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Jul. 28th, 2007 03:02 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jackofallgeeksSometimes, Slick really resonates with me. A lot of times, actually. I think that's what makes SinFest a successful commic (at least IMHO).
Also, This is awesome.
(Re: My Thesis, for those of you keeping score at home. I don't know, it seems like it yo-yos all the time, and as soon as I think I know where something is going, it gets yanked in another direction. It's come to light that the project I thought I was working on and the project my adviser thought I was working on were two very different projects. It came to a head this morning when they asked me to write compiled code in a language I don't know fluently, in an unfamiliar machine, and have an analysis in the next month.
As it stands now I've put all my cards on the table, I've talked with Valerie -- she's our 'coordinator,' whatever that means, but she's the one who acts as a go-between for us students and The Powers That Be -- and I've gotten an amiable reply from my adviser. A lot of it comes down to (a) I've been viewing this as a project I've been assigned, not one which I should be managing, which is apparently backwards; (b) current and recent students have been trying to wheedle their way out of work, and so it's been assumed I'm the same, which I'm not; (c) rather than come to me when they had a problem with the level of effort they saw, my adviser and co-adviser kept it internal so I wasn't aware that they felt anything was off-base; (d) very little, almost nothing, was formally described, presented, or written down.
On Monday I'm going in to Valerie's office with a plan of action, and we're going to sit down and figure out all of the logistics, when deadlines need to be set for each piece, and how I'm going to manage my advisers. With luck, cooperation, and some effort, we might be able to pull something useful out of this yet, I can have the orderly world that I crave, and I can graduate, go home, and see my friends again.
To Laurel specifically: I miss you. I wouldn't have made it this far without you, and it's been hell since you've been gone. I hope you're well.)
Also, This is awesome.
(Re: My Thesis, for those of you keeping score at home. I don't know, it seems like it yo-yos all the time, and as soon as I think I know where something is going, it gets yanked in another direction. It's come to light that the project I thought I was working on and the project my adviser thought I was working on were two very different projects. It came to a head this morning when they asked me to write compiled code in a language I don't know fluently, in an unfamiliar machine, and have an analysis in the next month.
As it stands now I've put all my cards on the table, I've talked with Valerie -- she's our 'coordinator,' whatever that means, but she's the one who acts as a go-between for us students and The Powers That Be -- and I've gotten an amiable reply from my adviser. A lot of it comes down to (a) I've been viewing this as a project I've been assigned, not one which I should be managing, which is apparently backwards; (b) current and recent students have been trying to wheedle their way out of work, and so it's been assumed I'm the same, which I'm not; (c) rather than come to me when they had a problem with the level of effort they saw, my adviser and co-adviser kept it internal so I wasn't aware that they felt anything was off-base; (d) very little, almost nothing, was formally described, presented, or written down.
On Monday I'm going in to Valerie's office with a plan of action, and we're going to sit down and figure out all of the logistics, when deadlines need to be set for each piece, and how I'm going to manage my advisers. With luck, cooperation, and some effort, we might be able to pull something useful out of this yet, I can have the orderly world that I crave, and I can graduate, go home, and see my friends again.
To Laurel specifically: I miss you. I wouldn't have made it this far without you, and it's been hell since you've been gone. I hope you're well.)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-07-28 06:13 pm (UTC)(Randomly: I don't try to make a habit of this, but the word is "advisor," with an O. It's one of those Latin words, like terminator, regulator, or (oddly enough) supervisor. While on the subject, I'd also point out, however, that mentor is not akin. Rather, Mentor is a name from Homer's Odyssey: Mentor was the teacher of Oysseus' son Telemachus. For such a reason, there's really no such thing as a mentee, but the idea of being someone's Telemachus never caught on.)
All I know is what I've been told, and most of that's been lies.
Date: 2007-07-28 06:16 pm (UTC)Re: All I know is what I've been told, and most of that's been lies.
Date: 2007-07-28 07:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-28 08:11 pm (UTC)I really wish you were here.
no subject
Date: 2007-07-28 09:31 pm (UTC);-)
Seriously, though, thanks. Times like these, my inner flame begins to gutter and I don't feel nearly as sure of myself as I usually do. I don't function well without confidence, and without someone to remind me of all I have done and all I can do I have no way of recharging myself... Just, thanks.
In other news, the last two or three weeks at FNM, I've lost Round One, squeaked into the bottom seat of Top 8, and pulled my way into semi-finals or finals. I think there's an allegory there someplace, but I'm not sure what it is.
no subject
Date: 2007-07-29 01:30 am (UTC)