Monday, October 29, 2012

In two weeks' time

Green cherry tomatoes a-picklin'
Friends, for the past few weeks, I've been hunkered down writing and re-writing, thinking and re-thinking, the very same paper. I've had to set aside all kitchen projects and settle for a string of last-minute, thrown-together meals at the end of the day. And I've still got some ways to go with the paper. But yesterday, looking at the forecast for the week, I broke down and spent half an hour outside raiding the tomato plants. Winter doesn't wait. I managed to find a good two-and-a-half pounds amid that tangle of vines--more than I'd pulled in all season.
This morning, I packed all of those bright green orbs into jars and poured hot brine over them. Now I just have to wait and write. In two weeks' time, I should have a few quarts of pickled cherry tomatoes and, with some luck, a decent draft of this paper I've been working on. You'll hear from me then. Thanks for your patience.

7 comments:

  1. ah the writing cave - what a lonely, hungry, tiresome place! Good luck with that paper. When you say paper do you really mean book? Any paper over 70 pages qualifies as a book if you ask me. Books make caves cozier. And you're right, winter does not wait! It's already arrived in Zürich, parading around with snow and frigid temps. Glad you saved the tomatos!

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    1. Thanks, Talley! The paper isn't nearly that long at all. In fact, it has to be a maximum of 30 double-spaced pages or 8000 words (not including footnotes), which really doesn't sound like much at all. But this paper is a post-course work, pre-dissertation paper, which means that it's supposed to be a more serious and thought-through endeavour than anything else than we've been expected to do thus far in the program. So basically, all of this extra work involves sharpening arguments, presenting issues clearly, getting interpretations right, revising in light of what your advisers have to say. You could think of it as a way of getting us to work our way to the standards of the profession. Publishing articles, unsurprisingly, is important.

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  2. good luck with your paper! at least you'll have a good treat awaiting you at the end of the road!

    littlekitchie.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks, Marie. I'm certainly looking forward to both!

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  3. Good luck with your paper, Katie. I admire how you can put so much continual thought and effort into a paper. If I spend more than a few weeks starting a paper I nearly go mad just by the very sight of it. I suppose that is what separates the "boys from the men"-- or in this case, the undergraduate from the postgraduate, haha. Looking forward to hearing from you when you conquer the paper!

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  4. Oh, Katie. I am in the same place right now, though mine is probably not required to be as professional as yours. Looking back I always kind of like writing papers, but while still stuck in the middle of the process, it is just tiring.
    Also looking forward to hearing from you.

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  5. This completely reminds me of my childhood in Romania. Love these things.

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