Wow I cannot believe it has taken me so long to getting down to writing a blog entry! It is not that I lacked time. It is just that somehow it took a while for me to find the motivation (tonight it is the completion of writing the conclusion for my thesis) and seriously, time is a precious resource that I am still learning to use well.
So many things have been happening. I have been preparing for a song and dance item for my church's upcoming women's conference. The theme is Freedom and the song is aptly titled Free to Love. It has been such a challenge for me and Mel as we are brought out of our comfort zones - me in dancing and for her, singing. We certainly did not think it would be so challenging when we said yes to putting up the item. Does this mean we will not persevere through? Of course not. Afterall the power and worth is to finish the race and finish it to the best possible.
But still, it is not a breeze. Acting out a monologue seems far easier than dancing solo against a screen that magnifies my silhouette. As for Mel it does not get simpler. She told me today that the microphone appears to swallow up all the effort she has been putting into her singing.
I need to practise on this item of mine. The reason for the lack of practise is simply explained out by the fact that my thesis is due on the same day the conference opens. Nearly 9 months of research, planning, writing, re-planning, re-writing and editing has culminated in just over 12,000 words on Dutch genre paintings of women at home. It really ought to be the big moment in my academic life and certainly I have learnt many things from it. However it has been crippled in some ways. One, time. Two, word limit. Three, that I am not fluent in Dutch and other European languages.
If there ever comes a time in the future when I get to pursue my own research and write another paper I hope that at least two of those three will not remain obstacles. Are there other things that I may be keen on writing about? Let me see... art of indigenous groups in China? the presence of a British colonial aesthetic in Singapore? returning to what sparked off my interest in art history... Vincent van Gogh? Is it no irony that I am still writing about Dutch art, albeit those made three centuries earlier?
After this I have a presentation the following week on my essay topic. Theoretically I should have confirmed my topic with my lecturer and finalised my essay proposal. Theoretically I should have already done significant research on the topic and be able to prepare a 15 minute presentation, complete with slides of images, and deliver it to a classroom audience of about 20 people. In reality, my lecturer felt the choice of case study for my topic was not the best and advised a change in direction. However I was so preoccupied with my thesis that I did not have time to research further. A brief scan through Google revealed a possible new option (though it certainly has to be backed up by time spent in the library). Chuck Frank Gehry out; enter Frank Stella? Frankly speaking... awww this is enough for the pun here is really in bad taste but I could not avoid it! ^^
Oh Lord! May I find strength in You who never tire. You grant joy and confidence who anchor their faith in You. I lift my eyes and hands toward You. Amen!
