The Wheels on the Bus Make the Thesis Go Round and Round

(Day 28) Today I had to register for the summer semester (that starts in 2 days). It isn't that I am dying to do it, but my bus pass won't work if I don't register. So I am now registered in the SOCI 599 Thesis course, which essentially means nothing. Well that is not true, it does mean that I have probaby the most expensive bus pass in the free world. I think it might be cheaper to withdraw from school, buy a bus, then write my thesis on my own time.

I do really enjoy reading on the bus though, it is among my favourite places to read. Perhaps it is the lulling comfort of the bus winding around the Victoria streets, or maybe the beautiful scenery of all the beaches and greenery on the way to campus, but most likely it is the rogues gallery of obnoxious, boisterous and unruly bus riding characters that force me to stare at my book so hard it nearly bursts into flames. Intense reading results in intense comprehension.

When I am reading, I try to employ different types of underlining to denote different things. If I underline something it is quotable, if it is a wavy underline, it means I have issue with that point, or if I circle it, it means it is important but I don't know what to do with it yet. Doing my reading on the bus has forced me to re-evaluate this system. Now it doesn't matter what I am thinking, if a passage is important it gets a squiggly line that goes under and through the words and often onto the other page. I suppose that makes me the unruly bus riding character...cue the rim shot, that's a cheesy chessy joke.

'because it would be easier to read/write on' song of the day: Hard Road - Sam Roberts

Stereotyping My Typing (in Stereo)

(Day 26) Today was a writing day. Not that the entire day was devoted to writing, but rather that it was a day in which I wrote. Being a writing day, it seemed only appropriate that I would deal with the second biggest obstacle to my progress, as alluded to in the last entry. To put it simply, I am a terrible typist.

One would think that given the amount of time I spend actually typing, whether that is writing papers, chatting online or even in writing this blog, that I would be a better typist. Granted, I am slightly ahead of the 'hunt-and-peck' typing style of my parents (Hi Mom!). I would loosely describe my own typing methods as 'intuitive chaos.' This includes a flurry of movement, and a roughly 80% success rate. All things considered, not terrible.

There are however some words that always elude correct construction by me on the keyboard. I discovered this in my typing skills course in high school (does that make my lack of skill sadder?). No matter the speed at which I was typing, I could never get 'population' correct. It would always turn out as 'poulation.' That ever-elusive second P. This never really bothered me past my Grade 10 assignment on 'Peruvian Population Distribution and Other Demographics' but this anti-skill has returned in the form of another word. 'Network'. It usually takes at least two tries to spell it correctly. Newtorks; netowrks; nertwoks. It is like watching a really sad game of Jumble, where the player is sooo close, but fails to see the obvious word under the pressure of the $25 000 grand prize. What's worse, is that this is a word that comes up with great frequency in my thesis. Wonderful. At least I will get my money's worth from the SpellCheck.

'for the dry spell in the lack of misspells' song of the day: Dry Spell - The Meters

Love and a Leaky Valve

(Day 23) Here I am just a little over 3 weeks into the official GWW/SGWW (see index) journey, and already I think I am behind. I have been trying but there are two main obstacles (now that the other big obstacles of school work and TA work are finished), and they are lethargy and poor typing skills. I will deal with the former today and the latter another day.

First, let it be said that I love my apartment, and I am pretty sure my apartment loves me. But, the apartment is the sort of lover that never wants me out of its sight. It accomplishes this by being soooo comfortable, I don't want to leave, and think that this is my idea. It's in my head.

The other day was just so beautiful that I had to take advantage of my south-facing balcony. I took my reading out on the deck and read for a good while. Once it started to get nippy and my toes got cold, I went indoors to read. I may have been on the couch for a maximum of 30 seconds before I was out cold for 2 hours. Although naps are glorious, I needed to get work done. This isn't even the first time this has happened. I have learned that this apartment doesn't even want me to do work - only rest, nap and sleep (although these seem to be the same, to the connoisseur, they are indeed quite unique). In any event, I need to do more work at the office. The office doesn't love me like the apartment does...well maybe it's love, maybe it's a gas leak. Time will tell, for now, I am going for a nap.

the 'I always fall asleep during this' song of the day - Nobody Has to Stay - Mirah

Who is General Error and Why is He Reading My Files?

(Day 19) Today was momentous! I am officially finished all of my marking, as well, today I wrapped up the final session in the Sociology Colloquium series I have been facilitating. Both mark moments of great happiness for me in being done, as well as two instances where it is most evident that I am in fact at the mercy of new technology...the very topic of my thesis!

As I was setting up the projector for the colloquium, I caught myself quietly whispering, "Please work, please don't crap out, please oh please, give me an image on the screen." This comes from the long and sordid history that projectors and I have. Last summer in a presentation at Congress (on the topic of new technology, of course) my power point presentation failed me. How did I overcome my disappointment, you ask? I organized a Sociology Colloquium series so that I could deliver my presentation again. The human spirit endures.

It must be the grand irony of researching/critiquing new technology, because yet again, (during the session I myself organized) the presentation power point did not work. But luckily for me (and for the projector) it worked today, and the presentations went off without a hitch. That being said, in writing about my conquering of this technology, I was tripped up by both the computer and the internet and now find myself posting a day late. They'll get you around every corner.

the 'oh computers, when will you stop screwing me' song of the day: Ain't No Easy Way - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Beware the Ides of April

(Day 16) One of the many perks of being a grad student, and there are many (avoiding the real world; being able to 'work' in your underwear; still socially acceptable to play video games) is that we can take books out from the library for ridiculous amounts of time. As an undergrad I was limited to a mere two weeks, always running back to the library to avoid late fees (haha, no I'm only kidding, I was never in the library in undergrad). But now I get my books out for the entire term (and I actually take books out too. Look at me!). It is awesome, I have a veritable library in my room courtesy of UVic's loan policy. I get this feeling of importance whenever they say that my books won't be due for...another four months. Yes!

That feeling of being smart and important however quickly fades in the last days of April when I realize that I am going to have to renew all of my books. Entrapment, I say! They knew I wouldn't be able to return all of the books they enticed me to take out.

Now, there is a way to renew the books online, so that I don't have to take all fifty or so back to the library...on the bus. This is where the important/intelligent part fades. I don't know how. It is complicated and confusing. I have to sheepishly return to the site of my crime and ask for the super nice librarians (which almost makes it worse) to help me follow a few links, click a few boxes then press 'renew.' How embarassing.

The 'maybe I should change my reading material' song of the day: Picture Book - The Kinks

Grad School = Babysitting + the Olympics,

(Day 14) I had to proctor an exam for my first year sociology class on Friday, which is essentially a 3 hour babysitting session that is both frustrating and infuriating. All I really get to do is answer questions/define words (dumb ones mostly - actually got 'what does decline mean? Does that mean up or down?) and walk them to the bathroom. I am super glad that I am beyond the time of having to write exams, but I sort of feel like this thesis is just one monstrous exam, but instead of 3 hours to write it, i get 3 months (I actually get more, but it woudn't have fit the alliterative number theme there). On the bright side, i get more bathroom breaks without the escort.

With all that said, there is the super scary final 'exam' at the end of the thesis under the guise of an oral defence. I've been to a few of these, and they work exactly the opposite way, they ask you the definitions and the stupid questions (stupid only because they are ridiculously difficult). Also, I've never seen someone excuse themselves from the table, so I am not even sure if you are allowed to get up for a bathroom break. Mental and physical anguish - maybe the thesis writing experience should be in the Vancouver Olympics as a biathalon or something. But ask any other grad student, and there is a lot more pain going into this than just that, so it would be more of a triskaidekathalon (that's 13 events, significant in itself). But this is months away, so I will shelf the idea and settle for a pat on the back for using the word* (possibly coining the word) triskaidekathalon.

'run the triskaidekathalon to this' song of the day: Thirteen - Wilco

Neon Obsolescence

(Day 10) In doing a thesis on technological matters, the currentness of my sources is key. Sure, there is something to be said for those whose theories transcend their spatial/temporal context in order to speak to larger issues, but this is simply not always the case. I didn't mean to laugh, as you should never laugh at someone's academic endeavours (that's a warning to all of you), but it just seemed ridiculous (read: disappointing) to be reading about how Call Waiting and Call Display are going to change the face of communications technology in light of all that has happened since. I'm not even saying that the ideas were wrong or invalid, it was just...severely outdated (severely = 12 years = small child). Who would have thought that 12 years could make such a difference considering the importance still placed on the classical texts from hundreds of years ago. Apparently the rate of obsolescence has greatly increased from 100 years to about 40 seconds.

I think reading about telephone or early internet technologies (which is where I am reading currently) is sort of like seeing someone on the street in Vaurnet, or an equally epitomizing 80's brand. You can respect that (for whatever reason) it was cool/relevant at some point, you just can't imagine yourself ever using/wearing it ever again lest you face ridicule by your peers/other academics. That is correct, I just compared the content of the stack of books on my desk to neon clothing that shouldn't 'fit' as tight as it did. Masterful.

the 'do you have some neon to go along with that' song of the day - West End Girls - The Pet Shop Boys

Worst Epiphany Ever

(Day 8) So today I was reading some of the texts that I have pulled as a part of my sample. The key source I was reading today was a patent for the technology required for a website to recommend a song to a listener. Despite the coolness of a website that recommends music to you, the mathematics behind it is decidedly uncool. Not only is it decidedly uncool, it is an uncoolness that is monumentally boring to read about too. This is disasterous...it isn't really, I am being melodramatic, but do you want to read it?

In any event, the reason why I bring up this uncoolness, which is probably a few degrees more uncool for you as you likely have no reason to care about how the sites operate anyways, is the thought process it started. If the years of hard work by the creators of Pandora bores me to the degree that I whine about it here, what will my thesis do (under the very large assumption that it will even be read)? Will my thesis cause some poor grad student researching those that research music recommendation sites (Ha! There is a boring/uncool study) to be bored out of his/her mind? And Sociology is particularly bad for making up new words, so I know that this is going to cause trouble too. They will be bored and confused.

Perhaps this should be a turning point for me, an epiphany if you will - my thesis should be interesting! It makes so much sense, it should be something I already know. But I guess that is why I came to grad school...to learn.

the 'worst epiphany ever' song of the day: Seeing Things for the First Time - Black Crowes

Microsoft 1, Reed 0

(Day 6) Breakthrough! I accomplished actual writing...ish. Well, you see, this is how it is. As a lifelong student I have learned to take some shortcuts, both in life and in writing. For example in life, Chinese food leftovers can be refried and rolled into burritos...rice, chicken...voila. In writing, my summary and introduction from 'Thesis Proposal' becomes summary and introduction of 'Thesis'. Just change all the 'will investigate' to 'investigated' and again, voila.

This however leads me to my point...there is one. MS Autoformat is the bain of my existence. For those unfamiliar, Autoformat is Microsoft's attempt at 'making life easier' by making decisions for me. They do this by changing things to how they think they "should" look. Numbered lists "should" be indented, fractions "should" be raised, etc etc. However, more often that not, what Microsoft thinks and what Mattreed thinks is different. Not only different, but opposite. It is always the same difference that we battle over though. Microsoft wants to change what I have typed and I don't want them to. Apparently just leaving things as they are does not compute.

Cutting and pasting presents a unique challenge as you have the formats from two different documents battling out for who can be the style Matt does not know how to change. I don't understand how Microsoft decides who wins these format battles, all I know is that I am certainly the one losing. Although it pains me to say it, if Microsoft can't improve their Autoformat, maybe Matt "should" switch to a Mac.

The 'just as long as they aren't "auto" ' song of the day: the Format - First Single

Where in the World is C. Santiago (2008)

(Day 4) I am reading a book recommended by Committee Member 3, a part of the list of sources he suggested. It is proving to be a superbly helpful book, but it took me 3 months to find it, because all the info I had was, "ummm, it is in a D. Lyon book, I forget the title."

This goes along with his other suggestions, like the one where he can't recall the author, the one that was in a journal of which he doesn't know the title, and of course the supremely enjoyable (read: vague) clues to an ambiguous possibility of a source: "There was something written on such and such, no idea when or where...or by whom. But have a look around." Awesome. I'll get on that. In any event, 3 months later, I found it.

Am I upset about this apparent lack of concrete help? No. Why? When I do manage to track down one of these "mystery sources", I get a feeling of accomplishment, as if I solved a crime (which it should be). It's truly satisfying. That, and of course, all of these mystery sources have ended up being key resources in my thesis formulations. Wouldn't you know it, doctors sometimes know what they are talking about, even if they are a touch forgetful.*

*This is not necessarily true. Doctors are often not forgetful at all, and probably more often, don't know what they are talking about anyways. If only those that were forgetful could just forget what they don't know anyways. Follow?

the 'I hate to use the same band, but I really feel like a gum-shoe' song of the day: Can't You Figure It Out? - Sloan

Thesis, in name only

(Day 2) Immediately I know what you are thinking. Why no post on Day 1, potentially the most important day? Was it because I was writing so diligently all day? Clearly not. But fear not, progress was made. There is still marking to be done, and other odds and ends, but I wanted to make a mark in my thesis writing endeavour yesterday. So I opened a Word document and labelled it 'Thesis' (it was my creativity that got me here, you know).

I stared at my new document for a long time. I decided that I should do the title page first. What's more important than the eye catching, interest inducing title page? Nothing, that's what. Well, maybe the thesis itself, or the ideas, but that is up for debate. So the title page has my name, the department, the title, etc. For those curious, the title is: "Opening Pandora's Box: Music Recommendation Sites, Ideology and the Individual." Catchy, right? So my grand word total is at 35. Pages: 1. I'm on my way.

The 'ever appropriate for the Page 1 blues' song of the day: I'm On My Way - Cat Stevens

as a side note, if by the end of this process I had a beard like Cat Stevens, I wouldn't be upset. Not upset at all.