Bobby McFerrin did a show at Roy Thomson Hall last night, and it was fabulous. Well, mostly... Cadence performed near the end of the show, and I may get banished as an Ontario music teacher for saying this, but I really don't like them so much. But I won't get into Cadence-bashing here... Anyway, some of you may know that it was a Bobby McFerrin show that really got my thesis juices going back in the summer of 2005. So, it was great to see him again, especially at a time when my thesis is nearing the end.
Writing is going well these days. I have been spending lots of hours nursing americanos at Lit Espresso Bar, which I had just discovered the last time I posted. I really enjoy the vibe here, and I love that I have established a writing routine. I haven't been this productive since last summer. I've pretty much abandoned my tv-watching habit as well, which is great. I do watch a show online most nights before I go to bed, but that's tons better than the hours I was putting in with HGTV and TSN before. In fact, I haven't even watched one game during the World Women's Curling Tournament, which has been running since March 20. I will watch the final tomorrow night if Canada makes it. They'll need to win the semi-final tonight to get there.
So, yes, the writing is going well. I even maintained a commitment to my thesis this week in the midst of practicum visits to see my students. Next week will be a challenge--I have a stack of grading to do. If I organize my time well, I can manage both. I think it's time to prove to myself that I can. It's not as if once I finish my thesis the need to balance responsibilities will disappear. Assuming I find a full-time job in the next few years, there will be tons more balls to juggle. Best to get good juggling habits down now.
I've gotten away from writing anything specific about my thesis here, and the reason I started the blog was to report my progress so folks would know how I'm doing without having to ask. I think I will start posting weekly goals here, as I attempted to do in the beginning. This week, I will finish writing the narrative profile for "Callie." I have written the narratives for the other two participants, so it will be great to have this done. Essentially, these narratives will serve as the first sections of each of my participant analysis chapters (probably chapters 4-6). The first two are about 16 pages each, and I expect this third one will be the same. After that, I will start organizing my early chapters (1-3). I have a lot of material from previous papers and my actual thesis proposal that will end up in these chapters, so this is the week to start copying and pasting and figuring out where the gaps are. I would like to have chapters 1-3 complete by the end of May, but I will revise that goal as the weeks progress.
That's it for now.
1 comment:
Wow ! Woke up to your blog here on this grey Berlin day, and it cheered me up to hear you so motivated ! You are on a spectacular roll! The Thesis Support Group (TSG) lives on, as you are inspiring me with mine. I am finally cutting through chapter 2 which has ballooned to over 40 pages but it is finally taking shape and hope to send it off to my supervisor within one week. I have been talking about sending off chapter 2 for about a year now...that's my goal for this week. Keep it coming! LOts of lOve xo
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