Who am I?

Since I've been stuck at home a lot lately the Cajun Princess came out to have some coffee and chat yesterday. CP is busy reading away her summer getting ready for exams in the fall. She has done a much better job than I did at creating (and sticking to) a schedule that gives her ample time to prepare for exams. Having jumped that hurdle already, I'm trying to be as supportive to her as she was to me. I'm not doing the best at that just yet, but I have some plans in the works.

One of the reasons I'm stuck at home a lot these days is that I'm not really working this summer. Oh, I've been doing plenty for the AD position, but I don't really get paid for that until the fall. The idea was that if I didn't really work, I would get my dissertation prospectus written. Ha! Prospectus...I can't even pick a topic.

There is a project I have in mind, but as much as I think it could work. It also scares me. First, I'm not really passionate about said topic. Yeah, yeah, I've read the books. I know I don't have to be passionate; I just have to get it done. What I think really scares me about the topic, and I think this would be true of any topic, is that it feels like whatever I choose for a dissertation topic is going to define me for the rest of my career. So, if I do decide to write about "Assessing Student Intelligence Using a Lollipop Brand Scale" that will be the only thing I can write about for the rest of my life.

As CP pointed out, that's pretty ridiculous; and, on an intellectual level, I know that. Unfortunately, it doesn't really change the fact that it still feels that way. It feels like a career defining moment. And, as I'm sure is abundantly clear, I'm not so good at defining myself. I want to leave it all open. I want to be undefinable (or, is it indefinable?).

The plan? Well, to start where we always seem to start...writing.