It’s done.

But more importantly, it’s gone.

Today, after three months of toil, I sent off my 217-page thesis to my two examiners, one internal with the University and one external, in Germany. It’s out of my hands now, and all I have to do is prepare for my viva in late October. It is, as they say, the point of no return.

It’s good to be free.

I could write a novel on my thesis adventures alone, but I’m afraid it would be too intense. So instead, I give you dates:

• Began writing thesis full-time: July 3
• First deadline for submission: August 15
• Realised that first deadline is a joke: August 14
• Second deadline for submission: September 12
• Armageddonic realisation that statistics are wrong: September 10
• Really worried about statistics: September 14
• Realised that second deadline is just not going to happen: September 15
• Third deadline for submission: September 20
• Realised that third deadline falls on a Sunday: September 18
• Fourth deadline for submission: September 23
• Gave up on hope of ever graduating: September 18
• Adopted tearful “I don’t care any more” attitude: September 19
• Fifth deadline for submission: September 28
• Print Shop rage: September 26
• Registry Office comes to the rescue: September 27
• Submission of thesis under “Hallelujah” chorus: September 28

***ADDITION ***

• Thesis reaches Germany and gets lost in post: September 29
• Notified of situation: October 11
• Thesis finally emailed to examiner as PDF: October 12
• Second (and last) hard copy of thesis sent to external examiner’s home: October 15

Ain’t no business like a PhD business.