1) Watch 7 episodes of CSI season 10
2) Watch 6 episodes of NCIS season 7
3) NaNoWriMo

So I’ve been a little busy even though term has ended. Oh yeah, term has ended, exams officially start this Saturday and I have an exam this Saturday and the next one would be on 5th December. Large gaps can’t be fun. In retrospect I think I have been too slack this semester; two modules, two days of classes a week, and I spend the rest of my time doing random non-academic things. That is no good. At this rate I might not even start a thesis, let alone finish one. Which would be detrimental to my graduation, of course.

That aside, CSI season 10. No more Grissom, which sucks but I have to say Langston (played by Laurence Fishburne, aka Morpheus in the Matrix) is not bad. There’s a delicate balance between being geeky (think Charles Epps from Numb3rs) and being emotional (think Danny Messer in CSI:NY) and I think the Langston character does it well. Not that he’s better than Grissom, who in my heart is irreplaceable, but he has his place in the show. I can’t wait to see more murders by the serial killer of this season.

And NCIS. For those of you who don’t know, it stands for Naval Criminal Investigation Service. It is the best. On most days I think it’s even better than CSI. Seriously. If I had to choose between watching CSI and NCIS for the rest of my life, I will definitely choose NCIS. Contrary to common belief that is tainted by the horrible commercial on Fox Crime, NCIS is not JUST another alphabet agency. In fact I think it is a lot more – the characters in there have a lot more depth and are more 3D than those in CSI. They observe the chain of evidence, and they don’t pick touch their hair while handling evidence. They are action packed and brainy at the same time. I just love NCIS. Too bad they don’t really show the recent seasons on Fox Crime, but I get my fix enough from the internet, so that’s aside the issue.

I don’t know why I’m rattling on about all these, but yeah. NCIS rocks my world. Woot.

Here are the picture of some of the other entries:

Guess which is my favourite!

And here’s a picture of the designer and her two entries made of polyester jersey (which is a quirky material that resembles satin but stretches like jersey!)

As usual we had the why-did-you-take-this-module bullshit. It’s interesting to see how the real adults have real reasons like wanting ”to have more in-depth knowledge” (this phrase was repeated like a mantra – whatever the fuck in-depth knowledge means), wanting the course to be a complement to some other course, etc. When it got to me I thought I should lighten up the mood and so I said I had nothing else to take. Which has some truth in it. I just didn’t want to admit (again) that I am masochistic in taking his class again. Frankly, when I did the Honours module I was more annoyed with the classmates than the module itself. That aside, I really dislike people who think aloud in a seminar and make random unrelated commentary.

It was a not bad back2skool experience yesterday.

It feels real good to be in the special queue for graduate students. What’s better? Watching the freshies wait in the sun in the courtyard outside MPSH1. But the best bit about matriculation today is the fact I got a free thermometer from the school, for H1N1 prevention yada.

I tested my new student card at the library, it worked. :D

Oh yeah I forgot to show off my results:

Chinese Semantics: B+ (Dammit I expected A)
Syntax: A
Honours Thesis: A-

CAP: 4.3

I was looking forward to straight As for my final semester, especially after fondling the supposed John Harvard’s shoe (more to come when I blog about the trip).

What was interesting was the result release process – I was in Vegas, and due to the time difference of 15hours, I SMSed in for my results at 12midnight in the hotel room. I had previously promised myself a new bag if I got at least A- for my thesis. So the next day I waltzed into a boutique at Caesar’s Palace and got myself a new bag. :D Shopping around Caesar’s Palace Forum Shops with a branded paper bag in tow with tanktop and flipflops on is an experience in itself.

Anyway so with a CAP of 4.3 I got my 2nd Upper class Honours.

I got accepted for research scholarship!

We’ve surrendered our theses. And our $24 bucks for hardbinding. And another 16ish bucks for photocopying and softbinding. So effectively we paid $40 to put ourselves through crap in exchange for 2 modular credits and (possibly) a spot in the library.

My Facebook status reads

“Wanni thinks thesis dedication is like a tattoo – inked permanently and indelible. So people, be wise. Don’t dedicate your thesis to your bf/gf knowing it’s not going to be permanent.”

Isn’t it? Thesis dedication is like a tattoo, it’s going to be there forever. So pick something/someone who deserves it, and will be a semi-permanent feature in your life. Something/someone whom you will not regret inking on your thesis. No whims, no picking it out of a portfolio. Think about it, lay it off for a few days and if you still feel the same way towards that something/someone, then have it.

In all respect, thesis dedication is like a tattoo. The thesis itself is your pain, the dedication is your art. :)

Today I fixed up my contents page and random other nitty-gritty things and felt this brief moment of surrealism. It seems that it was just a while ago when I was just doing a pilot study for my proposal. It all happened so quickly I don’t know how I got here.

And what goes on from submission?

I dare not imagine.

So the last time I said I was applying for MA in Coursework. So yesterday they just sent me an email to say that I’ve been provisionally admitted, the provision being I graduate with at least second class honours and submit the rest of the supporting documents along with my acceptance letter. This translates to  – I will definitely be staying in school for another 2 years.

But this is not the letter I’m waiting for. A couple of weeks back I talked about big shifts in plans without really spelling things out. Now is a good time to talk about it. I actually applied for MA in Research as well. What happened was that the department sent out an email extending the application deadline for honours students, so I took the chance to apply. Like I mentioned in one of the posts, the reason why I didn’t apply at the end of last year was that I didn’t have a decent research proposal to submit at that time. This time round I still was facing a dearth in research ideas, but after a brainstorming session with Mo I sat down and wrote something that seemed acceptable and submitted it. Now I’m waiting for THIS admission letter. If I am successful in the application, it comes along with a scholarship that pays for my fees as well as give me a stipend, which is good.

Nevertheless the final outcome, I’m staying in school for another 2 years. So I guess that’s good(ish) news in times like this.