I don’t know what it is about that pun… I just can’t resist it. So, Monday at 5:30 I had my big test, the Ph.D. prelim exam. In truth, it was a bit of an anti-climax. I kind of set it up to be… I had 4 mock prelims with very gracious graphics students who grilled me much more severely than my actual examiners. I scheduled the test to be in the same room that I had been practicing in, so it all felt very natural. Things kicked off with questions about a techinical paper I’d picked (this one if you must know). This was supposed to take about 10 minutes, but actually took more like 40. People had told me things like, “if they have 4 questions, and you only get to 1, you get at most 1/4 of the points,” so I was panicking a bit (on the inside). We moved along for a few questions on light an color, and that was it. This test that I’ve been getting ready for all summer, that, if failed, I would have to wait another semester to take again, that, without passing, I couldn’t move forward toward finish my Ph.D.–done. Well, that’s a relief.
So… the plan for tonight is to take all those folks who made me ready for this thing and buy them beer at a great nearby pub, Triple Rock. I should review that one soon…