What('s) in the name of....

RoBoPo is short for Romanian Body Projects. This was the first coherent version of a title for my PhD thesis. In our first meetings, my advising committee agreed that it was not methodologically appropriate to say “Romanian” because it gives the false impression I’m documenting every “body project” in all of Romania -which is not true because I am only interested in some of these “projects” and I can interview and question a small sample since I’m basically doing the actual research by myself.  I thought it was best to take that suggestion into consideration and...  that was that:  no more “Ro” in my “RoBoPo”. Like most ideas I come up with, for me, RoBoPo has “the sticky factor” that I can’t ignore. It has a nice ring to it and it’s important for me because it made my thesis real by giving it a name. Since I can't officially parade this name  – for the above mentioned reason - I’ve decided to re-distribute it for this venture. I am writing about things that happen in Romania, after all ..

As a concept, “body projects”was introduced by Chris Shilling in 1993, and it refers to the ways in which individuals are relating to their body in the post-modern era. My own take on this issue focuses more on the “project” part, specifically on the way body objectives – the ultimate goals, the  "personal objectives" (Po) of “body projects” - are being developed.  BoPo stands for "body project/personal objectives" . I use the mnemonic SMART to structure my observations in the beauty salons in four cities in Romania. I am interested in what people actually want to do to their bodies when they visit beauty salons and the like (specific); when will they know they have achieved their goal (measurable); if certain bodily modifications  are more do-able then others: how and why (attainable);are these modifications really necessary and for whom?(relevant) and how much time (and other resources) are people willing to invest in a personal “body project” (time-bound) 

532o:  When I first developed the idea of a blog for my thesis, somewhere in May this year, I inserted the name RoBoPo in the special box on the blogger site (where they check to see if it  is available) and it was already taken. What to do? I looked around for a bit of inspiration and I saw “Acer TravelMate5320” written on the bottom side of my laptop’s frame. I have owned this device since my third year in college yet I never bother remembering this detail. My "travelmate" has really been living up to its name: I’ve written all my projects with it and they’ve all turned out quite well, so far.I thought it was a nice way to show my appreciation for our journey together and introduce the number 5320 in my blog’s name. A little while after that, I’ve received news that the thesis is due to be completed until April next year (although the initial contractual agreement is for September). When I came home, I did the math and there were only 235 days left! As if 3 years to complete the thesis is an eternity and they had to shrink it down to size,I thought. Then I realized that 235 is the mirror of 5320 and smiled the bad news away! Coincidences?! Gotta love them!  They're EVERYWHERE..As I am only now beginning to write this blog I will count down 235 days from today. So, until May 6^th I’ll be posting here whenever I feel like procrastinating. Blogging still counts as writing, doesn't it ? And if what I write is about the thesis then I will be writing something thesis-related, won't I?  .

One more thing: because the site I created in May somehow stopped working (don't ask me why...)  I had to change the title name and the zero in 5320 is now the letter “o”. 

There you have it: enjoy!