::deep breath::
Things are beginning to look up, yay.
Today I start collecting Real Data. I found an EEG data analysis service (seriously!) and those guys have been lifesavers. Expensive lifesavers. But lifesavers, nonetheless. I haven't had to pay them anything yet, but the fee we've negotiated so far is kinda ... up there. I really am in no position to complain -- I have a non-negotiable deadline and they have the expertise and manpower to get the job done, and well. I very much appreciate their knowledge and responsiveness so far. Over the past month I've been dealing with software incompatibility nightmares (EEG clinical software is highly proprietary and doesn't like to talk with other software, such as the data analysis software my new consultants are using), but we finally have it resolved.
Dear Advisor and I did have to tweak the procedure a bit, which was a little unnerving and felt a little last-minute-ish, but I think it's a good improvement and should yield us much better results than we would have gotten otherwise. So I'll collect the first session's data today, label each of the EEG data segments, get it converted to the special universal format, and send it to my consultants' FTP site and they should be able to give me raw results by next week. In time for LONDON!
Panic... panic.... panic... yes. London. Leaving on the 9th and presenting on the 12th. On this methodology. Which, at the time they requested the power point slides, was in the middle of being revamped. Hopefully I'll be able to use a revised version of the presentation, though I tried to be vague enough in the version I sent that I could get away with any subsequent changes. When that presentation is done, I think I'll be able to relax a little bit. And enjoy the trip, and not think too much about this whole dissertation thing.
Until then, I plan to collect all my data (4 sessions) and start qualitatively analyzing it. The next couple weeks feel very claustrophobic, and if I wake early in the morning (say, if Julia has a bad dream and cries out in the night, then falls back asleep right away) I lie awake in an anxious state, running through everything that needs to be done. Just trying to think of something going on in my life that is relaxing is hard. But, interestingly, what worked this morning was the knowledge that at some point, kiddo #2 will be born and I won't have to worry about any of this stuff for a little while -- just him. Which was relaxing. And lovely. So, for a change, thinking about Two of Two didn't send me into a panic. I do think I can write this up before he arrives, and even if not, I have time to finish by next April. Not that I want to wait that long, but it's all gonna be okay. As long as I get the data collected soon, I'll feel pretty good that I can write this up over the summer. I do well at that "writing things up over the summer thing" -- the last two summers have shown that, at least.
Forward, ho!!!!
Today I start collecting Real Data. I found an EEG data analysis service (seriously!) and those guys have been lifesavers. Expensive lifesavers. But lifesavers, nonetheless. I haven't had to pay them anything yet, but the fee we've negotiated so far is kinda ... up there. I really am in no position to complain -- I have a non-negotiable deadline and they have the expertise and manpower to get the job done, and well. I very much appreciate their knowledge and responsiveness so far. Over the past month I've been dealing with software incompatibility nightmares (EEG clinical software is highly proprietary and doesn't like to talk with other software, such as the data analysis software my new consultants are using), but we finally have it resolved.
Dear Advisor and I did have to tweak the procedure a bit, which was a little unnerving and felt a little last-minute-ish, but I think it's a good improvement and should yield us much better results than we would have gotten otherwise. So I'll collect the first session's data today, label each of the EEG data segments, get it converted to the special universal format, and send it to my consultants' FTP site and they should be able to give me raw results by next week. In time for LONDON!
Panic... panic.... panic... yes. London. Leaving on the 9th and presenting on the 12th. On this methodology. Which, at the time they requested the power point slides, was in the middle of being revamped. Hopefully I'll be able to use a revised version of the presentation, though I tried to be vague enough in the version I sent that I could get away with any subsequent changes. When that presentation is done, I think I'll be able to relax a little bit. And enjoy the trip, and not think too much about this whole dissertation thing.
Until then, I plan to collect all my data (4 sessions) and start qualitatively analyzing it. The next couple weeks feel very claustrophobic, and if I wake early in the morning (say, if Julia has a bad dream and cries out in the night, then falls back asleep right away) I lie awake in an anxious state, running through everything that needs to be done. Just trying to think of something going on in my life that is relaxing is hard. But, interestingly, what worked this morning was the knowledge that at some point, kiddo #2 will be born and I won't have to worry about any of this stuff for a little while -- just him. Which was relaxing. And lovely. So, for a change, thinking about Two of Two didn't send me into a panic. I do think I can write this up before he arrives, and even if not, I have time to finish by next April. Not that I want to wait that long, but it's all gonna be okay. As long as I get the data collected soon, I'll feel pretty good that I can write this up over the summer. I do well at that "writing things up over the summer thing" -- the last two summers have shown that, at least.
Forward, ho!!!!