After a quiet few days driven in part by the weather in general and the cloud that is the doctorate (Oh yes, I was expecting reality to hit, but it still came as a bit of a shock remembering that it’s still not done), we’ve just spent a couple of days living it up in a farmhouse in the Tuscan Hills….more about this later….!
I caught up with my Supervisors by phone on Tuesday after they had reviewed my redrafted conclusions and contribution chapter. This is the big one, the chapter that has to sell what a great job I’ve done with my research and the contribution I have made to knowledge and practice. I think I’m on the third or fourth version now and the plan was to nail it, then in a leisurely fashion go through the rest of my thesis to make sure it all added up and pointed to the conclusion all the way through. Then by the end of the hols it be good enough to submit.
Hoorah! I could stop questioning why I felt the need to scratch that itch, spend all that dosh and put so much on hold whilst I got it done and people would stop asking when it would be finished…..only that’s not where we’re at.
“There is nothing wrong with it, there are just opportunities to make it more robust and specific about your contribution. It’s better to get it all together before submission to minimise the re-write. Although it’s rare not to have to revise part of the document after the viva….”
Oh joy. If only my brain would work in the way it needs too…and be interested in the b*@@&y thing enough to sort it out. What does robust mean anyway? And if only I could not feel guilty about not working when we’re having a nice time and guilty about missing out on fun and getting fit when I am trying to work…..not real problems, I know but occupying my mind 😦
Despite the angst about the “D” there have been some entertaining highlights in amongst my melancholy that might feature at some point:
Biblical rain
Hot springs sulphur everyone running away
Lunch in Murlo restaurants where we were the only customers
Afternoon nap 💤
Andy reading a whole book
Villa for inspiration? Andy riding; Sian work, cold pool
Good food, hosts and company
Ride with interesting scenery – some homework to work out why….!
Wine tasting and purchasing
More good food
Now we’re off to a market for supplies and off to the seaside 🙂
Meanderings in Merfyn 