I don’t actually know if it’s sunny, because my office doesn’t have windows. It was sunny when I got here at eleven, though it won’t be when I leave, because it will be night. It’s a weird day, but it’s been a good week overall. I’m going to make this short though, there’s a lot more work on the docket and I’m really excited to get to it, as weird as that sounds.
As I write this it’s 12:44 in the afternoon, and I want to say, every once in a while I think about pre-writing these weekly updates. I’ve done that with a few when I really want to talk about an event and it’s already gone by on Saturday, but in general I like to take the time out of my Sunday and just write for a bit, see what really matters when it finally gets on the page.
Big news!
I submitted my first draft of my first paper, and got it back. Apart from some minor revisions, it’s good to go, which means I’m 3/4 off the way through my Master’s degree, with only 45 pages left to go! I have a month and a half to write them, because I want to be done by the end of August. I’m still sticking with three pages a day, and on top of writing blog posts, that’s putting me up to several thousand words. If there’s one thing I’ve learned this year, it’s how much and how well I can write when I really put my mind to it.
Things I’m missing out on today that I hope you’re at instead of reading this as it went up is Kitchener’s attempt at the World’s Longest Picnic. Stretching down King Street, I know a lot of people out there playing music, eating good food, and having fun. Wish I was one of them, but I’ve got a podcast to record and a lot of writing to get done yet. I’m on to my second paper, about authenticity in social media, and it’s proving to be really, really cool. I’m having to dig into existentialist philosophy, something I never studied in my undergrad, and I’m starting to see why people enjoy it so much, though I’m still pretty firmly in the analytic school.
I’m really psyched today. I got up at seven and just worked for two straight hours, a recommendation from one of my officemates which came to him from another friend of mine. Yes, everyone I know has a blog, pretty much. Anyway, the advice was to work for two hours when you get up. Don’t get coffee, don’t have a shower, and whatever you do, don’t check your email/facebook/twitter/whatever. Just work. Find something you can work on, and just do it. It put me in a totally weird mindset, but I got a lot done, and I’m looking forward to doing that more often.
I barely left my office this week, otherwise. I’ve been occupying the night shift, working here from 4-11 trying to get my thesis done. Also, it has air conditioning, which is more than I can say for my apartment right now. Now that I’ve got my first paper under my belt, I feel like I have a much better handle on how to write the second one, and that’s well underway. I have a meeting with my advisor on that, Professor Patricia Marino (seriously, everyone I know), who is the professor that got me interested in ethics by teaching Harmon and Mackie in my very first philosophy course, back in the winter of 2006. I’m hoping to turn up with fifteen pages on Wednesday, and just be like “Bam!”
Next week is going to be more writing, coupled with some random things. I’ve got a couple of D&D games just cranking up and I’m getting a handle on the logistics, giving some guitar lessons, and on Monday at noon I’ll be live streaming some Titan Quest, so if you’ve got nothing to do at lunch and want to see Diablo II in ancient Greece and hear me talking out of my ass for an hour, head over to my livestream page at noon tomorrow.
Blog posts this week include a post on what philosophy is at Concept Crucible, as well as our final substitution rule! No more logic! That statement is false. TPK talks about how we look at characters and the wiki update is about the ancient fortress of Scything Crag. I also wrote at Labyrinth, about why I love Greek and my first date with Latin. Last but not least, the newest Educated Imagination is out, where we talk about Science Fiction!
