Long day, and it's not over yet
Apr. 10th, 2006 08:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eveglassToday might also be named "Best Laid Plans Day, the Academic Edition."
The plan was relatively simple, as far as these things go:
- morning: finish editing paper #2, return books to library, do secondary reading for paper #3
- 1-2 pm: Latin class
- 2-4 pm: do secondary reading for paper #3
- 4-6 pm: hand in paper #1, pub outing with that class
- 6-8 pm: dinner at Massey with Bob Ramsay, my quadrangler
Right. Things never seem to go quite so smoothly in Real Life, do they?
To begin with, my morning started off with a bunch of things that took some time, even before I started in on the academic stuff. I sent off applications to Dawson for the summer session. I won't get the position, but I've got to at least say I tried, right? Incidentally, don't ask what it took to get it done. I wound up needing to use a second web browser and three word processors. Also early-ish this morning: set up dinner for tonight, and called my boss from last summer to confirm that I'll be working for him this summer.
I started editing paper #2 about an hour late (10 am vs. the originally planned 9 am). I finished it up, as much as possible, at about 11 am. Between 11 am and noon I was briskly walking between three libraries to return nine books.
So... noon. I still wasn't ready to start working on paper #3, because I needed to get some direct quotations for paper #2, from books only available at PIMS. That took until about 12:45, at which point I had just enough time to have lunch before Latin. At least Latin went as planned.
Two pm. Time to start working on paper #3. Secondary research all the way! Well... no. You see, one thing which I needed to do, and which I expected wouldn't take much time, was to get a few diagrams from my main text. Due to one of the arguments I'm making in the paper, I need diagrams from the actual manuscripts -- the critical edition isn't going to cut it. I had thought that the editor had included a facsimile edition of a mansuscript at the back of the critical edition, but I was apparently misinformed.
Thus, the work began. The first step was to compare all the manuscripts listed in the introduction of the critical edition to the list of microfilms available at PIMS. Out of the 60-odd manuscripts listed, PIMS had three. Once I finally got those three, I had to struggle with the microfilm machines (all of which were in some state of "not working") to verify that the diagrams were actually contained in the manuscripts. Then I could take them over to the New and Spiffy microfilm machine to print them. In the end, I got through one microfilm (it was threaded backwards and needed a new spool) and saved two diagrams from that to print off tomorrow. I must do the other two microfilms tomorrow.
So after two hours in the library I have... nothing to show for it. No new articles, not even any hardcopies of the diagrams. Suffice to say, I will not be able to start writing the paper on Wednesday as originally planned. The new plan is Thursday or Friday.
Thankfully, the rest of the day was great. The pub outing with the Music class was fun, and dinner with Bob and his wife was entertaining as always.
Now it is 9 pm. The plan for the rest of the day is to type up the edits for paper #2 so that I can hand it in tomorrow and have it over and done with. It's far from the best paper I've ever written, but it'll be good enough. At this moment, I'm equating "good" with "completed." In other words, a done paper is a good paper. I suspect it'll take me about 2 hours to finish it up, by which point it will be time for bed.
Tomorrow's going to be another whirlwind library day, as I may only get 2 hours (4 if I'm very, very lucky). However, the rest of the week looks pretty quiet and should afford much library time. Which is good. By this time next week, my semester will be unofficially over, as I will only have the PhD Latin exam left, and I honestly don't care how I do on it.
So that's it for me. Onwards to (yet more) paper writing. G'night all.
The plan was relatively simple, as far as these things go:
- morning: finish editing paper #2, return books to library, do secondary reading for paper #3
- 1-2 pm: Latin class
- 2-4 pm: do secondary reading for paper #3
- 4-6 pm: hand in paper #1, pub outing with that class
- 6-8 pm: dinner at Massey with Bob Ramsay, my quadrangler
Right. Things never seem to go quite so smoothly in Real Life, do they?
To begin with, my morning started off with a bunch of things that took some time, even before I started in on the academic stuff. I sent off applications to Dawson for the summer session. I won't get the position, but I've got to at least say I tried, right? Incidentally, don't ask what it took to get it done. I wound up needing to use a second web browser and three word processors. Also early-ish this morning: set up dinner for tonight, and called my boss from last summer to confirm that I'll be working for him this summer.
I started editing paper #2 about an hour late (10 am vs. the originally planned 9 am). I finished it up, as much as possible, at about 11 am. Between 11 am and noon I was briskly walking between three libraries to return nine books.
So... noon. I still wasn't ready to start working on paper #3, because I needed to get some direct quotations for paper #2, from books only available at PIMS. That took until about 12:45, at which point I had just enough time to have lunch before Latin. At least Latin went as planned.
Two pm. Time to start working on paper #3. Secondary research all the way! Well... no. You see, one thing which I needed to do, and which I expected wouldn't take much time, was to get a few diagrams from my main text. Due to one of the arguments I'm making in the paper, I need diagrams from the actual manuscripts -- the critical edition isn't going to cut it. I had thought that the editor had included a facsimile edition of a mansuscript at the back of the critical edition, but I was apparently misinformed.
Thus, the work began. The first step was to compare all the manuscripts listed in the introduction of the critical edition to the list of microfilms available at PIMS. Out of the 60-odd manuscripts listed, PIMS had three. Once I finally got those three, I had to struggle with the microfilm machines (all of which were in some state of "not working") to verify that the diagrams were actually contained in the manuscripts. Then I could take them over to the New and Spiffy microfilm machine to print them. In the end, I got through one microfilm (it was threaded backwards and needed a new spool) and saved two diagrams from that to print off tomorrow. I must do the other two microfilms tomorrow.
So after two hours in the library I have... nothing to show for it. No new articles, not even any hardcopies of the diagrams. Suffice to say, I will not be able to start writing the paper on Wednesday as originally planned. The new plan is Thursday or Friday.
Thankfully, the rest of the day was great. The pub outing with the Music class was fun, and dinner with Bob and his wife was entertaining as always.
Now it is 9 pm. The plan for the rest of the day is to type up the edits for paper #2 so that I can hand it in tomorrow and have it over and done with. It's far from the best paper I've ever written, but it'll be good enough. At this moment, I'm equating "good" with "completed." In other words, a done paper is a good paper. I suspect it'll take me about 2 hours to finish it up, by which point it will be time for bed.
Tomorrow's going to be another whirlwind library day, as I may only get 2 hours (4 if I'm very, very lucky). However, the rest of the week looks pretty quiet and should afford much library time. Which is good. By this time next week, my semester will be unofficially over, as I will only have the PhD Latin exam left, and I honestly don't care how I do on it.
So that's it for me. Onwards to (yet more) paper writing. G'night all.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-11 04:02 am (UTC)Yes, Real Life is very frustrating--plans rarely ever seem to work out as planned, I agree. I am constantly in a state of grumpiness due to Unforseen Events getting in the way of my Well Laid Plans.
-Eileen :)