Comps, BU Style

Dear Rachel:

I am very pleased to inform you that you have passed the comprehensive examination, which serves as Part 1 of the PhD qualifying examination. The second half of the PhD qualifying examination is an oral exam based on a research project directed by one of the Astronomy faculty. You should complete the oral exam within about one year from now.

Congratulations on your acheivement, and best wishes for your continued progress toward the PhD degree.

Yours sincerely,
Alan P. Marscher
Professor of Astronomy

Suck it, Irvine.

Conversations I Have With My Parents

Yesterday, I had the following phone conversation with my Dad:

Me: Idle chatter about Mother's Day.
My Dad: Oh, by the way, your grandmother is in the hospital.
Me: Wait, what? Is she ok?
My Dad: She's fine; she'll probably lose a toe.
Me: The whole toe?
My Dad: Maybe just part of it.
Me: ...

Conversations of this type (important information casually dropped into conversation) are fairly common. Here are a few more examples.

This is from when I was in elementary school, or possibly middle school. You can see they go far back.

Me: Hi, Daddy.
My Dad: Hi, Rachel.
Me: Idle Chatter.
Me: When are you coming home?
My Dad: I'm in Denver for the weekend; I'm not coming home.
Me:...

A few from college.

Me: Hello?
My Mom: Hi, Rachel. I just wanted to tell you that your dad had skin cancer removed from his nose just now. He's fine.
Me: ...

Me: Hello?
My Dad: Hi, Rachel. I just called to see how you are.
Me: I'm fine. What are you doing right now?
My Dad: Standing on the side of the road, waiting for the tow truck.
Me: What happened to your car?
My Dad: It got totaled. I'm fine.
Me: ...