Major changes

This past year has been a whirl! So much happened, and as a result, the blog got neglected. The entire year was devoted to writing and re-writing and editing and re-editing the dissertation. Formatting was a huge problem, with Microsoft Word formatting at odds with what the universities required. Every time I thought it was completed, my dissertation chair suggested changes that would strengthen the presentation of the evidence.

This was a mixed methods research study, part statistical analysis using extant data, part interviews. In addition, my study considered cultural theory, information and communication theory, learning styles, immigration theory, and information literacy strategies. Many nights were spent writing and revising and double checking sources, finding additional evidence to support-- or refute-- conclusions.

Finally we set a date for the defense, and in preparing for this, I realized that some parts of the dissertation still didn't flow as smoothly as they should, so there was some additional rewriting.
The defense went well, thankfully, with minor rewrites suggested by the committee.

One of the members of the previous cohort told me that it is AFTER the defense that you really work hard, and that proved to be true. The universities require exact formatting and have someone who reviews every page, twice, before it can be submitted digitally. With three universities, two accepted digital versions, one requires two bound print copies, so getting bound copies is the next step, on quality paper, of course.

And then graduation ceremonies! With a committee that represents two colleges, participating in both graduation ceremonies is expected, and considering the support given during the process, the least I could do :-)

And that is just one of the changes....more to come.

Two-thirds of the way there......

The blog, and everything else, has been neglected. This past two years has been a time when all energy focussed on the doctoral program, where I'm working harder than I've ever worked in my life. Two-thirds of the way there now, the next hurdle is defending the proposal. I feel so passionately about my project that even if they reject it, I'll go ahead and complete it on my own.

Almost every evening, every weekend, is devoted to reading, writing, re-writing, reorganizing, reading...oh, I said that already. But it is true. And yet, there is a plus side, as I'm learning to evaluate written materials rapidly, search for what is pertinent and skip that which is meaningless. I've found that my instincts are being honed and that what I've determined to have validity is recognized by other, more experienced scholars than myself as having value.

But there are still moments. The p-car was delighted to go for a run not too long ago when the need for a sanity break overwhelmed me. There is nothing like a roadster run, no matter how short, to soothe the soul. The roadster smell which is unlike any that of any other car model, I know not why, sets the tone for the drive. Settling down into seats that are so close to the pavement just feels right, and then the always prayerful turning of the key. Most of the time, it leaps to life and there is the engine roar that seems so close-- because it is--and off we go. However, it is now back under its car cover, waiting patiently for this doc-stuff to be over so we can go back to tinkering and petting and driving.

And speaking of pets, Cujo is always there. In this recent spate of rainy weather (which he hates!) he has wandered outdoors of necessity, and returned at a gallop, leaping into the warmth and safety of the bed, where he has layered the pillows with mud. It turns out that in sloppy mud, his chest serves like the prow of a ship, and coursing through it, he gets covered in mud.

Cujo, by the way, is my grand-dog. He was owned and named by my son, who envisioned a fierce protector in this minature daschshund. And Cujo can be fierce, but only if he has to be. He recognizes that most of the creatures in the world are larger and faster than he is, and that fierce is a poor choice under those circumstances. With the addition of children to my son's house-- all soon larger and faster than Cujo-- we decided that he needed to relocate, and so he lives here with me.

Naming the pups...

My sister lives in Anchorage, where her husband is an Iditarod dog sled racer. This means lots of dogs, often 50 or so, and a regular supply of new puppies. I'd never though much about naming puppies-- in my world, a puppy comes along perhaps once every ten years, and sort of names itself.

When you have lots of puppies on a steady basis, however, names become a problem. My sister and her husband have approached this thematically. For example, there was the spice litter, of which Curry, Spicy and Mustard are examples. There was also the cheese litter (Muenster), and the duck litter (Daffy, Daisy, Donald, Aflac)-- you get the idea.

So when my sister reported on the most recent batch of pups, she noted there were seven of them, and asked for suggestions. Seven? There were the Seven Wonders of the World, but somehow Acropolis or Great Wall don't seem to work. Then there are the Seven Seas, but there is some disagreement on exactly which ones they are, and Mediterranean or South Pacific are poor names for a puppy.

Eureka! how about the Seven Deadly Sins? Gluttony, Greed, Envy, Anger, Pride, Lust, and Sloth? I suggested those, and my sister was taken with the idea. No idea what her husband will think, since he is the one who actually has to call out those names when mushing on the trail, and introduce the dogs to the press. Stay tuned....

Two Car or Not Two Car, is that a question?

Sigh.

John the Tech and I have something in common lately, beyond both of us owning Inferno Red PT Cruisers and working for the same company. And that is part of the problem-- two, or too many cars. Both of us bought newer cars, and now are running short of garage/parking space.

John now has 4 cars, between he and his wife, and I have 6, between my husband and me. All our cars are nice cars, and getting rid of any of them seems cruel and unusual punishment for vehicles that we have enjoyed and that have served us faithfully. The next owners will undoubted treat them like Black Beauty was treated, which is to say, poorly. Shabbily.

John suggested selling the Cruisers as a pair, and offering some sort of freebie. We then considered which car would sell first. John's is older, but has lower mileage; his has an automatic transmission, but mine (with a stick) gets better gas mileage and the brakes last longer; his has a scratched rear bumper and features a roof rack, but mine has cool pinstriping and teeny flames. He pointed out that his was owned by a mechanic, to which I responded that knowing mechanics and their cars, this was not a plus. Mine, on the other hand, was owned by a little old lady who drove with care and caution, with nary a scratch on it. Heck, mine even wears a bra!

My feeling is to advertise all my cars (except the newest) and see which one sells first. Let fate decide what stays and what goes, without me having to make the decision. For John, this will be easier. He, after all, sold the love of his life, the Miata, without a second thought. Heartless, I tell you!

My new car is a white Toyota, my first ever venture into Asian Automobiles. So far the marque's I've owned have been British (the MG), German (VW, DKW, Porsche, Mercedes Benz, Karman Ghia) and American (Chrysler, Cadillac, Ford, Plymouth, Oldsmobile, Chevrolet, Pontiac). There was a Jeep in there, but I never really owned it, I was married to its owner.

Part of the lifelong continuing saga of The Cars....people who don't have an emotional attachment to their cars, who view them as "Transportation" mystify me. My sister is one of those people, and this is part of her personality I'll never understand.

Departures....

Lately several friends have been dealing with the illness of elderly parents, and sometimes loss. For me that happened some years ago, but it is always hard, no matter how expected. Suddenly a door to the past closes and there is no one to ask questions of family history, or turn to for advice. They leave, and there is a hole in your life that they occupied.

This has caused me to think a lot about family members I've lost, and about their impact on me. Since I'm getting more opportunities to present speeches in Toastmasters lately, these family members have become the subject of those speeches. Trying to synthesize their lives into a five to seven minute speech is a wonderful way to focus on what they did that made the biggest impact on others. My brother-in-law Rex, a genuine old-time cowboy, was the subject of one speech. The spectrum of things that Rex did, the people he made a difference for, his style and way of dealing with the world, all provided great material for the speech.

My next speech was about my Great-Aunt Ruby, a family legend, indominitable, and about the challenges she overcame. Thinking about her life, all sorts of questions...why did she? when did she? how? And no one to ask. So the story I tell about her is a quilt fabricated from scraps that are not complete, but stitched together as best I can make it.

And statistics class? Done, and I survived! Kudos to the professor, Alan, who taught me ways of looking at numbers that help analyze what they show, and introducing me to SPSS, the handiest thing since the ice cream maker.

Gathering the Data.

With the poem done, my focus was back on my statistics project, which started, of course, with figuring out what that project would be. The professor envisioned us creating an online survey and disaggregating that data. Naturally, that doesn't meet my needs or interests, and since I have access to some wonderful data from the California Department of Education, I prefer to use that. No problem with protecting identities, this is all public information.

Meanwhile, in my spare time (koff, koff) I'm serving a stint as Treasurer for my Toastmasters Club. Getting the paperwork signed at the bank and balancing the books has occupied some time. Ok, balancing books when we write perhaps six checks a year isn't THAT bad. I actually presented a speech, my first one in several years. That's fun, and my purpose is to entertain and provide a diverse point of view.

Winding up the quarter-- projects looming!

The end of the quarter is looming, and in addition to starting work again, final projects are due. One of them, for Inferential Statistics, turns out to be interesting-- who knew? I went into this class with my Math Phobia cranked to hyperdrive and my stress symptoms in full flower. The professor turns out to be a pretty good teacher and has made this course comprehensible and reduced my phobia to tolerable levels. Mind, the quarter and the project aren't over yet, but I'm actually starting to enjoy what we are learning. The project has me interested enough so that I'll probably stay up past my bedtime to work on it.

For anyone interested in the poem (last post), it will not be published. It is a situational poem, and those lend themselves to the occasion, falling flat in print. Best left to oral history.