In a few hours, I'll be heading to Roanoke for graduation. Wow. I started this program in 2001, it's been part of my life for 8 years (almost exactly as long as my husband's been in my life as a love interest; our first date was the Wednesday before I went to Hollins the first summer). I've done two abroad trips. I've written two book-length ( Read more... )

Ok, I think I'm dreaming. This conference only costs $25. I'm SO there. There's also a ton of Hollins chickies going, so we're going to get a block of rooms. Just made the reservations today. Hotel costs are really low too, AND it includes breakfast and dinner!

In my spare (hah!) time, I sometimes write reviews. I'm currently working on a scholarly text about Harry Potter. While the book is rather mediocre, what disturbs me most is something that isn't the author's fault. The author's note at the beginning states that quotes from the book have been paraphrased because permission was not granted ( Read more... )

I thought that I'd used up my quota of weird re-meetings when a friend from elementary school and girl scouts ended up at Hollins at the same time as me. But last night my mom realized that my high school english teacher was at ICFA! And I had no idea!!!! That'll teach me not to read the conference program! I can't believe I missed him! This ( Read more... )

I have returned, laden with books and new ideas. Also, I have returned mostly triumphant, as no one threw things during my presentation. I listened to some truely amazing papers and panels, but I think the one that I'll always remember is the paper that described how zombie movies illustrate the evils of capitalism. More later...

I'm off to Ft. Lauderdale tomorrow for ICFA! I'm staying on a couple days this year with a few friends from school too, so I actually get to RELAX in addition to having some really fun, educational, but hectic days. Ahhhh. I wasn't too eager to leave the Mid-Atlantic yesterday because the weather was gorgeous, but today it dipped into the 30s ( Read more... )

I seem to have finished my paper for the study abroad trip! I actually designated yesterday as "wrap up paper day" and it ended up only taking a couple hours. I want to review it, but I think it will be ready to go to the prof by the end of the week. Nice! Now I can finally get back into writing. When I have a paper looming, I can't write ( Read more... )

I thought coming back from Mythic Journeys would really inspire me. This past week, however, I found it hard to even get a few lines a day. I'm horribly behind on book reviews for JFA (I think I'm suffering from second publication syndrome, I managed one and I'm worried my next won't be as good. Wait, I guess this would be third, because I have ( Read more... )

I keep forgetting to post this! When I presented my paper at ICFA, we had a Q&A session after all the papers were read. A woman in the front row asked me a question, and I realized it was Suzy McKee Charnas! I loved her book "The Bronze King" when I was in middle school, to realize there was an author I'd admired for years listening to a paper I ( Read more... )

What a wonderful week! I went to ICFA 25, heard many wonderful papers, spent loads of times with soniaamiller and the other Hollins girls, as well as some of the best teachers Hollins has to offer, met some of the top minds in the field, and had a spectacular time in general. I came home with some wonderful memories, theories, and some great projects to work ( Read more... )