Sniff with your wisdom-nose

I had a meeting with my adviser yesterday, and he thinks I'm on a good track with my thesis. I told him that I have three and a half books left to read, then 27 chapters from various other books, and then outlining and writing. I told him I thought I could have it done by the end of December or mid-January. Then he said a surprising thing: "Take your time. Don't rush it, since you don't have to."

In fact, he thinks it would be best for me to not try to complete it by the end of December, but rather to take until March-- even to get an extension if necessary-- so that I can really make it of good quality, the absolute best I can write. Because he thinks I can get it published. Which kind of made my head spin a little. A published thesis would be amazing. It would help with jobs, with future Ph.D programs should I choose to go that route, with anything. So... while on the one hand I feel a little less pressure to get it done now, I feel a little more pressure to get it done fantastically.

I'm completing lots of reading, though. I've written down a list of every single book I'm planning to use for my thesis, made notes of which chapters I need to read, put a check-mark next to those I have read, and have a rough idea of the rate at which I need to be reading. And once the reading of the books is done, it's time for hours with my newspapers database! I've spent the past two days out by the pool alternating between chapters of Hugh Rankin's The Theater in Colonial America and Philip Pullman's The Amber Spyglass. Doing this "alternating chapters" business keeps me interested in what I'm reading, and lets me set goals for myself.

Then there's my job. I spoke to my new employer on Wednesday to learn the basics, though I find that every time I begin to probe around, I have a new question. I'm starting with apprentice records of Augusta County, all on microfilm at another library, and I had to do some quick research to even figure out how to find the apprentice records within the available microfilm, and then how to get them from there to Swem. So, already learning.

I think I'll only be working about twelve hours a week, which is lovely, and the hours are very flexible... but it's going to be a lot of hard work. And lonely work, perhaps, sitting in front of a microfilm reader all alone, or recording books. Still, I couldn't have asked for a better job for this year, and I think I'm going to come out on the other side with much sharper research skills, a few library contacts, and an expanded knowledge of education in eighteenth-century Virginia. It's nice that the research I'm doing for my job and the research I'm doing for my thesis both center in eighteenth-century Virginia.

In other news, I'm beginning to smell autumn in the air. Hurricane Earl went through last night, but stayed farther East than originally forecast (thank goodness!), but it made today a typical rainy Williamsburg fall day. The air is heavy with humidity, but cooler. It's making me nostalgic-- the weather, the month, everything. Campus is filled with students; Swem is just the same as ever. Grocery stores have begun to carry autumn brews, and pumpkin ales and coffees are now back on menus. Soon it will be time for sweaters, crisp morning walks in CW, apple cider from Aroma's, falling leaves... the candy store even got it's Halloween candy in a few days ago!

The prospect of autumn is a comforting one, after the summer. This past summer was too hot and too sad, for me, my family, and even some of my friends. I don't think I will really be over it for awhile, but hopefully autumn will usher in peace and happy days along with its cool weather.