I went to Fort Meigs today to watch the fife and drum corps perform during Drums Along the Maumee. There were a collection of corps from around the region who came to play. The most impressive, for my money, was the Plymouth Fife and Drum Corps. The others were good, too. There were also some costumed soldiers and civilians, adding to the atmosphere. They even held artillery and musket-firing exhibitions, which were pretty cool—especially the artillery piece. Was it ever loud though. And, oh my goodness, was it ever hot and humid. Perhaps that’s why there were only a handful of spectators.

This morning I submitted my dissertation and turned in the last pieces of paperwork for graduation this August. I started writing the literature review for my dissertation back in Fall of 2008, a little shy of two years ago. I worked on it in fits and spurts around my other school work and responsibilities, completing my proposal in Winter of 2010. In April my proposal was approved by my dissertation committee, and on June 22nd I successfully defended the dissertation. Since then, it’s been proofreading and paperwork—the last of which was completed today. Now, after 12 years, my life as a student at The University of Toledo is over … I hope!

Yesterday I went with my family to Cedar Point for the first time in a few years. It was a gorgeous day to be in the park. The temperature was cool, and the crowd was small. A perfect combination. Unfortunately, I’m getting a little too old for riding the rides. I was nauseated by just about everything—even the coasters! There were definitely a few thrill rides I might never ride again. Especially, maXair. It’s a fun ride, but two minutes of ride time is way too much for me! I was able to ride Maverick for the first time, and that was a great ride. Some of the twists were a little too quick, and I kept hitting my neck on the harness. Nonetheless, it’s a fun ride. My favorite coaster is still Millenium Force. The only problem this time was that I rode it at night when all of the bugs are out. I was sitting in the front row of the train and getting pelted like a car windshield! There was one dense patch of them which was particularly unpleasant. When the ride was over my shirt was covered in dead bugs. It was a little gross, but the ride was still fun. The best part of the day was the bumper cars! I just love those.

My teefury.com grab bag shirt arrived today, and I was disappointed. The shirt I ended up with is called The Shining Finger, showcasing E.T. in the pose of Jack Nicholson from the movie The Shining. I was intrigued by the notion of getting a random shirt, so I ordered a grab bag. For only $5.00 what could go wrong, right? Wrong. I would never wear this shirt. When I went through all the possibilities that I might receive there were only a couple that I absolutely would not want to get; this shirt was among them. I guess when you buy a random T-shirt, that risk comes with the territory. I posted the shirt at teetrade.org and already have a couple of offers on it, so it looks like I’ll be able to unload the shirt and get my money back. $5.00 is a good price for what seems to be a high quality T-shirt, but I’m not sure I’ll go the grab bag route again.

“Congratulations, Dr. Hickman.” Those were the words I was greeted with Wednesday afternoon when I reentered the department conference room in which my dissertation defense was held. I met with my dissertation committee Wednesday at noon for the defense. I made a presentation of my study entitled Culture Change: Defining and Measuring Student-centered Teaching. After this presentation, I received comments and questions from the committee. We agreed on a handful of rather minor revisions to the document itself, and then I was asked to leave the room while the committee discussed my fate. After just a few minutes, I was asked to reenter and was congratulated as Dr. Hickman, which sounds a little strange, to be honest.