dear october

please, let's just be nice to each other. i know you're going to be a tough month, but i'm hoping we can work through it and remain friends... or at least remain civil.

if it makes you feel any better, september hasn't been all that awesome, and with only one exception november won't be too great either.

so, are we good?

love,
brigit

two months...

...until my birthday! more importantly, in less than two months, i'll be out in anchorage chillin with eric and beth!!!!! woot woot!!!!

the scary part is how much work i have to get done between now and then. i guess i should stop writing blog posts and start writing my SRP...??? naahhhhhhh

PS - we have now passed the halfway mark of Granger's deployment, and just recently passed the "3 months to go" mark. WOOOHOOO!!!!!!

substantial research project

this semester, i'm writing my substantial research project (or SRP). it's like a mini thesis, and it's meant for MA students who are not intending to go on to get a PhD, which describes me PERFECTLY. an SRP has to be somewhere between 50-70 pages (not including footnotes/endnotes), and it has to incorporate original research.

i've decided to write my SRP on the Kimberly Process, the international diamond certification scheme that was started to combat the sale of so-called blood diamonds. more specifically, i am interested in if/how it could be replicated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where different resources NOT covered by the Kimberly Process are contributing to the conflict. having an good idea of what i want to write is great, the main obstacle now is just sitting down (for hours and hours and hours every day for a month, for example) and writing the darn thing. well, ok, researching, then analyzing, then writing, then editing, then editing some more. here's my timeline to get it done:

9/2 - finalize topic, research question, and adviser
9/12 - submit formal 10pg proposal to adviser
10/10 - finish research & analysis
10/17 - complete and submit rough draft of chapters 1, 2, and 3
10/31 - complete and submit rough draft of chapters 4, 5, and 6
11/14 - complete and submit second rough draft
12/5 - revise and resubmit final draft

now, cross your fingers for me and WISH ME LUCK!!!