Post-Comps: Princes of the Universe

I read over a hundred books.  Wrote over a hundred pages.  Out of necessity (the head of my committee is retiring next month; this was her final act as an academic), I did in 6 months what most grad students take a year to study for.

I even made flash cards to prepare my answers, carefully mapping out each response with relevant texts and theoretical frameworks--all for naught, for during the oral defense they did not ask me not a single question I had prepped for, and every question...