Ready, set, read, read and read some more!

Rather later than my colleagues (according to their active twitter accounts and blog posts), I am finally getting down to my dissertation. Yes… I know… it is nearly mid-August and I have yet to start! Not a very good beginning to the adventure of dissertation-writing but I had no choice. I need to explain: no sooner were essays over, we had a family crisis. My 91 year-old father had a fall and broke the top of his femur and my 87 year-old Mum wasn’t coping very well at all. They live in France. We shared the care between us siblings (living in the UK, France and Italy) but the recovery took longer than what was anticipated and things are still touch and go despite overall good progress.

Shortly after that, our eldest daughter got married and that was THE happiest day ever, a true match made in heaven, but very down-to-earth couple!

They wanted a hot day and they got it: the hottest day in June in 40 years! Wow! Friends and family from all over the world converged to London for an international celebration. We donned our Ukrainian dress and the groom’s parents, their Korean dress and we were all splendid (including the bride and groom, of course…)

Finally, to top it all – because a relative’s fall and one’s daughter’s wedding isn’t enough activity and busyness in the space of 2 months (!), we were served a notice, as our landlady was selling up the flat where we have lived for the past 3 years. So, July was spent hunting for another place to live and moving. I have not enjoyed this past month. Pretty much everyday, I was telling myself that my treat at the end of this stressful and crazy time was starting on my dissertation… I know, I know, I am a bit weird like that.

My ‘treat time’ has come and I am itching to go… But first and foremost, I need to re-read my proposal as a reminder of what I am about to undertake. I have already resumed the reading of Succeeding with your Master’s Dissertation by John Biggam, which is a step in the right direction. And there is the material from 8 whole modules which I sense I should have retained better. Has the information been catalogued in my brain in such a way that I am able to find it again, retrieve it and use it? Maybe this mug and the tea I will drink from it over the next few months will help… Let’s hope so anyway.