The Doctor is In

I apologize in advance that not only will this probably be the shortest post I have ever written, but the first one to not explicitly concern food. This blog, however, just happens to be the fastest way to get news to my friends, family and anyone else who might be interested so I’ll hijack it just this once. The important piece of news I have just happens to be that today I successfully defended my PhD thesis and – get ready for the good part – I AM NOW A DOCTOR!! Can you believe it? I can’t quite myself yet, so I’ll forgive you if you can’t. Probably tomorrow it will seem a lot less magical since I don’t know what exactly this title will be good for in this long, twisted path of my life, but at the moment it seems like a minor miracle that the thing I have slaved over, cursed about and nearly thrown myself out of windows for during the last five years is now finished. And call me crazy, but I’m even a little bit sad (though I’ve had the better part of two bottles of wine in celebration tonight so that may have something to do with it.) At any rate, please accept my apologies for any unanswered emails and general neglect I have been responsible for over the last few weeks/months – hopefully things will soon be back to normal. Whatever that may be… it’s been a long time since I had the chance to find out.

As long as I have your attention, though, I might as well mention that the 2006 Food Blog Awards are now accepting nominations over at Well Fed. You have only until midnight EST tomorrow (Dec 15) to get yourself over there and put in a shout in for your favorite sites. Of course I wouldn’t even presume to know what those are, but, well… one can always hope, can’t one? 🙂

p.s. Have you seen how much we have raised already? $15,000 and it’s only been four days!!! 

52 thoughts on “The Doctor is In”

  2. Congratulations, Melissa!! Perfect timing, right before the holidays. Does life get any better than this? I’d say you deserve another bottle (or three) of wine and bubbly. Cheers!

  6. Congratulations!I just finished my first semester toward my Doctorate. I have a long long way to go! It’s always refreshing to see people actually finish…

  9. Fantastic news! Congratulations, my dear. That is something to be proud of, indeed. I am sure your holidays are going to be extra special and relaxing this year–apart from all that email catch up (so says one who is trying to plow through it as well). Enjoy the downtime, doctor!

  12. Bravo! Make sure you take plenty of time to savour the moment. No doubt you’ve well and truly earned it, Dr Kronenthal!

  17. Fantastic! Congratulations! What a feeling you must be basking in right now. Bask in it! Enjoy it! Roll around in it! And then have a great weekend, Frau Doktor… 😉

  19. Oh that’s just fantastic…I’m adding my congratulations on a well-deserved, humungous, life moment! Enjoy, savor, add as much spice as you can to the celebration.Well done…

  21. eh… *chomping on carrot* what’s up, doc?seriously now, yoooooooooooooooooo congratulations!!!!wow that’s amazing news and hopefully you’ll be able to rest a little more. So happy for you!!!

  28. Congratulations! What an accomplishment! I got mine 13 years ago, and I still remember very clearly how happy/relieved/unbelieving I felt after I passed the defense.

  30. Dear Doctor, Author, Cook, and so many other things — congratulations! It’s clear, isn’t it, that your devoted readers are very, very proud of your achievement. Happy holidays to you and Manuel — make sure they include some much-deserved rest and fun.

  31. Well done, congratulations!! I remember when I got my results from the bar exam how great it felt to finally have achieved something I had worked for for so long. Enjoy!!

  37. Congratulations!! As a one-time doctoral student who gave up in disgust halfway through a thesis, I appreciate what a huge achievement this is. Very very well done!

  39. I may be a little late to the party, but it can never be to late for another "Congratulations, well done!!", can it? Enjoy your holidays and a wonderful 2007 for both of you 🙂

  41. What Melissa is not telling you is that she aced the viva. She still seems less impressed than I am that her internal examiner — who spent years working as an employment rights lawyer — said she did a really good job of defending her thesis.

  43. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’m so touched by your comments. To be honest, it still hasn’t really sunk in yet – I mean, I know intellectually that it’s over, but I don’t think I’ve quite grasped what enormous implications this has for my life, apart from being able to bypass the Mrs./Ms. debate once and for all and just have everyone call me Dr.! And to those of you who asked, my PhD is in Linguistics. Sociolinguistics, to be specific, and the effects of European integration on minority language vitality to be really specific. But you didn’t really want to know that much, did you? 😉

  45. Melissa,A hearty congratulations on wrapping this mega project! I have a ton of friends pursuing their Phd. and I know that its NOT for the faint hearted:-)Your recipes, writing and presentation are A+ Keep up the great work!Happy holidays:-)Maya

  47. Congratulations! (a bit belatedly…) Sociolinguistics is so fascinating, I wish I’d taken some classes in it when I had a chance. I defended my dissertation on 21 Dec 2000 – I’ll always remember the date because it was my wedding anniversary, and it turned out to be "the last defense of the millenium" at our University (the next defense was scheduled in January 2001). Enjoy your new status, Doctor!

  49. Okay, I am SERIOUSLY belated here, but congratulations, my friend! Congrats, congrats! We will most certainly have to drink a toast in Seattle very, very soon… xo

  52. dear mel,big congratulatory hug from me, with lots of admiration, and anticipation for what u will be doing in the future:)love n kisses. happy new year too!

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