260 pages

260 pages. That's how long my dissertation is. I love order and symmetry, so the fact that it just worked out to be an even 260 pages without any specific planning on my part makes me very happy. I've just finished some line-edit revisions and additional footnotes. I'll meet a friend later to print out the entire thing. My printer would have a coronary and die on the spot if I asked it to take on this monumental task.

But, yes, you read right - the entire thing. It's all on paper. No more chapters to write. No more epilogues hanging over my head. No more conclusions to struggle with. It's done - for now. I still have to defend it, and I expect my committee members will "recommend" some revisions. ("Recommend" meaning "require" in this case). But for now - Yipeeee!

I keep trying to figure out the dissertation equivalent of that "Rent" song: "Two hundred, sixty text-filled pages, that's how I measure, measure a dissertation." Maybe I'll add seven more pages, just so it fits in the song. Or I could cut three pages.

I finished the epilogue yesterday morning and immediately felt my life coming back. I took the afternoon and evening off - my first guilt-free afternoon and evening in 6 years. I even put off the laundry because it seemed like work. I made a huge dinner - herbed pork tenderloin, roasted horseradish potatoes, asparagus, a green salad with lemon vinegarette and french bread. I didn't burn anything or leave out any vitally important ingredients. I watched 2 movies - and followed the plots all the way through. OK, one was a Harry Potter movie, but hey, those can get really complex.

Today, I'm back at it. I have to write a lecture on reform movements in the antebellum period. It's a beautiful day outside. I think I'll go for a walk. The lecture will still be there when I get back.