la petite cervelle, B.Sc. M.Sc.

the defense? it all worked out.

now to the important bits! celebrated with a pint of my favourite yummy Caledonian 80/- and a half-pint of the very tasty Delirium Tremens, which comes in the cutest glass i've ever seen (those are tiny pink elephants). since all i had for breakfast and lunch beforehand was 2 cups of coffee and a breakfast muslix pita with peanut butter, i supplemented the perfect beers with an elegant oval of mushroom and blue cheese pizza. beer and pizza in this master-ful style was provided by beerbistro.

knowing me, the festivities didn't end there. a couple of hours later, i had a small group of friends join me for dinner at The Rosebud, my favourite Toronto restaurant. highlights were an heirloom tomato and watermelon gazpacho riddled with tender grilled shrimp, and a praline semifreddo with perfectly bitter mocha mousse for dessert. mmmmmmmm.

with the adrenaline from the morning's nerves and early afternoon defending, the landmark of adding a few more letters after my name, the good feedback from my committee and examiners, the company of my colleagues and friends, and the yumminess of drinks and dinner, i would say it was close to the best day ever. sitting between courses at dinner, i think i said that it felt as though it was my wedding day, but i was getting married to myself. i can't imagine what it will feel like when i get the Ph.D. pulled together... in the mean time, yay for me.

that's better

the sun came out for my big day. 4 hours to go...

so close

my master's defense is tomorrow at 1:00 pm. just sitting at my desk right now going through my slides. one of the great things about my new place is that said desk is positioned in front of a huge window. natural light! also, a bit of a view (though somewhat of a dreary gray one today):



peeking out in the back you can see Mies van der Rohe's TD Centre (dark buildings), with a more blatant Toronto landmark way over to the right. i also just realized you can see the cement monstrosity that is my current workplace between the TD Centre and CN tower. huh.

wish me luck!