From Graduand to Graduate: The Epic Tale

[pantsandthecity]

So yesterday was my tres bon (pronounced 'trays bon' (like in 'bond')) convocation (pronounced 'convocassee-on') for my Matress of Arts degree.  At the University of Oil we actually get mortarboards - not, of course, to be confused with these: http://www.powerscoots.co.uk/acatalog/Go_Motorboard.html. 
No. This (http://www.fancydresscostumeshop.com/

Comments

[pantsandthecity]

Hmm. If the Music dept actually threw a party I wasn't invited - but frankly, how fun would that be? Anyway, gold medal boy...yes, JH. He was, of course, the first PhD to get his hood, etc. He's ver ver good looking, and blond btw (do you know him?). I realised when he got up there that all throughout my degree I had thought another guy was JH. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever seen this guy, which goes to show you how much either of us were ever at school.

Anyway, while Pres. Indira introduced him (he's all "pop music scholar," used to tour with John McDermott, he got his MA at Berkley, blah blah blah) he kind of just stood there and smirked/smiled politely, but clearly was not into it (I got the feeling that this was because he fancied himself "too cool for school")...anyway. After he shook everyone's hands and left the stage, he walked right across to his aisle (right in front of me) and then just kept walking, all the way out, and left. For a bit I was like "Oh, he's cool" and then I was like, No. It's easy to leave if you're the first person - I would have been more impressed if he had stayed. I mean, people worked their asses off to get what he got, and he just sloughs it off like it's kind of stupid.

But that's just my rant. Maybe I'm just jealous. Or maybe I dealt with too many of his kind at the dear ol' U of A, and I am tired of them (the world does not need more AK).

[broccoligirl]

OMG that's hilarious! Too cool for school hahahaha. Did he go to Berklee in Boston (big pop music/music industry program, but it's performance-based and not scholarly in approach). So was he working with AK originally, only to then get dumped when Dr. Hip-Hop left for greener pastures? Was Gold Medal Boy the one whose gf AK was schtupping?

Maybe you *are* just jealous (as am I). Or maybe it would have been nice if the department actually acknowledged that other people are graduating? Just a thought.

On another note, I got a call today from Gold Medal Boy's place of future employment, offering me an upper-level pop music studies course for the winter term. Odd--I'm surpised he's not teaching it?!

[pantsandthecity]

Hooray! I mean, for the course and all...but I don't know what the deal is. I talked to RQ (who came in at the end of my convo, and looked for me! It does mean a bit that she was there)...anyway, she said he had to leave right away for his new job at Western, which is probs why he left the ceremony right away...who knows. Anyway. It does seem weird that they would be offering you the course if he's there, I wonder what the deal is? And yes, it's that other Berklee. And yes, wouldn't it be wonderful if the dept. actually did or said something about the graduates! Like, send a card or something, I don't know.

Anyway, he's not the guy who lost the girl to AK, alas, but he's good friends with that guy...they were going to put out a popular music journal...I wonder if it ever got off the ground??

[broccoligirl]

Aw, that was sweet of RQ. Good to know she's in town (have sent emails recently, no reply...but as you know, that doesn't necessarily mean anything at at, really).

UWO seemed really excited about me doing something ethnoey with the pop music course. I guess, since I am now a card-carrying member of SEM, I have that on Gold Medal Boy. (I'm just going to call him that from now on. I'm sure he's super-nice and pays his taxes and volunteers with handicapped senior citizens and all that. Haven't heard of a new pop music studies journal, though.) It'll be a bit of a drag, however, to commute out there once a week for just $5K. Winter term only. A girl can't live on that, let alone a broccoligirl. I'm hoping something full-time will come through before the paperwork does for that course--we'll see. I have a few irons in the fire.

[broccoligirl]

OK, I was just re-reading our big gos session here:
http://pantsandthecity.livejournal.com/8966.html

OK, so MV is the guy who redid the grad students' webpage. Ahhh....so AK was schtupping the chick with the Polish name, but she and MV were originally an item?

[pantsandthecity]

Yes, that is he, and Polish-name girl is she. I'm not sure if there was ever really a thing between them or if he just thought there was and took it too far...the way the story is told, both options are possible.

Do you have the address of the grad students'webpage? I lost mine.

[broccoligirl]

http://www.ualberta.ca/~vallee/DAMS.mht

Interesting (about the ambiguous nature of the story).

I can't figure out a way to make this comment private. It's probably not a great idea to post the link in public, but there you have it.