I might have to say yes

Had a chat with my module coordinator today and explained to him whether me wanting to change my propsal will effect my funding oppotunity. He said, 'No don't worry about that, we want you.' Well thats sorted. I also found out that for the 80 hours of teaching I do a year, I wont be paid extra. Therefore, I need to rethink my finances, I've started looking into becoming a part time tutor to earn some money. I still need to find a house, but it looks like I'm going to be here for another three years. Its going to be a long road but I reckon I can do it. 

Here comes the PhD.

Oh Bugger

Just received this e-mail

Dear Kris

 

I am pleased to inform you that SALL Board of Graduate Research is offering you a University doctoral bursary. Bursaries provide an award of £7,000 per year for three years. Bursary recipients will be required to carry out 80 hours support work a year within the School in the form of teaching, research support or as an International Ambassador.

 

Please note annual renewal of the bursary is subject to satisfactory progress of your PhD.

 

Please notify us as soon as possible and no later than 5^th May that you would wish to accept this offer. I would be grateful if you could email the Postgraduate Administrators to confirm this.

 

Oh bugger.

The good thing is that they liked my proposal and they believe it would make for an interesting project. However, in lieu of my last post, unless I can change my proposal, I am to all intensive purposes buggered. In addition to this, I will need to find a way to survive on £7000 a year including tuition fees. I'm chuffed though that I've been given something, its more than what I was expecting.

I've Changed My Mind

This week I will hopefully find out whether I will be given PhD funding for Exeter. I am still interested in doing a PhD, however, I want to change my proposal. My original plan was to examine the landscape and the ways in which it is dramatised through the backpacking state of mind. I have however, recently had a change of heart, from reading Calvino and doing this critical bibliography and have decided to revert back to what I was interested in originally; namely that of psychogeography. I'm writing this now because I don't want this week's decision to change the fact that I want to change my propsal. If I can't change it, I may have to just turn down the funding. This may seem quite rash, but I know for a fact I couldn't do something for 3 years that I wasn't interested in. I'd go mad.

As of 3am this morning, we finished principal photography at Kay house for Shields of Justice. For the last few weeks over the Easter hols I've been spending time on set, acting, lighting, filming, carrying, pretty much helping out in whatever way I can. I'm not alone, and this project has been shaped really by all the people who have committed themselves 100%, to help Ben & Tom achieve their dream. What I like about this film in particular is the freedom, the patience of Ben & Tom and their willingness to hear any idea no matter how small and insignificant it may seem. Part of the reason we were up so late, eating apples and werthers originals as well as the odd sachet of sugar, was because we all knew that we didn't just want this film to be good, we wanted it to be more. I've still got more to do on this project, and I look forward to it greatly.

The City

Just got back from London.

It was a nice 4 day break in a different location. Met Sam at Victoria and then managed to find Hugh and Gemma's place somewhere south east (I think) of London. Its the first time I'd been to the capital for fun since the production environment trip I did at uni back in 2005. We didn't do the touristy things, just drifting round London, visiting the Tate Modern, a noodle place that was off the pH level, and a retro sweet shop. London has made a different impression on me this time round. Beforehand, I was always intimidated by the big city with its overwhelming buildings and masses of people pushing through the intricate network of public transport. This time round though I got to see the appeal of London. I still don't know whether I could live there myself but I can see why others do. I took with me Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino to read, which presents a series of ficticious accounts by Marco Polo of fictional/actual cities. I haven't read a book quite like it. Not only does the writing flow so well, but the brief impressions it gives you of each city stay with you until what you end up with is not a series of cities, but one city. What Calvino therefore presents is individual facets of the cities we all know and are part of, whether we are outisde of them, perceiving them as a whole, or within their walls, an active part of their construction.

"The city, however, does not tell its past, but contains it like the lines of a hand..."

"Many are the cities ..., which elude the gaze of all, except the man who catches them by surprise." 

"For those who pass it without entering, the city is one thing; it is another for those who are trapped by it and never leave. There is the city where you arrive for the first time; and there is another city which you leave never to return."

"Elsewhere is a negative mirror. The Traveler recognises the little that is his, discovering the much he has not had and will never have."

"It is not the voice that commands the story: it is the ear."

 Before leaving for London, I also started my first day of shooting on Shields of Justice. It was basically just background stuff, which was fine by me, which involved me looking confused in the lobby. The level of detail and attentions put into the production is simply staggering and the energy of everyone involved is relentless. It looks like I'm going to have a lot of fun on this one. Although I'm probably going to have to grow some sideburns.

Before then, Holly and Laurence drove down for the day. It was great because it was the first time in which the three of us got to hang out in ages. I took them round Exeter, stopping at the Imperial for lunch, before heading to the Quay and through the highstreet. Turns out Laurence is looking at going to Plymouth this year, so if I get the funding, he'll just be round the corner.

I still need to do some work, and learn lines I guess.

Exeter Interview

Had my interview at Exeter today. I don't know exactly how it went, I just delivered my presentation and they asked me questions. As for how good it was, I wont know until the 23rd, but we'll see. The dificulty I'm facing at the moment is the justification to myself about it. This is a project of my own creation, it has its influences but its something I've set out to do myself which is both exciting and terrifying. The major thing I got out of the whole process was the lunch afterwards. Not just for the food, which was nice. I got to meet people interested in PhDs and members of the department. It made me realise the sheer variety of different topics that are being studied in the department. By freaky coincidence, I met two guys waiting for their interviews both affiliated with Aberystwyth. One actually acted in the production of Merchant of Venice that was part of the school shakespeare project that I had to study in my first year. The other is studying performance arts at Aber and is experienced in walking as performances. Regardless of whether I get the funding or not, these sort of meetings introduce you to new ideas and other people's work.

Yesterday was a good day. Do you ever have those sort of days where everything just clicks? I got an e-mail from an academic associated with backpacker tourism:

Dear Kris,

Many thanks for the outline of your Research, which looks very interesting. 

I think you may need to make a clear choice between the qualitative and
quantitative elements of the research as you have currently defined them.
Although surveys might help to gather information on the scale of backpacker
performance and how often it might take place in different settings, for
most of the information you need I would say that qualitative research is
probably more relevant. You might also look at some techniques which combine
the two approaches, such as Q methodology. I have attached a paper that
might be of help here.

The new version fo the Global Nomad research is also available on the WYSE
Travel Confederation website (www.wystec.org - see the research pages).
There is also a report on the cultural impacts of youth travel, which might
also be useful.

This paper (all 14 pages of it) was of enormous benefit to the presentation I gave today, encouraging me to make a change of emphasis for my proposed research. Instead of just considering the backpacker as an individual, I also want to consider them as a community or culture. "anonymous intimacy" was the term I liked, being both part of something, but isolated as well: neither here not there. I sent a reply and received this back:

Dear Kris,

Glad that staff was useful. I don't think that defining the backpacker is a
real issue. Backpacking is more a state of mind (or a more of performance)
than anything else.

Good luck with the application.

Cheers,

Academics have found it difficult to define a backpacker (to be honest so do most backpackers) instead opting for a hybrid of other titles, such as drifter, tourist or traveller. For the quantative research needed, I would have to consider how I would differentiate between the different types of walker when interviewing.

I just need to wait. To be honest there's a lot of competition here (about 70 I think) with people from all over the world all trying to stake their claim. I never imagined I would be in this position. At the beginning of February, I didn't have an idea of what I wanted to research. Now I've just been interviewed for a PhD. Its all a bit bizarre. 

With this out of the way I still have several things that I need to do:

-Start work on Shields of Justice, the guys say I can visit the set whenever I want, but I'm not too sure when I begin work on the project myself

- Begin writing my critical bibliography of books for my dissertation (what dissertation?)

- Begin work on my performance analysis - probably going to do Waiting for Godot

- Finish graphics for Judith's storybook project

-Work on application for Victoria University

- Attend Landscape conference at Aber

- Book a place on a workshop in June based in Snowdonia (girl I met today is one of the guys running it)

Next week I'm going to London! Bought my tickets yesterday. Looking forward to it, havn't properly been since 2005 (Last time was with 50 Chileans last January). Meeting up with Samwise who's taking a break from the rigours of DJing in Orkney. He reckons we're the new Mayo and Kermode. 

Also my sister and brother may visit next week, which would be good cause its rare thats its ever just the 3 of us. Hol's in her 3rd year I think of Uni and Loz is choosing which uni to go to this year.

Anyways Easter wont be boring.