Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Quick update

Sorry for my unexpected hiatus. I've been busy, and it's not over quite yet! Andy's been away, so I've been eating fairly uninteresting meals. And the good ones have not been documented thanks to dead camera batteries. So I have no food or photos to offer you, but I will next time I post...

At least it's been a productive busy period. So far I've written four chapters of my thesis. Two are polished enough that they are currently with my supervisors. A fifth chapter is all but written. And I have only three left to write. I've been focusing recently on getting my conference paper ready-- it's called "Doing activist research: A critically engaged methodology for praxis". And I've put in a few grant applications. I'm also tutoring this semester and even though it's an online subject it's still time consuming, thanks to all the assignments I have to mark. Plus, Andy and I have made some wedding decisions, but more on that another time. For the rest of the week I'll be getting ready to go--I leave for Manchester on Sunday.

To get from the Townsville airport to the Manchester airport will take 29 hours of travel (24 of those in the air). I'll cover 11,653 miles each way, or 18,750 kms. My carbon footprint will probably be the size of a small country (but at least I don't contribute to animal agriculture, right??). My camera batteries are charging and my memory card is clear. I've got trains booked within Britain and some general plans made. I'll spend a few days in Manchester, and I've got plans to visit the People's History Museum, and another museum with an exhibit on Friedrich Engels (Marx's bff). After the conference is over (I present at midday on the 17th) I'm catching a train to Conwy, in North Wales. From Conwy I head to Liverpool for a few nights before I fly back home.

It's going to be exhausting, but I'm so excited to be going to England!!

15 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Safe travels!!!

Miss T said...

Engels Marx's BFF! Love it! I will give you anything you want if you manage to sneak that in to your thesis !
;p

Amy said...

You lucky duck! Have fun in England....

Amy said...

Awesome! Have an amazing trip! I can't wait to hear all about it!

Bianca said...

Have fun in England!

I hung out with three Aussie vegans over the weekend and I thought of you! They were traveling the US screening their animal rights film, A Delicate Balance.

Vaala ◪ said...

I can't wait to hear about your travels! That's so exciting!

No wonder you're busy but sounds like the thesis is going well.

Anonymous said...

Eeek! have a safe trip! Don't forget to pack lots of vegan nibbles for that epic 29-hour journey. More often than not my "vegan" meal reservation has been forgotten on flights.

Amy said...

Have a great time and good luck with your presentation! Manchester is so steeped in great music and cultural history. I hope you get some time to do sightseeing there.

Unknown said...

Hope you have a good trip. As we say in Wales Croeso i Gymru! or welcome to Wales.

Gina said...

Jealous! Enjoy England :)

I am so impressed that you are writing this thesis. I'm doing a research project for the final step of my Master's program and I am just totally lacking in motivation to write it. So far its complete crap, which sucks because I've been having to hand it in, in pieces, to my professor, and I KNOW it sucks. *Sigh* I work better under pressure.

Liz Ranger (Bubble Tea for Dinner) said...

so busy! it all sounds very worth it, though. can't wait to see your trip photos!

Carrie™ said...

Wow! You have been busy. Can't wait to hear wedding news and read travel diaries & see photos of England. Have a wonderful trip!

The Vegan Snorkeler said...

Happy travels! Can't wait to read all about it when you get back!

urban vegan said...

Happy trails and happy writing, Theresa!

DJ said...

I cannot BELIEVE we were in Manchester at the same time and didn't get a chance to meet-up! Did you get a chance to see the Imperial War Museum North - it's an excellent record of the impact of war on our society through the ages from the Great War to present day conflicts. There are also some good spots to eat too - hope you enjoyed your visit!