Saturday 29 November 2008

Progress on Conference Plan & lots of book purchases

I am inching closer to having a completed conference proposal. At least I actually have something now that could be submitted and I still have a couple of days in which to review it and edit it further. My only issues at the moment are that it is slightly too long at just over 1,000 words and that it isn't yet punchy enough in respect of the thesis that I wish to propose.

Oddly enough, Linda seemed keen to read it. I had some reluctance to do this as I have tried to keep the MSc and the details of what I am doing seperate from other parts of life. When she did finally read it, she didn't really have any substantive points other than that one sentence was a little long. It "sounded technical", she thought. Reading one of my books on doing a PhD, I was surprised to read a section saying that the chances are very high that family and friends will not be supportive of what you are doing and that you need to be thick skinned about this. It would be fair to say that my enthusiasm for my MSc is not shared elsewhere in the household - indeed it is frequently dismissed. But it important to me, and I am enjoying it. I see little reason to talk to anyone about it though - except the other people on the course

Over the last couple of weeks I have been on something of a book buying binge. I had a rapid series of book sales that have raised about £150 and still had a couple of hundred left in my marketplace surplus. Over the last week or two, I have bought about £200 worth of books - all related to my course. And an excellent selection they are. For Christmas, I would hope to get nothing other than more books!

No comments: