Executive Decisions

While writing the 'Introduction' section of my thesis, I've made two decisions that are saving me both time and grief. The 'Introduction' is one of those sections that keeps on growing. I thought I'd have it done at around 3000 words, but it's taken on a life of its own, and I'm at 4500 words right now and counting. It just keeps on getting bigger. Anyway, this is where one lays down the background information so the rest of the thesis makes a little bit of sense. One thing I'd planned to do was to create a figure illustrating the packaging of DNA into the cell nucleus. A pretty easy concept, but a tall order graphically for someone like me who is limited both on time and graphical talent. Here's an image from a review paper on the subject:



So, Executive Decision #1: Forget making a new image. I'll lay down some Neil Gaiman-like prose so the readers can create their own mental imagery of what it means to compact DNA into the confines of the cell nucleus. I can guarantee that it will be better than whatever graphic I can conjure up.

Executive Decision #2: I've decided to give Barb's deadlines the boot. I don't care about the deadlines. This writing process is actually fun, but having to worry about someone else's timeline makes it so stressful. It's not like I'm sitting at home slacking. Writing is hard business, if you care about the quality of the end product. I finish this when I finish this.

This has created the unfortunate side effect of me exhibiting some avoidant behavior. I have Microsoft Outlook configured to check my school email, which is the only email address that Barb has of mine, and I've been loathe to open that application for the last, oh, three or four days now. Which means I've been able to avoid any scathing emails from TheBarb: "WHERE'S YOUR THESIS?", but also any other business that I should be attending to such as scheduling surgical clerkship subspecialties (orthopaedics, vascular, cardiothoracic, pediatric, etc.) or setting up my third and final committee meeting.

That's it for now. If I push on through morning, I should be able to turn in the Introduction to Barb tomorrow. Later!