wheeeeeeeeee! i successfully defended!

started my talk about noon, talked for 50-55 minutes (in a very warm and stuffy room, to an audience of 6 faculty members, about 8-10 friends, grad students and post-docs, and my wonderful husband. after the talk, there was an open question session for about 30 minutes, during which i got asked a couple of (what i thought at the time were) hard questions, but now i can't remember them at all. then, my committee kicked everyone out of the room but them and me and we moved on to the actual *defense*. i got asked another couple of hard questions. one was hard mostly because i didn't quite know what the questioner was getting at--did she actually want to know if i knew the answer? or was she just trying to get me to restate something? the other was about some statistics that i really just don't fundamentally understand. she's asking, "so, why'd you analyze it this way?" and i'm thinking to myself, "hell if i know, it's what my advisor told me to do." after the defense part, they kicked even me out of the room and talked privately for about 10 minutes, while i was standing in the hall, hands sweating, waiting for the decision. finally, my advisor opens the door and says "congratulations, dr. borogoves!" and holds out his hand. whoo!

they want me to do some revisions, but at this point, i'm not even quite sure on what (so shocked that it was actually over that i wasn't really listening). but my advisor referred to them a couple of times as 'minor,' so i think they're doable in a couple of weeks, which means that i'll get to graduate! my parents don't have to cancel their hotel room! i get to wear the funny costume--which was my motivation all along anyway ;)