Categories: uncategorized
Date: 06 December 2004 21:54:06
Lots of things to tick off my "To Do" list (hooray):
* Pages and pages of ideas for the research proposal produced. Now to turn it into something vaguely coherent and academic-sounding.
* Emailed tutors at UpNorth University with pedantic questions about word limits and closing dates and boring stuff like that. Plus asked how much they want in the way of reference to the literature in the proposal (if it's only 500 words it's going to be a challenge).
* Emailed Masters dissertation tutor to ask her if she will be one of my referees. I can't see that it would be a problem, but as it was Open University and we never actually met I have a mild niggling worry that although she will remember who I am and my dissertation, the relationship that would prompt her to leap up and say "yes of course I will" isn't really there. We'll see. I also need to clarify my second referee, but asked the UpNorth tutor about that - my health visiting tutor (from 3 years ago when I did my training), or my current work manager? Advantages and disadvantages to both.
Am feeling much better about all that - like I've got a bit of direction at last. I *so* need to move on out of this rut.
On a less impressive note, but still student related - I skived Russian again today. Thankfully next week is the last week, so I will make sure I go. I feel awful about dropping out after this term, but with the full-time job, spare-time job, trying to do the research proposal in the rest of my spare time, and having minimal social life at the moment due to the aforementioned stuff, evening classes were just too too much. At least it has demystified the alphabet, and given me a vague start in grammar and stuff like that, which will be a huge help once I start the PhD (if I get the ESRC funding then the first year will include a lot of full-on, intensive Russian language learning, so I feel like I've pre-empted the scariness of that slightly).