Friday, September 26, 2008

blogging again

OK, so it's been a little while. I wish I could point to some noble reasons for why like saving whales in the Southern Ocean, feeding the hungry in Africa, or installing Linux on my desktop, but basically, I got tired of writing. To be honest, I am not feeling particularly in the mood right now, and with my thesis writing ramping up a couple of gears, I do not expect to be writing a lot. On the other hand, these be interesting times in my life, so some sort of record of events, thoughts and activities seems like a good thing to do, even if infrequently.

So, since last post, what's been happening ? Well, for one, Aff and I have gone and made ourselves a baby. He (yes, he is a he) is not born yet, but we expect him to arrive sometime around late December. We're about 26 weeks in now, so over half way there. Aff is looking the part too! No more awkard "I think she's pregnant" looks. Now she just looks pregnant.

In other news, I am now in my last 6 months of my PhD. While I would love to have the thesis out the door by the time mini-macca arrives, this just ain't gonna happen. A full draft, however, is looking like a pretty reasonable goal. From my experience, and talking to others, one month is typically the time it takes to submit after completing a draft. Based on this, and assuming a couple of weeks off when the baby arrives, I have February marked as my thesis deadline. I actually have until the end of March, but I am not allowing myself the luxury of thinking I have this time. I need this thesis out of my life ASAP.

And then what ? well, that's another aspect of my life that has become a little interesting in recent times. I have started looking around, and have even turned down a non-academic position that was offered to me, a decision that wasn't easy as it forced me, perhaps for the first time, to really decide what I want to do when this PhD craziness is over. Basically, I have decided to continue with research, and pursue a post doctoral position. Hopefully there will be more to say about this in the coming weeks. For now, I can say that I am quite confident that I will have something - a feeling that can't be understated.

I could say a lot more about a lot of things. In the interest of "sustainable blogging" however, I'll leave at this, and hopefully add more soon.

It is good to be blogging again!

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