oh, the suspense is killing me

Well, after grad studies office on campus has had my thesis for THREE WEEKS they finally approved my external examiner. Yes - apparently that was the only delay. They had to officially approve him in order for things to proceed and people who were on holidays just passed it on around within the department and no one really wanted to deal with it. My supervisor came back from holidays yesterday and raised holy hell that this hadn't been approved yet as soon as he knew, because neither I nor anyone else (even my grad advisor) could do anything but wait. And really - come on: the guy is an MD and a PhD and is a professor with full tenure at his university working in my field of research and we have arranged for funding to bring him here - so why does it take THREE WEEKS to approve that? Why is it even an issue?). Gads.
And, all of a sudden magically, in one day he is approved with muttered apologies from the office.
Fricking bureaucracy...I wonder if my supervisor was not back just how much longer it would have taken? It's less than 3 weeks from the official date for god's sake.

So, now...NOW...I am waiting on pins and needles all day (and hopefully not all weekend or I'll go mad) to hear if my external is still available and willing to do this and come into town on Aug 27th to be the examiner as he had previously offered to. And if so, then I'm good to go. I hope to go out for dinner this weekend since it's my anniversary and would love to be able to have a toast to this...and definitely do NOT want an overshadowing of it NOT happening...
If it is not...well, I don't even know what to say.

If this is fucked up and my life is rearranged yet again, possibly mucking up all manner of bits of my life in the future and causing another ulcer because some desk pusher was on holidays and couldn't bother to make sure her job as done in her absence? Well, there will be hell to pay. And I will see to it personally. I will light the fire in the pit, dig the tunnel to hades myself and bring the gasoline to get the fire started too. As it stands, regardless of this outcome, after I defend and am confirmed completed I will be sending a letter expressing my opinion on how this whole affair is handled. "It's summer and everyone is away" and the total disregard for graduate students as actual people I have experienced through all this by higher up people is ridiculous. I'm here. It's my life. I've not been away and have had no summer at all because of this whole gong show. It's maddening.

I vow that I, in my future management job, will NEVER treat a person as a number or object, least of all  because I have experienced firsthand how that feels and how much that attitude can screw with someone's life. As an academic institution we exist to serve students. This disconnect is appalling.

Please all of you in the interwebs, cross all of your available appendages and offer alms to whatever deities you follow on my behalf. Please.
I will be whimpering quietly in the corner waiting for news.

LATER: Still nothing. I get to wonder about this all weekend...*sigh*