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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by gardenergirl on October 8, 2005, at 19:27:04
In reply to thesis/dissertation/directed study support thread, posted by alexandra_k on October 8, 2005, at 18:49:12
After my pdoc ragged me about my "d". I called and made an appt.
Yikes!
Now I HAVE to do something this weekend.
yikes!
Great thread idea, alexandra. I'm really glad you started it.
How are you doing with your work?
gg
Posted by alexandra_k on October 8, 2005, at 20:15:03
In reply to Made an appt with chair for next week, posted by gardenergirl on October 8, 2005, at 19:27:04
> How are you doing with your work?
uh. not. not really doing very much at all. i have a draft of the whole thing. so now it is about resisting the temptation to incinerate it and start again. i think i want to change it around significantly. move chapter three to chapter one etc. but i haven't worked on it in a couple of months truth be told...
have been busy doing seminars.
need to turn a seminar into a writing sample. have about a week and a half to do another round of applications. need to email to haggle over a thesis topic, write a research proposal, get a writing sample (of my last seminar) up to scratch etc etc.
whats hard about my thesis...
is that extensions are just too damned easy to get...i mean...
i started my thesis (should take a year) at the beginning of last year.
but then i realised that i wanted to apply to the us (start this year) and so i wouldn't be leaving till august so may as well get an extension to the end of our A semester (round july) instead of working my *ss off over the summer.
so i did that...
then i didn't get in to the us...
and i had a heavy tutoring workload in the A semester...
so i extended it again...
till the end of november.
so...
i should be working my *ss off at the moment but i'm finding it really hard to get into doing anything at all...and worst case...
i'll just get another extension.
won't be going to aust. until feb / march
and if it falls through...
why not just get another extension???
aargh.yeah... meeting with the chair sounds good.
i need to do that with my supervisors too...
i have this funny thing going on...
i don't want to show them what i have done because i know it needs a lot of work. and it is pointless for them to tell me to change all the things that i already know need to be changed. i'd rather wait till i'm fairly happy with it and then give it to them. and then what they have to say will be helpful and i won't be wasting everybodies time...but...
i do pay them a hell of a lot...
and really...
all they have done is read over and come to a couple of my seminars.
i haven't given them anything else at all.
so...
maybe i need to swallow my pride and just dump the whole damned mess in their trays.hmm.
Posted by javableue on October 8, 2005, at 23:43:11
In reply to thesis/dissertation/directed study support thread, posted by alexandra_k on October 8, 2005, at 18:49:12
I have to write an Extended Essay as part of the IB program, nothing near the extent of a dissertation (only 4,000 words, and their insistence that it is a Serious! Research! Project! is just to scare students into doing well), but that certainly hasn't stopped the procrastination.
The outline was due last week. I realised then that a.) I suck at outlines and just can't write them, and b.) I have no clue what I'm doing. My advisor keeps telling me to go more general, and so I don't know how to focus the essay anymore, which is driving me nuts. The first draft is due at the end of November, the final copy in early February. I don't see it happening, but it has to, because there can be no extension (well, maybe I could get one under medical reasons, but I don't know if it would be worth it anyway), and I am screwed if I don't get my diploma.
I'm very much an erratic worker. This needs to stop, as I just don't have the time for erratic work. I'm trying to come up with a proper outline for Tuesday... somehow don't know if that will work out. I'm going to try and spend four or five hours on it tomorrow. We'll see how it goes.
jb
Posted by alexandra_k on October 9, 2005, at 1:10:21
In reply to Does a mini/pseudo-thesis count?, posted by javableue on October 8, 2005, at 23:43:11
> I have to write an Extended Essay as part of the IB program, nothing near the extent of a dissertation (only 4,000 words, and their insistence that it is a Serious! Research! Project! is just to scare students into doing well), but that certainly hasn't stopped the procrastination.
I think that sounds like what we call a 'directed study' over here.
> The outline was due last week. I realised then that a.) I suck at outlines and just can't write them, and b.) I have no clue what I'm doing.lol! welcome to research! I think outlines are best written... last. like abstracts and introductions. but typically one is supposed to do one first... so... in my experience... it will only change as you alter it so that it actually reflects what you got to talking about.
what length are you used to writing?
2,000 words?
thats two of those...
or a little under three 1,500 word ones.
sometimes it can be easier... to divide it up into parts and think of each part as an essay or mini essay.>My advisor keeps telling me to go more general,
wow. i usually get the opposite...
there isn't a lot you can say in that many words...
(you will probably figure that by the end that you didn't get through half of what you would have liked)> The first draft is due at the end of November, the final copy in early February. I don't see it happening, but it has to, because there can be no extension (well, maybe I could get one under medical reasons, but I don't know if it would be worth it anyway), and I am screwed if I don't get my diploma.
You can do it!!!
About a month and a half to do a draft...
And then quite a while to tidy it up :-)
> I'm very much an erratic worker. This needs to stop, as I just don't have the time for erratic work. I'm trying to come up with a proper outline for Tuesday... somehow don't know if that will work out. I'm going to try and spend four or five hours on it tomorrow. We'll see how it goes.:-)
I'm an erratic worker too.
I don't mind it so very much.
Good for ideas.
Write like a maniac when I have ideas...
But when it comes to editing and referencing etc etc I wish I could put in an hour or two fairly steadily everyday.what is your topic?
Posted by rainbowbrite on October 9, 2005, at 9:07:30
In reply to thesis/dissertation/directed study support thread, posted by alexandra_k on October 8, 2005, at 18:49:12
> i think there are a few of us here
>
> PROCRASTINATION
>
> seems to be the name of the game...
>
> <sigh>
>
> how are peoples doing?
> (or perhaps this doesn't really bear talking about)
>
hmmm getting further and further behind :-)> are you a steady worker
> (a little bit most days)
> or an erratic worker
> (nothing for days/weeks then a flurry of activity)
>Im a totally eratic worker
> when is it due?
soon, sooner then Id like.
> are we getting there?????
I have done the basic outline for one but then things stopped. There are 2 due and I really havent started. I think I will do something tomorrow :-).
Hope everyone has more luck then I have had being productive. You know...I forget what productive means....its been so long that it has applied to anything Ive done lol
Posted by alexandra_k on October 10, 2005, at 7:28:46
In reply to Re: thesis/dissertation/directed study support thread » alexandra_k, posted by rainbowbrite on October 9, 2005, at 9:07:30
> hmmm getting further and further behind :-)
> Im a totally eratic worker
> soon, sooner then Id like.yeah. i feel like that a lot too. i once heard someone say... that you need two things to write a paper: a title and a deadline. and when the deadline encroaches... well... he seemed to think that thats when it got done. i didn't think to inform him of the 'compassionate grounds' extension plan ;-)
but i think there is some truth to that...
it either comes together at the last minute...
or one went crazy trying...> I have done the basic outline for one but then things stopped. There are 2 due and I really havent started. I think I will do something tomorrow :-).
:-)
so thats today - right?
(don't you love this thread??)yeah.
me too me too.
done a little bit today and feeling a LOT happy with myself.
:-)
and onward ho tomorrow
you are nearly there...
so you must have been productive at some point ;-)
Posted by gardenergirl on October 10, 2005, at 12:57:27
In reply to Re: thesis/dissertation/directed study support thread » rainbowbrite, posted by alexandra_k on October 10, 2005, at 7:28:46
At least open the file for my "d-word".
Haven't even done that in awhile.
gg
Posted by javableue on October 10, 2005, at 19:46:17
In reply to Re: Of course » javableue, posted by alexandra_k on October 9, 2005, at 1:10:21
My topic... um, right now the force to be more general has left me clueless, so all I can say is that it has something to do with attachment in infancy. I really don't know what he's trying to get me to do so can't say anything beyond that. I'm thinking I may as well just start writing something, anything, and see how that goes.
Tomorrow's goal: to spend thirty minutes on it. I really can't afford much else for the moment, but that should help.
jb
Posted by alexandra_k on October 10, 2005, at 20:36:26
In reply to Re: Of course » alexandra_k, posted by javableue on October 10, 2005, at 19:46:17
> My topic... um, right now the force to be more general has left me clueless, so all I can say is that it has something to do with attachment in infancy.
well... that sounds fairly general to me.
there are experimental findings...
an adequate summary of those could take up a fair few words...> I really don't know what he's trying to get me to do so can't say anything beyond that.
hmm. if he is 'trying to get you to do' something... then it is only fair that he tells you what he is trying to get you to do!
otherwise... how much are you just able to do whatever takes your fancy?
it would seem to me...
that that topic would be general enough to write a thesis on!> I'm thinking I may as well just start writing something, anything, and see how that goes.
:-)
good idea.
> Tomorrow's goal: to spend thirty minutes on it. I really can't afford much else for the moment, but that should help.:-)
Posted by alexandra_k on October 10, 2005, at 22:27:14
In reply to Goal for today, posted by gardenergirl on October 10, 2005, at 12:57:27
> At least open the file for my "d-word".
>
> Haven't even done that in awhile.:-)
did you find the 'minimise' button ;-)
Posted by rainbowbrite on October 11, 2005, at 14:50:21
In reply to Re: thesis/dissertation/directed study support thread » rainbowbrite, posted by alexandra_k on October 10, 2005, at 7:28:46
> yeah. i feel like that a lot too. i once heard someone say... that you need two things to write a paper: a title and a deadline. and when the deadline encroaches... well... he seemed to think that thats when it got done. i didn't think to inform him of the 'compassionate grounds' extension plan ;-)HAHA yeah, extensions are a crucial part of that recipe lol
>
> but i think there is some truth to that...
> it either comes together at the last minute...
> or one went crazy trying...
:-) Lets hope for us that its the former ;-P> :-)
> so thats today - right?
> (don't you love this thread??)Umm no, not yesterday lol that must be a technical error. Ok Today :-D I am going to read ONE chapter and choose a topic! I must!! soon...
> yeah.
> me too me too.
> done a little bit today and feeling a LOT happy with myself.
> :-)
> and onward ho tomorrow
Good for you! Get much done today?
Posted by rainbowbrite on October 11, 2005, at 14:50:59
In reply to Re: thesis/dissertation/directed study support thread » alexandra_k, posted by rainbowbrite on October 11, 2005, at 14:50:21
did you meet your goals ;-)
Posted by gardenergirl on October 11, 2005, at 21:26:34
In reply to How about everyone else?, posted by rainbowbrite on October 11, 2005, at 14:50:59
I just feel like it sometimes, when I keep avoiding stuff. And I know it's depression talking. That and the residual from the lovely scolding I got last week from my "lovely" pdoc. (don't get me started....grrrrrr)
I have NOTHING to bring to my meeting with my chair. I suppose I could bring the crappy outline I have done. Or all my "good intentions". They'd fill a binder.
sigh
Feeling very negative about the d-monster tonight. And too sleepy to care.
I think intense sleepiness is another avoidance technique. Darned body.
Pray for me tomorrow for my meeting. ;)
gg
Posted by gardenergirl on October 12, 2005, at 2:45:06
In reply to I'm a truly awful person (not really), posted by gardenergirl on October 11, 2005, at 21:26:34
Posted by alexandra_k on October 12, 2005, at 6:40:53
In reply to Couldn't sleep...finally working on it! (nm), posted by gardenergirl on October 12, 2005, at 2:45:06
good luck with your meeting.
i hope it goes well for you.
i am going...
to do some work tomorrow.
one thing.
one thing i want to do...
and tomorrow
i have to post and say i've done it
k?
Posted by rainbowbrite on October 12, 2005, at 7:31:14
In reply to I'm a truly awful person (not really), posted by gardenergirl on October 11, 2005, at 21:26:34
in your meeting. Hope it goes ok. Im glad you got some work done.
Posted by rainbowbrite on October 12, 2005, at 7:34:08
In reply to :-) » gardenergirl, posted by alexandra_k on October 12, 2005, at 6:40:53
I read a half a chapter yesterday. today I need to do double that and pick a topic.
Posted by rainbowbrite on October 12, 2005, at 19:49:59
In reply to unprdctive yest but more prductive than 2 days ago, posted by rainbowbrite on October 12, 2005, at 7:34:08
starts to sound funny, well 'tomorrow' is cracking me up today!!!
Posted by javableue on October 12, 2005, at 22:25:48
In reply to you know when you say a word to many times it, posted by rainbowbrite on October 12, 2005, at 19:49:59
Oh yes, I know that feeling.
Currently having it because of a test I have tomorrow, but all too soon the paper of doom will subject me to it again.
jb
Posted by gardenergirl on October 13, 2005, at 7:31:05
In reply to *G*o*o*d*L*u*c*k* **gg**, posted by rainbowbrite on October 12, 2005, at 7:31:14
I survived it! And it was actually okay.
I didn't cry...always a good thing.
I didn't feel ashamed or shamed.
I actually was able to talk about my topic with some knowledge and authority.
I got my questions answered.
I held my boundaries (or at least was thoughtful and intentional when I shared something more personal).
I have a plan.
I have the support, encouragement (who knew a psychoanalyst could be so positive reinforcing?) and a shared vision with my chair. (My chair really does support me...unless the hydraulics go out, tee hee!)
I feel happy.
Good lord. This approach what makes me anxious thing is really empowering!!!!
wonder how long it will last?
Thanks for support, folks!
gg
Posted by rainbowbrite on October 13, 2005, at 8:14:34
In reply to It wasn't that bad...actually kind of good!, posted by gardenergirl on October 13, 2005, at 7:31:05
Posted by alexandra_k on October 13, 2005, at 15:39:00
In reply to It wasn't that bad...actually kind of good!, posted by gardenergirl on October 13, 2005, at 7:31:05
:-)
thats really great.
its amazing how sometimes it really doesn't feel like we have done very much...
but we actually have a pretty good grip on the topic.
i'm so glad that went well for you
Posted by gardenergirl on October 13, 2005, at 17:45:57
In reply to Re: It wasn't that bad...actually kind of good! » gardenergirl, posted by alexandra_k on October 13, 2005, at 15:39:00
Still riding the wave of approach versus avoid! :)
Hope things are going well for everyone else.
gg
Posted by gardenergirl on October 21, 2005, at 7:07:36
In reply to Thanks ladies, posted by gardenergirl on October 13, 2005, at 17:45:57
I have another meeting next week, and I have to have a couple things done by then. I've of course been putting it off, and I didn't realize my meeting was so early in the week (if I had half a brain, it would have been obvious.)
At any rate, I wanted to post it here, for additional accountability.
How's everyone else doing?
gg
Posted by rainbowbrite on October 21, 2005, at 14:30:34
In reply to Okay...I've got two assignments, posted by gardenergirl on October 21, 2005, at 7:07:36
good luck with it
I have to read 300 text book pages and 14 long journal articles and start at least one essay ASAP, hopefully posting this will add some pressure and make me do it.
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