Pushing forward on the thesis
The thesis is taking a lot work, but I'm pushing forward with it. Today, I finished the first draft of my biography section, which was kind of difficult because my biographies require 9 different people, and for some of them there is very little information available.
My next step is to begin the analysis of the artifacts (texts) themselves. It's very time consuming, and it really leaves me exhausted at the end of each day. I've been checking out a study room in the library every day and just working nonstop there. I've discovered the library gets FREAKING COLD, so I've actually had to start bringing a jacket to wear while I'm in the library. Yes, it's roasting outside, yet I need a jacket in order to study in the library. I mean, air conditioning is nice, but an ice box is really not necessary.
A few days ago I read Steve Martin's Born Standing Up. I've always been a fan of Steve Martin, and I was a fan back when he was actually doing stand up, before he did his first movie, The Jerk. I was surprised at how good a book this really was. You think you know a lot about someone, and then you read his memoir, and you find yourself completely surprised. He's a great writer, and he has a great sense of humor, obviously, but the story of his rise and then retirement from stand up was just downright amazing. I am so glad I read this book.
I'm still getting somewhat paranoid about the fall because I don't have any job lined up, and I'm not anticipating anything showing up either. Part of the problem, I believe, is that my MA degree does not get awarded until August, and I get the impression that that makes HR departments think "he doesn't have the required degree". But then I've also applied for jobs in political science, for which I already do have the degree, and I've received nothing but paper thin letters of "thanks but no thanks". A couple of the others, like Bakersfield College, never even got back to me after stating they had the whole application. It's really frustrating. I'm not sure what to do as I get closer to the fall. I am running out of money, and I don't see anything getting better. I've applied to other jobs, like city jobs and all that, but for some reason I can't get past an HR department. I applied to a job in Michigan (for the company where I was before), but I've had zero response from there, even though I am completely what they could use for the position.
It becomes really depressing. My shoulder has also been getting worse and worse every night. It makes it really difficult to sleep, and sometimes my other shoulder tries to compensate for the bad shoulder, and by the middle of the night that shoulder is hurting, too, so there's not a single side I can sleep on without throbbing pain. I'm not sure how much longer I can continue living like this. I contacted Kaiser, and they're setting up an August date for surgery, but I honestly don't think I'll make it that long.
Well, that's about it. I came up with an idea for a screenplay I want to write one day when I get some free time to do just that. The idea keeps growing bigger and bigger in my head, even though I suspect it may be one of those projects that lasts longer than I will.
Stumble It!
My next step is to begin the analysis of the artifacts (texts) themselves. It's very time consuming, and it really leaves me exhausted at the end of each day. I've been checking out a study room in the library every day and just working nonstop there. I've discovered the library gets FREAKING COLD, so I've actually had to start bringing a jacket to wear while I'm in the library. Yes, it's roasting outside, yet I need a jacket in order to study in the library. I mean, air conditioning is nice, but an ice box is really not necessary.
A few days ago I read Steve Martin's Born Standing Up. I've always been a fan of Steve Martin, and I was a fan back when he was actually doing stand up, before he did his first movie, The Jerk. I was surprised at how good a book this really was. You think you know a lot about someone, and then you read his memoir, and you find yourself completely surprised. He's a great writer, and he has a great sense of humor, obviously, but the story of his rise and then retirement from stand up was just downright amazing. I am so glad I read this book.
I'm still getting somewhat paranoid about the fall because I don't have any job lined up, and I'm not anticipating anything showing up either. Part of the problem, I believe, is that my MA degree does not get awarded until August, and I get the impression that that makes HR departments think "he doesn't have the required degree". But then I've also applied for jobs in political science, for which I already do have the degree, and I've received nothing but paper thin letters of "thanks but no thanks". A couple of the others, like Bakersfield College, never even got back to me after stating they had the whole application. It's really frustrating. I'm not sure what to do as I get closer to the fall. I am running out of money, and I don't see anything getting better. I've applied to other jobs, like city jobs and all that, but for some reason I can't get past an HR department. I applied to a job in Michigan (for the company where I was before), but I've had zero response from there, even though I am completely what they could use for the position.
It becomes really depressing. My shoulder has also been getting worse and worse every night. It makes it really difficult to sleep, and sometimes my other shoulder tries to compensate for the bad shoulder, and by the middle of the night that shoulder is hurting, too, so there's not a single side I can sleep on without throbbing pain. I'm not sure how much longer I can continue living like this. I contacted Kaiser, and they're setting up an August date for surgery, but I honestly don't think I'll make it that long.
Well, that's about it. I came up with an idea for a screenplay I want to write one day when I get some free time to do just that. The idea keeps growing bigger and bigger in my head, even though I suspect it may be one of those projects that lasts longer than I will.
Labels: Education, School, Writing
Stumble It!
posted by Duane @ 11:49 PM
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