Just filled my entry for our department's annual report for the past academic year. Man, how short it is! I really need to "take it to the next level". I'm such a slacker.

I have got till end of July to revise a paper. It's entirely predictable that the reviewers question why I didn't mention any of the geography literature on the subject matter. Well, hey, no big mysteries there good people of academia, for this is what happens when a sociologist submit a paper to a geography journal! My revision shall include putting in all the relevant geography literature and clarify my methodology. Sounds simple right? But you never know. I have had the experience of a paper being rejected despite following the reviewer's suggestions for revision to the fucking dot. And that's a whole year - from initial submission from final rejection - wasted. Before I can send it off again to another journal for consideration. I really wonder how many people in this trade follow the ethics code religiously and never submit the same paper simultaneously to more than one journal. I hope I am not the only one.

Anyhouse, I'm quite confident that this one will come out in 2008, and am still waiting for the reviewers comments on another one I sent out 4 months ago. Meanwhile, latest word is that our book should come out this year. So, there is hope that next year my annual report entry would look a bit longer.

Meanwhile, the sky is dark and it's raining buckets outside. Some CNN people came to interview me about a paper I wrote, and they have just left. I hope they don't get soaked, what with their nice clothes and equipment and all. I hope their van takes them back to their office safely.

As I ponder over these matters, I have inadvertently eaten 9 pieces of nougat candy. I feel a bit disgusted with myself. And how come I am not getting a sugar rush? It's no fair.

Sigh sigh.