'Editing' implies correcting, and it's not.*

I've been flailing around in a rage all morning, except whilst cleaning the kitchen or watching Understanding Jane (1998). Why? Why?!? My supervisor has an incredibly shitty sense of timing and editing.

To whit, she said, My main comment is that you have too many chapters for the report as it is. and goes on suggesting how I could move chapters around and stick some chapters into others and so forth.

My response - or rather, my response filtered through all the ranting and raving - is that 1) this is what you should have told me when I turning in my first draft and now less than a week before handing in the final draft, 2) this would incur a substantial amount of rewriting, which I don't have time for, 3) telling me this only because I asked a simple question over the style of the Table of Contents is low, low, low, 4) IT'S TOO FUCKING LATE WHY DIDN'T YO TELL ME EARLIER WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?

Seriously. This is what I was afraid of. For months, all she tells me is "More graphs!" or "You misspelt this!" and now she's all, "Omgwtf it's too long and the order and splice stuff around and and and". Have replied email trying to sound sane - possibly coming off as incredibly English - generally saying, "Woman, you're on crack."

ETA: Her reply just came in.

It is not my intention to give you lots of work with rewriting. Species description is given in chapter 3 (and will be chapter 2 then) I thought, and the allee effect is one of the factors explaining the decline and could therefore be taken up in chapter 4 (will be chapter 3). Anyways if you think it will require to much rewriting (but I don't see why; the same is true for making 2 sections in 1), then just forget about it.

*weeps in confusion* I don't know what to dooooooo. At this stage of the "Almost Fucking Done" I really can't deal with this. The reducing-of-sections I get even less, because it's still the same amount of text in the same order, just...without a heading. And the chapter thing, well, it's again the same text, just a bit more all-over-the-place because different topics would be squished together into a chapter. And now I can't "just forget about it" because I find the email just oozing with "no, really, don't just forget about it, you weakling'. *flails*

ETA 2: More from the supervisor:

We just had a alarm going off here so I had to close off. The new paragraph General Structure and overrview is fine (but if you change anything in chapter numbering don't forget to adjust it). Just see what you do with these comments (it is not a serious comment that one can get.....).

What the flying fuck does that mean, "not a serious comment that one can get"?!? Like, "lolz, kidding?" *flails*


Links of the Day:
spicedogs posts a Michael Emerson Interview with fanfolk's questions.
Lost: "Cabin Fever" review by Jeff Jensen
Benjamin Linus Presents a True Player's Guide to Scoring Ladies
Ben Linus relationship map
Lost: Secrets from the Set (spoilers may be afoot)
Promotional Lost Photo of Hilariousness
Wiki: Bili Ape - possible gorilla-sized chimp?


* Anon. or uncredited

If I'd known how much packing I'd have to do, I'd have run again.*

Despite – or perhaps due to – not doing anything today, I’m calling it quits. So here I am in bed, a measly Long Chicken in my belly and no internet. Neither of these two states are good. Add to that the fact that my mouse finger (and hell, whole wrist) aches, and you’ve got a pretty down little Sickle. Not Pit of Blah, not Dodos of Doom, but kinda…Blanket of Defeat. (Yeah, that works.)

The only good thing of not having any internet it that I can take my time writing this post out. (Forget that I’ve already posted today. Posts are good!) I thankfully left my previous post open and with the last embedded YouTube video open, because I’m so hooked on Skinny Puppy’s I’mmortal (and yes, that apostrophe does sit right there).

I think I’ve figured out why I’m so peeved at my supervisor and her suggestions. (Well, apart from her never addressing my questions, like why she didn’t tell me this earlier.) It’s not that they’re bad suggestions, it just that they’re way too late. And despite what she might think, combining previously well-delineated sections does require a bit of rewriting and jigsaw-puzzle-arranging. (Which, by the way, is hell.) Allow me to explain with a crack metaphor.

( Imagine a suitcase. )

* Harry S Truman
** I do not, have nor, nor ever will, smoke. But damn if sometimes I couldn’t use a cigarette.