Academic Avoidance

Lately I have been procrastinating. A lot. I have a million excuses I keep using for avoiding my school work:

• I’ve just had a week away at ‘school’, I need to relax and unwind
• I’m having another week away (Girl Guides conference and then a medical interview for Dan in Canberra), I need to relax and unwind before all of that travel
• I’ll just watch the end of this DVD – I hate leaving a video half-way through in case someone rewinds it and I lose my place (except that excuse is redundant nowadays but still in use!)
• The sun’s out, I should go outside and play with Charlie
• I want to finish my quilt, I better work on that
• We haven’t been to the farm in weeks, let’s spend a long weekend there
• The kitchen really needs cleaning, I’ll do that for a few hours
• Then I’ll do the bathroom!!

And so on and so forth.

It’s so hard to drag myself away from DVDs and YouTube and trashy day-time TV. This month of travel (past and future) has messed up my academic routine to no end and is frustrating the heck outta me!

The next component of my summer school assessment is due on Friday (the same day I leave for my Girl Guides conference) and I need to get it done by tomorrow at 6pm (which is ‘computer shut down time’ for me). Today I have been doing the basics for it, which can then be fleshed out in the final draft.

It makes me feel like I have, maybe, finally started to accomplish something (beyond sitting on the couch all day). I think having posted my ‘to do’ list to Instagram (and subsequently Twitter) really helped me with my accountability (it’s, you know, out there now, so it has to be done).

Source: Me via Instagram

I have about an hour before I wake Dan for the evening and in that time I want to WILL complete the first draft of this assessment (basically, a written exhibition concept proposal).

Winter Edition: Day 4 > Channel Someone

Top, ThinkGeek; Bottoms, home made!

Today I channelled Penny from The Big Bang Theory – my current night time telly craze. Penny always looks super cute, even when she’s having a day off (or an ‘off day’) in her pyjamas. Of course I had to wear my ‘Soft Kitty’ tee to complete this look 🙂

Source

I spent the day indoors (napping, eating, and texting my daddy) and only ventured as far as next door to do some cleaning (at which point in time I was wearing ‘cleaning clothes’ which do not require photograhing remembering).

Winter Edition: Day 3 > Embrace a Trend

My “middle of the Australian summer” take on the ‘coloured pants’ trend. And yes, I did wear that shirt yesterday. And yes, I did wash it overnight.

Everything, BigW
And this photo is a great portrayal of the constant shakiness of my hands.
(It was the best out of all of them!)

This was a day of walking and heat and procrastination. We had to take the car into the autoshop to be serviced. We walked home after we dropped it off, then later I walked down to pick it up. And it was hot. Hot, hot, hot.

I procrastinated by making the kitties a new playhouse:

Patch || Daphne || Daphne
Instructions

Avoiding Reading 13.1.12 (plus some notes)

So, I have officially wasted yet another perfect study day due to procrastination. “Perfect study day?” you ask. Yes — the perfect study weather (slightly overcast and cool enough to rug up), no noisy neighbours, and a sleeping husband.

Source

Things I have done today:

• Running errands in town (we booked haircuts for both of us and an eyebrow wax for me, and then we had to pick up Dan’s pay, which was of course followed by the exciting weekly visit to the post office and then brunch at the cafe)
• Watched YouTube videos (generally titled “How I Organize my Planner” and “What’s in my School Bag” — I’m a nerd/geek/loser, get over it.)
• Tried on outfits to wear to summer school (I want to look like me, but professional too — and many of my summery dresses feel too short for that description!)
• Started writing a shopping list for when I visit Officeworks (nerdily excited to spend my birthday money from Dan there)
• Taking Charlie to the beach (but not for long due to massive winds down there today — boo!)

Thesis Thoughts

I am lucky I have already hit on the broad topic I want to research for my thesis. But this is also a bit troublesome for me, due to the fact I now feel a little overconfident, and like I have already achieved my January academic goal. Really, I should be reading more and trying to narrow my focus! Especially as I am beginning to feel passionately about ‘curating for kids’ (in such a way I am hoping to do well enough to do my PhD after my MA — whereas earlier in my MA, I was not convinced I would ever be at that point, and would just keep doing odd courses to get pieces of paper).

I already feel better about my thesis topic than I did the whole year of my Honours.

And, to add something productive to my day, please indulge some random mind dribble regarding ‘curating for kids’:

• Any interviews, surveys, etc. I want to do need to be decided upon pretty ASAP re: ethics need to be put through
• Look into UN ‘Convention on the Rights of the Child’ (CRC) >> Articles 12 & 31 primarily re: child’s rightsto ‘cultural citizenship’
  • “…Article 12 – the right to participation – and Article 31 which defines participation in the arts contexts…” (Mai & Gibson, 2011)
  • I could look at this in general, and then see how it is/n’t implemented in Australian institutions (above article mentions QAG as a good start — can toooootally have a study holiday there haha — and NGA and NGV are easy trips also), and then move on to howit could be implemented by these institutions and others
    • Look at how these institutions have been designed by and for adults, and how they can be adapted to suit the needs of children? >> Not sure. I know the NGA had a reworking of the gallery floor when they remodelled, meaning the children’s gallery was removed (and now only seems to ‘reappear’ in blockbusters, and even then it is behind a closed door!)
      • The words ‘segregation’ and ‘integration’ come to mind here >> loaded words but they certainly seem correct

I really need to read at least one article this evening before I wake Daniel up for dinner.

Tough Choice

Instead of worrying about my thesis topic today, I have spent it perusing online shops (hoping to spend some birthday cash). I would love a new, stylish backpack for summer school (and when travelling in general), and have narrowed it down to these two options:

Korea Fashion Dual-Use Canvas Bag

Large Capacity Multi-Use Canvas Bag

I am (patiently) waiting until Daniel gets up from his day sleep to order one of them. I just cannot decide which I like better — I love the simplicity of the first style, but I love the multi-styled nature of the second bag. Both are also within a suitable price range.

Hmm… I think I am leaning towards the second style.

EDIT

Totally ordered the second bag (plus a cute mint coloured dress).