Back in Action
Alrighty.
I finished my last exam (well, paper) 2 weeks ago this past Friday.
Then, as most of you know (because you were there!) I presented a paper at a conference 2 weeks ago in Lethbridge. It was a good experience; lots of interesting papers, and I'm told my presentation went well, too.
Then I came home, took a couple of days off (woohoo... relaxation!). But then my body realized I was relaxing and it took that as its cue to go ahead and get sick.
And I do mean sick. Flat-in-bed-for-two-or-three-days sick. And I still have the remnants, a gosh-darned cough that has made doing much of anything pretty tough. Basically, what that means is I haven't talked to the people I was supposed to talk to, I haven't seen the people I was supposed to see, and while I have done work, I haven't done all the work I was going to, either.
Ah yes, work. Where would I be without you?
This summer, I think, will be a test of my self-discipline, as far as work goes. I've done it once before, doing an independent study and research all in the same summer. But that time, the research wasn't self-directed like this time is. It's a whole 'nother ballgame, doing research for myself as opposed to for someone else.
At this point, research has meant going to the library, and picking up books. Initially, I wondered if there would be enough books for me to get the preliminary information I need. Let's put it this way. In a library, there are rows of bookshelves, and within each shelf, there are sections, about 4 feet wide. I picked up 8-10 books from one section of one row in my first trip to the library. And that was in the area that I didn't think I'd find much (the architecture section). I still haven't ventured back, to visit the art / art history, archaeology and ... oh, the religious studies section yet. Oy.
On top of all those books (most of which I only need a portion, but still!), there's my independant study. Basically, I've worked it out that for the course alone I need to read (comprehend, take notes on, etc.) 75 pages of very dense material per day. On a good day, that's about 2 hours of reading for class work alone. And I read fast. But you can't blow through this stuff.
On top of all of that, one of my other goals for summer was to actually have a life. Still waiting to see how that figures into the plan. Sword-swinging class is still going on, weekly. I'm also still picking up the odd shift at the Faculty of Medicine -- they've had one of their full time people leave on short notice, so I'm filling in a bit over the next couple of weeks. The bookstore looks like a no-go. Oh, and Tay, if you see this, please tell your mom that I'll be in touch about the design work on Monday? *Whew* On the plus side, my independant study only lasts until the end of June, so I will be able to reclaim that time in about 6 weeks.
Wow. 6 weeks? Man, I gotta get to work...
I finished my last exam (well, paper) 2 weeks ago this past Friday.
Then, as most of you know (because you were there!) I presented a paper at a conference 2 weeks ago in Lethbridge. It was a good experience; lots of interesting papers, and I'm told my presentation went well, too.
Then I came home, took a couple of days off (woohoo... relaxation!). But then my body realized I was relaxing and it took that as its cue to go ahead and get sick.
And I do mean sick. Flat-in-bed-for-two-or-three-days sick. And I still have the remnants, a gosh-darned cough that has made doing much of anything pretty tough. Basically, what that means is I haven't talked to the people I was supposed to talk to, I haven't seen the people I was supposed to see, and while I have done work, I haven't done all the work I was going to, either.
Ah yes, work. Where would I be without you?
This summer, I think, will be a test of my self-discipline, as far as work goes. I've done it once before, doing an independent study and research all in the same summer. But that time, the research wasn't self-directed like this time is. It's a whole 'nother ballgame, doing research for myself as opposed to for someone else.
At this point, research has meant going to the library, and picking up books. Initially, I wondered if there would be enough books for me to get the preliminary information I need. Let's put it this way. In a library, there are rows of bookshelves, and within each shelf, there are sections, about 4 feet wide. I picked up 8-10 books from one section of one row in my first trip to the library. And that was in the area that I didn't think I'd find much (the architecture section). I still haven't ventured back, to visit the art / art history, archaeology and ... oh, the religious studies section yet. Oy.
On top of all those books (most of which I only need a portion, but still!), there's my independant study. Basically, I've worked it out that for the course alone I need to read (comprehend, take notes on, etc.) 75 pages of very dense material per day. On a good day, that's about 2 hours of reading for class work alone. And I read fast. But you can't blow through this stuff.
On top of all of that, one of my other goals for summer was to actually have a life. Still waiting to see how that figures into the plan. Sword-swinging class is still going on, weekly. I'm also still picking up the odd shift at the Faculty of Medicine -- they've had one of their full time people leave on short notice, so I'm filling in a bit over the next couple of weeks. The bookstore looks like a no-go. Oh, and Tay, if you see this, please tell your mom that I'll be in touch about the design work on Monday? *Whew* On the plus side, my independant study only lasts until the end of June, so I will be able to reclaim that time in about 6 weeks.
Wow. 6 weeks? Man, I gotta get to work...
