It happens EVERY SINGLE SEMESTER. At this point every cycle, I ask myself why on earth I'm still in school when there are so many things that are more appealing to me to be doing. And yet here I stay. There's something comfortable about the stress and the routine...at least I know I can do it, and do it pretty well.
The "write 15 pages over Thanksgiving" plan went about how I imagined it would. But I think I'll still be okay. I mapped out a plan for finishing before all the appropriate deadlines, and my worst writing day will be 10 pages on a Saturday. That's life, I guess. At least I have a start, though. That's always the hard thing for me. Sort of the same when I try to clean the house...I hate the idea of it, but once I get going I burn through it pretty quickly.
I wonder how many other graduate students who read Hannah Arendt's "The Human Condition" think of her labor/work distinction in the same way I do. In a gross over-simplification, she basically says that work produces some impact or lasting remnant, while labor is almost immediately consumed. It made me wonder about something like building a home or raising a child...I'm hoping BeeBoo will grow up to be a good, productive member of society, and find a way to contribute to the lives of those around her. That, for me, represents work. But it's made up of all of these tasks that are endless...as soon as I finish them, they're undone and need done again (cooking dinner, doing the laundry, dealing with the cloth diaper routine, cleaning the house). So how do we deal with the idea that in at least some instances, work is made up of labor? For me, that sort of makes the distinction fuzzy.
Amusing Bee moment of the day: I always worry because she doesn't eat. Ever. So today I asked "How do you live on six calories a day?!?!" She looked up at me and very sweetly said "Mommy, I don't live on calories!"
Loved it.
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4 comments:
Yeah, the other day Jonathan Wade asked me how my semester was going, and I looked at him and nicely suggested he ask me at a different point in the semester, like the beginning. Or after it was over. Ack. I love the BeeBoo moment.
Ugh--tell me about it. Last night I got out of bed to scribble some notes for one of my research papers. At least I have topics for them all, but the worst one is my paper for Shakespeare. I feel like the research is never ending.
Solution: Give Hannah "Beeboo" heck, I'd even take baby number 2 as well, problem solved, well not really. But hey I'm always trying to get people to give me their children, it never works... hmm I wonder why?
I must admit, you are much more organized than I am. I am a firm believer in planning ahead but a constant practicioner of procrastination.
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