I might have spoken too soon about finding my productive groove. I seem to have hit another wall with my data analysis. At the moment I've put it to one side and am trying to write my introduction instead.
I'm abandoning most social media until after the due date, because I'm going to need every single one of my waking hours to devote to this thing for the next 18 days, and I'm not exaggerating at all. This is shaping up to be a photo finish, which I'm not at comfortable with at all, but there's nothing to be done about it at this point except work my butt off for the time remaining. And also try not to let the anxiety consume me so much that it makes me sick, because I need an illness right now like I need a hole in my head.
The one good thing that's happened lately is that the weather has improved. I seem to have brought the sun back from Shetland with me, as it's been sunny for at least a portion of each day since I got back. If only I had the leisure to go outside and enjoy it. :/
Also, do not expect any posts about the Olympics. I do not give a flying fart about the Olympics; I don't have the time to.
Cheers, y'all.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Shetland summary/Dissertation 4-evah.
Visit Shetland - accomplished July 14-20, 2012.
Shetland was wonderful. I looked at and bought crafty things, climbed hills, saw seals and puffins, watched waves breaking on rocks in an ocean a breathtaking shade of dark blue, listened to fiddle music, and went as far north as it is possible to go in the UK without convincing a local with a dinghy to give you a lift. I also got to watch people shearing sheep, both the modern way, with an electric razor, and the old-fashioned way, with a serious pair of shears. Eventually I hope to post pictures of all this.
For now, my dissertation owns my life. I have finally found my stride with the data analysis, and not a moment too soon, because there are only 3 weeks left before the due date. It's going to be tight.
In other news, the Olympics start tomorrow. Reading the news, I am so glad I'm not in London right now.
Cheers, y'all.
Shetland was wonderful. I looked at and bought crafty things, climbed hills, saw seals and puffins, watched waves breaking on rocks in an ocean a breathtaking shade of dark blue, listened to fiddle music, and went as far north as it is possible to go in the UK without convincing a local with a dinghy to give you a lift. I also got to watch people shearing sheep, both the modern way, with an electric razor, and the old-fashioned way, with a serious pair of shears. Eventually I hope to post pictures of all this.
For now, my dissertation owns my life. I have finally found my stride with the data analysis, and not a moment too soon, because there are only 3 weeks left before the due date. It's going to be tight.
In other news, the Olympics start tomorrow. Reading the news, I am so glad I'm not in London right now.
Cheers, y'all.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
A perfectly cloudless sky.
I'm still in Shetland, and still loving it. I've seen a good bit of Mainland (the biggest island), as well as Mousa and Bressay, and I'll be adding Whalsay, Yell, and Unst to the tally before I leave.
Today was supposed to be a catching-up-on-schoolwork day, but the sky is a perfectly cloudless blue outside, and it seems like an inexcusable crime to miss out on it.
Cheers, y'all.
Today was supposed to be a catching-up-on-schoolwork day, but the sky is a perfectly cloudless blue outside, and it seems like an inexcusable crime to miss out on it.
Cheers, y'all.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Journey to Shetland
I've been in Shetland for less than 12 hours, and I already love it.
I got an early train to Aberdeen yesterday and spent the day wandering around the area immediately around the train station and ferry terminal. A good part of that was at a mall. I ate lunch, saw a movie (Seeking a Friend for the End of the World), and discovered that cross-stitching supplies are WAY more expensive in the UK than they are in the US.
Then I got on the ferry, which left Aberdeen at 7pm. I dropped my stuff in my shared cabin and spent the next few hours eating dinner, watching the Scottish mainland shrink up on deck, and reading academic papers. I had a less-than-restful night in the cabin. Toward dawn, as we got closer to Shetland, I could feel the waves getting bigger. My body still thinks it's on the boat at the moment. The ferry arrived in Lerwick at about 7:30 this morning, and I walked from the ferry terminal to my hostel. I got acquainted with the guy at the front desk, and then wandered off in search of an ATM and breakfast.
If I had to describe Shetland in one phrase, it would be "almost Scandinavian but not quite." The houses are almost Nordic-looking but not quite. The Islanders' speech is almost Scandinavian (and I swear I've heard some pseudo-Dutch phrases used in greeting) but not quite. The atmosphere is lighter than on the mainland. The air is cleaner. I've seen more sun today than I have in the last two weeks put together. There's an air of small-town neighborliness. This afternoon I was hanging out by the harbor, near the dock for the Bressay ferry. (Bressay is the island just across the harbor from Lerwick.) The ferry had just pulled away when a kid came running up, trying to catch it, and the ferry actually reversed direction and came back for him.
I wandered down Commercial Street in the town center, before many of the shops had opened for the day. Having found an ATM, I came back to the hostel and had a nap, a shower, and a change of clothes. Then I went back into town. I had intended to just do some browsing, but I ended up buying 2 CDs of Shetland fiddle music, and three bars of locally-made soap.
I love this place already, and I can't wait to see more of it in the coming days.
Cheers, y'all.
I got an early train to Aberdeen yesterday and spent the day wandering around the area immediately around the train station and ferry terminal. A good part of that was at a mall. I ate lunch, saw a movie (Seeking a Friend for the End of the World), and discovered that cross-stitching supplies are WAY more expensive in the UK than they are in the US.
Then I got on the ferry, which left Aberdeen at 7pm. I dropped my stuff in my shared cabin and spent the next few hours eating dinner, watching the Scottish mainland shrink up on deck, and reading academic papers. I had a less-than-restful night in the cabin. Toward dawn, as we got closer to Shetland, I could feel the waves getting bigger. My body still thinks it's on the boat at the moment. The ferry arrived in Lerwick at about 7:30 this morning, and I walked from the ferry terminal to my hostel. I got acquainted with the guy at the front desk, and then wandered off in search of an ATM and breakfast.
If I had to describe Shetland in one phrase, it would be "almost Scandinavian but not quite." The houses are almost Nordic-looking but not quite. The Islanders' speech is almost Scandinavian (and I swear I've heard some pseudo-Dutch phrases used in greeting) but not quite. The atmosphere is lighter than on the mainland. The air is cleaner. I've seen more sun today than I have in the last two weeks put together. There's an air of small-town neighborliness. This afternoon I was hanging out by the harbor, near the dock for the Bressay ferry. (Bressay is the island just across the harbor from Lerwick.) The ferry had just pulled away when a kid came running up, trying to catch it, and the ferry actually reversed direction and came back for him.
I wandered down Commercial Street in the town center, before many of the shops had opened for the day. Having found an ATM, I came back to the hostel and had a nap, a shower, and a change of clothes. Then I went back into town. I had intended to just do some browsing, but I ended up buying 2 CDs of Shetland fiddle music, and three bars of locally-made soap.
I love this place already, and I can't wait to see more of it in the coming days.
Cheers, y'all.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Events of the past week.
In the past week, I have:
- Gone to a Fourth of July party, hosted by Kelley, the only other American on my course.
- Played beer pong for the first time ever, and discovered that I am halfway decent at it. Yay!
- Made friends with Miller the dog, such that he sleeps in my bed more often than not, which is kinda nice.
- Gone to a little soap shop on Brunswick Street and purchased some lovely-smelling cinnamon and clove soap. I also bought some mint soap, but haven't tried it yet.
- Slept in a completely empty dwelling for the first time since...possibly undergrad? Sam and Ieuan are rock-climbing in the Peak District and Danielle is in Paris, so I have the whole flat to myself until Wednesday!
- Cooked scallops for the first time ever. The oil spat at me with gusto, so I ended up cooking most of them directly on the surface of my frying pan. They were edible, so I'm calling it a success!
- Made tiramisu for the first time in ages. I couldn't find ladyfingers anywhere, so I used shortbread cookies instead. It's in the fridge now, so I'll try it tomorrow and make an assessment then.
- Begun to panic a little bit about my dissertation. But so is everyone else, so at least I'm not alone? I have SO MUCH DATA, and now I need to sift through it and figure out what's relevant, and then I need to figure out how to present the relevant stuff in a coherent way. AAAAHHHHHH.
Cheers, y'all.
- Gone to a Fourth of July party, hosted by Kelley, the only other American on my course.
- Played beer pong for the first time ever, and discovered that I am halfway decent at it. Yay!
- Made friends with Miller the dog, such that he sleeps in my bed more often than not, which is kinda nice.
- Gone to a little soap shop on Brunswick Street and purchased some lovely-smelling cinnamon and clove soap. I also bought some mint soap, but haven't tried it yet.
- Slept in a completely empty dwelling for the first time since...possibly undergrad? Sam and Ieuan are rock-climbing in the Peak District and Danielle is in Paris, so I have the whole flat to myself until Wednesday!
- Cooked scallops for the first time ever. The oil spat at me with gusto, so I ended up cooking most of them directly on the surface of my frying pan. They were edible, so I'm calling it a success!
- Made tiramisu for the first time in ages. I couldn't find ladyfingers anywhere, so I used shortbread cookies instead. It's in the fridge now, so I'll try it tomorrow and make an assessment then.
- Begun to panic a little bit about my dissertation. But so is everyone else, so at least I'm not alone? I have SO MUCH DATA, and now I need to sift through it and figure out what's relevant, and then I need to figure out how to present the relevant stuff in a coherent way. AAAAHHHHHH.
Cheers, y'all.
Monday, July 2, 2012
New flat!
I am all moved into my new flat!
It was an arduous weekend. I don't know how I managed to accumulate so much STUFF during the ten months I lived at Kirk Street. It took three trips on Saturday and one yesterday to get everything moved, and it would have taken more if my new flatmate Sam had not gallantly offered the use of his car for the third trip on Saturday.
So far, so good. The kitchen is well-equipped and has a proper dining area, with a big window looking out on the garden. My bedroom window also looks out on the garden, and my desk is situated in front of it, so I can look out while doing work. The living area is big and light, too. My flatmate Danielle is also a Masters student and does most of her work in there, and I think I am going to follow her example.
The flatmates:
Sam - from Warwick, England. The only non-student living here.
Ieuan - from Shetland. He's a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh.
Danielle - from Chicago.
Danielle's dog, Miller.
At the moment, Ieuan's girlfriend Heather is here for a visit, and a couple friends of Sam's, named Andy and Elva, are crashing here en route to their new flat.
***
In other news, I've just booked the train and ferry tickets, so I am officially going to Shetland on the 13th. I've been asking Ieuan and Heather all about it, since they're both from there. Heather is going to be in Lerwick while I'm there, so we already have tentative plans to meet up.
Cheers, y'all.
It was an arduous weekend. I don't know how I managed to accumulate so much STUFF during the ten months I lived at Kirk Street. It took three trips on Saturday and one yesterday to get everything moved, and it would have taken more if my new flatmate Sam had not gallantly offered the use of his car for the third trip on Saturday.
So far, so good. The kitchen is well-equipped and has a proper dining area, with a big window looking out on the garden. My bedroom window also looks out on the garden, and my desk is situated in front of it, so I can look out while doing work. The living area is big and light, too. My flatmate Danielle is also a Masters student and does most of her work in there, and I think I am going to follow her example.
The flatmates:
Sam - from Warwick, England. The only non-student living here.
Ieuan - from Shetland. He's a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh.
Danielle - from Chicago.
Danielle's dog, Miller.
At the moment, Ieuan's girlfriend Heather is here for a visit, and a couple friends of Sam's, named Andy and Elva, are crashing here en route to their new flat.
***
In other news, I've just booked the train and ferry tickets, so I am officially going to Shetland on the 13th. I've been asking Ieuan and Heather all about it, since they're both from there. Heather is going to be in Lerwick while I'm there, so we already have tentative plans to meet up.
Cheers, y'all.
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