Today, give a stranger one of your smiles.*
It might be the only sunshine he sees all day.*
So my graduation has come and gone. I got there half an hour early and waited outside while Important People fiddled with papers. As one of these people walked passed me and into the room, she asked if I was alone. Yeah, it's just me. I could hear them a bit later, saying how I was helemaal alleen** and I felt just awful about it, not having a single soul present with me. Any friend I might have had at the graduation was out of the country - including Willy - as were my parents and brother, and my supervisors were also out of the country and my program supervisor had gotten fired last year during the department's Epic Shrinkage.
There were three people seated at a long table and I sat across from them in a chair, a bit like this (but in a nicer room, with less space away from the table and with no drugs anywhere). The guy in the middle read out a little speech about the program I'd done and my average grade and how he was "delighted" (yes, with air quotes*** and all) to give me the diploma.
But first, Maarten (the prof' who'd helped me with the ArcGIS program) had a few words prepared, which he read out, mainly detailing what I'd done, just listing it out and the like. There were brief references to anecdotes or somesuch and a few comments on myself as a student and as a person. Then he read out a bit that my supervisor had sent, which was totally unexpected and really sweet of him. Then I got my papers, signed the giant Guest Graduate Book.
Then Maarten accompanied me to the Sweating Room (where students used to wait before their exams) to add my signature onto the wall amongst the thousands of others (including, protected behind clear plastic, those of the Queen, a few Princes, Mandela and Churchill). The walls were packed. Maarten took a couple pics, which was very sweet of him - I'll post 'em when I get 'em.
He then invited me for a coffee, seeing as I had absolutely no one. Pity coffee, I can has. But it was, again, very sweet of him and I actually had a good time talking with him for an hour and a half. He even gave me a graduation gift! A frame photograph of Amboseli with Kilimanjaro in the background, taken from the Observation Hill and overlooking the swamp and incoming elephants. (Yes, I know exactly where it was taken.) I am just blown over by his kindness. I have no idea what I would've done instead - wandered around like a sad wet wraith, I guess.
vs.
The Student vs. The Master (Or, Sickle Remembers Too Late to Take a Photo of the Dress, Or, Awkward Pose is Awkward and Curly Hair is Straight)
Diploma! In Latin, 'cause we're hardcore science bitches!
Other Papers!
Gift!
Arsty fail! Or, Sickle Plays With the Camera (Get Your Minds Out of the Gutter)
Video of the Day: David Usher, "Kill the Lights" - Words! Everywhere, pretty words!
Quote of the Day: The Zoo Gang (1985) - Part 1 here
If this is legal, the law sucks!
Links of the Day:
Supernatural:
elsewhere_kels's amplificathon's Podfic Recs
ancastar's Fanvid Rabbit-Hearted Girl (Raise It Up) (The Harvelles)
tracy_loo_who's Scan Picspam Misha's interview from Supernatural Magazine Issue #14, courtesy of misha-collins.net.
lightthesparks's Manips; Wings and Chains and NSFW
secretlytodream's Epic Picspam Jensen's Legs
dean_sam's flocked Wonderland, WB TV producing 'Ghostfacers' (Source)
John Simm:
john_simm's flocked Heartbeat 2x09 - Wall of Silence
SimmSpotting's Video Interview
Watchmen:
jeh_fans's Jackie Earle Haley says his return to the Hollywood scene is mind-boggling'
Hamm's 1988 Unused Script
Wikia's Hamm's 1988 Unused Script Page
Random Fandom:
jerkicons
elobelia's fanficrants' Sherlock Holmes Picture Rant: Don't mess with John MF Watson.
iconzicons' DBSK Icons
Random:
ikhet_sekhmet's No-Fry Spicy Potato Skins
Neil Gaiman's Jan. 25: From the Department of Only In Fiction
The Oracle of Bacon - Six degrees to Kevin Bacon does for you!
Guardian.co.uk's 'Oral sex' definition prompts dictionary ban in US schools: A parent's complaint over a 'sexually graphic' definition has seen dictionaries removed from southern Californian schools - Aalksdjflskdjflksdj?!?
Traditional Address to a Haggis
* Quoted in P.S. I Love You, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
** Completely alone.
*** Not actual word air-quoted, but one similar. My memory fails me.
So my graduation has come and gone. I got there half an hour early and waited outside while Important People fiddled with papers. As one of these people walked passed me and into the room, she asked if I was alone. Yeah, it's just me. I could hear them a bit later, saying how I was helemaal alleen** and I felt just awful about it, not having a single soul present with me. Any friend I might have had at the graduation was out of the country - including Willy - as were my parents and brother, and my supervisors were also out of the country and my program supervisor had gotten fired last year during the department's Epic Shrinkage.
There were three people seated at a long table and I sat across from them in a chair, a bit like this (but in a nicer room, with less space away from the table and with no drugs anywhere). The guy in the middle read out a little speech about the program I'd done and my average grade and how he was "delighted" (yes, with air quotes*** and all) to give me the diploma.
But first, Maarten (the prof' who'd helped me with the ArcGIS program) had a few words prepared, which he read out, mainly detailing what I'd done, just listing it out and the like. There were brief references to anecdotes or somesuch and a few comments on myself as a student and as a person. Then he read out a bit that my supervisor had sent, which was totally unexpected and really sweet of him. Then I got my papers, signed the giant Guest Graduate Book.
Then Maarten accompanied me to the Sweating Room (where students used to wait before their exams) to add my signature onto the wall amongst the thousands of others (including, protected behind clear plastic, those of the Queen, a few Princes, Mandela and Churchill). The walls were packed. Maarten took a couple pics, which was very sweet of him - I'll post 'em when I get 'em.
He then invited me for a coffee, seeing as I had absolutely no one. Pity coffee, I can has. But it was, again, very sweet of him and I actually had a good time talking with him for an hour and a half. He even gave me a graduation gift! A frame photograph of Amboseli with Kilimanjaro in the background, taken from the Observation Hill and overlooking the swamp and incoming elephants. (Yes, I know exactly where it was taken.) I am just blown over by his kindness. I have no idea what I would've done instead - wandered around like a sad wet wraith, I guess.
vs.
The Student vs. The Master (Or, Sickle Remembers Too Late to Take a Photo of the Dress, Or, Awkward Pose is Awkward and Curly Hair is Straight)
Diploma! In Latin, 'cause we're hardcore science bitches!
Other Papers!
Gift!
Arsty fail! Or, Sickle Plays With the Camera (Get Your Minds Out of the Gutter)
Video of the Day: David Usher, "Kill the Lights" - Words! Everywhere, pretty words!
Click to view
Quote of the Day: The Zoo Gang (1985) - Part 1 here
If this is legal, the law sucks!
Links of the Day:
Supernatural:
elsewhere_kels's amplificathon's Podfic Recs
ancastar's Fanvid Rabbit-Hearted Girl (Raise It Up) (The Harvelles)
tracy_loo_who's Scan Picspam Misha's interview from Supernatural Magazine Issue #14, courtesy of misha-collins.net.
lightthesparks's Manips; Wings and Chains and NSFW
secretlytodream's Epic Picspam Jensen's Legs
dean_sam's flocked Wonderland, WB TV producing 'Ghostfacers' (Source)
John Simm:
john_simm's flocked Heartbeat 2x09 - Wall of Silence
SimmSpotting's Video Interview
Watchmen:
jeh_fans's Jackie Earle Haley says his return to the Hollywood scene is mind-boggling'
Hamm's 1988 Unused Script
Wikia's Hamm's 1988 Unused Script Page
Random Fandom:
jerkicons
elobelia's fanficrants' Sherlock Holmes Picture Rant: Don't mess with John MF Watson.
iconzicons' DBSK Icons
Random:
ikhet_sekhmet's No-Fry Spicy Potato Skins
Neil Gaiman's Jan. 25: From the Department of Only In Fiction
The Oracle of Bacon - Six degrees to Kevin Bacon does for you!
Guardian.co.uk's 'Oral sex' definition prompts dictionary ban in US schools: A parent's complaint over a 'sexually graphic' definition has seen dictionaries removed from southern Californian schools - Aalksdjflskdjflksdj?!?
Traditional Address to a Haggis
* Quoted in P.S. I Love You, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
** Completely alone.
*** Not actual word air-quoted, but one similar. My memory fails me.