It’s really settling in, with full force, that I’ve finished USC’s MPW program for all intents and purposes. Today, in my email, I got a note about some loan exit interview I’m supposed to do before I graduate.
And then I came home to find a box from Lulu on my stoop:
Which I then opened:
To find a stack of two books, sheathed protectively in foam:
Which I then turned over:
To find my uber-pretty, perfect-bound thesis, The Prodigal Hour:
With its title page:
And then a page I’ll give you a ‘before’ of:
Because I’m meeting with my advisor tomorrow so he can sign it.
A note on the cover: I actually made one myself, with Photoshop, but then got up to the Lulu page and decided to just go with one of theirs, for a simple reason: this copy, in particular, is going to do nothing more than collect dust on a couple of shelves (one with me, the other with my program). It’s really kind of cheesy, but then, I was like, well, who’s really going to see it, and it does sorta match the story (with cool light effects around a pair of eyes, and a cityscape, and then cosmic implication, all of which are included in what the novel is about).
Yes, just two copies:
And here will be the only place you’ll ever be able to see them.
Lucky you.
Fuckall, I’m done with grad school.
I was going to write about why I’m moving on to Denver, but that’ll wait for another time. I’m going to take an evening to process this.
March 27, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Awesome! Congrats!
March 27, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Congratulations! Try to forget about the loan stuff for the moment and just savor being done!
March 27, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Well let me guess why your moving to denver:
1. Your engaged and before you can get married you have to fight Big Foot.
2. You have some huge misconceptions about South Park Colorado.
3. You will be working with a secret goverment program to stop global warming.
4. You have misconceptions about Colorado mountain girls.
5. Your trying out for foot ball… or possibly cheerleading.
Before you leave California I have a request. A dream of mine has always been to eat live squid. No joke. I figure my only shot at this is going to Japan though, which is pretty damn slim. However, if a restraunt in America serves live squid I’ll bet it’s in California. If you have no desire to eat live squid you self, which is served with a speacial sause and your only eating the tenticles, then please let me know what restraunts currently serve it if you can.
March 28, 2008 at 2:08 pm
No excerpt?
All those pretty photos and no sample of the goods?
Dang.
March 29, 2008 at 5:34 am
Great cover! But I’d never expect any less from you. Congratulations!
March 29, 2008 at 9:03 am
Thanks, all.
@Bunny- yeah, I’m trying not to worry about them.
@Helen- I’ve eaten both squid and octopus before. But how do you eat live squid if you’re eating only the tentacles? Regardless, I prefer octopus; it’s thicker, and slightly rubbery, whereas squid is stringier because it’s thinner.
@Lisa- you’ve already read the first two chapters! Be greedy, why don’t you?! Heh, no, seriously, I’ll be doing some excerpty stuff here at some point. And more.
@Shannon- thanks, buddy. It’s surprising what Lulu will give you free.