finally

I'm done. 35 pages.

almost there

chapter 3 is completed. the main text of my paper is completed. 29 pages. the bulk of my work on this project is done.

all that stands between me and the e-mail sending this to murphy is a brief introduction and my conclusion that discusses the reader's role in the novel.

the end is near, aside from the fact that as soon as i finish this i have another paper to write.

nonetheless, i'm almost at the peak of the mountain. after this, i can handle a medium sized hill.


progress: 3 chapters and the bulk of my paper completed. an introduction and conclusion await me.

this paper is like "whack-a-mole"

... every time I solve one problem another one pops up somewhere else.

I came up with this analogy at the beginning of the night to describe the previous night's endeavors. As I prepared to move on to the second chapter I kept reading some very helpful articles that pointed me to new places in the book.

Regardless, tonight was much different. I wrote the entire second chapter on decentering (another 10 pages) which as of right now (I haven't read through it again) I am quite proud of. I think it sets up the next chapter on referentiality and codes quite well as well as provides me material for a brief conclusion (on how events in the book suggest how it should be read).

I emailed Murphy this morning to tell him that it will be in his hands Tuesday morning. That is how confident I am after finishing this chapter. Whether it makes it by Tuesday morning or Tuesday afternoon is a moot point; the fact is that I'm well into the tunnel and I'm starting to see a glimmer of light at the end of it.

Progress: 20 pages, 2 chapters, and enough material for another 10-15 pages this afternoon/ tonight. I'm also writing with proper capitalization and punctuation. Goal of completing it today/tonight still stands.

progress!

i didn't really think it would happen but i finished the first chapter! it took forever but i think i articulated what i wanted to say about deconstruction. more importantly, it provides a solid foundation for what I want to discuss in the next part of my paper (where i start looking at the book itself). i also feel like i have much more to say about house of leaves than i do about deconstruction.

i bought poe's cd haunted today after reading about some of the connections (similar themes, various references, & she's MDZ's sister). i think it is far more interesting because of its connection to the book than for the music alone.

that's about it. i'm mentally drained but emotionally envigorated. for the first time i can reasonably think that this might get done by the beginning of next week.

i also have my piano class final in about an hour.

current progress: 10 pages, introductory chapter completed, plenty of ideas/notes for the next portion, vague ideas for the presentation of the final product.

goal: finish on monday. turn in no later than tuesday at lunch time. i honestly think it might happen.

update

so much for an earlier bedtime.

on a more encouraging note though, i'm making a lot of progress that is going to pay off immensely this weekend. the goal is still to have the introductory chapter done this morning, then taking a "nap," go practice piano (so i can remember the piece i have to play on saturday afternoon) and get a little bit more work done before definitely sleeping earlier to get up for my 9AM exam on Saturday morning.

i'm going to take a walk while i let all of my recent discoveries sink in. most of them have to do with the different layers of the narrative interacting with each other.

EDIT (6AM): campus is beautiful at 5:30 in the morning. i turned off my ipod and listened to the birds sing, the squirrels rumage through the trash, and cars driving off to work faintly in the distance. there is a serene peace in the solitude of being the only person walking across an empty campus gracefully illuminated by the rising sun. it makes one feel poetic. time to write.

"sleeping like it's my job"

the title describes last night's sleeping pattern (9-5).

to update since the last posting, i finished one paper (the short philosophy take home essay) and now only face the two big papers (thesis and final paper for graver). the way i see it, if i start being productive i might actually get this done in the next few days and get both papers in on time.

i've found various methods of procrastination - watching various espn programs (battle of the gridiron stars being among the most amusing), playing bennett's gameboy advanced - especially tetris trying to master the "ultra" setting where you have to get through all 15 levels spending 2 minutes on each (i can get to 11 but then plateau around there), and doing various internet related activities. i even joined myspace, so if you are on that you should be my friend or something like that (whatever the hell you use it for).

that's about it. hopefully tonight will bring some progress. perhaps i'll check back in right before i give up for the night.

current progress: 2 pages, tentative outline for chapter one.

the return / a beginning

this blog has lapsed into dormancy for quite some time. i cite two reasons: 1) lack of time 2) lack of interest in either documenting events in my life or investing the time to recap what has gone on since the last time i wrote.

in short, megan's comment and a new challenge have prompted me to return to this forum in a modified way for the next few weeks. i am going to use it to document the writing of my senior thesis - a paper tackling jacques derrida (specifically deconstruction) and mark z danielewski's house of leaves. it will be a forum to write about my progress as well as to document the peripheral thoughts as the composition progresses. the grammar and structure will be haphazard for obvious reasons (as in i have something more important to think about). here it goes:

5 AM (roughly). the first words went down. i've been agonizing on how to begin and when it finally happened the opening sentence turned into the opening 3 sentences.

6 AM i just made some coffee (decaf, i'm not that desperate yet). the smell of french vanilla freshly brewed combined with the early light creeping in through the window (i just opened the shade fully to let whatever sunlight there is eek in) and the haziness of my present sleep deprived condition remind me of those few months working at planet bean senior year of high school. i still don't know how i managed to work at a job that required me to get up before 6am on a sunday morning.

progress as the time of the post: 1/2 page, new stuff to look at.