To Buy or Not To Buy: the Sequel (or, How I REALLY Feel About My Dissertation)

Marcy (via comments) and Jeff (via Facebook) brought up a good question: do I want to make this paper perfect, or do I want to BE DONE with this bleeping paper?

At this point, I think it's pretty darned good (as soon as I fix the little things I noted to myself in the last draft). Buying the other book might add some spice and insight to my paper, if the book focuses on Jorge Gonzalez's (singer/songwriter's) life in the 80s and his political views then and now (quotes from the horse's mouth never hurt), but I have a strong suspicion, based on the drama that has gone on since the band broke up, that the book might focus more on how Gonzalez feels about Claudio Narea, the guy whose book I just finished, guitarist for the band (Gonzalez had a fling with Narea's wife; Narea left the band because of that and creative differences with Gonzalez, who is a very opinionated, passionate, pig-headed person, as creative geniuses tend to be). Also, Gonzalez has been in and out of drug rehab, so the book probably focuses on that journey, so on and so forth.

If I could buy the book anywhere near here, then I'd get it. But given the cost, I don't think my paper will be lacking without that info (I do have quotes from interviews and another book that's basically one long interview with the three members of the band). So, final answer: to not buy.

I'd still like to read the book, because I'm curious about these guys' lives and all, but I need to get this paper finished and sent off so I can have my bleeping degree already.

Today is the day to finally put this dissertation out of my its misery. If it's not DONE after today, then I'll shave my head and find some bridge to live under. Or jump off of.

(See how distressed I am about this? I've ended two sentences with a preposition.)

Editing letter by Lara Zielin (or, How I Feel About My Bloody Dissertation)

My dissertation has been hanging over my head for AGES. I have finally kicked my butt into gear and done some serious work on it; I thought I was DONE, and I sent the work to my dad and brother to read. You know, to proof, make sure I didn't have stray commas or typos... make MINOR changes and suggestions.

INSTEAD, I was told to add HISTORICAL CONTEXT to all the stuff I was saying. So I had to do ALL THIS RESEARCH and get FACTS and INFORMATION to back up the claims I was making.

THEN I was again DONE -- to the best of my knowledge. Then my dad sends me ANOTHER BOOK, the autobiography of one of the members of the band (whose song lyrics I'm using to reflect the social, cultural, and political feelings of the youth in Chile in the 80s, under Pinochet's dictatorship). I have sticky notes all over the first half of that book, more stuff I can out in my paper to make it better.

So NOW I have to get the lead singer's autobiography too. After all, he's the guy who wrote all the songs I'm talking about, and he's the one with the angry political sentiments.

But, you see, this book isn't really and Amazon Pick of the Week type book. I found one place where I can order it, for $16. Which is not bad. But my two shipping options are: 3-day shipping for $46, or 20-day shipping for $22. There's a bigger difference between 3 and 20 days than between 22 and 46 dollars, don't you think?

(If you'd been working on this bloody paper as long as I have you would very much indeed think, trust me.)

Do I just leave the bloody dissertation as is, or do I fork over $62 for this book?

I found another site that will sell me the book for $9, with $39 shipping, but those amounts are in Chilean pesos (I'm too lazy to look up the exchange rate) and I don't know how long the shipping will take (it does say DHL, so I'm assuming it's relatively not-eternal). Do I go for that one?

I've tried buying the $62 book twice now, but the server can't process my transaction at this time. Is this God sending me a message?

Blogosphere, what say you?

To buy or not to buy, that is the question...

Where's an English teacher when you need one?!?

I know I wrote research papers in high school - didn't I?

But then again, that was back when the Internetz was something new and scary. It had games, and this wacky "e-mail" thing, but that was it. When you had to write research papers, you got your little butt down to the library and made friends with our good buddy Mr. Dewey, of Decimal System fame.

You grabbed your encyclopedias, a book or two - maybe even a magazine or newspaper if you were really cutting edge. (I was in all Honors classes, so yes, I used magazines, thankyouverymuch.) You looked at the notes your teacher gave you to cite an encyclopedia, a book, and a periodical, and you were set. Whoo-hoo!

I took one class in college where we had to write research papers (a grand total of three). Again, I used books. One citation format, and I was done. No, wait - I might have gotten online sources for the very last paper, because by the time I sat down to start it, the library was closed, and the all-night computer lab was my only recourse. Either way, that was still a nice, clean-cut "online source" citation. And it was a science class, so he wasn't that big on the mechanics of the paper.

Because I am that annoying G/T kid, all raw and cutting-edge, my dissertation is about a rock band. I already blew some people's minds when I asked how to cite a song from a CD (then again, that was at the local community college). I figured out how to adjust the "short story collection" citation format to fit "songs on a CD" - but what the heck do I do for YouTube videos of live performances of those songs??

Who's the author? The TV channel that aired the concert? The artist, who wrote the lyrics? The band, who composed the song (music and lyrics together, and performance)? The guy who took the TV footage and put it on YouTube? Does the guy who posted it on YouTube count as the "editor"? The "publisher"?

HELP!