Monday, August 8, 2011

file > new > blank document

So I have a week left until I need to start showing my face around the new campus.  I am not terrified, but for some reason I am having trouble with the transition.  My husband says from his perspective it's like I am "sitting down right before crossing the finish line."  I've never done that in a race, so why am I doing it in real life?

I remember in the LA County Half, I was sooooo frustrated with myself for having to walk almost the entirety of Mile 10.  I knew I was closing in on the home stretch, but my legs simply wouldn't work.  I guess that's what this feels like.  After an incredibly productive week last week, I am sitting down right before the finish line.

my baby-doggie, Edna Jo
What's wrong?  I feel like there's soooo much to do, it's hard to start.  I am starting to feel grounded here at the new house.  Thank goodness.  After a year-and-a-half of feeling like the rug was snatched out from under me, because of living apart from my husband and baby-doggie, it didn't seem right.  So at least we're under one roof again and I think that is definitely helping me find my center.

Everything is working out as well or better than we had hoped.  Yet, I can't seem to find the motivation to finish the dissertation.  Spending 8+ hours per day in front of a screen, watching the blinking cursor, combing through notes and files accumulated over 5+ years of study, trying to synthesize all this knowledge into a coherent summary with references, it is maddening!  It's so much easier to turn my energy towards a task that can be completed in an afternoon, or even a week.  This project (the dissertation) you could say has spanned 5 years, focusing on the write-it-up part for the past 6 months.

So with that I will conclude with a quote I found on twitter:
"If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." ~Mario Andretti

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