Updates

It's been a while, but things have been relatively so and there's not a ton to relate. December, as a month-long vigil to consumerism, definitely has it's distractions, but I've still managed to get a some good work done on "chapter 2," which stands at 26 pages including today's efforts.

This month's activities have been numerous. Back-to-back Holiday parties, one for Katie's work and one for school took quite the toll, although the former did most of the damage. Katie didn't make it to the second one, if that's any indicator. Ha! For the holidays we went to Katie's Dad's house in Maryland. We left on Friday the 19th and had to fly back on Christmas Day, which is never a pleasant prospect, but it could have been worse. While in MD we took a couple of trips down to DC. On Monday, 22nd Katie and I went to the National Mall and checked out the Lincoln Memorial (always impressive) and then walked past the Washington Memorial on the way to find an ATM and the subway. The wind was blowing really hard and it was really cold, so I was kind of disappointed we didn't stop to look at the new WWII memorial that was unveiled a few years ago, but I know we'll be going back at some point and the prospect of frostbite wasn't that appealing at that time. The following day I found the WWI Victory column which is right next to the White House. Katie, her Dad, brother, and I went to see the National Christmas tree and all of the trees decorated from each state. I figured the Michigan tree would be full of pink slips and broken GM and UAW symbols, but instead is was some crappy decorations from elementary school kids in Three Rivers. Go figure. In general, it was nice to get out of the city and be able to stretch our legs for a few days. To say that every chance I get to leave our tiny 1BR place for the comforts of a larger venue fuels my desire to move is an understatement. I just need to crank out this dissertation faster.

One of the highlights of this holiday season is that Katie and I have managed to get rooftop tickets for the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. Needless to say I am pretty pumped for the game and hope that the Wings put a good walloping on the Blackhawks, but really, it's just great to be able to witness such an historic event. I ordered the Wings' Winter Classic Toque, which arrived today; Coupled with my new Red Wings sweatshirt and Pavel Datsyuk jersey, I think I'm ready for the game. More details on that to follow though.

Chapter 1 and the Dissertation Writing Group

Today marked the first time the dissertation writing group considered a member's work. Fortunately for me, I was the one getting feedback. I must say that it was quite nice to have a number of well-read, intelligent people providing feedback and asking questions about my work. It really helped me to see where I needed to go and what areas I need to improve. I was also pleased that pretty much everyone thought that the chapter I submitted was pretty strong as it presently stands. Granted there is still a ton of work to do on it, but it's just a nice thing to hear.

As it stands today, I have drafts of two chapters done and have received excellent, thorough feedback on one of those chapters. I'm hoping to have a draft of a third chapter done by the end of the month or early January. With the holiday break (I'll be in Maryland for almost a week) it may be difficult to reach my "chapter per month" goal. I've decided that chapters 1-3 will cover various aspects of the interwar period (1919-1939), chapter 4 will probably cover 1939-1987, and chapter 5 will cover 1987 to the present. One of the challenges will be to maintain the analysis of Cork and Derry along with the that of Dublin and Belfast. To do so will probably require some time back in those cities to get some more source material, but hopefully I can get the bulk of it done with what I have at the present. At present, chapters 4 and 5 are going to be the most difficult to draft and get to the same stage that my current work is at. Nevertheless, it's an interesting challenge and one I'm looking forward to completing.