T-Minus 3...and, 2

I'll be finished my major reasearch paper within an hour.

I know, I know: you've heard that one before. ("I know it's already been sung," as it were...and yes, I know I'm a loser.) But for once, I'm actually serious. Last night I fired off draft #7 of 7--overkill, I know, but it's what I do--and made a list of five or six points to address. As of 8:30 this morning I've finished looking at three of them; within an hour I'll be finished with the rest of them, and my master's degree will be officially in the books...exactly 359 days after I sauntered into Sidney Smith Hall for my first HIS 1997 class last fall.

Which gives me virtually no time to prep for teacher's college: I have orientation first thing Thursday morning. Then, tomorrow night, I'm flying off to Thunder Bay for the start on my Pearl Jam adventure...and yes, in case you're wondering, some serious skippage is going to be necessary in order for me to pull this thing off. But whatever: if you can't round off a year-long degree program by taking one week to follow your favourite band around the country for a while, I don't know what I believe in anymore (and yes, in case you're wondering, there's been some tension at the dinner table as of late). This time tomorrow I'll be somewhere deep inside OISE, almost certainly in the company of my long-lost buddy Duff Jones (SOAR 2003 and 2004, and a red through-and-through)...and twenty-four hours after that I'll be at the Hoito, counting down the seconds until Eddie hits the stage for his preset. In many instances, the anticipation is actually better than the end product, if that makes any sense. Not this time--I want nothing more than for Friday night to be here now.

Another entry later, I hope. Oh, and check out my other blog later tonight as well--I'll have my NFC North preview up, along with a pick-off for Week #1 of the NFL season.