Another episode of writer's bloc

phd041309s.gif

http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1159

This is exactly the point I am in my writing. I've got my existing and about-to-be-submitted papers, and I've been moving text around, inserting bits here and there. I've gotta get my act together and actually make it look like a thesis and not a series of publications.

I stumble upon two situations which cause me grief: (1) the writing and rewriting of sentences that I already understand, but have trouble communicating an idea in a concise manner, and (2) just not knowing what else to say.

Situation (1) is not a fun place to be in. I get lost in time sometimes and get stuck on a sentence/paragraph for hours. Situation (2) isn't too bad, cause it clearly is a signal that I should stop writing, and work things out on a whiteboard, or hunt down articles and do more reading.

I mention grief, but it's not that I don't enjoy this process. Sure there are non-fun periods of time. But that's part of it. Overall, I have a vision in my brain how I expect things to turn out.

But my main adversary is TIME. I resent the calendar as the days are whizzing by now. I've got so much I still want to do, but there must be a point where I just have to stop the ideas and get the writing done.

Scholarship and a Postdoc.

(Source: http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive/phd020209s.gif)

Of course, I hope the deviation is not as wide as his. At least I know it's not an option for me to finish AFTER a year, coz the money runs out by then ;)

Thank goodness for the scholarship. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure I can't afford this degree. The amount to spend for tuition is incomprehensible to me.

In other news, boss M forwarded an email to me regarding a postdoc opportunity... in Canada. First off, I'm happy he suggested it. Second of all, Canada. I would love to go, but it's another 2 years of solitude should the husband and I not jive in our plans. Anyhow, it's another thing to think about. The list can only get longer ;)

Couples, partners, incest and such.

(Source: http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive/phd012809s.gif)

This blog is turning out to be a commentary/reaction on phdcomics.com. What can I do, almost each comic strip strikes a chord.

I suppose "incestuous departments" occur not just in academia. But, having hardly worked (less than a year) outside academia I haven't enough data to support that claim hehe.

I met my husband in the university, and we both became instructors there. Some (if not most) of our colleagues in the department also met their spouses in the university or in the department. So I can say that our department is also incestuous.

I only know of one couple in my current university who work in the same department. Yep, they are also in Maths. Fancy that. Ah, there is also another couple in Biological Sciences, but they started out as a professor-student relationship. There are also a number of those from all over I'd imagine. I know I've seen a lot.

I've met some couples in a conference, who work in the same university. It's kinda tricky spotting them. I find out only after speaking with them that they are partners, coz they say so. I've met only one couple so far who share the same surname. It's not something I'm accustomed to, coz most couples in my country take their husband's surname.

It's interesting to note that some universities encourage couples to work "together", meaning that if they hire one of them, the university would try to hire the partner. Even not in the same department. It like a "hire one, get two" situation.

A dilemma of priorities

(Source: http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive/phd012609s.gif)

Ah, Jorge Cham continues to write the story of my life. This strip shall be me in our next research meeting, scheduled for February.

I need to come up with my plan for a last paper to publish. One agreement I have with boss M is to publish one more, and I haven't quite decided which idea I'm going to pursue for it.

At the moment I have three options:

(1) An extension of a previous paper, entailing that I design and perform synthetic experiments. This will enable me to perform tests on a methodology I had presented before, and report an evaluation on its performance. Difficulty: relatively easy. Publication probability: not likely for a really good journal, likely for a journal of lesser impact factor.

(2) The simulations in option (1) can be used for a different report altogether. This means using the same code I can write for (1), but keep track of different quantities for analysis. The analysis would require me to learn some more theories. Difficulty: moderately hard. Publication probability: less likely to get published soon coz of the fewer options for theoretical journals.

(3) A different methodology that I have yet to finish developing. This would be the most interesting of all options, as I expect most of our peers in the field to find it useful. Difficulty: Very hard. Publication probability: Very likely in a nice journal.

With only months to go, I am left with a prioritisation problem. I want to do all three plans (and some other side projects that merit attention) but I also have to think which will help me best for the thesis.

Less than two weeks to think long and hard about this.