Phenomenological Observation

I spent 10 mins outside on the campus of UGA observing the world and clearing my mind. This is what I observed:

• numerous birds were singing
• there was a guy spraying the lawn with something, fertilizer? 
• a large pecan tree was bedded with pine needles and some type of green, ivy-like plant was peaking up through the pine needles
• it's very fresh smelling here....made me think about how dusty or even hot it can smell at home
• the pecan tree has loads of BIG ants on it, scurrying about....this made me think how we don't have such large ants in Vegas and I don't miss them
• several rose bushes had new growth and it's purple

I had a tough time at first clearing my mind. I had just got an urgent email from my mentor about a milestone extension due NOW. So I had to release that before I could see the nature, enjoy the environment, and take it all in.

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I had to let it go and not worry in that moment. In a few minutes, I could handle the urgent email. Now I needed to let it go and be present in the moment.

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quote Vagle posted: Looking at what we usually look through.

It will still be one week...

A week after handing in my proposal for possible committee approval, I got it back. Five easy edits from my mentor. Three easy edits and one VERY BIG vague comment from a committee member. He thinks that I am 75% there on interpretative phenomenology.

That's it.

I don't know what that means. My methodology is skewed? My discussion of the leaders in IP is missing one? My use of verbs for a QUAL IP is mostly correct?

I kindly wrote my mentor and said:

I'm not sure what else he wants me to add/know/discuss. Clearly if he thinks I am missing 25% of knowledge than I need clearer direction in order to gain that knowledge. I don't know what I don't know! Therefore, I am not sure how to progress. I wait for your advice.

That was 4 hours ago. Still waiting. In the meantime, I read the IP books I had again (well some of them). I hung some art that needed hanging. I met with a representative of Noah's Animal House about fostering dogs for the clients. I wait.

23 days until this already extended milestone is due.

Dissertation: The Lived Experience

A tweet called me back into Twitter. I've been eye-ball deep in work and re-writing my diss proposal so I just haven't thought much about Twitter lately. Since mid-Feb if you don't count my Yelp and GoodReads updates that tweet automatically.

So my big diss news is that I was so so so close...I thought...to full committee approval. I recognized that my diss was growing again. I am nothing if not excellent at scope creep in all of life. :) One committee member suggested changing my methodology to interpretative phenomenology. I actually like it. It just meant buying and reading new books on the method and rewriting the proposal. All kicking off days before going to London for a week for work and then returning to have sinus surgery. Which, for the record, kicked me more than I thought it would!

So here I am, Ch 1 re-done. Ch 2 re-done. Ch 3 almost re-done. I think I'll write an auto-lived experience at the end of all this. Call it, "How I took forever and spent way too much money to get my PhD".

HA!

Mid-week 2

I had surgery today. Nothing major, cleared a blockage in my sinuses. NO MORE SINUS INFECTION (that's the goal)!

I am restricted to no dairy and nothing that requires lots of chewing for a week or two. So last night was evil bad food: Taco Bell. But that dorito taco is GOOD.

Tonight I had Lean Cuisine Salisbury Steak for dinner. YUM!

I'll get this again. Earlier I had Cambell's Healthy Selection Chicken Soup. GOOOOOOOOOOOD!

What I'd really like to do is order a pizza...but that is dairy and I am not presentable even for the pizza man. :)