subsidies are a bunch of outmoded fat cats that should be burned down and stripped for parts. After that, we walked up, had our picture taken, received (in lieu of an actual degree) a big blue older that contained an advertisement for the alumni folder, stepped down, had our pictures taken again, and then returned to our seats. Opera Man got up one more time to lead us in the alma mater, which (just like my last graduation) most of us never knew existed. The End.

Seriously. Fin. It’s over. I’m all done. Woo hoo.

Almost two years ago, I left my home in St Louis, moved in with my parents, and started graduate school. I didn’t want to do it, but the economy was tanking and all I could find was temp work, which really isn’t solid enough to risk signing a lease. It hasn’t actually been very much fun, but I had a plan and I’ve now seen that plan through to its conclusion.

I’d prefer to hop in my car, head over to STL, and celebrate proper, but I’d have to turn right around and come back Sunday morning, and honestly it makes no sense to waste the gas money for just one night. My parents took me out to a nice dinner, Iron Man 2 is out and I’ll probably catch that tomorrow with the family. For now, though, since none of you jokers seem to be on Steam, I’m gonna pour myself a glass of rum, pop in Mass Effect 2, and go save the galaxy.