Driving in London
Don't do it. Avoid this at all costs. I would rather stick bamboo shoots under my fingernails than have to drive through London again. Seriously.
The city-planners need to be dragged naked through their twisting and turning streets, tarred and feathered, given paper-cuts one the webbing between their fingers, flogged with a garden hose, pelted with tomatoes, AND THEN shot! To get from point A to point B, you have to go via points Q, X, H, and Z.
It took us almost two hours to drive 36 miles from the Hyde Park area of London to Gatwick airport. And when we tried to go from the National Film Theatre to the hotel near Hyde Park (despite mapquest's directions saying it would take 6 minutes), it took us nearly an hour! This was not only because of the continuous switchbacks, jug-handles, one-way streets, roundabouts, and forced left or right turns, but also because of the grossly inadequate signage. What street is this? Is this the A23 or the A21? No, it's the A505. I don't see that on the map. So on and so on. You really need three heads (one to look where you're going, another to see where you've been, and a third to look at the map) and two sets of arms to successfully navigate (or perhaps a GPS would do it).
And then there's the traffic. London is worse than LA (at least LA's roads are laid out fairly sensibly). Laughably, they have dubbed most of central London a "Congestion Zone". This means that everyone who drives through there during business hours, has to pay 5 lbs. per day. This didn't seem to work. In fact, not only is it still congested in there, it's even more congested OUTSIDE this zone!
OK, to be fair, I can't compare a European city to a US city. Pretty much every city, town and village in Europe was built long before cars and paved roads where even close to being realized. They didn't think to lay out the cities in a grid pattern. But, surely, a city like London... they could have designed the traffic flow a little better. I can't propose a solution for that mess (other than perhaps building some freeways from the M25 into the city which would require kicking a lot of people out of their homes), but that doesn't quell my complete disgust for the parties responsible. For crying out loud, PUT SOME DAMN STREET SIGNS UP! LABEL THEM SO PEOPLE IN CARS CAN SEE THEM! There's this story that during WWII, they took down all the street signs so if the Germans invaded, they wouldn't be able to find there way around. Well, I don't think they ever got around to putting the signs back up. IT'S 2004, IT'S TIME TO STOP PROCRASTINATING!
-RP-
Monday, December 13
Tuesday, December 7
PhD'ing?
Before I started my school year at UEA, my intention to continue with a PhD was certain. The idea was to get a PhD and then move on to teaching at university level (being an "academic"). Around mid-October, I started to question that idea. Started thinking about the possibility of jumping into archiving after my MA dissertation was done. If, for example, the archive at which I do my internship offered me a job and I would take it. As I tend to do, I've been ruminating on this since then, but I have not committed to a decision. And I still don't think I can.
I was just at a meeting today regarding PhD work (how to apply for funding, tips for writing a proposal, etc.). I thought the meeting would help me come to a conclusion more quickly, but I'm still a bit on the fence about it. Perhaps not "on the fence", but more just unsure of which path I'd like to take. OK fine... I'm on the fence!
There are two ideas that I've been considering for PhD research. Both of them are of great interest to me and also timely/important projects (I'll refrain from divulging them at the moment... the internet is not a private place!). Both are technical, as opposed to theoretical. One of them is in regard to the future of cinema and the other is in regard to the past. But they are both projects that I'm interested in doing just because they are important bits of research. In some sense, the PhD would just be a bioproduct of the research.
The thing is, I'm not sure I want to be in "academia". I'm not sure I want to teach... at least not formally. So what would I do with a PhD except run around calling myself Dr. Pedersen? The project about the future of cinema moves away from archiving, while the one about the past moves towards archiving (along with other forms of obsolete or going-obsolete technology). My point is, if I do a PhD, I will be off the job-market for at least three years. If I then decide I want to work in an archive, I will be starting almost from scratch because any contacts I've made by the end of my MA will have "gone stale". Then again, if the PhD was the undisclosed historical project, it would bring me a stronger connection with archives.
I spoke to UEA's archiving guru and, luckily for us, the teacher of the course, about this and he said that I should definitely take a job if it's offered to me. He also thought the archiving PhD idea was worthwhile and mentioned that I don't necessarily have to be at a university to do PhD research. Good point.
Another angle on this... at the meeting today, we talked about how to get funding through the AHRB (Arts & Humanities Research Board). For a PhD student, they award between £10,000 and £12,000 per year (sometimes more). Not only would that put me through the three years, it would help me pay off the FAFSA loan I took out this year and perhaps some, if not all, of the loans from undergrad which are still loitering around. A bit enticing. It's not easy to get these awards though. Statistically, 1 in 5 applicants are awarded. These odds can be reduced by filling out the forms correctly and having an enticing research proposal (which I think I do).
So... what to do?. The funding board does not notify until July at the earliest, but the deadline is May 1st (around the time I would be at my archiving placement). I can apply for funding and then choose one of the following scenarios as my "golden path" (in no particular order):
1) Receive funding and continue with a PhD -> teaching at uni or working in archive
2) Receive funding and a job offer at an archive -> take the job instead
3) Do not receive funding, but DO receive a job offer -> take the job
4) Receive neither funding NOR a job offer -> apply at other archives
The choice is not simple, but I feel like this is the only way to go about it. It's an amalgamation of a Lebowskian "tumbleweed" approach and a structured 3-year plan.
-RP-
Before I started my school year at UEA, my intention to continue with a PhD was certain. The idea was to get a PhD and then move on to teaching at university level (being an "academic"). Around mid-October, I started to question that idea. Started thinking about the possibility of jumping into archiving after my MA dissertation was done. If, for example, the archive at which I do my internship offered me a job and I would take it. As I tend to do, I've been ruminating on this since then, but I have not committed to a decision. And I still don't think I can.
I was just at a meeting today regarding PhD work (how to apply for funding, tips for writing a proposal, etc.). I thought the meeting would help me come to a conclusion more quickly, but I'm still a bit on the fence about it. Perhaps not "on the fence", but more just unsure of which path I'd like to take. OK fine... I'm on the fence!
There are two ideas that I've been considering for PhD research. Both of them are of great interest to me and also timely/important projects (I'll refrain from divulging them at the moment... the internet is not a private place!). Both are technical, as opposed to theoretical. One of them is in regard to the future of cinema and the other is in regard to the past. But they are both projects that I'm interested in doing just because they are important bits of research. In some sense, the PhD would just be a bioproduct of the research.
The thing is, I'm not sure I want to be in "academia". I'm not sure I want to teach... at least not formally. So what would I do with a PhD except run around calling myself Dr. Pedersen? The project about the future of cinema moves away from archiving, while the one about the past moves towards archiving (along with other forms of obsolete or going-obsolete technology). My point is, if I do a PhD, I will be off the job-market for at least three years. If I then decide I want to work in an archive, I will be starting almost from scratch because any contacts I've made by the end of my MA will have "gone stale". Then again, if the PhD was the undisclosed historical project, it would bring me a stronger connection with archives.
I spoke to UEA's archiving guru and, luckily for us, the teacher of the course, about this and he said that I should definitely take a job if it's offered to me. He also thought the archiving PhD idea was worthwhile and mentioned that I don't necessarily have to be at a university to do PhD research. Good point.
Another angle on this... at the meeting today, we talked about how to get funding through the AHRB (Arts & Humanities Research Board). For a PhD student, they award between £10,000 and £12,000 per year (sometimes more). Not only would that put me through the three years, it would help me pay off the FAFSA loan I took out this year and perhaps some, if not all, of the loans from undergrad which are still loitering around. A bit enticing. It's not easy to get these awards though. Statistically, 1 in 5 applicants are awarded. These odds can be reduced by filling out the forms correctly and having an enticing research proposal (which I think I do).
So... what to do?. The funding board does not notify until July at the earliest, but the deadline is May 1st (around the time I would be at my archiving placement). I can apply for funding and then choose one of the following scenarios as my "golden path" (in no particular order):
1) Receive funding and continue with a PhD -> teaching at uni or working in archive
2) Receive funding and a job offer at an archive -> take the job instead
3) Do not receive funding, but DO receive a job offer -> take the job
4) Receive neither funding NOR a job offer -> apply at other archives
The choice is not simple, but I feel like this is the only way to go about it. It's an amalgamation of a Lebowskian "tumbleweed" approach and a structured 3-year plan.
-RP-
Friday, December 3
Wednesday, December 1
Random Overdue Photos
Coastal
Picture taken from the cliffs on the Norfolk coast of Cromer.
Duke Street
View of our street. The green door is ours.
Golden Star
The pub on our corner. If I went there more often, it would be considered "my local".
River Wensum
View of the river that snakes around Norwich.
Parking Spot
This is where our car spends most of its time.
Holy Moly!
The vaulted cieling of the Norwich Cathedral.
Holier Moly!
One of the many stained glass windows in above-mentioned cathedral.
Holiest Moly!
The big fancy one in the front.
Dinner Time
Before we had our coffee table (that we use as our dinner table), we had a piece of cardboard as a makeshift tv-tray.
Nightcap
Kristen makes a glass of chocolate milk for dessert while gazing at something on BBC.
Beer Nerd
Yep, that's a bottle of beer... an empty bottle.
Class
The classroom where Film Archiving knowledge is disseminated. It is messy, but that means we're learning.
-RP-
Coastal
Picture taken from the cliffs on the Norfolk coast of Cromer.
Duke Street
View of our street. The green door is ours.
Golden Star
The pub on our corner. If I went there more often, it would be considered "my local".
River Wensum
View of the river that snakes around Norwich.
Parking Spot
This is where our car spends most of its time.
Holy Moly!
The vaulted cieling of the Norwich Cathedral.
Holier Moly!
One of the many stained glass windows in above-mentioned cathedral.
Holiest Moly!
The big fancy one in the front.
Dinner Time
Before we had our coffee table (that we use as our dinner table), we had a piece of cardboard as a makeshift tv-tray.
Nightcap
Kristen makes a glass of chocolate milk for dessert while gazing at something on BBC.
Beer Nerd
Yep, that's a bottle of beer... an empty bottle.
Class
The classroom where Film Archiving knowledge is disseminated. It is messy, but that means we're learning.
-RP-
Whinging Antidote
It was good to get those complaints off our chest, but I must admit, we're feeling a bit guilty about it now. After all, there are millions of people who have it MUCH worse. And there are actually some positive things we should mention:
We have a sizable kitchen (3 times the size of the little "slot" we had in Brussels) with a 4-burner stove, big oven, lots of storage and counterspace.
Sitting next to our washer/dryer is a quite nice widescreen TV. Probably one of the most heavily used appliances in the house since we watch a lot of movies.
Despite being right on the street (and hence the almost unbearable street noise), the apartment is centrally located in the city. This means Kristen can walk to work and I can ride my bike to school. Plus, we are close to stores, movie theatres, pubs, etc.
We have an off-street parking spot for our nice car, something that is a premium in the city. Most people either have to park on the street or pay a hefty parking fee in one of the few lots.
Our rent is pretty cheap (for the location), though we could get something nicer and bigger for the same price if we lived outside the city.
As opposed to the immensely uncomfortable two-person couch we had in Brussels, we have a comfy 3-4 person futon couch. I can actually lie down on it!
The two large front windows are double-glazed which makes the traffice noise a LITTLE BIT quieter and the heating bill a LITTLE BIT smaller. Now if we could just get the drafts taken care of and double-glazing on the rear window, we'd be golden... er, brassed maybe.
We have a toaster.
-K & RP-
It was good to get those complaints off our chest, but I must admit, we're feeling a bit guilty about it now. After all, there are millions of people who have it MUCH worse. And there are actually some positive things we should mention:
We have a sizable kitchen (3 times the size of the little "slot" we had in Brussels) with a 4-burner stove, big oven, lots of storage and counterspace.
Sitting next to our washer/dryer is a quite nice widescreen TV. Probably one of the most heavily used appliances in the house since we watch a lot of movies.
Despite being right on the street (and hence the almost unbearable street noise), the apartment is centrally located in the city. This means Kristen can walk to work and I can ride my bike to school. Plus, we are close to stores, movie theatres, pubs, etc.
We have an off-street parking spot for our nice car, something that is a premium in the city. Most people either have to park on the street or pay a hefty parking fee in one of the few lots.
Our rent is pretty cheap (for the location), though we could get something nicer and bigger for the same price if we lived outside the city.
As opposed to the immensely uncomfortable two-person couch we had in Brussels, we have a comfy 3-4 person futon couch. I can actually lie down on it!
The two large front windows are double-glazed which makes the traffice noise a LITTLE BIT quieter and the heating bill a LITTLE BIT smaller. Now if we could just get the drafts taken care of and double-glazing on the rear window, we'd be golden... er, brassed maybe.
We have a toaster.
-K & RP-
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