Keeping my head above water and liking it
Seriously it’s like having an information overload high. All the information from the Social Theories sessions and somehow trying to process all that whilst keeping my head clear with the 2 research studies I’ve got on the go seems to be eerily falling into place – well in my head.
It’s like the information is being processed and I am achieving some kind of nirvana of clarity. That or I’m organized. Either way it’s nice to know where I’m going.
With the quant. assignment and the data gen. assignment they’re related yet different to one another. I’m finding it difficult to sort out the rationale with each approach as they’re very related, data wise, or at least in the research area. Questions are slightly different. So in short, a bit of a mess but organised into piles.
Just need a little more sunlight to stay a little more awake!
BTW – Updates on Data Generation page!
Update
Some new posts on my “PhD Journey” page and various additions about what I’ve been reading in my classes under my “Readings” page.
Where has the time gone?!
I look at the date of my last blog and realize how much I’ve neglected it. That and I work too many hours without any play. Might explain why I cracked last Thursday in class. Honestly that morning (well that evening as well) I didn’t feel ‘right’. Not really crazy ‘right’ but the I’m-in-a-mood-and-I’m-not-sure-why kind of feeling. It was only when I cracked up in class - by cracked I mean burst into tears, made pointed comments in class and left the room – was that I realized I had been working for 2 weeks straight, 10-12 hour days and still not feeling that I’ve accomplished anything.
Good thing retail therapy always helps. That and taking Friday off. That and going on a date. Ok, all that is busy enough added to my study/work schedule, but it’s fun. And it’s a nice distraction. And I needed it.
So here I am on a Monday morning and what did I accomplish before 10am? Finished a conference abstract and submitted it for approval, finished reading an article that I’m considering for a short analysis due Thursday. Updated my contact list of universities for potential research candidates and received the go-ahead from my tutor to carry on with the first draft of my study.
I’ve decided that taking a break is good and should be included into my weekly schedule (how crazy does that sound?!).
Concentration
Honestly I have not idea why, oh WHY I’m having such a hard time getting my head down and reading. I find that I read about a quarter or a third of an article, then get distracted by email/cleaning/laundry/phone/internet/to-do lists, go off to do xyz then return and try to pick up where I left off, only to read another bit before getting distracted. And when I finally do finish what I’ve been reading I have a very vague grasp of what I’ve read.

Lastly – added new section called “Planning of Research” under my Courses page!
Update
I’ve added a new section entitled “Courses” which I’m using as a blog to record my reflections on the courses that I’m taking this year. These reflections cover my thoughts on class that day and the assigned readings for that week. Thoughts on further reading can be found under “Readings” page.
And more rambling under PhD journey added!
Update
I’ve added a new section titled “International Student Money Matters” under my PhD Journey page. Says it all really. Have a look!
Update

I’ve re-vamped my pages so now I only have two to keep tabs on! One is entitled “PhD Journey” and the other “Readings”. Take a look as see what’s going on!
On motivation and end goals
So I’ve right-clicked, saved and finally sent off my PhD proposal and, to my relief, it was accepted. I wasn’t too worried that it would be rejected but a part of me was feeling “Hmmm…I hope it was enough! I hope they understood the direction I’d like to take! I hope…”. Various thoughts and feelings all mixed up.
Thank goodness I recieved an email from my professor that I’ve been accepted onto the programme. Yeah! Just now in the waiting game for all my documents to come in before I can apply for a (nother) UK visa: original university acceptance letter and bank statements. Whew. Just hope the UK and Canadian posties are quick. Fingers crossed.
In the meantime I’ve been continuing reading up on the various areas of my topic, namely CRT and Whiteness Studies. They’re from a US legal background but it serves to get my head around the major premise of CRT. How it applies of TESOL is the end goal. At the moment I’m feeling a little lost with all the concepts and terminoligy. So to make sense of it, I’m starting a new page on this blog entitled “Readings” in order to track my thoughts on what I read. I’ve got a rubbish memory so I figure setting things down in a blog would help to clairfy things. Plus a lot of the books have discussion questions and further readings to consider as a starting point.
I guess I’m feeling a little
On IELTS ‘examiner’ experiences
I think in the future, should a course come up, I’d like to learn how to be an IELTS examiner because I think the knowledge would help with the teaching of an IELTS preparation course. I found myself thinking “What am I suppose to be looking for again?” when conducting speaking tests today. It was difficult at times to place where a student should be, 5.5 or 6.0? What’s the difference again?
I have an idea where they are but it is difficult at the time when you know the students and know that they are better than their performance on that day. I had to stop and remind myself to evaluate them on their performance and not on what I know of their skills previous to the speaking test.
It was an interesting observation of myself and I had to actively stop and think and re-evaluate what I was doing and why I was doing it. So no wonder I was so bloody tired at the end of 3 hours!