Dissertation Writing

I began to outline my dissertation today. I opened up my little folder entitled "dissertation information", clicked on the sub-folder that holds the Graduate School's detailed formatting instructions for the dissertation, and began to make files for the title page, table of contents, acknowledgements, and abstract.  Now I am outlining chapter 1 and will begin to work on chapter 2 - due August 28th in the inbox of my advisor in preparation for our phone meeting August 31st. I will repeat this process for each chapter until the end of January.  By February 7, 2011 I will have a completed first draft of the entire dissertation ready to submit to the full committee for their review.

As I began to type up the title page a warm feeling of satisfaction and disbelief permeated throughout my body.  It's almost surreal...in less than a year I will done.  I'm finishing the 12 year run I started since I left high school and the Southside of Chicago in 1999.  Although this blog is about the new adventures I am taking I can't help but add this into the new journeys I am embarking on.  I don't know if I every really imagined being done and now that I can see and taste the end all I want to do is fast forward to next May, walk across that stage, get my diploma, and start a new chapter in my life.

But we all know life doesn't operate in that fashion and I have to go through the ups and downs inherent within the writing and developing process of dissertation writing and job applying.  I've already been turned down for one lecturer positon in the UK - but that was ok, I at least applied.  The next application will be off to Oxford University for a 5 year post-doc position that would help me jump start my career.  That also is a long shot but if I don't go for it then I will never know.

So now I get back to more writing before a training session latter on today.

To tweet or not to tweet...that is the question of the hour

Twitter - this is a word that makes me shiver.  I recently helped facilitate a social media training workshop for the organization I work for in Bristol.  The first half of the training focused on twitter - what it is, how to work it, and how to make it work for local and regional voluntary and third sector organizations in the Southwest.  Although a useful channel in which to dispense information to a large audience I just couldn't see how twitter would be useful for me personally.  I always saw the thing as a way for people to be more self absorbed, thinking others cared about their every move and need to read about it instead of actually engaging in real human contact (ok maybe I am sounding a little old fashion there).

Well more and more I am being told by close friends that twitter would be a good medium to use in order for more blog exposure.  I don't know for sure where I will end up work wise once I am done with this Ph.D. but I do know that no matter what I do I will continue to write.  Write about life, experiences, fears, new adventures, fictional stories...the list is endless but writing, for me, has become apart of my identity.  If I can improve and find a niche that I can fit into then I would also like to make a bit of money off it in the form of book writing and selling.  So exposure is needed and thus the question: to tweet or not to tweet?

But, am I ready to open up my networks and be faced with both praise (I hope) and criticism (which I am sure I will get)?  Hell, I guess so.  I have lived with constant criticism and few praise for my academic writing and logic for years - only recently receiving more praise.  Although the content of this blog is more personal than professional a little bit of criticism can only make my writing stronger (right?).  So I guess it is time to get with it and open up my twitter account in the next week or so and start to tweet my way to more exposure.  Will you follow me?