Getting Serious

So I haven't worked all day. Instead I've been totally distracted, probably partly because I was stupid and had an extended-release Sudafed right before I went to bed and woke right up after two hours. Also, my stomach has been hurting -- probably the result of taking all those tablets on an empty stomach. Then of course the blueberry pancakes. Then errands on a hot day. So I fell into this super-funk and decided I needed to clean my brain. I should've exercised, but instead I watched Sideways, a wonderful movie that suggests that even depressed, anxiety-ridden, unpublished writers can find the love and appreciation of a good woman. (What if you are a woman? They don't say.)

So I have to talk myself into working, because this is ridiculous. I get a small reprieve from Peppy Advisor -- and then the day goes to pieces! What is that about??? I suppose I'm overdue for the crash and burn part of the semester -- and today sort of slid into it. I'm sure part of it is that this chapter is daunting. The existing draft needs to be hacked and slashed. Yesterday, I cut and pasted pieces of the old draft into a new document and printed it out, so I could do some hacking and slashing on paper, my old standby when times are tough. But here's the thing: one must actually go ahead and read the draft in order to hack and slash. I think I have to see how much I can do in an hour. One thing I could do is go out to a coffeehouse and try to use the good mojo of all those other working people to inspire me. Am I too glum? Too cheap? Hard to tell. Maybe I'll do a little reading of my own work and see if I start to get antsy to go out.

Oh the life of a sick and allergic dissertator!

PSA: Blogging the lost totally works. The book decided to return from the land of lost things. It's very exciting.