Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Balance

It's getting to crunch time here, I am trying to submit my thesis before August 31st so as to avoid registering for another semester, and also as that's 2 years exactly for my degree completion. If I can pull it off, it means I can spend September up north, conducting a few final interviews that would really help our publications and running the school program I developed, as well as trying to push all my papers for publishing. Then, I head to Italy and a few precious weeks of relaxation before I start my *gasp* grown up job.
I am shocked about how calm I'm managing to be through all of this. There haven't been many panic attacks, nights up fretting and I'm managing to take pretty good care of myself. I took last weekend off after spending the last work week going through draft after draft and making some really important progress, and enjoyed sleeping, cooking yummy (and healthy!) foods and hanging out with my friends who I really am going to miss when I move. Last night I got home and decided to make use of a lovely evening by continuing my slow progression into becoming a jogger.
Balance has always been a bit of a struggle for me. I've always tended to throw myself into work to the detriment of my health, both mental and physical, and one of the things I'm really proud about as to my time in graduate school is that I seem to have taken some important steps forwards into making myself a priority. Right now, this thesis is the most important thing in my life but I can now recognize that in a few years, there will be many more important things, and this will be a significant part of my life, but not nearly as significant as so many other things in making me a good and rounded person. I feel very lucky for having finally managed to figure that out yet still hope to continue this as I start a new and what I think is a pretty exciting portion of my life.
It hasn't been easy getting this thesis written, and the fact that both of my supervisors have been away (ie. in the furthest reaches of the province with no internet, or in Africa) hasn't made it any easier. But they both should be back next week and hopefully can dedicate just a bit more time to helping me make this thesis the best it can be. I still have a lot to get through but it seems to be doable and I am quite confident that I can indeed do this. It's been a challenge, but a good challenge and I've risen to it, with just a bit higher to climb. Wish me luck!

Friday, July 24, 2009

Summertime academia

Despite the great deal of rain we've had this summer, I've been greatly enjoying the time as the campus has shifted from the regular portion of the school year to this time of relaxation that comes May-September. As the last undergrads filter away, either hungover after partying to celebrate final exams, or partying to drink away failing exams, the campus takes on an entirely different feeling. I'm hardly the first to remark on this this summer, but today especially I've had time to drink in the atmosphere. I stayed downtown to work on the main campus of McGill, where you really feel the lack of undergrads. At Mac, we've lost a good part of the student population but nowhere near the proportion that undergrads make up downtown. During the school year, I often didn't bother trying to work in the libraries downtown because I knew they would be crowded, noisy and towards the end of term, filled with a sense of DESPERATION. Today, I wandered in at 1:30, got one of my favourite spots right away and settled down to work. If I had gone to get a snack, I wouldn't have had to wait in line for 15 minutes while overprivileged 18 years old use their Daddy's VISAs to pay for their 5 dollar coffees while screeching over their oddly decorated smartphone about their exploits from last night... Ahem, sorry. Though, with the undergrads gone some cafes close down so I would have to be careful when I go.
In any case, when its just grad students, staff and professors on campus, I think we all become somewhat cheerier and relaxed. One way this is reflected is in clothing choices people make. Just this afternoon I saw a number of different categories of summer academic dress represented:
Nerdy grad student (either sex): T-shirt from a conference/with an equation on it, ratty shorts, Tevas.
Hipster grad student (female): T-shirt from American Apparel over leggings without any sort of skirt or something. Odd gladiator sandals that do nothing to improve the look of their pasty legs. Accessories include 80s sunglasses and cigarettes.
Hipster grad student (male): Tight pants, Vans, Obscure t-shirt, same accessories as above.
Reasonable grad student (female, AKA me): Cute jeans, flip flops, bright tank and coordinating scarf to complement the designer bag currently holding most of my life.
Reasonable/cute grad student (male): Nicely fitting but not TOO fitting jeans, polo shirt, aviators, messenger bag.
I need a few categories for professors:
Geeky science prof (co-ed): Very close to the grad student (ie. hasn't changed their style in at least 10 years), but usually are wearing the tevas with socks (shudder).
Humanities prof (male): Inexplicable brown cordoroy jacket, mustard yellow shirt and black pants. I am not joking. I wish I were.
Humanities prof (female): Hippie skirt with button up shirt that don't quite match. Birkenstocks.
Sporty prof (co-ed): Waaaaaay too tight/ short jogging/biking outfit. Seriously. No.
Awesome prof, either science or business like (female, AKA who I would want to be one day): Nice chinos with a very cute bright button up blouse. Comfortable yet stylish sandals paired with a discreet yet designer bag.
I'm sure there are more but these are the ones I noticed today. If you have another category do let me know. Now for another great part of summer, Friday beers!

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Erm.... hello

Sorry for the long lapse in posts. I think that most of my mental/writing energies have been so directed towards the thesis, of which there is now a DRAFT, that I just haven't had the ability to come up with witticisms for this as well.
I read a comment somewhere that a lot of blogs are languishing while their authors have become Twitter fanatics and I had to completely agree. With Twitter, I only need a short, hopefully funny/interesting statement and boom! Here, I feel as though I need a point, pictures, etc.
I have actually been quite busy since the last update. I attended a party for my dear friend Chantal's housewarming, and we rejected our pending adulthood (houses! weddings! jobs!) by having waaaaaaaaaaay too many jello shots, really early in the evening. I was quite tipsy around 10 but mercifully, almost totally sober when we left around 1! That weekend also included some great hanging out with former housies and checking out my dear friend Zu's new apartment! I've also had lots of fun in M-ville with my peeps there, seeing Stevie Wonder in concert, drinking lots of beer, almost winning at trivia.... I really can't complain. Am currently back in the O-town for the last real set of lab work and enjoying seeing my peoples here, eating my parent's food, etc.
But back to the thesis front. We are moving, I'm currently waiting on comments on the whole draft from my supervisors, so am even relatively on track! I'm still going to be doing a lot of writing/editing once its September but the prospect of having a completed thesis is JUST SO EXCITING. It's Sunday evening and I was in the lab this afternoon so am now rather dozy and so that is all for me.... Ciao!