First and foremost, I am now officially ABD. To my non-graduadte student friends, this means All But Dissertation. As of Wednesday morning, I have passed my proposal conference, my dissertation topic is approved, and I have completed every aspect of my graduate career except my dissertation. This will now take me roughly 2-3 years to write, barring a miracle or the cessation of financial support.
Wow, diet hot chocolate doesn't taste half bad. What an age we live in.
Also, as of Tuesday, bought Halo 3. As of Wednesday at 4:45, beat Halo 3. Would have beaten it much sooner if I hadn't had that pesky proposal conference Wednesday morning. The phrase "awesomely good" gets bandied around a lot these days, yet I find it applies very well to this particular entry in the Halo franchise. Plus, the four-player co-op mode redefines notions of greatness, particularly when you've got three tanks and a warthog on your side, all controlled by uber-weet killing machines and not dumb as bricks UNSC Marine AI. If anyone else owns this bright example of the glory of our times and wants to run some games over Xbox live, let me know.
So, having moved into my new apartment over a month ago, I've noticed some strange behavior on the part of my roommate. He's never really at home until late at night, claiming repeatedly to be at "the library" doing "work", and he's up freakishly early (7 a.m. every day, listening to NPR, keeping abreast of the current state of society in a rather suspicious way). He dresses very well, usually wearing at least a dress shirt and slacks and tie, if not a blazer or suit jacket. He was seen not too long ago by the Norwegian, walking the streets of Madison around 3 a.m., and when offered a ride home, he said he preferred to continue his walk. And, most tellingly, he is behaving in a decidedly un-gradschoolish manner, taking extra effort to cultivate his physique, to the point where he is what the common masses would refer to as "ripped," spending numerous hours at the gym "pumping his guns," as they say in the parlance of our times.
All these things combine to convince me that my roommate is, in fact, Batman. (Or some Batman-esque nighttime vigilante.) Consider the evidence: the odd hours and repeated absences, and the obviously false claims of "work" (no grad student works that hard--it just isn't done); the natty attire, as if openly cultivating the image of a millionaire playboy (or his grad school equivalent)--thus deceiving the masses about the angsty internal core; the nighttime wandering--clearly prowling the streets for muggers, pickpockets, or other scum; the intense devotion to the cultivation of physical strength--entirely unnecessary in the world of academia, but a vital component in the eternal hunt for justice and the battle against the forces of darkness and social decay.
I believe the evidence, as presented, speaks for itself. He's clearly Batman, and I shall refer to him as such henceforth on the blog. Needed a nickname for him anyway. In any event, I think the city is better off for his efforts. There's been a recent string of purse snatchings, not to mention the random armed suicidal mental institution escapee wandering te streets. So go forth, Dark Avenger, and protect the unwitting city! Godspeed, Dark Knight!
That about does it for tonight. Next time, I shall regale you with stories of Spousal Hire and my eternal struggle to not just leave lecture in disgust.
Oh, and in case anyone cares, I'm looking for a Wednesday night tv show to consider, now that Lost won't be on until February. Right now, my schedule seems as follows:
Monday -- Chuck (on a trial run) and Heroes. (No Journeyman, however. I liked that show when it was called Quantum Leap, and won't sully my memories.)
Tuesday -- Reaper. (This replaces my lost love, Veronica Mars.)
Wednesday -- ???
Thursday -- Smallville and Supernatural (the latter of which really started to bring it hardcore at the end of last season).
Friday -- Drinking.
Saturday -- Drinking.
Sunday -- Whatever I've got from Netflix
So till next time, I leave you with the following advice: You can't go around London asking people to pretend to be Gussie Fink-Nottle...Well, you can, I suppose. But what a hell of a life.
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8 comments:
Batman it is, then. But it still doesn't answer the question about whether you're Alfred or Robin.
Wednesday night I might suggest you watch Bionic Woman. I myself haven't watched it yet so I can't give you a wholehearted recommendation. But it is the same producer as Battlestar Galactica and does feature the Starbuck actress as the first trial Bionic Woman gone bad. That seems sweet.
Yeah, I hesitate solely because I hear Starbuck is the only good thing about Bionic Woman. But I might give it a shot. Even if they no longer use the awesome 70's jumping noise.
that's one of my favorite PGW quotes :) Yay!
Skip Reaper in disgust at the CW's cancellation of Veronica Mars (to mention nothing about it's crazy substitution of smart, funny female character for bimbos).
Instead pick up House or Bones, both funny semi-episodic shows. What night are they on? I don't know since I only watch them online. But they're worth watching whatever night it is.
Have you seen House? It's worth watching now that you've been working your way through J&W, if only because it's something to see Bertie grow up to be a misanthropic, drug-addicted American cripple.
2 points
1: You been hanging out in grad school world too long if a well dressed dude who works hard and goes to the gym seems like a superhero. We call them 'dudes with jobs' here.
2: Give Journeyman a chance. While it is a rip off of Quantum Leap, it has the badass from Rome, as well as a hot native american chick
Congrats on the ABD! :)
My suggestion (sight unseen, as it starts this week) for Wednesday is Pushing Daisies... it's by the same director as Wonderfalls and has the brother from Wonderfalls in it whom I love. /end Wonderfalls geekery.
Project Runway also is on Wednesdays, but not until November.
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