July 20, July 21, July 22, July 23, 2007

July 20: Played hookey - well not quite since I worked on course syllabi - for the most part. Follicle issues were addressed and I look different enough to stop feeling restless. Something cathartic, IMHO, about changing one's hairstyle/hairdo. Went out dancing to bid a fond farewell to a friend who will be leaving the area to move to Scotland. You will be much missed, G.

July 21: Asad and I were actually in the same space-time particularity :-)! Wonderful day was had - conversations galore and traipsing around New York.

July 22: Went away to Pennsylvania. The picnic lunch was fun. The weather contributed a great deal to that feeling. Skipped a bbq we had to go to later that night because I needed to catch my breath. Me-time was welcome...although I spent the bulk of it yacking away with one of my best childhood buds on the phone since we hadn't had a chance to catch up for a few weeks. That the lives of medical doctors mirrors that of academics in strange ways made for commiserations galore among other things.

July 23: The weather is crappy and I'm behind on deadlines. But for a change I didn't feel bad about taking time off because I knew I needed it.

So that's a fairly telegraph-inspired update from my end. I've decided to go on a 'Net hiatus for a week or so....deadlines seem to have fallen off to the wayside. 'Tis my fault and needs rectification. While blogging doesn't get in the way of dissertating, responding to e-mails surely does. So if I don't log on I won't be tempted to get everything out of the way before I can write. Hence the extended absence. I n-e-e-d to get my act together, especially since the next month is consumed by weddings, baby showers, friends + family visiting from out of town, and the list goes on.

So I'll be back online sometime next week though I remain phone-able and text-message-able...the first post will (Inshallah) be on the chapter finally finished!

July 18 & July 19, 2007

So I completely forgot to post something yesterday. When I remembered it was 11:30 and I had no desire to get up from in front of the TV and log on. So this post combines yesterday's and today's dissertation edition.

July 18: 'Religion' is deployed on both sides but the terms in which it is interpreted and deployed clarify how it organizes the worlds inhabited by the agents on each side.

July 19: This strand of scholarship tells us that religion is important but ignores the scripts that actors seem to follow in claiming their actions as authentically "X". Taking the former approach we can tell that identity is important but how it matters exactly gets lost in the fray.

Two half-baked thoughts on politics and Pakistan.

Well they're barely quarter-baked but I'm in no mood to make up words tonight. Actually I'm probably assembling ingredients to make something that will be baked - that's how unbaked all of this is.

Two stories caught my attention in today's (July 18, 2007) online issue of the Pakistani newspaper DAWN.

1. I wonder how Benazir can make statements about the lack of law and order under Musharraf's regime when things were equally bad on her watch -- both times round. Well I guess she can make these statements but in good conscience? Really? Well some of us might quibble over the comparison I'm making here but you get my drift....in neither of these instances is the law and order situation unproblematic.

2. I agree with Musharraf's statement about his goal to create an enlightened and moderate Pakistan. What it makes me think about though is the vision of 'Pakistan' that 'Pakistanis' have had and continue to. Without going into too much detail (only because I can't handle writing blog posts akin to academic papers or dissertation chapters right now), I'm intrigued by the ways in which 'Pakistaniat' has been articulated. To grossly oversimplify for a second, the two-nation theory which laid the foundation for the demand for Pakistan as a separate state for the Muslims of India seems to have been deployed in Pakistan in two main ways that are also, IMHO, relevant to what Musharraf had to say. First, based on my own field research for my dissertation as well as primary sources I've read, there seems to be a strong contingent of folks who insist that the notion "separate state for the Muslims" refers to having a homeland where Muslims held the reins of power thereby escaping the possibility of Hindu domination in a United India after gaining independence from the British Empire. The second strand of thought insists upon the enforcement of Sharia Law in Pakistan for it to become a truly Islamic state. It always strikes me as odd that this demand is often made by political parties that historically, in the pre-1947 era, were opposed to the very establishment of a separate state for the Muslims of India. Leaving that aside, it is also striking that there are folks who belong to this contingent agree that this wasn't how Pakistan was envisioned but that it is what it ought to have been established on the basis of i.e. a state fashioned according to Islamic ideals ala Saudi Arabia. Hmm I wonder how we might make sense of this given that one rests on interpreting Pakistaniat/Pakistan as a 'Muslim homeland' and the other as an 'Islamic state'? Are the two different? I'm clearly inclined towards saying yes. Personally speaking, most immigrants and partition survivors I have spoken with over the years often talk about Pakistan as the solution to escape domination by the Hindus...or at least that was the intent. Makes sense to me. After all, Muslims in India practice their religion too so it couldn't have been just the desire to set up an Islamic state. This is not to say that didn't become a part of it but I find it increasingly bizarre, even problematic, that the first strand of thought is largely overlooked or deemed taboo when it is articulated. Hmm I see a research project forming right here.

On that note, must go to sleep! Next post: tomorrow's (well technically today since it's 12:34 am) dissertation thought or the day's favorite sentence. Which shall it be? Stay tuned to find out :-).

July 17, 2007

I hope I'm not jinxing myself by throwing this out there but I think I see an overall argument shaping up for the dissertation - one that I hadn't seen before but that now seems not only self-evident but that also holds the promise of the quintessential "the end is the beginning". In other words, heading down this path will likely provide me the option of developing the dissertation into an interesting, full-fledged dissertation project. Insert happy dance here folks! Why? I've been told on more than one occasion by professors with whom I've worked and respect a great deal that a dissertation is a piece of research that will define one's scholarly life for some years to come so the best thing to come out of all of this is a defended dissertation that raises questions to shape a book manuscript. So knock on wood, Mashallah, fingers crossed, throwing some salt over my shoulder for good luck...I think I've found my way there. Yayyyy!

July 16, 2007

All better now and back to working on the dissertation project in full swing. I started with editing the chapter I was working on last week....just to get myself back into the rhythm of it all. In order to fill a gap in this draft I took a look at an earlier iteration - a pre-draft of this chapter really in that it was a class-cum-conference-paper I wrote in fall 2003 even before I wrote my dissertation prospectus. And boy have I come a long way! Rather my argument has. Well okay both really to be perfectly honest :-). I liked feeling that way. The passion and enthusiasm are still there but are now tempered by a certain crispness, consistency, and clarity that was missing earlier. Yay me! Well I can't take all the credit...there are too many others but most pivotal of them all in helping me along this journey is my chair. So, in that spirit, I'm signing off with a "Thankus Maxiumus, Chair....especially for staying engaged and keeping me engaged as well!"

Under the weather

And that's why I haven't been posting. Thanks for the e-mails asking about blog updates. Getting better but still not 100% so expect regular posting - favorite sentence and/or dissertating thoughts - to resume Monday, if not later this week.

July 5, 2007

" It is what it is - be that peace or war."

Yuppers not the fanciest sentence but the play on italics works particularly well within the context of the rest of the paragraph...not to mention the broader argument.

Now for a little TV watching to cool my brain down...and perhaps another stab at writing before the day ends.

July 4, 2007

A little late in the day but hey....Happy Independence Day to all those celebrating July 4.

I'd planned to write a longer post about "Being American" or, rather, being 'naturalized' as one but it's almost midnight and I'm pooped. Some other time perhaps when the mood strikes me again.

Hope everyone who was celebrating had a good one and got a chance to enjoy some fireworks displays.

Tomorrow it's back to work ::sigh::

July 3, 2007

A piece of advice my accounts teacher gave us in high school a few months before our Senior Cambridge exams was to adhere to the 8x3 model in organizing our time. I might have mentioned this in an earlier post but just in case I didn't - he suggested sleeping for 8 hours, studying for 8 hours, and devoting the other 8 as we liked to play, fun, etc.

Sounds neat IMHO. I've never been quite able to implement it...or perhaps not when I try to do so consciously.

Today was a slightly different story. I ended up implementing the 8x3 more or less. So I slept for about 7 hours and took in an afternoon nap...okay I understand 2 hours is hardly a nap but you know what I mean! Devoted 9 or so hours towards non-sleep-or-dissertating-activities such as preparing for a 4th of July lunch which included cleaning up and dessert (I'm taking care of desserts only because a full-fledged meal is something I'm not confident enough to handle unless it's really close friends and family who won't let me live down a disaster but at least I won't feel too awful just in case it happens; on the record I've only had one disaster so far since I've been cooking and it was scrambled eggs.), an AM workout, groceries, a late lunch at a restaurant with my parents who closed down early today, etc. And, yes....dissertating took up about 6 hours which included planning the remainder of the current chapter (I'd been floundering a bit) and writing up a decent chunk. It wasn't 6 hours straight but that's what it amounted to. That I didn't realize it until I started writing this post made for a very pleasant surprise.

In other words, yay today (Mashallah, knock on wood, throwing a pinch of salt over my shoulder) except for some mild annoyances on the personal front!

I'm taking the day off tomorrow for the most part but July 5th is when I'm going to aim for an encore. Well sans the major cleaning bonanza. Stay tuned for that update....I'm rooting for me pulling off the 8x3 consciously this time.

Okay off to work on the pineapple semifreddo that I'm making for tomorrow...yes I know it's past 11:30 pm but it's supposed to stay in the freezer for at least 8 hours and there is no way I'm waking up super early in the morning to make it so that it's ready in time.

July 2, 2007

Dissertating thought: IMHO one of the biggest hurdles I face everyday when it comes to working on The Dissertation Project is sitting down to write. Heck...it's a challenge after taking a break for lunch. It's gorgeous and sunny outside and I can think of a million other things that would provide me with nothing less than instant gratification and that would be less painful than pressing my brain to think a thought through all the way instead of stopping when my head begins to hurt. Fellow dissertators and writers will be more than familiar with this - it's not really a headache but more of an "Oh my God am I overwhelmed and see this developing into a billion directions but don't quite know how the dots connect or which dots to put in to connect in the first place" feeling. But I digress. Point being that it's so difficult to do and having done it repeatedly (which is putting it mildly) doesn't quite make it easier. Possibly because there is no clear-defined end in sight. In that every productive writing day means finding the will and ability to repeat it endlessly. And you don't quite switch off unlike some other kind of work which has a relatively short-term duration with a defined beginning and end. In other words, tough as nails. Some days are good, some days are bad, others rock in terms of output but every single day means waking up and finding it in your self to face a blank screen that must be filled up. Hmm....or is this just me and my id? Sure hope not.

I also wonder if it's akin to giving birth like everyone says....the process of active labor is rarely fun but you look upon your offspring with pride and joy. Granted my "little bundle of joy" won't have that nice baby smell nor will it have the smile that makes all the sleepless nights and heartache pale in comparison. But hopefully there will be something about this, as others say, that will feel at least somewhat magical at the end. Check back with me in a couple of months and I'll have my answer to that one (Inshallah).

Ciao for now!

June 29 & 30, 2007

So here's my dilemma: I'm not quite sure how to post a favorite sentence from what I wrote without losing control over my anonymity for the chapters from here onwards until mid-ish August. I'm also a tad paranoid about plagiarism issues that might arise since I have encountered trouble with that in the past...that what I'm working on is all an analysis of the empirical stuff makes me a bit nervous. Put those two together and that's why I didn't end up posting anything on June 29 and June 30. So here's what I propose. On the days I feel comfortable about posting my favorite sentence I'll proceed as I have been these last few days. On days that I don't, I'll post a dissertation-related thought...whether that's related to the actual text or something more akin to a writing update remains to be seen. I suspect it'll be one of these, both, or other things...time will tell.

Expect regular posting to presume Monday, July 2nd.