update (ahaha, it's about time)
I realized this morning that I never reported about my cell phone situation. Apparently, rumors of its death were greatly exaggerated. The next morning, I plugged it in and it chirped happily and has been fine since. My mother, however, reminded me that this is probably just a reprieve, given the age of the thing, so I might ought to get myself a new one.
Where have I been the last few weeks? Hibernating in my house. Battling depression a bit, but also getting a good deal of reading and working done. I've turned in a draft of my dissertation prospectus -- later than I meant to by a few months -- so I'm not waiting around to get it accepted and defended. I'm starting on a chapter. It's nerdy stuff about part-to-whole relationships in short story cycles and novels, and I'll explain it to you if you ask me about it, but suffice it to say it requires me to talk about the whole oeuvre of Willa Cather, as well as Sarah Orne Jewett's The Country of the Pointed Firs and John Steinbeck's Cannery Row. I'd recommend either of those last two -- very different in tone (one about late 19th c. life in a Maine fishing village, one about life in depression-era California), but both charming and easy-to-read episodic narratives of community. And short.
Otherwise, I've been knitting (a cardigan, a blanket, some socks) and mainlining NBC comedies. I blew through season one of Community (I never wanted to be in love with Joel McHale, but these things happen; also, Abed is my favorite) and I'm also up to season three of 30 Rock (I'm loving the growing friendship between Liz and Jack). Soon, I'll be turning to Parks and Rec. Unless y'all think it's not worth it...
Where have I been the last few weeks? Hibernating in my house. Battling depression a bit, but also getting a good deal of reading and working done. I've turned in a draft of my dissertation prospectus -- later than I meant to by a few months -- so I'm not waiting around to get it accepted and defended. I'm starting on a chapter. It's nerdy stuff about part-to-whole relationships in short story cycles and novels, and I'll explain it to you if you ask me about it, but suffice it to say it requires me to talk about the whole oeuvre of Willa Cather, as well as Sarah Orne Jewett's The Country of the Pointed Firs and John Steinbeck's Cannery Row. I'd recommend either of those last two -- very different in tone (one about late 19th c. life in a Maine fishing village, one about life in depression-era California), but both charming and easy-to-read episodic narratives of community. And short.
Otherwise, I've been knitting (a cardigan, a blanket, some socks) and mainlining NBC comedies. I blew through season one of Community (I never wanted to be in love with Joel McHale, but these things happen; also, Abed is my favorite) and I'm also up to season three of 30 Rock (I'm loving the growing friendship between Liz and Jack). Soon, I'll be turning to Parks and Rec. Unless y'all think it's not worth it...