So this morning I filed the paperwork to become officially ABD (“all but dissertation”) after passing my exams a couple of weeks ago, so now I’m legit (I left town right after my last exam and left the niceties hanging). Exams went fine, in case you are curious, and were strangely anti-climactic with no twists or surprises.
THEN just now I finally ascended in Nethack (vanilla, 3.2.2) for the first time (Clod the Elf, Glory of Arioch, of course) which is a project I’ve been working on for about as long as my PhD.
Yay!
I’m sort of bummed that I lost Pixel (the original cat, who had turned into a Xorn) on the Plane of Fire. . so close, but the darn thing stepped away at the last second.
Which of these do you Dopers think is the more glowing accomplishment?
Boy, time for a celebratory pitcher.
Wow, congrats on both. As much as I like NetHack, though, I’ll have to say that the ABD thing is “the more glowing accomplishment”. What year of your program are you in, if I may ask?
(Man, you got your original pet all the way to the Plane of Fire? If my original pet makes it to the Valley of the Dead, I consider it an accomplishment…)
I know, I know, but some haven’t experienced the demoralizing endless slog that is grad school. Mostly joking, there. The only tangible sign of my ABD status is a lovingly handcrafted pink sticker with “CAND” handwritten in black Sharpie pen that goes on my library card and I’m a 65$ fee poorer. But Erevan Ilesare made me a Demi-God and I was bathed in radiant light as a choir of angels sang!
I’m in my (deep breath) 7th year (first two were for the MA, then after two years in a PhD program my advisor went elsewhere and I had to transfer, so I’ve lost a bit of time).
If you find a stethescope you can tell how your pets are and heal them as necessary. . . I also yank them out of sketchy encounters-- I am protective of them as I get irrationally guilty when they snuff it.
Well, I left my PhD program after 2 years and I’ve only ever even been into Gehennom once, so both the ascension and the ABD status seem like glowing accomplishments to me.
Many, many, MANY, years ago, I got my Master’s degree and about he same time acquired the Amulet of Yendor in the original game of Rogue that Nethack has descended from. I’d have to say that both were equally anticlimactic.