Slightly painful relief

I think that Kitchener Waterloo is finally totally agreeing with me. Loads of social time, skiing, the bar I like is growing on me (probably because of the extra large glasses of wine the bartender was feeding me), and homemade international food keeps showing up at my house.

The jigsaw puzzle of academia finally fits. I spent a few weeks just *concentrating* trying to pull together the comprehensive exam proposal, pick a dataset to work with on a publication, and pull together abstracts for conferences. I had to get this all done before the wisdom tooth got removed (yesterday).

Luckily, my profs liked my proposal, and gloated that I am going with energy, equity and environment themes. I told them not to gloat so much, reminding them that my proposed topics are much broader than their research. Two good outcomes came from that meeting. First, they accepted my first comprehensive topic, which will become a preparatory paper (although they said my other two topics will likely collapse into a giant topic, and I’ll have to choose a third). The other good news is that I don’t have to set my committee until after paper 1, since they can’t see anyone objecting to it. Therefore, I have lots of time to spy on professors, and think of reasons to reject or accept suggested committee members. Yahoo!!

I also took one of the datasets to publish with under consideration, and wrote my prof a long email explaining how his research design could be changed to something better. I think he sort of liked it and ran with the themes I presented in the email in the comprehensive meeting. So, I’m almost set on that, and finding a good intellectual space to debate how to cut the issues.

Finally, the tooth has been removed. Not much good has come of that. It just hurts, and I’m hungry and groggy. But my small friends downstairs decided to come visit me in my recovery space with some valentine’s cards (woo hoo!). So I know I have at least two suitors this year. One of them saw how bad I was feeling, so he went out of his way to make two more pictures for me, and he made sure to tape them to the wall next to my bed at eye level, so that I can roll over in bed and see them. So nice!

Jigsaw puzzle

I can’t write anymore. I just make lists. And then I edit them, then I make some tables, present them to people, get feedback, draw up more lists of questions, make meetings, get them answered, read some stuff I don’t understand, write questions, ask them in seminar…etc. etc. etc.

The Good

• running, cross country skiing, yoga
• good produce
• $3.75/pint of stout (how did I not notice this earlier?)
• feeding people at my house
• getting serenaded by fed people
• small neighbours offering peach jam and bagels, and letting me use their stick-grabby-claw thingamajig and hanging out in pajamas
• small neighbours helping me decorate by drawing pictures for my kitchen, and NOT ON THE WALLS (explicit instructions from the mommy), and making sure the whoopee cushion still works
• finally decorating my office at school. and using it
• discovering art talks, like shirin neshat
• new contact lenses
• plug in oil radiator thing for my cold office (finally not frigid)
• mail containing music, post cards, cards, excerpts from comic books

The Bad

• below minus 20
• sickness
• sickness causing getting addicted to the L word. again.
• office for persons with disabilities
• the wisdom tooth removal (forthcoming)
• no car is becoming a bad, i must admit

The Unknown, i.e. The Jigsaw Puzzle

• drawing up a 8 to 10 month plan to incorporate

1. a publication
2. comprehensive themes
3. 4 conference abstracts (and posters/presentations)
4. which add to my CV, and relate to my proposed research (what is that again?)
5. and incorporate a data set within one of my professors possession

• luckily, the themes don’t have to relate to “big G” geography, just “little g” geography. phew.

and i don’t know where this lies, but i’m starting to see a trend in that people over fourty all think i’m 25. but at least i haven’t been carded lately.

New Years Resolution? Race Horse Diet

I came back to KW a bit nervous on Sunday, but by Monday was totally feeling ready to get back to it. I was emailing,  setting meetings, following up, and generally getting everything in order to make some decisions regarding how I’m going to spend my time over the next 8 months (comprehensives, publications, coursework, conferences). I had some new years resolutions somewhere in there too.

I promptly got sick. I made it to a few classes and meetings, and then slept 16 hour days for a few days. I watched Season 6 Episode 1 of The L Word (this has been a serious addiction in the past, and now they have Lucy Lawless of Xena fame) and this episode of South Park, which kills me. Some academic I am.

New years resolutions

Maybe actually old years resolutions. I have managed to not have a bout of chronic pain in my hands in about 18 months, and my fingers are looking pretty good these days (amazing) so my resolution is to keep pushing myself in the outdoors. I’ll be cross country skiing this winter, I will keep running, and to fuel this, I will keep up with what Madamoiselle M calls my ‘racehorse diet’ of oatmeal, bananas, lots of salad, nuts and seeds, whole grain everything, miso, little dairy or sugar. I dunno how it happened, but my acupuncturist is impressed with the results.

I came home to lots of love filled cards and packages through mail. I have so far written two cards to be mailed, but a new years resolution is to send mail to my dearest friends.

I was scared to come back to a place where beats and a beer is the one thing I can’t find on any given night, like I can in Toronto (or Montreal for that matter). I will pay attention to my own music needs. Keep up the music exchanges in the mail and harrassment of the good DJ’s I know.

I also bought two comic books with my gift certificate at the Beguiling. I got Exit Wounds and Blue Pills, both unconventional love stories. Not a bad place to start the new year.