Sunday, March 29, 2009

One more thing

I am not writing a "paper." I am writing a dissertation. If I have to explain this to my mother one more time or ask her not to refer to my dissertation as a "paper," I will lose my mind. I don't understand why it is so hard for her to understand that it is much, much more than a paper. She's seen C's, for God's sake! She knows how long his was, and I've told her several times (because she's asked) that mine is longer. I know that in the grand scheme of things this is a very small thing. But it bothers the hell out of me, especially given the fact that I have told her how much it annoys me when she asks me "How's your paper coming?" She just called, as she does most Sunday afternoons, and she asked me this question. Given her response to my announcement about my defense, I wasn't in the mood to talk about my work with her, and I most certainly was not in the mood to have the project I've been working on for 3 years referred to as "a paper" yet again.

I will now return to taking notes on the history of apartments in New York City.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

omg, seriously. the next person who calls it a paper might have to die.

M said...

I actually think you and I should go into business. Picture this: assassins hired by Ph.D. candidates who are tired of explaining what it is that they do to their well-meaning but annoying relatives.

Lilian said...

Yeah, that sucks... a PAPER????? oh yeah right... (sigh). My "paper is over 500 pages long (sigh again).