Loveletters

under CC-License by Jeremy Brooks

I told you about the Unclutterer Project in my last post. And while I threw away a weeks worth of things the first day, I did not think I would be able to turn up one thing a day for the rest of the month. Boy, was I wrong. At item 37 I stopped listing things and I had reached that number on August 15th. My list included some furniture, broken appliances, clothes, decorative stuff, my box of small change, old insignificant letters, empty boxes kept for whatever reason and a third of my book collection (counted as one item). And these were all things that I didn’t even need to think about, before tossing them. How much less stuff will I have once I get rid of stuff with some significance or some little use? It seems that uncluttering will be a companion of mine for the next few weeks. I thouroughly enjoyed the experience so far and have dubbed it “reverse-shopping”. Naturally my tendencie to go shopping to calm my nerves has dissipated. Why would I want to aquire more stuff while I am sorting through the old stuff I feel mired in? So all in all I can recommend this project, though my style of uncluttering is more the everything at once in big batches.

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mit CC-Lizenz von sindesign

Lately, for reasons I am not likely to discuss on this blog, I have been thinking a lot about uncluttering. Uncluttering my life, my possessions and my head. One day my sweetheart sent me a link to an Unclutterer post called a thing a day challenge. He expected something different than the suggestion to get rid of one thing a day, but I found it quite inspirational. I started to turn it around in my head and to mentally sift through my head for objects to get rid of. I turned up quite the list. Most of the items on the list are things I was given, or that are still hanging around because I was too lazy to dispose of them. So I will take August to do this challenge. Of course I can’t just throw away stuff, though some will likely land in the trash. I will try to relocate my unloved things to other homes, the clothes will go to a second hand shop and other things will either go on Freecycle, or be left for pickup on the curb. So far I sorted out seven things, but there are certainly more to get rid of.

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Blaue Bank

Looking forward to: My sisters visit tomorrow, the doctors appointment on Thursday, the sweetheart coming on Sunday

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Auf dem Jakobsweg

I have been known to have ideas that others find strange. Getting my tattoo is one such thing. Mostly I question my motives and ideas critically, but sometimes even after a critical inspection an idea still has a hold on me, because it simply fits and feels right. Things I did impulsively without questioning, I have regreted. That list includes things like the last glas of wine, a piece of clothing I bought, or other ways I spent my money on. These are usually easily overcome, even if thinking it through might have made me avoid the situations. The other category includes things like entering the relationship with my sweetheart and getting tattooed. Such things I have never regreted. That is why I have learned to trust my instinct.

So yesterday another such idea settled in my head. The idea is to walk on St. James Way after finishing my thesis. Three weeks maybe, and since my exam will be in November it will be in Winter. Likely in January when my sweetheart has handed in his Master Thesis.

To walk St. James Way has been on my bucket list for a while and I have also wanted to travel after leaving Academia. This seems to fit. Promptly I woke up with a feeling of excitement. I have been motivated to write in a way I have not for a while.

Now you can declare me crazy in comments, link resources and make recommendations. I look forward to responses and this trip.

This Post on yes and yes made it click.

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This is a picture I did not take. Monday at 10 am: three older men with black trolley suitcases, a slightly hungover look and brand new AC/DC-T-shirts.

This is where the idea is from.

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I should have been writing a lot and long each day, but somehow my head was more interessted in doing something crafty. So I gave in to my head. Suddenly my sewing machine was an the table and rattling away. In a couple of days I had two skirts, a summer dress and a blouse.

Jersey-Röcke zum Kreiseln und zum Schick sein

The gray skirt I made specifically for the red belt, otherwise I would have used nicer fabric. The fabric is from to huge mens t-shirts.

Ein gelbes Kleid aus einem Sarong

This sarong I once loved, but never wore. Now I cut of the top and reattached them as straps, added two buttons and there I had a summer dress.

Eine stilvolle Bluse

This blouse emphasizes one of my most beautiful body parts, my shoulders and arms. I will wear it to my ten year school reunion on saturday and wow them all. I’m hoping that my best friend, who is responsible for me going to the reunion, will take pictures of me and the blouse in action.

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mit CC-Lizenz von Mike Zienowicz

Did I mention that I am a fearful bunny?

Well, now you know; I’m a fearful bunny. I am afraid of heights, especially if I have to come down. I am afraid of giving blood for samples. I am afraid of roller coasters and Skislopes, especially when I am on skis. I am afraid of unknown things, especially the future.

A part of that last one is courtesy of society in general, another part is a familial inheritance and the last part is totally homemade, product of an imagination in overdrive. Now, of course, I could imagine how great and awesome everything will be, but hey, where would we be if I had so much confidence in myself?

What is currently causing this fear is my doctoral thesis. I am still employed until Octobre and accordingly I need to take my exam ASAP. To do that, the following things need to happen.

1) I have to write my application for the examination komitee (done)
2) I have to talk to the potential members of the komitee.
3) I need to hand in my application. The date is June 23rd.
4) I need to finish the last experiments and data collection.
5) I need to move my collaborators to finish their parts.
6) I need to write the thesis (Contingent on 4 and 5.)
7) The thesis needs to undergo a correction process with the boss.
8) The thesis needs to be handed in. The date is Octobre 20th.
9) I need to pass the exam.

The biggest obstacle at the moment is that my boss will be gone all of August and, should I want to work on the thesis during that time, I need to hand in a first version on July 24th. That is really soon.

I have made an outline and done literature search. Fortunately I can use the introduction to my diploma thesis as a base. The experimental description will be short, since I don’t have any complicated synthetical procedures. It isn’t such a bad place to start from. I am going for 120 pages thesis, 45 of which will be introduction and 55 will be results and discussion.

When I read this, I am not so sure why I am afraid, sure it’s a giant mountain of work, but that can be lessend through specific actions on my part. There are few unknowns. Well, so I start.

If you want to support me, I would be really happy to get a postcard with greetings, or some motivational phrase from you at the address in the Impressum. It will be posted on the corkboard above my desk, where I look every time I look up from my keyboard.

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Sorry, this entry is only available in Deutsch.

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