Noooooooooooooooooooooooo, I am not going to shut my blog down! (Not that this would mean the end of an era, anyway.) The news is that I finished my diploma thesis!
I still cannot believe it. This project has been a constant companion in my life for the last 1 1/2 years, and until recently, I honestly did not think I would ever wake up one morning and it would be gone. Today, it was that day. I finished it last night and already sent it to my supervisor, so he has something to read on his flight back from New Zealand. 
I also cannot believe I wrote almost 39,000 words on test validation. This is the largest thing I have ever made myself so far, and it shall mark the end of the time in my life when I had problems to bring things to an end. The thesis showed me that I actually can.
The smileys are having a big party now.
YAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!
yahoo!! congrats! that is a huge accomplishment. You should be so proud of all you did!
Thank you, Lindsay! I actually just realized that I’m really proud of myself.
i am toasting your accomplishment with a lovely gin martini! so excited for you and for what’s to come! congratulations! <3
:):)
I’m toasting back with a glass of white wine! (Quite the distance toast!
)
What’s to come in the near future are my (remaining) final exams (I still have 6 to take) and some research projects I’m very much looking forward for. Then, hopefully, a PhD in social psychology. Then, if things work out well, an academic career. Probably I’ll write some novels along the way (already working on that with one of my best friends). Ultimately, work domination. Etc etc.
Seriously: This project was tough, and there were times when I didn’t know how to go on. Also, some scary circumstances put heavy strain on my nerves (I’ve written about that in my reply to Fiona’s comment). But in the end, it made me stronger and more confident in myself.
i love long distance toasts with fabulous intellectual friends!
you’ve just inspired me to get work on a saturday night! cheers to you, my saturday night inspiration!!! xxx
LOL, what work was it?
i SO wish i could share that information, but i keep my “work” as hush hush from the blog and internet. but i got a lot done, thanks to vous!
Ha, no problem! I’m happy you’ve accomplished something and are happy with yourself!
Amazing news! Congratulations, Kath
Thank you, Jennie!
Congratulations!! You must feel very accomplished
I’m happy for you!
Thank you, Maggie! I’m actually really proud!
Congratulations! I know this feeling and therefore can totally understand that it is amazing! Be proud, relax, reward yourself and dance. Congrats again.
Thank you, Anne! And thank you so much again for your support! I could never have done this without the amazing help I got from my friends!
Awesome! One of my close friends recently finished her thesis and I thought it was going to kill her, the stress,the workload!! So much work! Well done! xx
Thank you so much, Fiona! I wasn’t in danger to be killed physically (although there were times when I worked until late at night, almost didn’t sleep at all, or slept with my laptop tagged to my side), but the emotional stress was sometimes intense. One thing was that I needed more than 1000 (!) participants for my study design (I got 1400 in the end, thanks to the help of my blogging friends who linked to my study and got a lot of their readers to participate in it – it was an online study). But even worse was that my supervisor was away all the time and almost died *twice* in the meantime (he had a terrible car accident at first and then was one of the handful of people who were in the cathedral in Christchurch during the earthquake one year ago, and just got out in the last second while the whole thing was collapsing over him). I don’t know how many guardian angels this man has, but there must be some. I’m thankful for every single one of them.
<3
Oh that is awful.. and wonderful that he survived. *hugs* <3
I think so, too.
Congratulations Kath, a very seriously big accomplishment. What will you do with all that spare time now ?
No spare time, Andrew! I still have to take my final exams (6 in total), and I can start right away with learning for those. Also, there are already several other research projects I’m involved in. One of them is a study about group processes I’m currently working on with two friends (who are also researchers in social psychology), and we’ll hopefully launch that one by mid April. Then, there are two other projects I’m contributing to as a student research assistant, what means conducting experiments and then doing part of the writing on the article. A handful of other research ideas is already existing and waiting for being elaborated together with my friends, as soon as the first thing is done. Then, I want to write an article on the results I got with the study from my diploma thesis (because there are some interesting findings – yay!), together with my supervisor who’s going to return in a week or so. And I also want to learn programming so I can set up my own studies. So you see, there are lots of things ahead! I certainly won’t get bored.
But tonight, I’ll relax.
YEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
oh, Kath, I am SO happy for you, and very proud of you! your desire for knowledge and constant learning is one thing I admire most about you, and I celebrate your big accomplishment!
you are wonderful,
<3 K
Thank you so, so much Kris! I hope you know *how much* I love you, too! And you contributed a lot in this, because a crucial part of the thesis was about the study I conducted in May last year. Remember? You linked me, and I got about 150 participants thanks to your help. That was amazing! I could never have done all of this without the support of my wonderful friends!
*hugs and hugs and hugs*
Wooot! that is very cool. Hugs and chocolate for you Kath.
Thank you, Tammy!
I am so thrilled for you and absolutely happy that you’re finally done and that slowly another era (your diplom study era) is going to an end as well
SO EXCITING.
it didn’t post the post-it I found for you! so here again, maybe as a link:
http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzynjiqXUy1qkluczo1_500.jpg
I love the link. Thank you so much!
Yes! It’s not going to last too long anymore!
YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! Congrats Kath! This is awesome!
Thank you, Dee!
HURRAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How great is this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am so happy for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gut Ding will Weile haben. Wie man so sagt.
Enjoy, RELAX.
Haha, you’re right! Better do it well than rush as much as you can! I may have needed a little longer, but I hope the result was worth it.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! It’s time to celebrate Kath! Congrats and great job!
Thank you, Jeno! Celebration is yet to come, though – I’m still too tired!
Woohoo! Lots of jumping and skipping for you from NYC! You’re da bomb! Screw the professor. Make him suffer as the paper did to your sleepless nights.
LOL, hahaha! But I don’t think I’m capable of that.
Thank you for believing in me, Kim! 
Good for you! Add all of the dancing smileys you want! You deserve it!
Thank you, Julie!
Wooooot! And you deserve a party too! A party of your nearest and dearest, with food you love, and no obligations to get drunk of high or be stupid like conventional parties do. You deserve the perfect Kath party!
I’ll visit one of my best friends later today, and we’re going to have some cooking and movies. Looking forward to that.
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am SO proud of you Kath! I know how hard (and LONG) you have worked on this project. I’m sure it really does feel like the “end of an era”.
Thank you so much, Susan! I know you can relate very well.
Yay!!!!! That’s awesome Kath! So exciting and what a great feeling to be done w/ something that’s been such a huge part of your life! Congrats…hope you can relax a little
Katie
Thank you Katie! I’m very, very relieved and also very proud I managed to finish this! And still dead.
So yes relaxing is definitely in order!
Congrats, girl!! That’s amazing!!
Thank you, Rach! I’m so happy this is done!
Congratulations – great achievement! you wont know what to do with yourself
Thank you, Johanna! I actually know very well how to go on, because there are already some new projects waiting, and also have to do my remaining final exams.
Congrats, Kath!! I’m so happy for you. Geez I couldn’t imagine writing close to 40k words..even I have trouble writing a simple paragraph..lol!
I could never imagine either, Jos! But in the end, I somehow did it – paragraph by paragraph, and it summed up! The biggest challenge probably was to connect those many parts to one coherent thing. I think that most of my reasoning about the whole thing took place at this meta level.
Not only is this made of amazing, but your partying smileys are over the top. Yayayayayayay!!!
Hahaha, thank you Christine!
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I am so happy for you as well! I am turning in my dissertation today, so looks like we will both be graduating around the same time
I need to start blogging again, I miss it. I just did not have the time while I was preparing the dissertation and looking for a post-doc to do so, but I want to start back again soon.
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy, Panda! That’s awesome!!!! Congratulations to you!
I won’t graduate yet, as I still have to take some exams, and that will take another few months. (Final exams, 6 remaining.)
I hope to read more on your blog again now!
Yaaaay! Congratulations! (yet again!)
Thank you, Becky!
CONGRATULATIONS Kath!! Such an achievement, I can only imagine how elated you must feel. Thrilled for you!
Heidi xo
Thank you, Heidi! I’m incredibly relieved and also proud that I managed to bring this to an end!