So, things have been getting interesting over here in London. The first bit of news is that I finished my dissertation a few weeks ago. LOLCats: officially studied in an academic context. Masters coursework: officially over.

Second bit of news is that, provided that I didn’t fail my Masters (I get my grades Nov. 18th ugh SO LONG TO WAIT), I will be eligible for a Post-Study Work Visa that allows me to stay here for the foreseeable future. I was offered a super cool job on Friday and so now that I can afford to house and feed myself, I’ve decided to stay. London is wonderful, I have a lovely life left over from grad school, and I’m tired of bouncing around, so I’m staying put.

Third bit of news, and most directly related to the link above (sorry, tl;dr), is an article that came out this morning in The Independent (Phil Collins headline pun FTW!). While I was writing up my dissertation, I was approached by a reporter who was writing an article on academic meme research (turns out that post on Tumblr was helpful in all sorts of ways). The result (which also includes Cole) is above. As Fergie would say, checkitout!

I arrived in London exactly 1 year ago today. In that time, I made some wonderful friends, had some amazing experiences, discovered a host of new work-related passions and career options, and worked harder than I ever have in my life. It wasn’t always easy, but it was totally, totally worth it. Not a bad starting place for Year 2.