fauxlita

Found out that I'm at the top of the wait list at Buffalo, so I'm hoping for word soon. Very excited. During this lull, I'm surviving by watching Angel and reading Buffy Season 8. Huzzah!

Hi, everyone! I've been waitlisted at SUNY Buffalo for their PhD program. This is my top choice, and fingers are definitely crossed.

I'm reading In the Heart of the Sea right now. It's awesome and should be required for anyone interested in studying Melville.

Hi, everyone! I'm relatively new to gradcafe and am therefore unsure if I'm posting this in the right place, but I need some advice about giving gifts to professors. Since I'm a graduating undergrad, I thought I'd post my individual situation here and ask for opinions. I'm graduating in May, and I wanted to give 3 professors--all of whom I've worked with closely for years--gifts prior to graduation. I won't be taking any classes with them in the spring, so I'm not worried about seeming bribey. All three served on my honors thesis committee and wrote letters of rec for grad school. Most importantly, they have served as academic and emotional support outside of what is expected of professors. I don't typically give gifts, but since I'm saying goodbye, I felt it was appropriate. So, here's the plan. I'm going to give all 3 bound copies of my thesis early in January since that's (somewhat) expected. Pre-defense, I refused to do my Acknowledgments section for fear that it would be awkwardly sentimental before my grade was finalized. So that gift is already happening. But at the end of the semester, I wanted to give 2 of them welded nameplates for their desks. I figured I'd also attach a nice card thanking them. For the third professor, it gets a bit complicated. My last professor served as my thesis director and mentor for four years. I also did independent study with him--ultimately calculating to 6 classes. I also took a grad class under his supervision. Everyone knows we're very (platonically) close, and I've spent many hours with him after class just chatting. For him, I made a sketch of three authors my thesis was based on and framed it nicely in a 16 x 20 frame. Since it was custom framing, it was around 100 dollars. (Damn you, chain art store.) I feel fine about the first two gifts, but I'm worried about the last one. The sketch itself was easy yet personal. But I don't want him to be worried about the cost or worse, have to refuse it because it seems expensive. I'm glad I spent the money to properly display something I made for him with my own hands, so it doesn't seem too, too bad. Should expense only be a factor when you buy something from the store? If this gift seems inappropriate, what should I do? I already prepped it, and I really think he deserves it, but I don't want him to feel uncomfortable or have to turn it away. Am I overthinking? Do these gifts seem appropriate since I'm close to these professors and only have the motive of letting them know just how appreciated they are? Does the timing of the defense copies and pre-grad gifts seem odd?