My Defense Blog!!!
So, I promised to get back to you all on how my seminar defense went, aii?? Well, I’m here with the details. It was quite an eventful day. And I don’t just mean the day of the defense itself, but the days preceding the defense and the hoops I had to jump through to make sure that it was a successful one.
It’s kind of irksome knowing that this won’t be the only time I’d be doing something like this. This is just a seminar defense, so everything was majorly theoretical and I had to run research. However, by next semester, we’d be having project defense which would be more difficult. There, we’d have to design and construct something, then go forth before the panel to defend it. I’m already tired in advance.
So, remember how I told you of my wardrobe issues two days before the defense? Well, I had to get my clothes and I had to get them as soon as possible. So, that evening, I hit the road and went straight to the market. As we all know, there seems to be an unspoken rule here that the only colors for corporate attire are White and Black, which is something everyone goes for. You’d rarely see students sport any other color.
But then, that rule also had its upside because the shirt was easy to find. It was the first thing I bought. Although the price was mind-blowing, I bought the shirt and even though I knew I wouldn’t really put it on after the defense, I was happy that that particular issue had been solved. Next, I went for the trousers and shoes. That’s where I hit the snag.
I didn’t find any trousers at all. All I found were jeans, crazy jeans, stupid jeans, and bastard jeans! I found joggers, I found shorts, but I didn’t see the kind of trousers I was looking for. Just plain trousers. And for shoes? I did find them, but they were just too expensive. At that point, I was willing to buy something cheap even though I would wear it only once. But it seems only big boys live in my school area because even cheap shoes weren’t available. Where was I going to see N30k on such short notice? Just because I wanted to do defense?
In the end, I had no choice but to return home with just the shirt. I began to put out calls to everyone I knew who loved to dress corporate. And everyone I called turned into a brick wall. They either didn’t have it, or they felt it wouldn’t size me. For some reason, everyone thinks I’m bigger than they are and I would slack their clothes. A small boy like me… the shoes were understandable though, I kind of have big feet. Even size 45 gets too tight for me.
Anyway, by the next night, I was still yet to find trousers and shoes that I would wear. But I wasn’t scared, I knew that something was going to happen one way or the other. As luck would have it, something did happen. One of my neighbors was celebrating his birthday and called me to take a piece of cake. When I went to his place, I saw that his brother was also there, and I knew that his brother was an SUG executive. And if you know these SUG guys, they can dress corporate like mad!
So, I asked him for trousers and shoes and he promised to get them for me, only if I would sponsor his transport. I happily did that, I gave him N1k to go home and get the clothes. It took over an hour, but he went and brought the trousers for me, and the shoes. When I tried the shoes on, they were extremely tight, but as long as my feet could get in, I was happy. The trousers weren’t that easy though.
Almost every inch of the trousers was tight. So tight that I couldn’t even push it past my knees. I think the person who invented pencil trousers should be arrested. It was cool back when we were in secondary school, but now it makes dressing up such a hassle. So, I had to readjust the trousers, using a razor blade loosen it a bit, and that was the only way I could fully wear it. Yet, even at that, I could only zip up but couldn’t use the buttons. It was crazy. But by then, I didn’t really care. I had trousers, and I was ready for my defense.
The next day, I wore the trousers and I felt stiff all over. It was as if I was wearing plastic. I couldn’t take a bike to school because I knew trying it would tear my trousers, so I walked all the way. I wore my palm slippers though, because nothing was going to make me wear that shoe unless I was ready to stand before the panel.
It rained a bit that morning, but it didn’t delay anything. I got the information of where my group and I would go to make our defense, and I walked with them to the lab. It was a spacious and airy lab. It wasn’t that big, so we didn’t need a microphone. We did require a projector though, because we had to show what we were talking about.
As luck would have it, my team and I were the very first to defend. And I was the first person on the team that was called upon. Can you imagine? I wore the shoes and quickly tucked in my shirt, looking like the good boy that I was. Then, I went to wow the panelists. My topic was “DESIGN OF SMART DOOR CODE LOCK SYSTEM.” It was quite an enlightening one.
I couldn’t do anything about it until every member of my team defended and we left the lab. Just like that, the defense was over. And with the way it all went, we did great. Everyone performed brilliantly and I guess that’s what made me so happy. Happy enough to keep wearing the shoes even for a short while. When my team members said that we had to take pictures, I decided to take a few with the shoes before I took them off. In all the pictures I took, you can see just how stiff I am in all of them. It was as if all my bones were stacked on top of each other and any wrong move would bring the entire thing crashing down. So, I was just staying careful to make sure the trousers didn’t tear and the shoe didn’t cut off my toes. Eventually, when I couldn’t bear it anymore, I took off the shoes and wore my palm slippers back. I was able to take more pictures a bit more comfortably then. I still had to worry about the trousers but it wasn’t as bad anymore. We took lots of pictures, but I can’t post them all here. I left my steeze at home when I was going to the defense, so no vex. Anyway, I got back home and called it a wrap. I was able to do one or two things but I mostly slept. Not because I was tired, but because I was relieved. It was finally done and nothing else tied me to the first semester. Now, all I have to do is look forward to my second and final semester in this school. I guess it’s going to be loads of fun as well, as always I’ll bring all the gist here for you guys! Well, cheers to the future!
Notice hos stiff I stand in all the pictures?😂
It didn’t take long, I didn’t spend up to ten minutes before I was excused and another member of my team took my place before the panel. As I walked away, one would have assumed that I was wearing high heels because of the way I was walking. But I wasn’t. The shoes were killing me! It was as if someone was rubbing hot coals against my toes and no matter how much I tried to get away, nothing changed.
I can understand the situation. I think most of the students only use formal pants and shoes in the time of defence. I can relate to your situation very well because I faced my defence few days ago.
Wow... I hope it was successful for you!
Congratulations, man.