I’m currently in the library, having deposited all the library books I used to write my dissertation. I’m so pleased it’s all over, although I’m not sure about it’s quality. Reading over it, I came to the conclusion that it ranked among the worst things I have ever written. Seriously, the sentences were all boring and disconnected, like kids’ books… “Cacti are desert plants. They grow in the desert. We all like desert plants. Let’s sing a song.” Bleh.

Plus, I’m not too sure about the title. Originally it was “How do cacti survive the conditions in which they are found?” I then changed it to “What are the mechanisms which enable cacti to survive the environmental conditions in which they survive and grow” or something similar. This was to make it sound a bit more scientific and brainy, basically. Despite this sexing-up of the title, I’m still not sure how scientific the topic is. I don’t know if it’s sufficiently biological. I don’t know it it’s deep enough.

But, I’ve done as much damage to it as I can, and it’s too late to change now, what with the deadline being Wednesday. The dissertation stands at 5,200 words and 13 pages, and it’s being submitted whether it likes it or not.

Still, at least I have completed it a number of days before the deadline, and not the night before like I did with the project. Seriously, I have never felt more out of control, and I have never been in such a big panic as I was that day. I had a number of nervous breakdowns, in a variety of toilets across campus. Have I said that before in a previous post? Probably… Well, never mind I’m saying it again.

On a brighter note…

…I am going to South America in the summer! It’s gonna be amazing. Plus, I will be able to see the cacti that I’ve been writing about in the flesh, as it were. I can see it now…

“So, Opuntia ficus-indica, we meet at last!”

Yes, that ought to be fun. A massive thank you to a certain Mr Park S. Nobel, the world expert in the field of cacti and agaves (a family of desert plants - Aloe vera is a member!). If it weren’t for his work, my dissertation would have died horribly within days of starting it.

Anyway, I’m going home now, and I’m going to buy crisps and sweets. Tomorrow, I have to write an essay for another module, and that is not going to be fun. :(