a question of prioritization

On Tuesday I went to a friend's thesis defense party. It was a nice party: Jamaican food from Back-A-Yard, pizza from Patxi's, burned almond cake from Bijan. There was a photo album of her doctoral years, and a giant card to be signed by all. There was also lots of alcohol, including several bottles of champagne, some of which even survived the open-by-machete ritual.

On the way home I was thinking...it's interesting that we throw large and lavish parties for events like weddings, baby showers, and milestone birthdays, but not generally for graduations, for which the parties tend to be fairly casual. After all, it's much harder to achieve a doctoral degree than to get married or pregnant, isn't it? Perhaps it's because grad students and their friends are generally too broke and/or busy to plan elaborate celebrations.