Closing In

I have the deplorable habit of talking when I have nothing to say, so I make up for it by not writing when I have nothing to say. That's the theory, anyway.

I must be growing old, because the prospect of Christmas and the end of the year no longer fills me with excitement. It's... just another day. Another year. I've had plenty of those. There will be good times and bad times, just like any other year. This year had too much excitement - the wrong kind of excitement. I think I could use a little peace for a change.

My PhD thesis will be finished soon - really finished soon. All the chapter writing is done, it's just a question of editing out every last mistake and stitching it into a book. It feels like the end of an era. Certainly, the PhD course was a difficult experience, both mentally and physically. I didn't quite handle it the way I would have liked, but wasn't that the point? The difficulty of completing a PhD is not the coursework itself, I don't think, although the work can be intensive and writing a thesis is a novel form of torture. It's the psychological part. Having the discipline to come in to work everyday including weekends, plan out experiments, meet deadlines and milestones. Dealing with office politics. Handling the various crises which inevitably arise from working with dangerous equipment in the company of many other individuals. Supervisors are there for guidance, but only minimally; most of it is self-directed. It's like a primer for the real life working experience. And you do work alongside postdoctoral fellows and research assistances who are there for the money, and you learn from how they handle things. 

In fewer words, doing a PhD is a horrible experience and I strongly recommend it.

Bionicle will be rebooted next year. That's a good move, I think. It's been gone too long to rely on old fans, and the old story is far too convoluted to bring in new fans. Back then, it was pretty obvious that the writers were making a lot of things up as they went along, especially in the early years. A fresh start will be good for the series. And the new sets do look pretty sweet.

I think I might actually be looking forward to the new year after all. There'll be good times, and bad times, but they won't be same good and bad times as before (stunning observation, there). 

In the meantime, enjoy these fifteen minutes of Wheatley's nattering.