and like that, I am done
Well, stick a fork in me - and cue the music: I am defended and for the most part, done. I am not yet totally sure how it feels to be out and on the other side, and truly - I am not out of the woods yet. Now I must process the comments and criticism that my committee offered on my thesis, and re-submit it to them for final approval.
Then I put it in the appropriate format for the graduate school, get it through graduate editorial (can you tell I've left these links up for my own personal use?), pay a small library fee, and process the electronic submission. Then will I be done and free.
Except that I will have to find a job, and reformat my thesis into one or more publications.
It never really ends. Every ending merely acknowledges where something else begins.