I'd like to write "up" this next asking, as opposed to just writing it, but I must confess: my brain is fried. I'm soooo close to finishing this damn chapter. All the pieces are there. The only problem is figuring out the best order to put them in as I build that section's overall argument.You'd think that the friendship between Logic and her buddy Rhetoric would make the order of the ideas presented self explanatory. But, dear reader, that is not the case. For I am a modular thinker. Fronts are backs, insides are outsides, most good ideas have drawbacks and absurd ones have their merits; supporting evidence can be used after stating a point, or broken down into smaller ideas and used to sandwich a point, or used as a lead-in to a point. Counter-arguments can either intersect arguments, or be grouped together after a thread has fully evolved, or be built in subtly throughout the journey. There is no right or wrong way, just an incrementally-better-than-the-alternatives way.
In a word:
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
So that's what I've been doing with myself.
What helps is that for once, I have a deadline. Mr. A's parents are coming to town for 10 days, and I must must must be finished with this chapter by then. They arrive on Dec. 24, and I SHALL finish the chapter by then. My committee needs time to read it, and I need time to spend with his fam. And I need to graduate. That, too, come to think of it.
So here's my asking for the day.
I ask you to help me.
Whenever the spirit moves you, drop me a line over email or a comment to this post that prods me to finish this chapter.
You can be mean or nice.
You can do it once between now and Dec. 24 or once a day.
You can call or send me a text, if you have that info. Otherwise, email.
Please don't expect an answer, because that would defeat the purpose. At least, not until Dec. 24.
Sample message ideas, to get you started:
"Step away from the Facebook."
"La Roxy, you have such a bright and beautiful future ahead of you, why put it off any longer?"
"If you're tired, print it out, go for a walk and come back to it with fresh eyes. You can do it!"
"Ok, so, you're not exactly 'employable' but let's gloss over that as you conclude your noble investigation of those 19th century aristocrats who never had to work a day in their lives. Fuuuck! Drop out now and learn a trade!!"
"Be grateful for your visual cortext. It is allowing you read the following words: STOP PROCRASTINATING!!!"
"Dissertation is a state of mind."
"My your thoughts and prose be as clear as a Bavarian lake in January."
"Browsing gadgets on Amazon does not a philosophy doctor make."
"I saw you checking your email between sentences. And you thought no one was watching. Get back to work, bitch."
"If you meet your deadline, I will buy you a car, my pretty."
Oh yeah. I have one more asking to report, from this weekend. Never got around to posting it, since I was busy with the diss. My mom and I went to World Market and I found a bunch of globes for the tree. This is the first Christmas tree Mr. A and I are decorating together, and the first time I've had a tree in my very own house. Exciting!! At the register I asked for a discount, explaining that my mom has a coupon in her email for 25 percent off. We tried to find the coupon on her phone, but it wasn't working. So instead I asked if they could give us any other kind of discount, and we got 10 percent off. I'm surprised it worked, since in my experience they're sticklers, but we lucked out and encountered a cool manager. Thanks!
Now if only I applied the same perseverance to my dissertation.
MUST FOCUS.
PLEASE HELP.
AND, PREEMPTIVELY, THANKS.
