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What's to Do?
Apr. 25th, 2019 11:44 amUsually when I'm left with too much time to think, when my routine shifts and I have to rejig my life somewhat, I don't take it too well: I'm left frazzled, frankly, and it's happened more than once (I explain this in more detail on Nintendocs, my other blog). But this time, at the end of my student career, I think I've managed to get a handle on things - I'm not stricken with anxiety, my health is fine, and my mind/sanity are intact. I think what has made the difference this time has been first, my experience the last time this happened, which I sought counsel for, second, that I have something to genuinely look forward to (a life with Natalie, earning a proper income, moving out), and third, I don't miss the PhD. I'll always love Faulkner, and I'll do my best to write or publish about Faulkner in the future... And teaching is something that comes extremely naturally to me, so I would love if I could incorporate an element of supervision, guidance, or tutoring into my career. But overall, the pressure and perfectionism that I subjected myself to had to go, at some stage. I've achieved amazing academic goals; it's time for a new challenge, a new chapter.
Every day recently I've been waking up and inscribing a list of tasks or activities to undertake for that particular day; it keeps me occupied, entertained, and there's usually an element of altruism involved too, as I make sure to note at least one good deed or favour on each list. Today I thought I'd talk you through some of the entries on these lists.
Blog: one of the best parts of finishing my PhD with no corrections was that it acted as a vindication of my approach - my ideas, my plan, and my writing. My thesis chapters were something I agonised over, in terms of revision: I wrote and rewrote them constantly, making minute changes each time. Some days, I couldn't even put together a paragraph that would satisfy me, and other days (fewer of these), I would put together hundreds of words with ease. After years of that ambivalence, that emotional rollercoaster of critical writing, I've come out the other side, confident with the final product (based on the praise it received). So maybe I can afford some little confidence about my work/standard of English. But like any muscle, your imagination and vocabulary will atrophy without exercise. So my two blogs (this personal journal, and the Nintendocs site) serve as a way of maintaining that regular writing practice. And after all I've written and worked on, maybe I can afford not to overthink each word or sentence too much. It would be healthy for me not to do so.
Apply: every day I log onto various job sites (namely - Indeed, Irishjobs, Jobs.ie, Corkjobs, publicjobs.ie, University Vacancies, Simply Hired, Recruit Ireland, Monster, Jobs Ireland) to see if there's anything suitable for me to apply to, and I've applied for about 8 or 9 good jobs so far. The thought of applying for a post-doctoral fellowship is nauseating, as there is no guarantee that it will net you a permanent position (at least not without globetrotting), and without a full-time, permanent position, the chances of having an actual life are slim - or, at least, it seems like a long-term prospect. I'll obviously keep an eye out for any academic vacancies that arise which I might be able for, but on the whole, I'd rather something stable, instead of slumming it on funding for another three years. For Natalie, too: she's been very patient while I spent many years in college, and devoted so many hours to thesis chapters and conference papers, so we both deserve a more solid, normal future together now.
Japanese: I actually began studying Spanish as a sort of linguistic warm-up for Japanese (two polar opposites; go figure), but I abandoned Spanish since Japanese was, ultimately, the language I wanted to learn (and one which I have some awareness of through anime, manga, and gaming). I've taken some tentative steps towards learning the language, then: I have a rudimentary knowledge of Hiragana now (the Japanese alphabet, or one of them at least), and I quiz myself using an app known as Kana Town.
Other activities I commonly perform as per my To Do List include...
Surveys: I always thought that those sites which reward you with cash or vouchers for answering surveys were an absolute racket - that you'd inevitably be swindled out of your bank details or conned into a felony of some sort. Not the case, actually: answering random surveys and feedback questionnaires on sites like Swagbucks, Irish Opinions, and iReach Conversations will net you online and offline discounts. In the past year, I've earned hundreds of Euro from these sites - they've made expensive products much more affordable.
Gaming: this is probably more of a vocation than a hobby, at this stage.
Reading: and this as well. Not contemporary literature, certainly: I'm rather underwhelmed by most twenty-first century writers, as I feel that each new topic or technique has been tried and tested multiple times already, so there's no new ground left to cover. Once you've read Faulkner, you realise that no one will ever say it better. I do read plenty of magazines, manga, and other, older fiction though.
Films: again, something else I enjoy that could, one day, transform from a trivial pursuit to genuine employment, perhaps? I'm trying to downsize and dematerialise my belongings at the moment, so I've cleared out a lot of DVDs, making room for a dedicated Blu-ray collection. Anything that I really want to keep, I'll upgrade to Blu-ray; the rest I'll donate or sell. I never thought I'd be converted to Blu-ray, but I was swayed, recently, to the more impressive format, and I won't be going back.
Every day recently I've been waking up and inscribing a list of tasks or activities to undertake for that particular day; it keeps me occupied, entertained, and there's usually an element of altruism involved too, as I make sure to note at least one good deed or favour on each list. Today I thought I'd talk you through some of the entries on these lists.
Blog: one of the best parts of finishing my PhD with no corrections was that it acted as a vindication of my approach - my ideas, my plan, and my writing. My thesis chapters were something I agonised over, in terms of revision: I wrote and rewrote them constantly, making minute changes each time. Some days, I couldn't even put together a paragraph that would satisfy me, and other days (fewer of these), I would put together hundreds of words with ease. After years of that ambivalence, that emotional rollercoaster of critical writing, I've come out the other side, confident with the final product (based on the praise it received). So maybe I can afford some little confidence about my work/standard of English. But like any muscle, your imagination and vocabulary will atrophy without exercise. So my two blogs (this personal journal, and the Nintendocs site) serve as a way of maintaining that regular writing practice. And after all I've written and worked on, maybe I can afford not to overthink each word or sentence too much. It would be healthy for me not to do so.
Apply: every day I log onto various job sites (namely - Indeed, Irishjobs, Jobs.ie, Corkjobs, publicjobs.ie, University Vacancies, Simply Hired, Recruit Ireland, Monster, Jobs Ireland) to see if there's anything suitable for me to apply to, and I've applied for about 8 or 9 good jobs so far. The thought of applying for a post-doctoral fellowship is nauseating, as there is no guarantee that it will net you a permanent position (at least not without globetrotting), and without a full-time, permanent position, the chances of having an actual life are slim - or, at least, it seems like a long-term prospect. I'll obviously keep an eye out for any academic vacancies that arise which I might be able for, but on the whole, I'd rather something stable, instead of slumming it on funding for another three years. For Natalie, too: she's been very patient while I spent many years in college, and devoted so many hours to thesis chapters and conference papers, so we both deserve a more solid, normal future together now.
Japanese: I actually began studying Spanish as a sort of linguistic warm-up for Japanese (two polar opposites; go figure), but I abandoned Spanish since Japanese was, ultimately, the language I wanted to learn (and one which I have some awareness of through anime, manga, and gaming). I've taken some tentative steps towards learning the language, then: I have a rudimentary knowledge of Hiragana now (the Japanese alphabet, or one of them at least), and I quiz myself using an app known as Kana Town.
Other activities I commonly perform as per my To Do List include...
Surveys: I always thought that those sites which reward you with cash or vouchers for answering surveys were an absolute racket - that you'd inevitably be swindled out of your bank details or conned into a felony of some sort. Not the case, actually: answering random surveys and feedback questionnaires on sites like Swagbucks, Irish Opinions, and iReach Conversations will net you online and offline discounts. In the past year, I've earned hundreds of Euro from these sites - they've made expensive products much more affordable.
Gaming: this is probably more of a vocation than a hobby, at this stage.
Reading: and this as well. Not contemporary literature, certainly: I'm rather underwhelmed by most twenty-first century writers, as I feel that each new topic or technique has been tried and tested multiple times already, so there's no new ground left to cover. Once you've read Faulkner, you realise that no one will ever say it better. I do read plenty of magazines, manga, and other, older fiction though.
Films: again, something else I enjoy that could, one day, transform from a trivial pursuit to genuine employment, perhaps? I'm trying to downsize and dematerialise my belongings at the moment, so I've cleared out a lot of DVDs, making room for a dedicated Blu-ray collection. Anything that I really want to keep, I'll upgrade to Blu-ray; the rest I'll donate or sell. I never thought I'd be converted to Blu-ray, but I was swayed, recently, to the more impressive format, and I won't be going back.
