Trying to Discipline the Brain

It's been a rough month here in our little beach town. Many of the people in my department who are graduating are venturing into the world of joblessness, a good friend's pregnancy isn't going exactly as planned (although everyone is safe and will be arriving shortly), my ankle is acting up so I can't run or dance, our summer funding was slashed, and we just found out about a week ago that L's funding ends in June. Yup, his secondary adviser told him last week that the year long fellowship he is on is not so much a year long but a 9 month long fellowship, and besides he's done enough work to graduate so his funding stops in June b/c it's been reallocated. Yeah, things that would have been nice to know say IN SEPTEMBER when the fellowship started, or even JANUARY so we had 6 months notice. So L is now faced with the challenge of writing his entire diss and finding a job buy June. This of course comes after 2 weeks of "It's ok, IrishRed, I know your anticipated summer funding will be half this year than you expected it to be because Summer Session screwed everyone out of summer TAships, but I'll still have my income and I get paid a little more during the summer so we should be able to stretch with that and our savings."

Bastards.

Fucking bastards.

We can't tell if the adviser was being a dick or is just such a clueless manager that it never occurred to him to say anything sooner (he's been telling L, "great article, but you should add this, and this, and this..." and "go back for more simulations" for the last 6 months? year?). He's done this to other people and as a friend said he seems about as useful as "assholes on elbows".

Thank god for Charles Shaw (except the new "International Shiraz" from Australia - so sweet you could use it for Sangria and not have to add sugar). And Coffee.

L's been furiously throwing together his CV and is applying for every job he can find in AO. There's a couple out there, but they're all out of state. He's also trying to put together a post-doc application for the NPS in Monterey, and apply for anything else that might be mildly entertaining and pay decently. Next week he sits down to write the world's fastest PhD Dissertation.

The good thing is that I'm far enough along on my dissertation that I'm somewhat portable. I'm trying to get through my microfilm and completely finish my research that requires ILL so that I can move even more easily. And if we go somewhere with a Uni bigger than SC, maybe even one with a proper library - one with books that's open more than a few hours a day?- it shouldn't be too bad. I'd miss the support of the community here, but that's what the digital realm is for.

The most amazing thing has been the outpouring of support we've received from peers and friends. I've never really been part of an adult community that offered so much overwhelming and unsolicited support. It's really heart-warming.

So my brain isn't exactly in my dissertation this week. Writing is coming along, I'll definitely be able to finish my first chapter by the end of the quarter, maybe even the first and most of the second. But I can't seem to stop reading trashy celebrity blogs and knitting sites and get my brain back on track. I figured with all the procrastinating I might as well blog :)

Next up, a new recipe for Basque Lamb Stew from the Slow Cooker Gourmet Cookbook, Vol II. I know I've raved about this cookbook before but if you have a slow cooker and should really get both volumes. The recipes are incredibly good and don't have that 'slower cooker" taste - more like "roasting in a Dutch oven for hours".