Deadlines

I work better when I have deadlines - but right now, I think I have a few too many of the darn things!

The biggest one that's looming is that I have to have my major research paper done by the end of the month (sooner would be better). It needs to get to my advisor so that she can read/edit it before August 14, by which date I need a letter saying that I have completed all requirements for my MA degree so that I can be admitted into my Phd program.

More immediately, though, I have committed to read at the Leacock Festival reading on Tuesday night and I really wanted to come up with something new to read! Doesn't seem right to go away for a year to do a master's degree and not have anything new to read - although I do have stories I have never done publicly, so if worse comes to worse .... I might end up taking Stephanie's suggestion and reading "Leaving" - but honestly, I don't know if I could DO that one without choking up. If I don't come up with something new, I'll have to though, won't I? The one thing I will NOT do is a total cop out - I won't read anything that I have done at readings before. Anyway ...we'll see.

I also have several more chapters - and appendices (which no one mentioned) to proofread - and those are all due back to the copy-editor by the 27th. That one is not too onerous though - it's a job that I can do while we're driving to Peterborough and back to look for houses.

The buying a house thing is huge, of course .... especially given that the city we're supposed to be buying a house in is 2.5 hours from home - it does get complicated! We're doing our second round of showings this afternoon, and there is one house that Ross is really, really enthusiastic about - so hopefully it will be perfect and we can just go ahead and make an offer on it while we're there today. Wouldn't that be nice! Won't likely happen that way, but I can dream.

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Working Outside

I've pretty much made my deck my new office this week.... got everything set up just right - my laptop is on its stand on a chair in front of my chair; a table to the right for the mouse and my ashtray and drink (I'm drinking a lot of flavoured water these days) and another chair to the left has my stack of books and so on...

Scrooge spends most of the day out here with me, either lying on the deck, or wandering out to the other deck to sunbathe. There are hummingbirds too, that come to the feeder on and off all day, often sitting on the clothesline between dips into the feeder.

It would be nice to have the summer off and not have so many papers to write and so much work to do - but since THAT isn't happening, this is about the next best thing.

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Sulking

Ross was here for the weekend ....we spent Friday night at the house I'm staying at (single bed; not so comfortable when it's hot & muggy out but oh well) and then yesterday we went to visit a friend of his' cottage about an hour from here. It was very nice - even though we have our own waterfront, one tends to take that for granted ....I very much enjoyed just sitting out by the lake watching the chipmunks and loons and other assorted critters.

We came home today and after unloading my groceries and so on, went for a walk downtown - looking at student housing, mostly. Or at streets that would do if we could find a place on 'em. Me, I'd really rather buy - I hate to think of paying so much money to rent (for up to 4 years) and having to put up with other people's dumb rules. But Ross is leaning toward renting, at least so far.

Anyway .... we were going to sit outside on a restaurant patio and have something to eat, although neither of us was all that hungry, but shortly after we sat down the sky opened and that was the end of that plan. Decided to forego food and just head back. When we got here, Ross treated the house and tree for carpenter ants - they have a LOT of carpenter ants here - and then he left.

Which is, of course, why I'm sulking - I really hate that he left without me. I WANT TO GO HOME TOO!

Will still have tons of stuff to do once I get there ...but I will definitely be thrilled to get back to my own stuff. Only 5 more sleeps. *sigh*

And then I will get to stay home for 2 months and then I will have to come back to Peterborough.

And THAT, of course, is why I'm really sulking. As much as I want to do the phd thing...and as excited as I am about doing it here in Canadian Studies @ Trent - this whole moving/residency requirement thing is not working for me at all.

Maybe Ross was right and I should have applied further afield so that we would HAVE to just move - splitting our time between places just sucks - especially when one is home and one really isn't. And of course the WORST is when he doesn't come with me. I HATE it when we are apart. I like lots of time to myself - but not THIS much!

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Home Again ... for a bit

Well, I'm home again ...actually ended up at home a day earlier than I expected - which, while a tad stressful at the time, was very nice.

Not that I got much WORK on my papers done in that extra day .... I didn't... but I got some work done on our new pest control business which presumably means that now I shall be better able to focus and get down to work on my stuff. At least that's the plan.

Tamara is here to help Ross with all things pest-related (how appropriate) and I'm going to spend today catching up on some blogs and getting Chapter One of my Major Research Paper written. And then tomorrow will be Chapter Two and the next day Chapter Three.... ha! Not likely to actually get all that done in only three days ...but I can try :)

I actually feel like I have pretty much everything I need. I've done my interviews, read scads and scads of resources, and written several essays related to my topic... it's all in there... it's now just a matter of spitting it out and making it sound academic enough ... to be a major research paper. Funny how once you DO all that research and spend a year talking and thinking about one topic, when you sit down to write it, it just doesn't SEEM new & interesting enough to bother.

But that's just me. The rest of the world, presumably, has not spent the entire last year focused on this one topic... so now is my opportunity to pull it all together and tell them all about it. Of course, on the other hand, I could decide that they haven't spent the last year focused on it because they didn't really shive a git...but that seems counter productive :)

Alrighty... time to quit thinking about writing it and actually get to work.

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Time Off

Okay... so I have a week or so off before I need to get going on my Major Research Project... papers are done, marks are submitted, ~stuff~ is done.

I SO do not do this off thing well.... I find it more exhausting than being constantly busy, I think.

Think I'm going to haul out my YA novel and try to get back to work on that tomorrow... and will keep working on trying to organize my mess of books.

Or maybe I'll start in on the MRP after all. But then if I get THAT all done, what AM I going to do with the rest of my summer?

Time to get writing I think!

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yay for me

Another essay done and handed in - not until about 6:30 this morning, but it is done. It SUCKS...but it's done.

Now onward - first finishing up my proposal re: my Major Research Paper so that I can get that sent off to my advisor and then there will be just one more to do (and about 20 essays to mark) before Thursday.

Still bunches - but I'm into the home stretch.

I think I can I think I can I think I can....

Well no, I always think that I can't possibly ... but I do it anyway.

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