Bribery

I wish that I were one of those professors who loved academic writing. I wish that I felt renewed by its challenges and I wish that I eagerly anticipated vacations when I could devote myself wholly to it. Instead, I feel tremendous anxiety when a vacation is approaching because I know that I’ll need to turn back to my writing and that makes me queasy. So this week, faced with the unsavory challenge of turning a 23,000-word chapter into an 8,000-word article for an edited volume, I have returned to my robust program of self-bribery.

In this week’s iteration, I’m allowing myself one washer worth of winding for every half an hour that I spend on this article. And so this necklace develops bit by bit. My sister decided on gray and red for her wedding, colors that work well for elegant cheer.  And slated to wear a gray bridesmaid frock, I decided to add bit of color around the neck.

 A trip to Lowe's and $1.33 later, I ended up with a small pouch of washers. I had a bunch of embroidery floss—the $.40 variety—and some superglue. I had seen a picture of something similar online, but I couldn't seem to remember where and so much of this is trial and error. I've realized that I'm not a great winder and that it's frustratingly difficult to get the connections just right.

 I still haven't figured out the mechanics of adding this to a chain of some sorts. I'm thinking that I'll add a couple of jump rings to the ends and then go to Lexington's bead shop and buy a sterling chain and clasp. I'm worried that it might look too crafty for a wedding, but we'll see once its done and I can model it here. 

Okay, my time is up. It's back to the article.