Me Defend Dissertation Real Good

Well, it's now official. I defended the dissertation on Tuesday back in St. Louis, so now I don't have to correct my students when they call me "Doctor." It feels good to be done, especially since I know that a certain elderly family member will finally stop hounding me about it! The defense went well, and I got good feedback from my committee members.

I ended up dedicating it to Watoosa, which is the least I could do, since she's been so patient and supportive. Honestly, I don't know how I would have made it without her.

It was great being back in St. Louis. Most of my friends have moved on, but I did get to have a celebratory dinner with some who are still there. Two of them were the first friends I made after starting grad school, so it was a fitting way to finish things off.

On the previous evening (the day I arrived in town), I treated myself to a quick meal at our favorite TexMex place, Nachomama. Then I headed over to Serendipity. We discovered this place shortly before we moved away, and I was kicking myself for not trying it sooner, because their ice cream is just amazing. In fact, after this trip, I think I have to say that it's the best ice cream I've ever had. On this visit, I had two flavors. One was gooey butter cake. GBC is a dessert the locals make, and it's delish--sort of like pound cake, except gooier and butterier. I'd never had it in ice cream, but it was great. The second scoop was chocolate peanut butter, which is definitely the best example of that flavor I've ever had the pleasure of tasting. The chocolate was wonderfully rich, and as you bite into it you are thrilled to discover generously-sized dollops of peanut butter, and the peanut butter is still creamy (I don't know how they manage that). It was divine. I seriously thought about going back the next day, but I just couldn't swing it. But anyone reading this who lives in or near St. Louis should make sure to try it.