Your story should be more than a comment on HN. Write a blog about it. How was the first week ? What subject did you have to learn and were the hardest ? etc i think people here probably have hundreds of question.
I've been thinking about starting a blog (in my dotage!) on distributed and concurrent systems. Perhaps I'll include a side-piece on this experience, for people who are considering a PhD in their "adult" years! Thanks for the prod.
Me third, I would definitely want to read more about your motivation to pursue a PhD. I guess from where I'm at today I don't see the point in pursuing one, but your comments definitely sparked my curiosity!