Yesterday I posted an image on Facebook that reflected how I was feeling, and I thought I would share that here:
I’m quitting life to become a burrito!
Since then, I have had many of my fellow research students comment that they too feel like (or have felt like) a burrito. And so, the metaphor for life as a research student has been clearly established. Days that begin bright-eyed and optimistic often end swaddled in a blanket with a stuffed animal. These are the days where the regular 3pm intermission is spent downing a couple of glasses of wine whilst watching nostalgic 90s TV episodes or music videos.
Today, however was not one of those days. Today I printed about 30 new articles that I intend to read in the next week or two (even though at this stage in my candidature, the powers that be suggest I should no longer be needing to read any more). I have also written an abstract for my faculty’s HDR conference later this year (which will need further editing tomorrow before I submit).
I also did some teaching which is a nice excuse for not having written much of the thesis today. I love teaching, and the unit is interesting because it focuses on ‘interaction’ or digital interactive projects, which is a main theoretical focus of my doctorate. I just hope that I can convey to the students how amazing this area of media studies can be. I am looking forward to seeing what they create in their own digital media projects!
I have also written down another four TV shows that I want to watch (The Mysteries of Laura, The Honourable Woman, Madam Secretary, and State of Affairs). All new programs with female protagonists – something we are seeing improved upon in television but still not in film? Is it that Hollywood assumes that women watch television because all women are housewives and at home to watch television when the networks televise these shows – and that women do not venture out into the world, to the cinemas, for a night of cinematic engagement? What this means is another whole thesis altogether. Let me just get through this first one first!
That's What She Said 