torsdag, januar 05, 2006

Writing a paper, take 2

Well, I figure a month without posting is long enough. I'm back in the blogosphere, and please be quite clear on the fact that I missed you all terribly. No really. Yes, even you. :-)

To update you all, although I am a procrastinator, I did finish my project on Sunday evening, did a bit of minor editing (it needed a lot more, but I just couldn't bring myself to look at it anymore) on Monday, and turned it in Tuesday late morning. I was curious how I would feel after it was done. Would I be relieved? Would I be sad? As it happens, I felt exactly the same. Stressed. Whatever I did that wasn't writing the paper (which of course was everything I did, seeing as the paper was finished), I felt pangs of guilt, that I should have been working on the paper instead. Then yesterday my body decided to release the stress...as illness. I'm not that sick (I mean I'm still going to work and everything), but I still feel pretty dreadful. So, in my last post, I could have put that 'writing a paper leads to stress-based illness'. Now, because this is Europe, the continent of the oral exam, I get to re-read the pensum (a lovely Danish word that means reading list for a course) and make sure I'm ready to defend my paper inasmuch as it is defensible, and describe it succinctly, and in three weeks (a bit less, actually), the cycle can start all over again with the next module in the course.

In more exciting news, during my month away, Denmark got a lot of snow (I love snow), I went on two trips (one for business and one for Christmas), and have been seeing lots of interesting things in the Danish papers. They could well be the subjects of more interesting posts in the very near future.

25 kommentarer:

portuguesa nova sagde ...

Oooh, I hate expecting to feel relieved and then not feeling relieved at all!!

Daphnewood sagde ...

I am glad you are back. I went on an unscheduled hiatus too. Happy new year!

Dok Holocaust sagde ...

I would always writ emy college papers in one insane twelve-hour sitting while rereading whatever i was writing a paper on (I was a literature major) for the tenth time and also consulting my outline of what i thought the paper should be like.

I think i hurt myself going without sleep all those times. I think i did something bad to my head which allows me to work with Chibithulhu and maintain what little grip on reality I have left

Dok Holocaust sagde ...

Chibithulhu rejoices at your return! He had wondered if you were eaten by a Gug or ran off to join the lurid cults of Shub Niggurath. Chibithulhu wishes he had lurid cults, but no dancing naked people will adore Chibithulhu.

Anonym sagde ...

Mmm glad you survived the ordeal of an essay. Also glad you managed to swing by a bank..that really helped me!! Denmark with snow...I prefer the warmer southern part of Europe for now :) Hugs

x sagde ...

so it's writing as a physical illness now.
good luck with defending your paper. what is it on?

kimananda sagde ...

Hey Mr. American, I'm feeling almost better now...I do tend to get a sort of stress-based coldy thing, and it never lasts very long, just a couple of days.

Ms. Nova, I know the feeling. But I certainly feel more relieved than I was before I turned it in!

Daphnewood, thanks. Happy new year to you too!

Morose, you remind me of how I wrote papers as an undergrad, where I was also a lit major. Only, it sounds like you'd read the books before writing on them. O.K, I usually had too...but not always!

Chibi, let me know if you find a lurid cult, and I'll consider joining. Just for a day or so. I've never been part of a lurid cult before.

'Anonymous', I take it you got the money? I've been so busy, I haven't even had a chance to check my own account. Just as well, as my bank balance was so much larger than normal with your money in it.

Chloe, thanks for the interest, though it's really not that interesting...it's about Natural Language Processing in Information Retrieval. Or at least that's the idea. Actually it's about an experiment where all of my data was...well, let's just say that I had some problems with the interface I was using. However, as far as it is defensible, I can defend it. At least I know what I wanted the thing to look like!

Dok Holocaust sagde ...

i somehow often managed to skate by with As doing less than half the required reading. I think all that meddling with sorcery and whatnot while i was in college might have helped, and it's cheaper than bribing professors to boot.

Dok Holocaust sagde ...

Sorcery cheaper than bribery? I have done well at misleading you, oh hapless photographer. Your journey to the dark side is almost complete.

theblackscorpio sagde ...

*pops out*

UAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH, I survived too!

*pops away again O.O*

James Medhurst sagde ...

Hiya Kim,

Congratulations on finishing your paper. And good news about the snow as well. We had a little here in London but it didn't last long.

kimananda sagde ...

Morose, I did the same, but I think it's just the nature of the English lit degree. You can't really make sure the everything has been read; just that the stuff that's written on has been read.

Chibithulhu...mwahaha! I had no reason for doing that by the way, I've never said mwahaha before.

Sangroncito, you're welcome anytime.

Ms. Black Scorpio, yea! Tillykke! Now the big question is how stressed are you about the exam?

James, hi! I'm sorry I've been ignoring you. I'll make it up to you soon by sending you a copy of my paper...or is that a punishment? Well, I will be in touch in any case. Hope you're having a great start to the new year.

James Medhurst sagde ...

No, it wouldn't a punishment. I study law for fun.

Dok Holocaust sagde ...

you've never had an opportunity for evil laughter? Poor human... join my cult and there will be many opportunities for evil laughter

The mini ninja sagde ...

You love snow?! My goodness, I wish I could mail it all to you.

I don't know how I feel about reading my paper. I enjoy reading and public speaking, but it seems to discriminate against the shy folks.

FEEL BETTER ASAP!

I missed you too.

Chipper sagde ...

Congratulatrions on finishing your paper!! Now treat yourself to every indulgence you denied yourself while working on it. ;-)

kimananda sagde ...

Hi again James, you asked for it...I'll send it as soon as I am on the computer that it's stored on...get prepared for a lot of numbers that are not analyzed in any way!

Chibi, I will take your suggestion under advisement. I must warn you though, I'm one of those 'I wouldn't join any lurid cult that would have me as a member' kind of people.

Hey, Leslie, let me rephrase that...I love snow as it is found in Denmark. It usually hovers around freezing in the winter, which means that there are a few days of snow, and then it melts and there isn't much snow for a few weeks, and then back to a few days of snow. I've never experience real winter blizards or anything, and I when I've been in real cold (for example, we were at the ice festival in Harbin last year), it was not something I'd want to live in, just to visit!

Etchen, hi! I'm not indulging too much, I'm just procrastinating studying for the exam (I have enough time though, so no worries), but I will. I am planning on buying myself the first season of Desparate Housewives from iTunes of all things as a reward (I've seen one episode, and it was very funny, but I don't have patience to see that kind of thing out of order), but I may wait until after the exams are over before I get too carried away re-learning how to watch tv shows.

Dok Holocaust sagde ...

would you join a lurid cult that would have you as an appetizer?

kimananda sagde ...

Nope. Maybe a lurid cult that served appetizers at its gatherings. I especially like jalapeno poppers. Nachos are good, too.

theblackscorpio sagde ...

VERY stressed out, but I'm not studying intensely. As I had no real holiday since last August, and my life has been set on standby since October, I'm taking care of the fact, that I have a living body and a spirit, and that alll these things live on this World, and thus I peek in the books, and Ill pray, that I'll make that darned 6-mark already :p I don't care. There is a life _outside_ the books too.


But besides that: Do you know of any study groups going on? I might start peeking in the books and articles again ;-)

Dok Holocaust sagde ...

Chibithulhu approves of jalepeno poppers at cult gatherings. How do you feel about lurid cults that serve mudslides and those delicious potato-skin things filled with cheese and the like?

HanktheDog sagde ...

Glad you finished it up. May you wind up as relaxed as most Americans think the Europeans actually are.

x sagde ...

since you've finished it why aren't you around more, eh??
xx

Chipper sagde ...

Desperate Housewives is really good, but so is Lost. If you ever have some free time--just rent the first couple episodes of Lost--you'll be hooked. I hope you are enjoying your new found leisure time and best of luck on your exam!

kimananda sagde ...

Ms. Black Scorpio, :-)

Yep, Chibi, I'd go for potato skins...mudslides don't sound bad either.

Hi Hank, thanks! However, if Europeans are supposed to be relaxed, it's never worn off on me. I'm still a stressed out American. :-o

Chloe - good question. The answer...alas, I'm done with my project but not with my job. I've had a big project there too, which has actually been quite fun, but involving lots of time and paperwork. I hope I'll be back a bit more now.

Etchen - I've heard very good things about Lost, too, and am tempted. But as I'm so out of the habit of watching tv, and need to be watching more Danish stuff (big Danish final exams in the spring, and my vocabulary level could use a bit of work), I may put off buying anything actually.