Box ticking and the like

I've managed to squeeze out my German Reading Skills assignment today: translations of 2 Berthold Brecht poems and a 500 word literary commentary on each. I've been deferring doing it so that I can make some solid progress on my chapters before next week's supervisory meeting, but with hand-in at tomorrow's session I could procrastinate no longer. The stupid thing is that I've actually started to care about doing well in something that is a relatively unimportant supplement to my main studies. I only need to improve my German so that I can read the poxy but abundant secondary literature in the field of Pauline studies. I resent the time it takes up, but need to tick the box on my training needs programme. Likewise, a two-hour presentation skills 'workshop' will entail two three-hour trips down to uni and back. Basically, a whole day used up (never mind the expense) so that I can tick a box. And I spent an entire day at a very dull conference (on a Saturday, for crying out loud) for the same reason. This can't be right, can it? The whole system has become so obsessed with measurable targets and learning outcomes and investing in students that the whole ethos of research - actually doing the research is being dangerously undermined by the pursuit of demonstrable objectives. If I'm spending less time on my doctoral studies in order to fulfil these peripheral goals - and my time is pretty constrained at the best of times - then the main body of my PhD will suffer. No argument. Forty hours a week (full-time study) minus the twelve or so hours spent on peripherals does NOT add up to a satisfactory week's output.

Have finally overcome the moment of inertia and am happily gathering speed on the academic front! The mass - nay, morass - of admin. that cascades through the post and down the wire has been hacked through by the machete of persistence and grim determination. So now I'm officially registered (online) and I've done various lesser tasks such as applying for my NUS extra card, filling in my railcard application, sending off my latest work and routine supervisory form to my supervisor, and booking my train tickets for Wednesday (can't wait until I've got my railcard - it should save me a fortune!). I need to be organised to the nth degree, or I'll definitely forget/mismanage something: I have to have written lists!
I've been reading through my notes to get up to speed on my thesis and it's not as bad as I thought it might be, though I seem to have forgotten a lot of the background argumentation. I think that's what makes it all so tricky....keeping the salient arguments in your head. I'm not sure my mental RAM is very large! (hence the notes). I've got a LOT of books to look through, and it's a bit tricky trying to prioritise: they're ALL clamouring for attention. I think the best ploy is to start anywhere and just let an order evolve. I'm getting quite enthusiastic about the new term and getting down to studying in earnest again. The book I'm going to look at first is Wallace Chafe's Discourse, Time and Consciousness. Although it probably won't deal directly with verbal aspect/discourse prominence, it should be reasonably interesting on the phenomenon of perceived time.
Another good thing is that, with the children returning to school, I have claimed the 'study' room back for myself (at least, in school hours). It's south-facing, so a lot brighter than upstairs, and has my lovely old oak desk to spread my stuff out on. The 'satellite study' (a computer station in the bedroom) has been an absolute godsend over the summer break, and still is when the children need the family computer to complete their homework. I'm going to keep it as a back-up bolt-hole when I want to work on. The laptop is a boon in this respect.

Progress Reviews and Other Stuff

I really, really intended to get around to producing some written work this week. I'm acutely aware, and somewhat uneasy, that I've spent most of the time since my last supervisory meeting reading without getting anything concrete down. It's been fascinating stuff - the Jewish apocalyptic thought, how this mode of expectation appears in the words of JC, and how much Paul was thoroughly of this tradition. I'm hoping that it will give a framework into which Paul's use of language concerning death and resurrection will click nicely. However - best intentions and all that - I never actually got round to committing my thoughts to, I was going to say paper, laptop. The surprise news about my funding necessitated some time online filling in forms and phoning people about filling in forms. Then all of a sudden I received an email telling me that I had to fill a progress review form whose deadline was the next day! I'd previously understood that, as a part-time student I'd not have to bother with this this year as my timescale was double that of the full-time student. Apparently not. Another goodly amount of time form-filling, liasing with my supervisor, drawing up provisional programmes of study - something that hadn't even crossed my mind as I'd been bumbling along. Stuff like this always takes much longer than you think it's going to. After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing of emails, it all got sorted in the nick of time. So, no actual work produced. Again. But I'm going to have to get cracking. I noticed that one of my supervisor's comments was that he wanted to see evidence that I was getting to grips with academic German. Ulp! I mean, I've found a website that might be useful, but that's about it at the moment....

There's a lot I should make a point of scheduling in: academic German, more regular Greek reading, brush up on the measly amount of Hebrew that I do know, be more organised in my general reading and note-taking. In brief: Get Serious!

Maybe I should cut down on the blogging, but I not only find it cathartic, but it really does help my writing brain to limber up so that I can put words down more easily. And it is the end of the day now, teatime to be precise, and I have a few moments finally to myself.