STUMPED FOR A TITLE

I have been attending doctorate skills workshops religiously since July. The latest, the IT workshop held this recent Monday, gave instructions on creating the table of contents, embedding formats, creating the master document to integrate the different chapters into one, systemizing format and style (good for when the thesis is completed) and essentially revealing the various ways to improve the appearance of my dissertation. I can now say that I am literate on the language and techniques of Microsoft Word stylistics. Although not quite fluently toggling and clicking on tabs that knowingly lead me to required functions, I no longer have to stumble through and guess the way I have always learned with Microsoft Word.

Each of the doctoral skills workshops has been really good in teaching me how to be more expert on using the technology at Auckland Uni. Having this information makes my research and writing life a lot easier.

The remainder of this week and all of last weekend was devoted to constructing my full research proposal, which I anticipate submitting to the Committee at the end of September (this month) after attending yet another workshop on writing the research proposal. Taking the research proposal to task turned out to be a lot smoother than I thought it would, mainly because the three significant chapters have been reworked and rewritten several times over, but not quite to death - hopefully. More life has yet to be breathed into them - hopefully.

Another workshop to which I’m looking forward is the academic writing one on 26 September because I want to inject more soul into the academic style of my dissertation. When I was re-reading my initial chapter drafts, my feelings about my writing ability kept vacillating between being too involved in the subject and being too detached. After making the necessary changes, I would often revert back to my previous feelings. Often, I’ve had to step back from this pendulum in order to look at my scribing with perspective, a lot less obsessively, and a with lot less intensity. I hope to gain more perspective from the academic writing workshop, step back from my writing tendencies, and as I said bring soul into my work.

While I haven’t spent the desired time in Panmure, yet, to write about its history and connection with Maori society, this week I was able to make a beeline for the Auckland Domain, a splendorous 80 hectare expanse of green spaces atop a volcano. There are numerous walking trails through and around the edges of the Domain: lover’s lane, duck pond walk, etc. It is virtually impossible to get lost in this expanse of wild and landscaped terrain of pure beauty. Stepping into this place, after a short walk past the café and the duck pond, is like entering a private space of both sculpted gardens and forests. Cars passing sound far off in the distance, and voices are deep, tonal mumblings carelessly tossed around for anyone to hear. The gentle breeze cruising through the Domain makes one feel even more liberated, almost tempts one, I would say, to walk around naked. (Perhaps I simply feel this way because I want to free myself momentarily of the mechanical and structured method of writing my research).

An outdoor cafe on Grafton Road enroute to the Domain

A distant view of this delectable, literally outdoors, cafe

View of the ponds

Viewing the ponds from another angle

Another angle

Interactive fountain at the duck pond

Lover's Walk

Natural growth of plants along the hillside

Along a winding road, up the volcano and over to the lower part of the Domain, several Maori carvings can be seen decorating the asphalt fringes. While not a staple of urban aesthetics, these carvings sometimes unexpectedly emerge on my occasional leisurely strolls, giving an element of surprise.

Horizontal perspective of Maori carvings

Single totem view

I invested only an hour of exploration, but there’s more to see and to discover of this tranquility. The more common visitor site is the Winter Garden. The green house in this garden is supposed to house the most exotic plants from around New Zealand, but yesterday, I chose not to browse through them. I'll save this outing for another time, and as always, I’ll have my coffee treat, which I’m already planning at the onsite Café . . .  with a book that I won’t be reading for my dissertation, a decision to which I never adhere. My conscious efforts to distract never seem to be strong enough to prevent me from returning to pieces of my dissertation.

In spite of the grey clouds, this afternoon I managed to duck out to the back and spend my break from the research proposal on clearing the plots for more garden edibles. I want to put more aromatic herbs (dill, rosemary, thyme) into the ground so the backyard is fragrant whenever I go out there to weed. I’ve been able to plant the onions, which sprouted while in the plastic bag, next to the scallions my landlord/housemate was already growing from months before. Bunnings Warehouse, New Zealand’s equivalent to Home Depot, sells a variety of seedlings. Being careful to stay within my budget, I’ve purchased oregano, chives, spinach (which was immediately eaten by little mites), and green beans, with future intentions to cover the open spaces of soil with more edibles. By summer, this garden will be rocking!