Maintaining Radio Silence

Okay, yes, I'm still here. Two weeks ago we had our week-long trip to Campania, and this past week was the last week of the seminar. Almost everyone left yesterday or this morning - hard to believe it's over!

Lately I haven't been blogging because Dr. Leach has been putting so much pressure on me to start dissertation work that it's just easier to avoid being in the library (and thus on the internet) to begin with. She is just tickled pink to have all this time to do work, whereas I would really rather be enjoying my last few days in Rome. A direct quote "It's just so hard to make myself go down the hill [to Trastevere and the rest of Rome] when I could be in the library!" Funny, I'm having the exact opposite problem!

My irritation kind of hit a high point the other night when I was talking to someone about a chapter she had me read. I said something about wanting to make a copy of it before I left so that I could take it home, and she squawked "Oh, but we have that at Indiana!" Then why is it so damn important that I read it here?!

I know that it's important to get started on a dissertation as soon as possible. I know that. People keep telling me that "the best dissertation is a done dissertation" and "work on it every day for at least a few minutes" and other well meaning advice, but I'm not going to have a brilliant brainstorm in a single week, especially when I don't want to be reading in the first place.
One lousy week of vacation is not going to keep me from finishing.

I feel like sometimes she is trying to remold me in her own image and it makes me want to scream, "I am not you! I have a life! I have a family that matters! I like to eat chocolate and olive oil and the occasional donut!"

Anyway, enough with the rant. I think I need a vacation from my vacation, and I definitely need one from my advisor.