Categories: phd
Tags: conference, PhD
Date: 12 February 2009 22:18:54
I'm having one of those weeks where the spirit is willing but the flesh (not to mention brain) is weak. I have a couple of big deadlines coming up, but although I have managed to come up with a plan not only for the next few weeks but also pretty much till September (which, if I follow it will give me by then a full thesis in at least draft form, a couple more journal articles, a conference paper and a few weeks off for holidays and Greenbelt and whatnot), have not managed to follow my little plan for today and only really have a 250 word abstract (about a subject I don't (yet) know much about) to show for it. I know it's important to do lots of thinking and reading and chin-scratching, and I've had a major lightbulb moment over the last couple of days which is always good - it would just be nice to have something a bit more substantial to show for it. I just know that despite my good intentions it's going to be last-minute stressful writing yet again this time.
Some exciting news though is that my friend who is now a lecturer in another dept, but did her PhD in mine, with whom I went to Helsinki in December, has asked if I'd like to get involved in a proposed panel for a conference in Sweden next year. I was really chuffed, as one of the things I felt in Helsinki was that because I'm not a Russianist, I was a bit of a spare part (most people there were doing research in Russia, and the few of us who weren't were a bit of a novelty). So it's nice that she (and a Finnish researcher whom I'd met a few times before and whose work I really like, and who between them are proposing the panel) thought of me and thought I would be a. relevant and b. good enough to be involved. That has given me a boost. I've provisionally said I'm interested, though as by the time the conference comes round I won't be a student any more (hopefully!) I'm going to have to find sponsorship from somewhere, which could be interesting. But I'll worry about that another time. For now it's just nice to be asked :)