PhD? PhMe!
Apparently, I am one of three things: an uber nerd academic, a person avoiding the current bleak job market, or a glutton for punishment. Perhaps I am all three, as I accept the university's offer to stay on for an extension of my Master's, which is also known as the first year of the PhD program.
What it comes down to is that I'm just not done. I'm not done learning quite yet, not with the year's reading list staring me in the face, and the exciting prospect of getting to read the likes of Hemingway, Cervantes, Joyce, Morrison, Faulkner, Capote, and Balzac in a PhD setting. I'm not yet ready to leave the comfortable confines of academia for a scary professional world that I have no desire to re-join. I'm not yet ready to leave Glasgow, a city that I'm just starting to really get to know after ten months. I'm not yet ready to leave a country where I'm a short hop away from Europe's major cities.
The States will see my shadow again, and lots in the upcoming year, with about ten thousand weddings to attend, new baby cousins still to meet, and pasteles and pernil to be eaten at Christmas. But for now, Glasgow remains my basecamp.
What this means though is that with no trip back Stateside booked for any time in the near future, I'm going to need the Pony Express to kick into gear. Cinnamon Toast Crunch, stick deodorant, Goya Sazon packets, DVDs that work on my laptop, Butterscotch Krimpets, and Alba chapstick would all be appreciated. Put the US Postal Service to work, people! And actually, any Goya products that fit into a box would be a lifesaver. Calamares and pulpo tins aren't that heavy. And I'm desperate. Desperate. Ooh, and some chicharrones too, please. You'll get a mention in the acknowledgments when the novel is published*.
For now, the dissertation is still due in early August. Coupled with the final edition of the literary magazine to publish, two freelancing stories to write, and a final academic-ish paper to turn in. And apartment-hunting, as my current lease runs out in September. Plus, I still have to give the new Tragically Hip album a proper listening-to, as well as break in my purple clogs.
Somewhere in there, I need a trip. I refuse to let August be the first month in the calendar year that I don't travel. I'm thinking of keeping an eye on KLM fares and maybe doing a quick jump to Amsterdam. A biertje and plate of kaas by a canal as a celebration for a submitted dissertation, maybe?
What it comes down to is that I'm just not done. I'm not done learning quite yet, not with the year's reading list staring me in the face, and the exciting prospect of getting to read the likes of Hemingway, Cervantes, Joyce, Morrison, Faulkner, Capote, and Balzac in a PhD setting. I'm not yet ready to leave the comfortable confines of academia for a scary professional world that I have no desire to re-join. I'm not yet ready to leave Glasgow, a city that I'm just starting to really get to know after ten months. I'm not yet ready to leave a country where I'm a short hop away from Europe's major cities.
The States will see my shadow again, and lots in the upcoming year, with about ten thousand weddings to attend, new baby cousins still to meet, and pasteles and pernil to be eaten at Christmas. But for now, Glasgow remains my basecamp.
What this means though is that with no trip back Stateside booked for any time in the near future, I'm going to need the Pony Express to kick into gear. Cinnamon Toast Crunch, stick deodorant, Goya Sazon packets, DVDs that work on my laptop, Butterscotch Krimpets, and Alba chapstick would all be appreciated. Put the US Postal Service to work, people! And actually, any Goya products that fit into a box would be a lifesaver. Calamares and pulpo tins aren't that heavy. And I'm desperate. Desperate. Ooh, and some chicharrones too, please. You'll get a mention in the acknowledgments when the novel is published*.
For now, the dissertation is still due in early August. Coupled with the final edition of the literary magazine to publish, two freelancing stories to write, and a final academic-ish paper to turn in. And apartment-hunting, as my current lease runs out in September. Plus, I still have to give the new Tragically Hip album a proper listening-to, as well as break in my purple clogs.
Somewhere in there, I need a trip. I refuse to let August be the first month in the calendar year that I don't travel. I'm thinking of keeping an eye on KLM fares and maybe doing a quick jump to Amsterdam. A biertje and plate of kaas by a canal as a celebration for a submitted dissertation, maybe?
*Clearly, this is not a binding legal promise, as there is no novel pending publication. I'm not even sure "the novel" in the works is the novel, or if there's anything even in the works besides a short story collection. But those require dedications as well, and providing the author sustenance is no small feat and won't go unnoticed. At the very least, you'll get a thank you card and my eternal gratitude. Not quite as good as your name in lights, but it's something!
posted by Genevieve @ 11:34 PM
3 Comments
3 Comments:
So what was the reasoning for choosing Glasgow in the first place? Seems to have been a good decision for you anyway if you are staying for more.
That they said yes!
Thats always a good reason.
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