I Haven't Forgotten...Only Procrastinated....

I knew my biggest issue with this project was going to be once I was home. First off, there was a lot to digest: the experiences I had were incredible but sleeping in your car or at strangers houses is really exhausting. Next, there's been a lot of things going on:

1. The boyfriend proposed! A wedding date for April 14. Oh good, something else to distract me. Wedding planning on the tiniest budget ever when a third of the guests are coming from out of state has been...exciting.

2. The holidays(I got a tripod so pictures like this were possible)

3. Hobbies like baking, knitting, hiking, running...

4. The contract job I was working ended and I'm waiting for the new one to begin. Wait, that's not an excuse...that has freed up lots of time I would be spending working to pay rent!

So now, with the encouragement with my boyfriend who, as a grad student, is assisting in a research project that is MUCH larger than mine is but VERY similar, I have begun the work to get all this put together. Not only did I have to open hundreds of envelopes to sort them, I had to create a data sheet, enter the numbers, and analyze the results. To even create the data sheet to analyze the results, I had to figure out how to use excel and decided how exactly I wanted to enter the numbers so that I would be able to manipulate the data later on. That is what I've been stuck on for the last three months.

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm sort of like a caveman when it comes to "machines" (my 93-year-old grandmother's word for computer)

Spending a day sorting surveys and getting them into an organized file folder system is one thing. Putting the paper into a computer without it crashing or me pulling my hair out is another. (And no, you can't physically shove paper into a lap top. Turns out, that's not how these things work. WHY CAN'T IT BE LIKE THAT ARGH) After many failed attempts to get a working data sheet out, my boyfriend basically did it for me. NOT THE DATA ENTRY. He coded all the numerical data and created the outline for the excel spreadsheet. Now all I have to do is label and enter in all the data for each survey. After I finish with that, he can transfer the excel document to some other really fancy program he has access to while at the UW that can manipulate the data in all sorts of ways. Honestly, I would have been so overwhelmed without his help.

I'll keep you posted as I continue on. I still am amazed at all the people I've talked to who I never would have expected to read my blog. It's pretty been pretty amazing!

I haven't forgotten guys! Only procrastinated!