Notable happenings in Doha…

DTFF

It’s the Doha Tribeca Film Festival.  Robert De Niro is in town promoting his new movie, ‘Silver Linings Playbook’.  K saw an advanced screening back in Canada.  She loved it.  As for me, I got to see De Niro give an interview about his craft.  The interviewer wasn’t particularly good, most of the questions were so loaded with commentary that De Niro was left with nothing other than ‘Mmm, yeah sure.’

That being said, De Niro did seem quite mellow and agreeable.  A contrast from a lot of the roles that made him famous.  There was a special screening of a collection of short films by Qataris.  The films were ok, kind of what you’d expect of students.  The second one stood out the most, a young man confessing to a murder and recounting the events.  He didn’t like his friend’s wonky eye, so he killed him, cut him up and stuffed him away. Only to be betrayed by the sound of the beating heart which beat louder and louder in the presence of some visiting friends until he was driven to confession. Sound familiar?  To be honest I was a little shocked that Poe never got any reference in the credits.

Work

Get up. Go to work.  Go home. Sleep repeat.  Add copious of reading/research where possible.  We’ve just finished making the final for this semester.  It’s all practice and prep now until the exam.  I’ve put in for a different course next semester.   I’ve met teachers in Korea who stay in the same job even though they aren’t happy. Change is probably the scariest part of working overseas.  Different country, different culture, different customs… Once people acclimate to a new setting, they tend to hold on to that familiarity.  I don’t mean to imply that I’m unhappy with my students and class or even my partner.  All have been excellent this semester.  It’s time for change, simple as that.

The M.A.

Working away… reading and research everyday.  I’m hoping to be finished the module readings by the end of next week.  I’m going to Nepal in December, with sweet angel-baby-K’s blessing, for a week to feed my inner-hippie and right now the main thing is getting enough work in to safely take a study break without getting swamped afterwards.  I’m also due to come up with a dissertation proposal by the end of this module.  Just another reason to work with a sense of urgency these days.