I had a dream the other day that I was done with my dissertation. I was at graduation, walking down the pedestrian walk-way at my school in a haze of sunshine. The only lasting impression from this dream that was able to I carry with me into waking was a sense of overwhelming elation, of joy, of complete peace of mind. Secretly, I was hoping that this would motivate me and add some pleasure to the increasingly unpleasant level of stress, anxiety, and downright apathy I’m feeling toward all things work related. Unfortunately, it didn’t. I’m grumpy. I’m impatient. And, honestly, I’m feeling more than a little depressed.
So this weekend I took some time to try and remedy this. I can’t afford yarn therapy right now, but I did dig out my stash from the pile of still-packed boxes in my office and found some particularly yummy yarns that I thought might improve my (admittedly limited) spare time.
Two of these are on their way to becoming Nancy Bush creations (my, it’s been a while since I’ve done a heel flap!). I also have *two* FOs to show you, but (as of yet) no time to photograph them. Soon, my pretties, soon.
Thanks, friends, for hanging in there with me!
ooh, that pale yellow yarn on the top left is dreamy. i’m lovin the shibui colors you’ve got there too, and the malabrigo! hopefully they can bring a little cheer to your life right now. hope things look up for you soon!
mmmmalabrigo….
I’m feeling a little crazy as I prepare for my last (of 5!!!) prelim exams, which is coming up in 2 weeks.
Best of luck to you. Usually more sunshine, spring flowers, and springtime help motivate me — we’re almost through the winter doldrums.
Yummy yarns! Do you and BrainyLady Alison have a diss support group?!
Hang in there… that dissertation hump can be frightening, but it will feel sooooo good when you’re done!
Well, even if it doesn’t brighten your current mood, a dream like that can still serve as a reminder that it won’t last forever.
And if that doesn’t work, then that pale yellow Lorna’s Laces would almost have to….
Oh hey! I made some fingerless mitts out of that exact same Fortissima. I have maybe 1/4 ball of two balls leftover, if you need it!
Cogito Ergo Doleo
- I think therefore I am depressed
Hey… the dissertation stuff does end. Eventually. It helps if you can think of it as ordinary work and lose yourself in it and then put it out of your mind otherwise… because it can be very intimidating, which interferes with writing… and then increases the associated anxiety.
It also helps to remember that it is to THEIR advantage… your advisor, your department… if you finish successfully. In my experience, it seems that as long as you make PROGRESS towards completion, an extension (while a very ugly thing to contemplate) is more than possible. I had (ahem) one or two… and finished, eventually. However, if I hadn’t set the extension in my mind as an impossible horrible awful thing, I think that I may have been more relaxed and less stressed about the writing, which would have meant better progress.
You have a very respectable stash to be delving into! And you can get through the dissertation! Just think, DOCTOR Jennie.
I feel your pain. I had a breakthrough yesterday, talking to a friend who is trying to finish writing her thesis. (It was so much easier for each of us to tell the other what to do, of course, than to tell ourselves.) Anyway, I came away with a new and improved attitude about my comps reading — mostly that I’m *so over it* (”it” being the stress as much as the actual reading) and it’s time to just get done. So I e-mailed my supervisors and told them I’d be done my reading and ready for my questions on March 18. Period. Done. Enough is enough!
I guess what I’m trying to say is that it is so, so easy to get overwhelmed by what needs to be done, but it always does get done. You wouldn’t be at this point if it was all too much for you.
In other words, rah! rah! rah! Go, Jennie, go!
That malabrigo is delicious looking. I hope you’ve got big plans for it
And hang in there — the diss does end and life does start up again on the other side. At least, that’s what they tell me.