News: phd
Public speaking via zoom
I recently presented at my first 鈥榸oom conference鈥.
Of HDRs, annual reviews, and a mac and cheese toastie
I had an exceptionally reassuring Annual Review this year. I feel so very lucky to have an immensely supportive supervisory panel, but I鈥檓 also grateful to have an encouraging postgraduate coordinator. I was so motivated this week that I found myself writing into the early hours of the morning. I needed a couple of midnight snacks though. I wanted to make something easy, simple, and comforting. I also wanted to make something I could potentially turn into a lunch I could take into work the next day.
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What are your music playlists?
I have completed all my data-gathering for my doctoral thesis and now it鈥檚 down to analysis and writing. I am starting to appreciate how important music is to my process, especially having to work around my time engaging and caring for my darling nine-month old daughter. My supervisors have been so supportive and have pointed out that raising children while writing papers meant that there was hardly any time to procrastinate any more. I find myself writing in between my daughter鈥檚 naps, structuring thesis outlines on my phone while waiting for her during child care orientation, and so on. I started with just having one 鈥淓mber鈥檚 writing music鈥 playlist and then I found myself needing different kinds of music for different types of music. I have Jane Austen-esque music for when I am composing words for this blog. When I鈥檓 trying to re-organise spreadsheets and data, or when I need to revise references and citations and don鈥檛 necessarily need to be thinking I put on music I can sing to. Sometimes they鈥檙e guilty pleasure type pop songs or the Beatles, or playlists from different decades or sometimes funk and soul classics. When I鈥檓 writing for a deadline, or writing with purpose, I have a playlist of instrumental music from movie soundtracks. Sometimes it鈥檚 from the Godfather, or Legends of the Fall or Cinema Paradiso or even Indiana Jones, among many others. I also created a playlist I listen to when I am trying to boost my confidence prior to a presentation or a talk.聽
Changing PhD
Many people warned me that my PhD thesis would be much more of an evolving process that a static, three-year project, but for the most part I tended to listen to their well-meaning advice and pretty much ignore it.
What's the big deal about an ear infection?
This week was a bit of a challenge for me. My nine-month old daughter picked up a bug from her play date at childcare. Our midwife and other parents have warned me about this of course, but there鈥檚 nothing like experiencing it all for the first time. I don鈥檛 know why I thought she鈥檇 never get sick. I tried really hard though. She鈥檚 up-to-date with all her immunisations, she鈥檚 had the flu shot, and she鈥檚 been having a healthy amount of probiotics in her well-balanced diet.
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Of health week and the journey back to true strength
Spring is here, and so is Health Week! I have been talking about getting back into shape for months and now I have run out of excuses. Lots of my friends have also started their fitness challenges and I鈥檓 finding a whole heap of interesting things. There are the eight-week fitness gym challenges which would be great. A couple of years back I would get up at 4 in the morning to meditate, scribe, and be mindful of all the things I am grateful for. After that it would be an hour鈥檚 workout in the nearby gym, before getting ready to head to work in the city. I don鈥檛 think I could commit to going to the gym as regularly as I used to given the demands of studying full-time, working part-time, and caring for my amazing nine-month old offspring.聽
[Read more about Of health week and the journey back to true strength]
When was the last time you saw an act of grace?
And what聽was it? 鈥業 work in an emergency department. There are a thousand tiny acts of grace everyday 鈥 every beat of the heart 鈥 most unnoticed by the bigger, glossier world, but they add up. In essence, the acts of grace are sometimes barely noticeable as the world rages away in its current state, but they can be seen if you pay enough attention.鈥
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Not all who loiter are lost
A group of my friends at uni are in their last few months of their PhD. They are in the home stretch. I can鈥檛 help but wish I was in their place. I tell them this and the reaction I get are genuine looks of trepidation and anxiety. They tell me it feels like they鈥檙e so close to the finish line, but also feel so far away from it.聽
Conducting interviews
I have recently begun conducting my field research for my PhD, in the form of interviews with politicians.
Michelle and Barack on a podcast and my reflections on 鈥榗ommunity鈥
Podcasts everywhere. If you鈥檝e chanced upon on any of my other posts you鈥檇 have already surmised that I quite enjoy tuning into a podcast, especially when I鈥檓 going out for a walk or doing some of my chores. So now that Michelle Obama has started her own podcast, I was quick to check it out.
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