After two days of intensive work as a translator in London, I got back to my thesis writing this week.
I was excited to finalise my findings chapter and was planning two weeks to complete it. But it’s been a slow start, going back and forth between the previous chapters to make the link clearer. I’ve also added extra sections on the initial findings that I worked on last year. It’s felt like recalling my memories of the past few years and putting them together.
In the same way that I meet my supervisors to discuss drafts every month, I find it very important to have meetings with myself. When you are lost in your writing process and not sure what to do next, you should stop stepping forward and return to a point where you feel confident. Sometimes, I have a meeting with myself before starting work in the morning, asking
“What are the short-term ultimate goals?”
“Where have I been stuck?”
“What needs to be done now?” and so on. This works well for me.
Cooking
On Tuesday, I cooked Rigatoni pasta Genovese with Sicilian Ricotta Salata, using a few ingredients: onion, parsley and ham. We served the pasta and green salad on Sicilian ceramic plates. Very Italian, and simple and delicious!
On Thursday, Luca wanted to have a very light dinner. I made Japanese-style ham and cucumber sandwiches, with ume-mayo, in which I combined mayonnaise with ume (Japanese pickled plums).



My achievements in Week 136
- got a couple of sections done
- revised Chapters 2 and 4
Goals for Week 137
- write and edit Chapter 5