Research Excursion

On Sunday I was working on my dissertation. This is a fairly commonplace occurrence, if not as commonplace as it should be. I was at one of those dangerous transition points between one section and another, when I'm always tempted to just set it down for a week or so because I've more or less finished the one thing but haven't yet got my hand in with the next one. But I knew I should really get my hand in.

Suddenly the passage I was looking at reminded me of a note I'd taken from a book I'd looked at nearly three years ago. Frantic shuffle through notes--yep, there it was, a citation of a citation, the ultimate goal being a 1983 article in a Chinese-language periodical. Library catalogs: yes, U of C had it.

I am allowed to use the U of C library, though not to check out books and I have to get a day pass each time. There may be a limit to the number of days too, but I haven't discovered it. It's rare for me to go down there because it's such a public transportation pain in the ass.

Apparently on purpose, Hyde Park is cordoned off from the rest of the city. I went there once last year and was very sketched out. But then, I'd made the mistake of taking the most direct route from home, which meant I approached from the west. This time I took the best route from work which, rather paradoxically (since my work is west of my home) meant I approached from the east.

From the east, Hyde Park doesn't have the feeling of an invisibly walled-off compound facing a ghetto. It just seems like a small college town, autumn leaves falling peacefully, bright-colored chrysanthemums, kids playing on the sidewalks, highly intellectual-looking people strolling by and chattering in a large variety of languages. I got off the bus at not quite the right place and ended up going for a long walk, but I found the library eventually.

Once there I was immediately distracted by a great book-sale. Ten dollars lighter and at least ten pounds heavier (if one considers the combined system of me and my backpack), I tracked down the article I wanted and got substantial sections from two other books I'd been meaning to look at as well.

This afternoon I went to one of my favorite coffee-shops, the Bourgeois Pig, and had a look at the article. It was only one page, and I had been worried that it would be too insubstantial. But you can say a lot in one page of Chinese, densely type-set at that. One page of pure research gold, at least as far as that section was concerned. I not only got my hand in, I wrote the whole section, just over a thousand words.

In case you haven't noticed my Diss-o-meter at right, have a look at it! You too can watch my late-blooming dissertation grow at about the same speed as grass. Okay, maybe not that fast, given how often my dad has to mow the lawn. Still, a 1000 word day is nothing to sneeze at. If I do that every day, I even have a chance of meeting my goal.