I handed in my thesis today at 12.

Actually, I handed it in at 12:55, making the person with an appointment at 1 wait. Why? Because while I left home this morning in plenty of time to print the required two copies of my thesis, I left behind the front pages, signed by my supervisor and the head of the exam committee. Fortunately, the woman at the Onderwijsbureau had also had a bad day, and was glad of a chance for a half-hour coffee break. I guess I didn’t improve her day by taking 45 minutes, but for a wild bicycle mission through the rain punctuated by two ferry trips, I thought that wasn’t bad.

Did I mention that there wasn’t time for breakfast? If this post is slightly incoherent, it’s because I’m operating on about four hours sleep and many many cups of coffee.

There was a point. Back to the point. The point is: my thesis has officially been handed in to the official place before the official deadline. You may congratulate me. (The defence is scheduled for August 29, at which point I will receive a grade for the thesis and my Masters diploma. So don’t congratulate me too much.)

A couple of shout-outs to my peeps (yo cos I’m down with it, werd): to those people I’ve been telling “Friday I hand in, we can celebrate!” for the past fortnight, well, I’m so tired I can barely sit up straight. Celebrations will be postponed. Anticipation ripens pleasure. (Procrastination, on the other hand, rots theses.)

A huge Thank You to Benedikt, who is currently in Greece. He must have spent a fortune in internet cafe fees over the past week, reading my drafts and sending commentful emails back. I hope the rest of his trip is more restful.

And finally, to the province Noord-Holland: thanks for raining on my parade. It’s good for the ego to be reminded that the elation I’m currently feeling is, on the global scale, not really so important. Who would have guessed that a regional weather pattern could be so thoughtful? Or have such a wicked sense of humour (you naughty thing you!). But here’s a tip: don’t wear out a good joke by overuse. Rain on my first day of freedom, after thesis-bound weeks of sunshine, is funny. Sort of. Rain tomorrow, rain indeed any time over the coming weekend, that would be excessive. Moderation in all things, particularly all things gray and miserable.

And now … to bed. To sleep, perchance to dream. If I’m really lucky, perchance to dream without proofs.