Another New Year
As is evident by the last year of my posts, I'm in the midst of a transformation. Altering my intellectual focus and ultimately my career (what's that?) prospects isn't easy. At the age of fifty, I am lucky that I am in the financial position and have my wife's support in such an evolving enterprise. My feet are now firmly placed in the interdiscipline of deliberation. However, I still need to finish my Masters Degree, which is in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at University of Sydney, and set a course for earning a living again. As a result of positive response to some of my recent writing, I have been invited to contribute to research and other project work. For this I am truly grateful, for it will help me become a participant of a community of dedicated and passionate explorers. As a student, my only focus is to complete my Masters Degree dissertation. Already I face a difficult challenge because I am not aligned with a setting to study. I could write an abstracted descriptive or prescriptive piece, as most do, which sets out a theoretical basis for academic consideration. But if I wish to continue with further academic pursuits (ie PhD) from a well-regarded university like University of Sydney, I must include a small-scale study of some sort. It had been my intention to complete a double-unit dissertation which would have me finish by June 2007. But it looks like I'll have to stretch it out to two successive dissertation units and take the entire year to complete it part-time, thus providing time to find a study setting and conduct observational research. This protraction necessitates earning a living along the way as a research assistant. My coursework to date has been rewarded with an average grade of 82%. Whilst not stellar, it is sufficient to carry me to further study, provided I successfully defend my dissertation. Just before xmas I answered a call, through my company Click Craft Pty Limited, to submit a proposal to do some elearning resource work for Dyno Nobel, for whom I've served for over a year. I also continue to provide ongoing support to Coles Group Ltd, although I recently subcontracted what turned into a significant body of work. Whilst I need to retain this safety net of income, in case I lose my way during this transformation, I have to ensure that it doesn't distract me from my transformational progress. I have to be optimistic about my prospects for 2007, but it is far from assured. There is growing tension that I am not paying enough attention to my family as my head pokes evermore distantly into the clouds of academia. It is impossible to compartmentalise my life, so there is constant compromise. Therefore, I hope that I can find a path that leads me forward, without collateral damage, to a rejuvenating endeavour that might even pay a few bills now and again. I'm not one for New Years resolutions, but one thing I must do to retain my sanity and focus is post more often to this blog. I feel better already!
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