Time for playing with fire!

I have always said that I was going to burn all of the papers I had written, notes for studying for quals and comps, all of the notes from meeting with my advisor and committee members,  and all rough drafts. Well, the day finally came. You can see the stack of papers I had.

It took a while, but we got them all burned. Nathan even brought a rough draft of his dissertation to join the fire.

 

If you look closely, you can see that these are graduation caps.

 

 

George Mason Commencement 2014

The big day was finally here. Amy and Brandy were dragged to campus early since I had to be there in time for a breakfast and lesson on how to wear my hood.

 

This poor guy was already tired from celebrating and the event hadn't even started yet.

Then it was time to wait. The whole hooding lesson consisted of us being told to ensure the hood is draped correctly on our arm. They came by to check twice after telling us how to do I three times.

 

Then it was time to line up and start the march from the JC to the Patriot Center. The PhDers pulled up the rear.

 Mark giving his thumbs up to the event.

 

 

One of the cool things about getting your PhD is that you are the only group who get to walk across the stage at commencement.

 

Then it was over and time to turn in the gowns and sit in traffic. Though I am very happy to be done, I have to say that I am a little sad too. This degree was the culmination of 7 years of my life. I will miss the friends I made as well as the professors and wonderful staff. I know that I will still stay in contact with a lot of them, but it won't quite be the same as our weekly meetings, late nights in the library working on homework, a project, or studying for a test, or just seeing them on campus. 

 

And yes, I was the only grad student I say wearing Honors Council cords. :)

Volgenau Convocation: We Made It!!!!!!

It took 7 years, but I am finally done! During that time, I took qualifiers 4 times (don't ask), avoided running out of my comprehensive exam and proposal presentation (that was a close one), spent more time at school with classmates than at home some weeks (never take 4 classes at once), and made a lot of a good friends along the way. But, the day finally came where Mark and I got to be hooded.

We were very happy that we did not have to wait outside in the muggy and crowded parking lot for the convocation to begin. We actually got to wait in the air conditioned Hospitality Suite and even had snacks!

Of course, Lisa was there to keep everything on track and well organized. I really don't know what we would have done during this whole PhD process without her. She kept us and our advisors in line with all of the needed paperwork and deadlines.

Mark and Uday posed with their advisor before the events began.

And, of course, I posed with mine.

 

At convocation, your advisor gets to hood you.

 

 

Next stop, commencement!

 

 

Mark finishes!!!

I can't reiterate too much how important a dissertation support group is to finishing this journey. I really think it is the only way to make it through with some questionable sanity intact. Jeff, Mark and I are now through with John closing in behind us.

I still remember meeting Mark during our compilers' qualifier and asking if he wanted to join John and I in studying for algorithms. Now we are both doctors!!!!

 

And yes, the projector was turned off. :)

Aftermath

Once I was done, it was time to reclaim the dining room. I had been using it as a study and dumping ground for all of my papers and books while I was in the home stretch. I saved all of the papers I wrote, read, the rough drafts of everything, and all of my notes. This may sound strange, but it is not unusual for your advisor to have you do one thing, change it the next meeting, and then want you to revert back at the third meeting. So, I played it safe and didn't through anything away. At my graduation party, I plan on having a big bonfire to burn all of the papers.

Final Defense!!!!!

The day was finally here!!!! After changing everything around to make my presentation a lot less technical while telling more of a story, I was ready! Or at least I pretended to be.

I had a really good turnout for my interrogation, I mean defense, with people having to sit on the floor. Friends from school, work, church, and even family all showed for a total of 34 witnesses. My committee members even commented on the turnout. I did pass though I still wonder if it was because so many people showed and they were afraid of a riot if they didn't pass me.

The important thing is that I left as Dr. Farley. I'm done!!!!!!!

Pre Defense

For anyone preparing for their pre-defense:

1. Make sure it isn't too technical, even if you are getting a degree in a technical field. Try not to show too many mathematical formulas and all algorithms should be in text form (i.e. loop through all flights then do x).
2. Make sure you tell a story from beginning to end so that everyone can following what you are doing and why
3. Make sure to point out what you did. Highlight your contributions!
4. Make sure to explain why what you did is important.  

Once my comprehensives and proposal defense were complete, I was ready for my pre-defense. My advisor had other ideas. Chapters that had been perfect for my proposal needed to be gutted for my pre-defense and I needed to define a lot more algorithms. So, after killing a forest, lots of bleeding papers, a baby, and 4 new algorithms, my advisor said I was finally ready for my pre-defense.

After my comprehensive exam and proposal presentation, I have to say that my pre-defense was a bit of a let down. I practiced with my advisor, with my dissertation support group, recorded myself giving the presentation so I listen to it when driving, etc. Though I had been ready for the inquisition, it was a lot more like a working group meeting. My committee members made comments as I went through the presentation about how I should change x to y, it was too technical (yes, that was the biggest complaint), and that it should tell more of a story.

Mark and John were a lot harsher on it that my committee members.

But, after two hours, I was done and ready to schedule my final defense. Maybe the light at the end of the tunnel isn't a train coming to meet me. :)

RIP Dissertation Laptop

I managed to survive one of the top 3 PhD nightmares: my laptop died the day before my pre-defense. Really. I attempted to turn it on and all it did was beep at me. Beep codes are never a good sign. On the bright side, I did learn that the number and types of beeps correspond to what is wrong with the computer. Mine translated to "It's dead Jim."

Luckily, I had a backup laptop (my little ASUS netbook) and I had all of my work and data backed up using SugarSync. I was actually surprised I did not freak out more than I did.

Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats. - H.L. Mencken

Luckily, it didn't come to that, but it felt close when I was trying to schedule my pre-defense. Getting my advisor to agree that I was ready and then to get all of my committee members to agree on a date is harder than herding cats. It is scheduled for Halloween which is better than having it on April Fool's Day. Now to practice this sucker till I can recite it in my sleep. I've already recorded my presenting it so that I can listen to myself on the way to and from work as well as on the way to school.

I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date!

Actually, I'm not late, but I'm learning from Jeff's pain the importance of dates. These dates are for Mason so dates at other schools are proably different.

1. You have to give your committee members a copy of your dissertation at least 2 weeks before you have your pre-defense. If you do not, you may be left hanging after your pre-defense to find out if you have passed or not. Jeff was made to wait a week after his pre-defense to find out the results.
2. Though this is the digital age, have hard copies of your dissertation for each member of your committe along with one extra since there always seems to be someone else who has to come for some reason. Yes, you are killing trees, but at this point, do you really care?
3. There needs to be a month between your pre-defense and your defense. This is a requirememnt and not a suggestion.
4. Your dissertation presentation should be about 45 minutes. This is just the presentation portion and does not include questions, interruptions, arguments, etc.

I'll add more dates as we find them out. I know there are ones or getting the library to approve your formatting as well as when to turn it in and fill out gradation paperwork  The end is near!

Road Trip 2012

Everywhere is within walking distance, as long as you have the time.September 3, 2012
As time for us is limited, Amy, Brandy, Dave and I skipped walking and piled into the jeep to head north. First stop: Gettysburg.

Even though we ran into some patches of the remnants of Isaac, we made great time. Surprisingly, we only saw 6 cops.

Apparently ghosts are a big thing here in Gettysburg. That and ice cream. We stopped to see the biggest military diorama depicting the battle of Gettysburg. After the show, it was time to checkout the local ice cream. Dave made the mistake of getting two scoops. Brandy was the only one who managed to finish hers. The rest of us were just not into the task.

Amy found in the visitor guide that there was a shop with a cat standing guard so, of course, we had to go find it. It was closed and the cat was apparently hiding in the back to pounce on anyone foolish enough to poach on his territory. We found our way to the hotel. I don't think anyone has been in here for a while. Brandy and I expected to see a kid in a three wheeler coming down the hallway. They are still using CRT monitors at the check in desk and in the rooms. I think it's been a while since yet upgraded the place.

Since Brandy got up at 4 to get to Fredericksburg on time, we have opted to do the ghost tour tomorrow night. For dinner we decided to go to the Dobbin House Tavern for a colonial dinner. The good news is that there were vegetarians during colonial time so there were items for Brandy.

Actually, she ate my salad. The food was delicious. Amy and I both got the Georgipolitan (had peach schnapps) and Brandy was brave enough to try it.

Then it was time to head back to the Overlook Hotel (anyone get the reference?) and make our plan for tomorrow. We're trying to convince Amy to take a horseback ride tour through the battlefields. We shall see.

Out of our way! We're tourists!
Susan

“Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen.”
September 4, 2012

Today we were caught in the war of northern bee aggression. Bees are everywhere up here. Each of us had to make a run for it to escape one or more of the little buggers.

After breakfast, we wandered around downtown waiting for our tour to begin. We learned that most businesses are closed in Tuesday's. We opted against the horseback riding tour as there were flash flooding warnings. Being caught in one while on a horse just didn't sound like a plan. We drove around the Battlefield looking at the monuments from the different states. I have to say the one from Georgia was rather pitiful in comparison with those from other states. The one from Virginia was impressive. The only one bigger, that we saw, was the one from Pennsylvania. Then it was time to join the walking tour.

Our first guide was awesome. He was very knowledgeable about the Civil War and has even written a few books on the subject as part of his PhD. We corrected him on the fact that it shouldn't be Pickett's Charge, but Pettigrew's Charge. He agreed that Pettigrew should have had first billing.

Our second guide was a little newer to the field and didn't know as much of the different stories. One story that I particularly liked, even though it was about the Northern aggressors, was about a division of soldiers from Harvard. 41 of their friends died in the Gettysburg battles. To honor their friends, the other soldiers moved a particular boulder that they had all played on and around when young to the site and used it to build a monument. That way their friends had a piece of home with them at their final resting spot.

After all that walking, it was time to find dinner. We had to make it quick since we had the Black Cat Ghost Tour at 8. Dave really doesn't want to miss that! We did not see any ghosts, but our guide tried hard to help us find some signs. He said a lot of people have seen orbs of light, felt cold spots, and heard voices. We were sitting on a wall by a creek bed where many had died and were told people would sometimes report feeling a hand grabbing them from behind. I snuck up behind Brandy and grabbed her. She is accustomed to my hijinks so she didn't jump too high. I'm sure she will get even. I thought I had found some orbs on a few of my pictures, but they were just a fingerprint on my lens. Dave examined the haunted cannon, but didn't see anything spooky about it. We returned in time to see the ghost hunters start out on their three hour hunt! I think one hour was enough for us. It was then time to head back to the hotel.

Tomorrow we head to the Hershey museum and to see Rich in Corning, NY.

 Out of our way! We're Southerners!
Susan

“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.”September 5, 2012

We managed to not bring any ghosts back with us from the hunt so we all had an uneventful night. We were warned that some people had a problem with ghosts either tickling or burning the feet of people (if the tickling didn't work to awaken them) while they slept. This morning we checked out, ate breakfast, and headed out of Gettysburg. It does look like we're leaving just in time since a bikers' association descended upon our hotel for a convention overnight. I think I may have preferred the ghosts.

 First stop was Hershey! Using her chocolate radar, Brandy make sure we found it. We started out at Hershey World where we took a quick tour on how they make chocolate and then took a chocolate tasting class. We learned host chocolate was discovered and some of the different types of chocolate. Then we headed to the Hershey Story where we learned about how it all began. Hershey and his wife did a lot of good for their community and the infrastructure they put into place is still helping kids today. Our class in the chocolate lab was next.  We got to learn about the different places our chocolate is grown and got more samples of how the location can alter the taste of the chocolate. We also got to make our own chocolate bars. They made Dave wear a beard net since he hasn't shaved in a few days.

Our time passed quickly in Hershey and it was quickly time to head to Corning, NY to see Rich. Dave and I have never understood why there are so many "adult" establishments on the way to see Rich. We do always appreciate the irony of the fact that they seem to center around the Amish areas. Amy and Brandy thought we were kidding about the number of them.

Rich told us we couldn't miss his house. We missed his house. We did find it and even got the grand tour. The cat if the house didn't come greet us, but we did get to meet his beautiful fiancé. Then we were off over the river and into the woods and through four towns to the Waterfront house we went. The food was well worth it. I couldn't believe Dave actually ate scallops!

After dinner we went to our hotel in Bath and collapsed. I have to say I like this Microtel a lot more than the hotel in Gettysburg. They even have a cat bed by the window!

Out of our way! We're Virginians (and a North Carolinian)!
Susan

“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.”September 6, 2012

Today we went from ghost tapeworms to birds in the mist. Don't worry if this doesn't make sense.
I do have to recommend the Microtel in Bath, NY. I'm not sure if it seemed so nice because our hotel in Gettysburg was so rough or because it really is a nice little respite.

After breakfast at the hotel, back into the Jeep we piled and continues our journey north. Next stop was Canada! We did stop at the birthplace of the Buffalo Chicken Wing: Buffalo, NY! The wings were quite tasty and well worth the stop.

Before we knew it, we were in Canada! I was upset that they didn't stamp my passport. Just like the Italians. After checking into the hotel, off we went in search of Niagara Falls.

For some reason, Dave and I were the only ones who brought rain coats with us. When we hiked down to go user the falls, we definitely needed them. Good thing Canadians expect this and provided ponchos for those who forgot.

We learned some interesting history like the fact the first person that survived a purposeful trip down the falls  in a barrel was a widow named Annie Taylor. She and her cat climbed into a barrel to go over the falls in an attempt to make money and avoid the poor house.  She was 63 years old when she took the plunge and survived relatively unharmed. The kitty was able to land on his feet.

We bought the adventure pack which included a 20 minute 4D movie. We were not overly thrilled by the idea, but went anyway. Imagine our surprise when we were handed ponchos again. I pointed out that I had a rain coat, but was told it wasn't long enough. It was actually a really good movie! We were snowed on, rained on, and even went down the falls. Good thing we had handles in the theater!

We were hungry after the movie and started hunting up dinner. We managed to find the biggest beaver ever before stumbling into a restaurant that was closed for a wedding. I wanted to go in and say I was part of the grooms side. I figured men have bad memories and he wouldn't want to look foolish by saying he didn't know me, but Dave wouldn't let me.

 Instead we went to a local restaurant. At this point Brandy's camera karma kicked in and her camera stopped working. I'm blaming Amy. It isn't her fault, but I'm blaming her anyway.This seems to be a trend on all our trips. I'm optimistic that it will forgive her by morning when we take the boat to the falls. During dinner, they started lighting up the falls. On the American side, they light them up with red, white, and blue. Dave spotted a raccoon walking between the lights supervising.

The good news is that we found the place for our tutu pictures we're taking tomorrow night.

Then it was time to call it a day. There's nothing quite like going to a country that speaks English and take US dollars.

Out of our way! We're Americans!
Susan

P.S. A story I forgot to mention from yesterday from Hershey. Around the 1930s, a handful of workers at the Hershey factory went on strike to try to get a union. Well, the local farmers and loyal workers were having none of that and beat the strikers into submission. Hershey's workers were very loyal to him for all he had done. We need more men like him.

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”September 7, 2012

No rest for the weary or the sore. Coffee and Advil can fix anything. After breakfast this morning, off we went for a hike by the falls.

Talk about amazing! There were posters up of the brave/foolish people who either tried to swim or boat across the rapids. Some did survive, but others weren't so lucky. One woman was in a barrel with her dog, but she ended up suffocating because her dog put his nose through the air hole.

We saw evidence where at least one beaver is an overachiever. He's already taken a handful of trees down so that he can build a dam in the Niagara Falls. More power to him.

We then headed to the butterfly gardens. Pink is a good color to wear if you want to butterflies to land on you. The really liked my hat. I'm sure my scented lotion helped as well. The butterflies were beautiful. There were several little kids trying to chase them.

For lunch we were a captive audience to the "cafe" at the gardens. After ingesting a meat like substance that claimed to be a hamburger but tasted a lot like chicken, it was time to head to the next stop: the maid of the mist boat tour. Good thing Dave and I brought our raincoats again. When we arrived, Dave and I noticed that we didn't have our tickets so back to the hotel we hiked. We skipped souvenir city and found the tourist trap that claimed to be the funnest (their word) street in Niagara. We escaped without loosing any money.

With tickets in hand, back to the boat we went. We managed to make the last boat for the night. To the top front of the boat we went so that we wouldn't miss a thing.
We got a little wet, even with the ponchos. Dave discovered that he hiking boots are not water proof. Oops. We were very surprised with the amount of people who kept their fancy cameras out during the entire trip. I guess they have really good insurance on them. Dave and I brought our water proof camera with us.

Back to dry land we went and began our search for dinner. Luckily the hunt didn't take long. We quickly found a good place for dinner so that we would be fortified for our tutu pics. Dave had a beer to help him.

After we changed clothes, we headed back to the falls with our tutus. The guys with the sex doll were thankfully gone by the time we returned. With some tweaking, we did get pics of us at night in our tutus. People were nice and walked around us while we did our photo shoot. Sorry, but you will have to wait till tomorrow night when I download pics from the big camera. We are going to go back in the morning to take pics in daylight. Right now we're watching tv trying the candy bars Erin Elizabeth said were a must.

Out of our way! We're in tutus!
Susan

“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.”
September 8, 2012

The seas be rough today. We are leaving just in time as heaving storms are settling in. There were lots of downed limbs and red lights that were out. According to the weather map, it looked like we would be in the red area of the storm most of the way home. With the rain, we had to skip the tutu pics this morning.

We drove a lot today. We managed to cover 5 states (New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia) on our trip home once we got to the US. It was easy to tell when we went from New York to Pennsylvania by the fact the roads improved so much. After almost 9 hours, we made it home in one piece. Instead of playing car games, we learned a lot about Caligula and Tiberius along the way. They were weird.

I made sure to include the requested tutu pics. :)

Out of our way! We're going home!
Susan