Friday, February 01, 2008
The Shortest Month, The Longest Semester
In our last exciting episode, our hero had sworn that he would blog more regularly in the coming weeks rather than let it dwindle into nothingness. Passion...excitement...drama...commitment...all of these are abstract nouns that could be worked into a well-written TV-style recap describing this post.
But then, despite what for this blog would be considered a veritable flood of comments indicating sustained reader interest...the fervor died and the blogger retreated once more into solitude.
The reason? The aforementioned research paper mostly. Like most of my papers, this one ended up running slightly longer than expected. And by slightly longer, I mean more than twice as long as required. I confess that I found this rather frustrating, but such is the price one pays for making original and potentially significant contributions to the historical record. You have to write as much as needed to recount the story completely, because otherwise it will never get told properly. Of course, if my professors conclude that my research is neither original nor significant, this entire justification falls apart, but we'll cross that bridge when the time comes.
The original plan was to turn in this paper today, February 1st. This did not happen, but I can state with relative certainty that a draft will be submitted by the beginning of next week. The rationale is simple. That's when classes start, and I need to get it turned in and out of the way so I can focus on my other work. And by classes, I mean one class--singular. And by work, I refer to reading for that class...but mostly to my general exams.
Yes. This spring, the most grueling academic endeavor of my entire life to this point will begin. General exams. 200 books. 3 months. 1 week of written testing followed by a 2 hour discussion that determines whether or not I get a master's degree and get to continue on in this program or if I must bid Old Ivy farewell and find some other use of my talents.
If all else fails, I could always be a doorman.
As you might imagine, I'm looking forward to this whole thing with the sort of enthusiasm usually reserved for major dental surgeries. And just like surgery, I know that it's necessary and that I'll probably feel better afterward. But the actual process is rather intimidating. I've been given all sorts of strategies...break up lists thematically, read a few books really carefully and skim the rest, utilize book reviews strategically, and so forth. I have no idea exactly how to proceed. And I think that's the worst part of all.
Because I have about a week to get my act together and figure out my reading strategy. What's worse, no matter which strategy I pick, I fear that my semester will be a lonely time. Reading 3-4 books a day for 3 months is not known to encourage socialization.
I'm not sure exactly what role this blog will play during the generals process. But in case I disappear again for a few weeks, now you know why.
Oh, and I'm going to post the answers to this year's movie quote contest in the next day or two...Seriously this time. It's been too long.
In our last exciting episode, our hero had sworn that he would blog more regularly in the coming weeks rather than let it dwindle into nothingness. Passion...excitement...drama...commitment...all of these are abstract nouns that could be worked into a well-written TV-style recap describing this post.
But then, despite what for this blog would be considered a veritable flood of comments indicating sustained reader interest...the fervor died and the blogger retreated once more into solitude.
The reason? The aforementioned research paper mostly. Like most of my papers, this one ended up running slightly longer than expected. And by slightly longer, I mean more than twice as long as required. I confess that I found this rather frustrating, but such is the price one pays for making original and potentially significant contributions to the historical record. You have to write as much as needed to recount the story completely, because otherwise it will never get told properly. Of course, if my professors conclude that my research is neither original nor significant, this entire justification falls apart, but we'll cross that bridge when the time comes.
The original plan was to turn in this paper today, February 1st. This did not happen, but I can state with relative certainty that a draft will be submitted by the beginning of next week. The rationale is simple. That's when classes start, and I need to get it turned in and out of the way so I can focus on my other work. And by classes, I mean one class--singular. And by work, I refer to reading for that class...but mostly to my general exams.
Yes. This spring, the most grueling academic endeavor of my entire life to this point will begin. General exams. 200 books. 3 months. 1 week of written testing followed by a 2 hour discussion that determines whether or not I get a master's degree and get to continue on in this program or if I must bid Old Ivy farewell and find some other use of my talents.
If all else fails, I could always be a doorman.
As you might imagine, I'm looking forward to this whole thing with the sort of enthusiasm usually reserved for major dental surgeries. And just like surgery, I know that it's necessary and that I'll probably feel better afterward. But the actual process is rather intimidating. I've been given all sorts of strategies...break up lists thematically, read a few books really carefully and skim the rest, utilize book reviews strategically, and so forth. I have no idea exactly how to proceed. And I think that's the worst part of all.
Because I have about a week to get my act together and figure out my reading strategy. What's worse, no matter which strategy I pick, I fear that my semester will be a lonely time. Reading 3-4 books a day for 3 months is not known to encourage socialization.
I'm not sure exactly what role this blog will play during the generals process. But in case I disappear again for a few weeks, now you know why.
Oh, and I'm going to post the answers to this year's movie quote contest in the next day or two...Seriously this time. It's been too long.
Comments:
Oh sure, you consider disappearing for extended periods of time right when I'm showing signs of posting somewhat regularly again...
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