marraskuuta 26, 2007

I can't speak English no more

I've been banned from my computer! :-( Or using the net on my laptop anyway. This means, I suppose, that I have to move into the library downstairs for the evenings. Well, at least I may be able to see more people this way.

Only thing to do now is to learn where the letters are on a German keyboard. Most of them are where you would expect them to be, but they have hidden the y on the lower left hand corner. There is an z on where the y should be, so if I keep writing zou then that means actually you and so forth.

The presentation is now over. It drove me absolutely crazy this morning and yesterday, but the actual discussion was quite fun. Milos, who is very, very sweet - even though he insists on calling me Lisa - was chairing and there were maybe ten people around. Nice and cozy. The folks seemed to think that even if I only presented my findings on the court in action, that would be more than enough. That there would be no particular need to go into the reasoning and decision making questions more deeply - especially as it actually may not be possible to get anything out of the cases. Maybe use a couple of cases as examples, but no more than that.

What was kind of nice is that they didn't seem to think it was stupid - what I had wrote. Or not enough - quite the opposite, they thought it might be too much. And they thought that, even though they had been properly pre-impressed by the Finnish standards of doctoral dissertations as compared to German dissertations. Strange. Or perhaps just that they aren't so familiar with the subject. An example: these people found it interesting that only in 1/4 of civil cases there were references to material law, something other than procedural law, custom or equity that is. When I said something along those lines back home in the last Reuna seminar I just got a pitying look and a "but everyone knows that, what was your point again?" comment. People always judge things based on what they themselves know. That is a sheer fact of life, but it makes writing the dissy difficult and confusing. One never knows what is as elementary as 1 + 1 and what would be considered relevant and interesting.

Yep, but this does make life a little easier. I'll keep it simple. Away with the unnecessary theories, and if one of the main findings just turns out to be that procedural justice was important, then fine! That may not be very fascinating or important, but - pardon my French - fuck that.

Currently listening to: The humming of the air conditioner

Ei kommentteja: