Zen and the art of Dissertation Maintenance

It’s Eid in the sandbox. Things have been pretty hectic this semester. I’m teaching a new course in a new department. Back in September I interviewed for an administrative position where I work. I didn’t get the job. I was fairly pissed when it happened, a cocktail of disappointment with not getting one job and then getting dropped into an in-progress course to replace a teacher who was transferred to a different course that had not yet started. It took about two weeks for me to acclimate to the new surroundings, but I’ve recovered my Zen and it’s firmly back in place. I’m quite thankful to friends and family who’ve put up with my excessive catharses.

I’m staying in Doha over Eid this year. The plan is pretty simple – give my neglected dissertation some much needed love. I’ll be setting up a survey to have it ready for piloting once school starts up again. Hopefully the piloting will go well and the survey won’t need too many alterations. Beyond that I’ll also be researching my topic and collecting articles for the lit review. My dissertation is due in January, and I’ll be glad once it’s over. I have learned a lot over the last three years. It’s made me more aware of my own practices and more importantly it’s made me aware that there is so much I don’t know and will never know. I recall my arrogance after my first two years teaching before taking the CELTA opened my eyes and humbled me. Fast forward two more years and my arrogance returned, I applied for my MA thinking it would be easy because I already had my CELTA and four years experience. And three years later I’m in a coffee shop writing my little blog and reflecting on lessons learned. Chief amongst them, the knowledge that I’ll never have all the answers, not in the classroom and not in life. I hope that keeps the arrogance at bay for years to come.