New plans

The rain fell on the canopy and reminded me of summer nights in the "aitta". The sound of rain is beautiful. Drop, drop, drop. Nature's music on man-made objects.

I sipped at my hot chocolate and tried not to burn my mouth eating the wasabi peanuts. Wirilander's book lay on my lap and two Russian girls talked in the nearby table. The rain had surprised me when I had walked for nearly forty minutes and was approaching Westend. It was only a light drizzle and the air was none the colder, so I headed towards the Bar Celona again.

Wirilander had surprised me too. A book that I truly enjoyed reading and I could not remember when that had last happened. I got reminded of Natalie Zemon Davis and Montaillou and Bill Miller's book in my bookshelf that I hadn't yet touched. I got reminded of Iceland and that fabulous presentation. Of my graduate thesis, which was more social history than legal history; of the fact that sociology was perhaps the most interesting subject of all those that belonged to our degree; that I studied law for all the wrong reasons and that research as such can be fun...

Perhaps I don't have to abandon research altogether after all. At least not yet. Maybe I owe it to myself to try and write another book - a scientific book that is. Microhistorical perhaps, with psychological undertones, since I believe that actions ultimately have psychological causes - our fears and desires - and with sociological interests. Popular history, I think, since it suits me better to write to broader audiences than to the narrower interests of the academic world. Something to do with honour, since that is what really interests me.

I doubt that really interests the law faculty, but alas, they already gave me a five year tenure and I will still have four years left after I have finished the dissy. Yep, I think they will just have to blame themselves, if I get a bit more multidisciplinary than they had thought. Or find it necessary to spend some time abroad in foreign universities to get really acquainted with the subject. Or am forced to move outside the capital area to be able to really concentrate on the work...

Well, we'll see. I like that idea today, but no-one knows of tomorrow. It would solve quite a few things though and I could go back to the original plan for next year... Yeah, but we will see.

Currently listening to: Attrition - A girl called harmony