A New Year: MAIPR DISSbelief.doc

This blog post marks the moment when my online meanderings now officially span three years. Hard to believe the 16 month journey that has been set down on this thing. Still a few more travels and adventures to go, but for now...Happy New Year!

New Years 2010 was a much needed low-key night after an incredibly social Christmas celebration. Courtney came over to mine and we watched the British New Years celebrations on the BBC. We over-dined on delicious caramelized onion hummus with bread and veggies, gourmet breads and cheeses, and a host of other great snacks. I sipped on vino for the night and it was great to sit with a friend and discuss the MAIPR year in review. The BBC had great coverage (complete with Tom Jones singing After Midnight) and some year in review programs we watched in the early morning. It was great to spend the holiday was a friend, but I was also happy it was a quiet but memorable affair.

Things didn't slow down during the first week of January. In fact they got busier. After New Years I had a dissertation deadline and work at River Island to contend with. It was nice to know that each of the projects would be winding down. For the first three days of the year I plotted through my dissertation - adding parts here, editing there - for the final submission. After I added all of the necessary expansion my supervisors asked for, I went through and cut out the bulk. I managed to trim 2000 words in the final stage.

The whole of Sunday was spent at the dining room table working through each chapter and looking for ways to improve grammar or word choice. Honestly, I sat at the table from 10:00am until 5:00am with breaks for various meals. When you've got a 40,000 document it takes a hell of a lot of time to edit it. It was pretty uncharacteristic to stay up that late actively working on a paper (since I've had five months) but I've also never written anything this big before. I wanted to make sure it was the best effort possible if it's something I'll look back on in years to come. So after a few hours sleep, I woke up Monday morning and with a few minor tweaks, electronically submitted my Final Disseration. 156 pages and 40,000 words later, I've contributed something to new scholarship in the performance studies field. The feeling was euphoric. I did a bit of a dance in the living room. I think the only parallel feeling of academic joy I've had like that (and it's quite ironic in a way) is when I received the email saying I was accepted into the program. Unlike other projects, I can glance down at the weight of my bound dissertation and feel extremely proud for the effort that went into creating it. One of the more challenging, but proud achievements in life thus far. Thank you to those who have been supportive/interested along the way - your engagement kept me writing through the tough times.

After submitting the dissertation on Monday, it has been a full shift to getting all my ducks in a row for the move out on Saturday. I only have two full days in the apartment left! It's all coming very quickly, and the final details are stressful to wrap up, but I know the payoff will be a week without worries in Tunisia. And the thought of warmer temperatures couldn't come at a better time. The UK was dumped with a bunch of snow yesterday. For us, it's pretty common, but for the Brits it's a huge snowfall. My gym was closed today due to "adverse weather conditions." It's pretty amusing how the whole place shuts down.

The next two days will be a collection of lasts: my last day at River Island, my last day on Warwick campus, my last day in Leamington, and my last day among fellow MAIPRS. As much as I am SO excited to return to Canada, the reality of the program ending is starting to sink in. What a ride it has been. I'm hoping to enjoy this final push, as well as settle my debts in the UK before heading off to warmer temperatures for a week. I will post on Saturday before leaving (since internet with be scarce) to give you an idea of what Tunisia holds...

Doc's Prescription of the Day: The dissertation, although we all struggled through it, has been such an incredibly rewarding experience. Write, write, write...whatever makes you happy.