(no subject)
Sorry for limited commenting on the blogs of others. Busy/ stressed does not begin to capture what's going on.
In sum:
Dissertation. Editing, trying to get my chair to actually provide feedback on everything. My defense date is just weeks away and still no comments on chapter 7 (of 8). I think it's a great chapter, but... no comments? Seriously? Anxiety is looming on the horizon here, folks.
Dissertation chair asked that I have a professional editor look at it, specifically Chapter 5 which is pretty controversial. I got a list of editors from my department.
Editor # 1 did a quick skim and said everything looks fine, overall. (Punctuation, grammar, spelling, APA style, etc.-- all is well). He said he could not edit for clarity, flow, delicacy, or anything like that. No charge because he cannot help me, because the mechanics are fine.
Editor #2 took an hour of my life on the telephone. She will charge me (wait for it) ...........$1700.00 for CHAPTER FIVE. Chapter 5 is 30 pages! She said she would rather work with my whole dissertation, and a cost of............... $10,500.00. I said..........um, what? I asked my husband, "Do you think I have ten thousand dollars worth of mistakes in my dissertation?!" This editorial partnership is SO not happening.
In desperation, I called Dissertation Chair and told him about those two, and asked if he knew anyone. YES, he said. He gave me a name and phone number. Enter...
Editor #3. I met with him for 2.5 hours yesterday in his home, and we got through the first TEN PAGES of my 200 page document. He is a Cambridge educated 85 year old British man. He is a retired history professor who taught at U. Mass for a long long long time. He's totally charming and wonderful, BUT, he does not know APA style (which is required by my university-- and my academic community) and he spent about 20 minutes berating one of my in-text citations.
(The in-text citation that was so blasphemous was the first one in the document. APA style dictates that when you reference something someone wrote, you write (author, year), parenthetically, right after the information you are citing. My first citation is as follows: (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 1998). He was almost ANGRY at this, insisting that a council is NOT a publication. I kept explaining that the Council is the AUTHOR, but he was like "well who the hell cares about that? tell us the title of the damn book!") So I am wondering how well my limited time was spent. Gah. I left 85 pages with him...
I also have a close family member who is not entirely well. Talking about it is cause for much strife and pain. Also not talking about it seems to be a cause for much strife and pain. I am conversationally paralyzed and this is taking a heavy toll on me and my family.
I love my job, but new levels of controversial complexity are not sitting comfortably right now. I am walking the tightrope between the world of mathematics and ESOL, and it's kind of windy these days.
And today, much to my surprise, my husband fell ill. Nothing grave (I don't think) but it was enough for him to say, "We have to go to the hospital RIGHT NOW." Once we got home, he ate some lunch and is trying to rest. He has a prescription and he took the first dose, so I am hoping that by the time he wakes up, he will be feeling a bit better. Scary.
I seem to be fine, but I am working to fortify myself with plenty of water, plenty of rest, healthful foods, regular exercise, and a vitamin every day. And I am reminding myself to breathe.....
And again, I apologize for failures to comment on the entries of others these days. The waters here will recede soon, hopefully...
In sum:
Dissertation. Editing, trying to get my chair to actually provide feedback on everything. My defense date is just weeks away and still no comments on chapter 7 (of 8). I think it's a great chapter, but... no comments? Seriously? Anxiety is looming on the horizon here, folks.
Dissertation chair asked that I have a professional editor look at it, specifically Chapter 5 which is pretty controversial. I got a list of editors from my department.
Editor # 1 did a quick skim and said everything looks fine, overall. (Punctuation, grammar, spelling, APA style, etc.-- all is well). He said he could not edit for clarity, flow, delicacy, or anything like that. No charge because he cannot help me, because the mechanics are fine.
Editor #2 took an hour of my life on the telephone. She will charge me (wait for it) ...........$1700.00 for CHAPTER FIVE. Chapter 5 is 30 pages! She said she would rather work with my whole dissertation, and a cost of............... $10,500.00. I said..........um, what? I asked my husband, "Do you think I have ten thousand dollars worth of mistakes in my dissertation?!" This editorial partnership is SO not happening.
In desperation, I called Dissertation Chair and told him about those two, and asked if he knew anyone. YES, he said. He gave me a name and phone number. Enter...
Editor #3. I met with him for 2.5 hours yesterday in his home, and we got through the first TEN PAGES of my 200 page document. He is a Cambridge educated 85 year old British man. He is a retired history professor who taught at U. Mass for a long long long time. He's totally charming and wonderful, BUT, he does not know APA style (which is required by my university-- and my academic community) and he spent about 20 minutes berating one of my in-text citations.
(The in-text citation that was so blasphemous was the first one in the document. APA style dictates that when you reference something someone wrote, you write (author, year), parenthetically, right after the information you are citing. My first citation is as follows: (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 1998). He was almost ANGRY at this, insisting that a council is NOT a publication. I kept explaining that the Council is the AUTHOR, but he was like "well who the hell cares about that? tell us the title of the damn book!") So I am wondering how well my limited time was spent. Gah. I left 85 pages with him...
I also have a close family member who is not entirely well. Talking about it is cause for much strife and pain. Also not talking about it seems to be a cause for much strife and pain. I am conversationally paralyzed and this is taking a heavy toll on me and my family.
I love my job, but new levels of controversial complexity are not sitting comfortably right now. I am walking the tightrope between the world of mathematics and ESOL, and it's kind of windy these days.
And today, much to my surprise, my husband fell ill. Nothing grave (I don't think) but it was enough for him to say, "We have to go to the hospital RIGHT NOW." Once we got home, he ate some lunch and is trying to rest. He has a prescription and he took the first dose, so I am hoping that by the time he wakes up, he will be feeling a bit better. Scary.
I seem to be fine, but I am working to fortify myself with plenty of water, plenty of rest, healthful foods, regular exercise, and a vitamin every day. And I am reminding myself to breathe.....
And again, I apologize for failures to comment on the entries of others these days. The waters here will recede soon, hopefully...