That's DOCTOR Depthfunction, to you!

At long, long, long last: today I successfully defended my dissertation. And while I still have a few bureaucratic hurdles and some fees to pay, I have completed the course of study for my doctorate. I am free to refer to myself as Dr. Depthfunction or Depthfunction, Ph.D. Pretty sweet.

I was very nervous facing the questions from my committee after my 30-minute presentation because I didn't know how tough their questions would be. I had a rocky start after the first question posed to me, but after that, I handled most of the rest of the questions pretty well. The whole thing took about 70 minutes.

I'm glad it's over, and I'm glad I've got my Ph.D., but at the same time it's a pretty scary situation. For almost my entire life I've been a student of one kind or another. Tomorrow, that part of my life is finished. There's nothing more for me to learn--or at least nothing that can be recorded on a transcript. It's weird, and doesn't quite seem real. I guess it will take a few days for this realization to sink in.