[gal://2008/don_graduation_06_16_2008/01_don_standing.jpg] I've been\nin school as a student for almost all of my life up till now. While\nthat's a relatively normal thing for younger people, the older you\nget, the rarer and rarer it is.\n\n[gal://2008/don_graduation_06_16_2008/02_don_and_parents.jpg]\nFinally, on Monday I went through the ceremony which marked the end of\nmy tenure as a student who is actually enrolled in school, and the\nbeginning of my tenure as a student who happens to also contribute to\nand convey knowledge. That's right, I've finally managed to finish my\nPhD in Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology. It's been a while\ngetting here, but with my dissertation completed and accepted by\ngraduate division, my defence completed, and finally being hooded by\nmy major professor, I'm done!\n\nGetting my PhD has resolved a few fundamental dilemas that I've always\nhad. First, I now know what to put in that pesky "Mr/Mrs/Ms/Miss/Dr"\nfield. Before, Ms. was technically correct, but no one apparently\nknows that means Master and confuses it with an abbreviation for Miss.\nNow I just put Dr., and no more confusion. Second, dealing with\npretentious people and physicians who insist on being called Doctor\nbecomes easier. I can now ignore their silly titles with impunity.\n[And yes, those of you who haven't spent an eternity in the ivory\ntower should just call me Don anyway.] Next, I now have the covetous\nunion card that enables me to teach at instutitions of higher\nlearning.\n\nUnfortunatly, that also means that I no longer qualify for student\ndiscounts anywhere. Of course, I must admit that lately the people at\nmovie theaters have been looking at me askance when I ask for a\nstudent discount. I'll have to wait 36 more years until I qualify for\nthe senior discount.\n