Really Procrastinating

[highlyeccentric]

I came home with a suitcase full of books and intent to write an entire essay.
I have read few of them, and written not even all of a plan.

I have a job interview tomorrow, for Christmas retail work. Good timing, since I happened to be here. However, I didn't know until i was on the train on the way up. So I have no Interview Clothes and only electronic copies of my resume. I did get a haircut today and will raid my mother's makeup collection and do my best to look spiffy in jeans.

Then straight after said interview i drive into town to get on a train back to Sydney, in order to be there for the start of the AEMA conference. I was going to skip wednesday morning, but turns out someone is talking about Innocent III at 9.30. Can't be missing a talk about my favourite Papal crush.
I'm looking forward to thursday's Plenary- Antonina Harbus on OE translations of Latin Texts. Probably just as well I haven't finalised my essay for David, really.
I was hoping that I'd be able to attach myself to my favourite teacher's metaphorical apron strings and have my introduction to academic networking smoothed over in that way... But she's not going to be there until Friday. So it's time to test out everything the Principal of Women's College has failed to teach me about networking over the last three years. Said teacher did, however, give me advice on ways to approach academics generally and Antonina in particular. Apparently if you ask academics to direct you to some readings on a topic, they just tell you what they think. And then you can cite it in essays!

Comments

[blackbuttoneyes.livejournal.com]

Ooh! I've just been reading a ton about Innocent III in Luchaire's book. He's a fun one!

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

i love him :D he is sexy, as popes go.

[goblinpaladin.livejournal.com]

I'm still sulking about not being able to go to that conference.

[phrasemuffin.livejournal.com]

hope the interview goes well for you, Miss Amy :D

You could look spiffy in anything. Jeans should be no problem.

[goblinpaladin.livejournal.com]

See, I keep trying to tell her that, but she won't believe me.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

*your* idea of Spiffy and Employment Spiffy are not the same thing, good sir.

[goblinpaladin.livejournal.com]

*dismissive gesture*

Bah! Spiffy is spiffy.

[phrasemuffin.livejournal.com]

*shakes head*
B is correct.
But, if you feel you aren't suitably spiffy when you get there, merely explain that all your clothes were washed away in a freak flood,except the ones you were wearing. Everyone loves a good victim story, and they will surely hire you on the spot, for fear of discriminating against victims.

[goblinpaladin.livejournal.com]

I am always correct.

Also, I cannot think of a *single* flaw in that plan. You should totally go with it.

[phrasemuffin.livejournal.com]

Oh, and what's the AEMA conference?

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

Australian Early Medieval Association :D a conference thereof.

[daiskmeliadorn.livejournal.com]

wow, you get to go to conferences? how nerdy and wonderful!! :)

there must be history associations that do stuff that's relevant to at least half of my topic (either nuns or sexuality, that is). actually we did get an email the other day about a feminist history group that's going to be addressed by ruth balint (lecturer at unsw) soon, maybe i should go to that. sounds a bit scary though. they're probably all old. actually i wonder how many would be academics, and how many would be common-or-garden feminists?

so do you have any more advice on how to approach academics?? what if you're not doing a course with them... i always want to talk with them about nerdy things but they don't seem to expect you to do that unless it's For An Essay...

(and in response to your question on my blog, i am not too bad. trying to keep it simple, life that is, because i think that is conducive to my happiness :)

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

i do :D it is nerdy and fabulous.

i don't know about other disciplines, but it seems that medieval conferences have a hefty share of postgrad students, and i know i'm not the only undergrad attending this one. I'd be betting that assorted students of both history and gender studies would be lurking at a feminist history conference.

Approaching academics. I've found them pretty non-scary- the Centre for Medieval Studies is cool like that, various reading groups and dinners and parties and so on break down the usual UnderGrad/PostGrad/Academic kind of boundaries. So the ones I deal with all the time are also in my social circle. A little weird, but cool.
The only non-CMS academic i've ever made contact with, on my own iniative, was Liam Semler- i rescued some books the library was throwing out, then looked around to see whose field they were, contacted him and said "do you want". He did, and was most happy.

Melanie's advice is that if you go up to them and say "Hi, i'm So And So and i'm a student of Blah. I hear you research into Thingumies, have you done any work on Thingumy-Whatsit relations? Do you know if anyone is doing work on that?" said academic will be so charmed they'll tell you the answer anyway. She also recommends "can you direct me to..." questions.

Some academics don't like students at all. This is weird, but whatever. Not much you can do about that. Most of them, though, are positively tickled to find out that someone is interested in their field at all!