These days, I'm working from home on a project that has been dangling over my head for far too long.
What sort of project, you may ask? (Or not, I don't know if anyone actually reads what I put here.)
My PhD thesis.
I started my program in the fall of 2003. It is now 2010. It has taken me seven full years to accomplish what I originally set out to do in four. That's a pretty depressing sort of performance, but I've become quite quick at reminding myself that the vast majority of scholars in my field do not really finish in four years - in fact, so many don't get it done in four that my department has actually changed their PhD program so that the four-year PhD no longer exists.
Still, I think most folks finish before they hit seven years, too.
In any event, I've been making progress. Yesterday seemed rough around the edges, but I got some things done that made finishing up this revised chapter draft by end of day tomorrow seem entirely possible. Today is going significantly worse, though, and for the first time, I think it's actually knitting's fault that I'm not being academically productive.
The past three sweaters I've knit have all been in sport weight yarn, on 4 mm needles. I decided to change things up a bit, and have been chugging along on Yahaira Ferreira's Asymmetrical Cabled Cardi in a heavy worsted/aran weight yarn (Knit Picks City Tweed HW) on 5.5 mm needles. Now that I type it out, 5.5 mm doesn't seem like it should be vastly different from 4 mm, but oh well. The yarn is way different, and I've been enjoying the change of pace.
The problem for me actually getting real work done, however, is that I've pretty much finished the sweater - I'm at the ending stages of the yoke, and soon I'll be binding off, then picking up stitches again for the tall collar - since it's a decorative sort of collar, I thought it might be a good idea to bind off then pick up again to add some stability. I'm so close to having the thing off the needles - admittedly temporarily - and being able to truly try the thing on to make sure that it actually fits in a way that pleases me.
So my fingers stay on the knitting, and off the keyboard, and my mind refuses to focus on any sort of intelligent discussion of things not relevant to this sweater.
I really hope tomorrow goes better. Maybe I should give up and just haul off and finish this sweater to ensure that there's no sweater-related distraction for tomorrow.
After all, it is 4:30 now. Work day's practically done, right?
What sort of project, you may ask? (Or not, I don't know if anyone actually reads what I put here.)
My PhD thesis.
I started my program in the fall of 2003. It is now 2010. It has taken me seven full years to accomplish what I originally set out to do in four. That's a pretty depressing sort of performance, but I've become quite quick at reminding myself that the vast majority of scholars in my field do not really finish in four years - in fact, so many don't get it done in four that my department has actually changed their PhD program so that the four-year PhD no longer exists.
Still, I think most folks finish before they hit seven years, too.
In any event, I've been making progress. Yesterday seemed rough around the edges, but I got some things done that made finishing up this revised chapter draft by end of day tomorrow seem entirely possible. Today is going significantly worse, though, and for the first time, I think it's actually knitting's fault that I'm not being academically productive.
The past three sweaters I've knit have all been in sport weight yarn, on 4 mm needles. I decided to change things up a bit, and have been chugging along on Yahaira Ferreira's Asymmetrical Cabled Cardi in a heavy worsted/aran weight yarn (Knit Picks City Tweed HW) on 5.5 mm needles. Now that I type it out, 5.5 mm doesn't seem like it should be vastly different from 4 mm, but oh well. The yarn is way different, and I've been enjoying the change of pace.
The problem for me actually getting real work done, however, is that I've pretty much finished the sweater - I'm at the ending stages of the yoke, and soon I'll be binding off, then picking up stitches again for the tall collar - since it's a decorative sort of collar, I thought it might be a good idea to bind off then pick up again to add some stability. I'm so close to having the thing off the needles - admittedly temporarily - and being able to truly try the thing on to make sure that it actually fits in a way that pleases me.
So my fingers stay on the knitting, and off the keyboard, and my mind refuses to focus on any sort of intelligent discussion of things not relevant to this sweater.
I really hope tomorrow goes better. Maybe I should give up and just haul off and finish this sweater to ensure that there's no sweater-related distraction for tomorrow.
After all, it is 4:30 now. Work day's practically done, right?
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