Thesis presentation for tomorrow: done.

Feeling that everything’s finally coming together and making sense: accomplished.

Hey guys,

I guess I should mention that I’m now knee-deep in my BA thesis research — as a result, it’s been quiet, and it’s gonna stay that way for a while. When I have the time to put up a proper queue, I will; otherwise it’ll probably just be the odd RA that Ch and Inkie throw my way ;)

If you see me post a lot of stuff in real time, please assume that I’m procrastinating actually writing the bloody thing and kick me out.

Anywho — see you on the other side :)

xx

Dear Lecturer,

If you keep interrupting and side-tracking a student with somewhat condescending questions after every sentence while they’re still summarising and not even analysing yet, don’t be fucking surprised if they’re not getting to the point.

Don’t be surprised that they don’t particularly enjoy being made look incapable of making their point, when it’s just you who won’t let them get there. Don’t you dare tell them, “I don’t know what your claim is,” when you’re not allowing them to string two sentences together even after they have carefully signalled to you that you’re not allowing effective communication there.

And don’t fucking well end a discussion about Sherlock with the words, ‘Well, they’re just fictional characters,’ even though I wasn’t finished yet.

I’m going to tell you this politely and in person next week.

Sincerely,

Me Who Is Actually Contributing Something to the Corpus Here

I KNOW WHAT I WANT TO BE
I CAN PUT A NAME TO IT
A JOB TITLE
I HAVE FINALLY FOUND SOMETHING I CAN IMAGINE DOING FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE

I AM SO FUCKING RELIEVED

I’M GOING TO BE A COPYWRITER, MUMMY

ugh, my dad just wanted to do a Ten Minute Hypothetical with me, in which he wanted to go through all the possible courses of action if I get into the mentoring programme, but decide to work somewhere else at the same time (and I don’t even know if that would work/be allowed)

and I haven’t given that possibility serious thought yet, and it’s Sunday evening and the question came out of the fucking blue; and there are too many variables to consider right now, anyway, since the last semester hasn’t even started yet

so my only answer for, like, twenty questions in a row was:

being amused by that at the back of my mind was the only reason why I didn’t get angry

there’s a mentoring programme for students of the humanities at my university, where you get partnered with employees from firms based here, and then work with them for ten months

they basically train you up and prepare you for working in your chosen field before you’re let loose on the job market

and there’s two positions I’d really like either one of

application deadline’s the 15th of April

and now all I need is a project idea

Effort: one modest week of work = two to four online lectures a day + notes, one day of spotty revision = about 90 pages of script and 14 pages of exam notes

Result: true/false statements exam took me twenty minutes, got 74%, 3 credit points secured.

And that after two months off spent doing bugger all.

GOOD. *hugs*

Right. Let me elaborate.

Turns out that the lecturer I had the BA thesis meeting with today (she approved the topic and is looking forward to working on it with me :3) also read that report and loved it; and that she and the other senior prof delegated the writing-to-me-about-things to a junior lecturer—so they hadn’t actually seen the email that junior lecturer had sent me last Friday and that turned me into a not-so-little ball of fur and rage.

This morning, the j.l. forwarded my response/refusal and they were understandably surprised; until she asked me about it during the meeting, and I explained that, while I’m generally open to interpreting others’ requests benevolently, this was unmistakably a demand for me to change my report, which I’m just not willing to do.

Sensing my irritation, she then actually read the email, and apologised for the tone and the subject matter—she said that having me alter my report was never the senior lecturers’ intention; and that the j.l. quite simply overshot the mark and overstepped her boundaries on this one.

I am appeased, and all’s right with the world. My report will be published as is, and they’re all very much in love with me.

Thank you, thank you, I’ll be here all week!

Finally sending that blasted email to revoke my permission to have my study abroad field report published on the institute’s website. (Had to have it mum-approved first, she’s very good at telling people to piss off politely.)

Feeling much better now.

my grades from Ottawa were finalised, I just checked online

I got three As and one A-