Life after school

For five long years the St. Patty's day parades struggled to go on without me. Relegated to learning the skills of the trade, I toiled over anatomy books instead of drinking green beer and pretending that my 20 closest friends and I were purebred Irishmen. 5 years of professional training and 2 years of clinical research culminated June 3rd in a Gala ceremony, where I received my diploma (left, diploma 5th yr grad - right, 7th year professional diploma, Osteopath). Kindly, the College D'Etudes Osteopathique coordinated their 25th anniversary with my graduation and held it in my honour at the Ritz Carlton.

For more months than I care to count, I have been saying "I'll be so happy when this thesis is done". I had the distinct impression it truly would go on forever. Sure enough, it actually did end. June 1st came around and I welcomed that date like a long lost friend. I was so happy to actually set up my powerpoint slides and get it done.

It's a little daunting presenting to an eight member international jury of Osteopaths for 30 minutes who just look at you and, if they feel so inclined, grace you with a generous nod of their head or blink of their eyes. It's impossible to tell if you're impressing the hell out of them of if they're bored out of their minds. Until you get to the slide that says "Thank you". That was the moment I realized I had finished my presentation. A few short questions later and it was done.

I'd like to thank the copy centre for erroneously photocopying my thesis 14 times with a post it note with scribble on the top of page 1. I'd like to thank my thesis directors, Nat and most of all Jo for putting up with my many moments of stress and frustration during the length of my thesis.

I thanked her by hanging her from the ceiling for this photo and partying the night away. Finally I know what it means to have guilt free time. Life after school is something I will cherish for a long time to come. I've got alot of weekends to catch up on.

Fortunately, Jo is a mastermind at planning after school activities, so I've got one massive reward comin' my way. Oh baby! I'm gonna blink and it'll be bon voyage...