I took the stand to defend my dissertation research three weeks ago. I have a hard time remembering what actually took place on that day, but I know that I passed. I do remember that the weather was beautiful, although it was exceptionally hot, even for Hawaii. I replaced my normal work attire — a pair of surf shorts and a T-shirt — with slacks and an aloha shirt, the closest I've come to wearing a jacket and tie during my nine years in Hawaii.

I wasn't all that nervous because I had difficulty contemplating that I was really about to defend. After practising my talk aloud to myself in front of a mirror a final time, which always makes me feel like an idiot, I felt the need to review the literature and my old notes. So with two hours to go, in an absolutely random fashion, I started to skim through a number of papers and notebooks in order to make up for anything I may have missed during the past five years. Remarkably, I actually got some questions on the topics I was able to cover. The defence itself went smoothly and, according to the 'objective' opinion of my mother, it was very good — although I am not sure how much of it she understood.

Despite the three weeks that have passed, I still cannot grasp that it actually happened. However, I am happy to be back wearing a T-shirt and shorts again.