Tags: thesis, article, writing, pub, fairtrade, PhD
Date: 07 March 2009 18:55:34
The chapter of doom is *this* close to being written - I thought I was going to have it done (eventually) yesterday but by 6pm I was starting to write gibberish (quiet at the back please!) and, with only one more short section still to go, I sent it off to the supervisors and will try and do the final bit tomorrow. Actually for all my moaning I do think it's better than the previous chapter I wrote, and although because it's a first draft I'm sure it will need a substantial rewrite, at least I will be rewriting it from a vaguely OK starting point.
Yesterday evening I was at a pub quiz in town in aid of Greenpeace, with HD and four other friends from church. It was really fun, we used the rather inspired (I thought) team name of "Incense and Insensibility" which as one of our friends pointed out sounded like an episode of Blackadder. It brought us luck though - we ended up equal 1st, only losing on the final tiebreak question, but still getting a bag of fairtrade goodies for our efforts :)
Yesterday as well during the day I heard from the Moomins (I think I shall use this as shorthand for the people from Finland who organised the conference I spoke at in Helsinki the other month). The article I wrote based on my talk has now gone to external review, and the Moomins hope to be able to say by the end of May whether it has been accepted for publication or not. So although it's not yet an acceptance, it's a step in the right direction and not a rejection and I'm really happy about that. And once I finish the final bit of the chapter of doom this weekend I can make a start on the article I put off the other week AND a conference talk for May (this is in Glasgow so not an exotic one, in fact it's basically in my department, though with outside speakers too, but it will be an elaboration of a section I wrote yesterday in the chapter which is too interesting to leave out but too long to go in its entirety in the chapter when there are so many other things to include as well, so I shall enjoy doing that). I know I've whinged a bit recently, but despite all that I do really enjoy writing - at any rate, I enjoy it once I'm in my stride and I know that what I'm writing is half-decent.
This afternoon I met some friends from my dept (well, they have all finished now, but are all still around), one of them has just got her first post-postdoc teaching post so will be leaving Glasgow in a couple of months. I'm really chuffed for her, and was taking lots of mental notes to think about for future applications I might make myself. I do feel a bit in limbo at the moment as until we know where HD gets a job it's difficult for me to apply anywhere, but I am going to have to start thinking about this and getting serious about it soon. If any of you GodSquadders want to pray for him to get a good job, that would be good :) He's had a couple of interviews recently, but we've not yet heard from them.