Nearing the End

I'll be honest with you, I've still got my toes crossed, but...I am nearing the end (the *successful* end, mind you) of my PhD.

Just typing that gives me a little fit of the giggles.

I have collected all my data...well, ok, that's not 100% true. I thought I had collected all my data, but looking at the disparity in responses from the control and experimental groups, I actually contacted my control group leader to see if she could poke a few more students so that I might have a statistically significant number of responses. (Thus the toe crossing). But....BUT! My advisor played with the data and did some magical statistic-type stuff and he feels that, even without more control data, I've got good results.

Which is not to say that my idea actually netted an improvement. I still think the treatment is a good thing and would be helpful if I'd been able to control the study a bit more (which would have required having it done by people who actually cared about the study vs. people doing a favor for my advisor). But at this point, I'm just looking forward to putting the whole thing behind me and 3 little initials after my name.

If all continues to go well (and I'm really thinking it will -- but mind you, my toes aren't uncrossing til after my defense), then I should be finished well before our celebratory cruise. So there is no more fear of being either left behind or thrown overboard. So that's a weight off my shoulders at least.

Now I can begin planning how to spend all that extra money that we're not spending on tuition...though honestly I think it's going to end up going into the kiddo's 529...he's recently gotten it into his head that he wants to go to Notre Dame.

We're also working with him on a new word: Scholarship.