Today I have decided to start my final year blog .. This has been an ongoing idea for some time, but I think the need is the greatest now to document everyday of this trip.
Today, I have recovered from a meeting with my adviser that took place in our lab yesterday morning. I finally produced my isopach maps, and he was very pleased at that. However, I have yet to tie the outcrop with the subsurface among many other things. I have a long list of things awaiting to take place.
Sometimes I lost track of what I am doing. And other times I can not remember the next item on my list. My to-do list provides a really good tool to keep track of what needs to be done each day and also gives me a sense of accomplishment when I finish the list.
I have made the mistake of falling in love this year, and I am unsure but I might be heading towards a breakup if the situation that's causing me anxiety and distress is unresolved. This is very saddening as I truly love my boyfriend, and I wish things work out in the right direction. I hope that the right direction is not no direction. I am writing this as I am aware more than ever of how my emotional state is affecting my mental focus. Breaking up wouldn't solve the problem, as a matter of fact it will deteriorate my state for a long time to come. I really hope I can work this one out in a productive way so that my work is not affected more than it is already.
On another front, I am aware now of how divorced I am from literature, and for my thesis this could mean failing to write up or worse writing a thesis that lacks logical flow and argument, which would mean ending up sitting for major corrections, rewriting, or worse failing the defense.
The sedimentology part of my thesis is not even started, whereas the stratigraphy is not completely documented and lack so much. Only the isopach maps have been produced, but no real interpretation has take place. My adviser seems to be a bit more relaxed towards my stage of completion, which worries me to be honest. I expected some hard words from him at yesterday's meeting. May be the presence of other graduate students in the lab stopped him from saying something. I think I need to talk with him tomorrow.
I need to produce a timeline and commit to following it. Apparently, producing a timeline and committing to someone else does not work well in my case; I only feel accountable in front of one person, and that would be me. So, I just need to be realistic in producing some timeline.
As mentioned above, I would like today to be the start of my final year. The reason is that I would like to be able to produce a couple of papers from my thesis in July and August of 2016 before I run out of funding. That would allow me to pursue a postdoctoral position much easier than if I graduated with no publications.
The 24th of June 2016 marks a Friday. I will aim for that.
52 weeks and 1 day wow!!
No comments:
Post a Comment