Assorted Updates
Ah, I remember when I used to have theme and focus for my posts! But anyway.
* Endure is a tiny game by Emily Short, in which you translate a few lines of the Odyssey. In four different styles, piece by piece, for very different translated results. (Refresh to play again, if you've translated all the Greek and want to see it in different styles.) Very simple, and yet some great thought-provoking depth in what it's doing.
* Minneapolis has been lying to me, I've been assured. The weather has been gorgeous since I got here, it was gorgeous during my visit, and right now the temperatures are ambling toward my absolute favorite level of coolth. I will surely be shaking my fist at the sky come proper winter.
* There are a lot of dogs in this complex, as expected. What I had not expected was how many of them are completely outside the listed weight restriction. Neither that husky, that golden lab, nor that big brown dog that was yelling at us from the balcony is under 30 pounds. (And that pointer puppy is not going to be 30 pounds once he's grown up, either.) I'll just assume they got special exemptions made on the lease. But it does mean Adverb has been doing some cowering behind my legs as enormous dogs yell at/try to play with him.
To be fair, he also cowers behind my legs with small dogs yell at/try to play with him.
* Classes start on Tuesday. Right now, I am registered for seven classes, which is not quite as absurd as it sounds. Three of them are quite solid graduate courses (Hesiod, Roman Philosophy, Archeology of Pre-Historic Europe), but two are sight-reading classes with no homework, one is German reading, and one is an intro-to-CNES (Classics and Near Eastern Studies) course that's all reading and discussion. All but the archeology course only meet once a week, which means my schedule is bizarre and occasionally hilarious.
* As a Classics track PhD student, I get the full reading list that Latin PhD students do, and the full reading list that Greek PhD students do. I counted. 58 authors, many of whom I'm reading multiple works from. (Some of whom I'm only reading excerpts from, and a handful I only have to read in translation.) It's going to be a very busy...forever.
* We went to a meeting where all the current grad students talked about what they'd did with summer funding. "Don't expect us to be able to send you all over Europe," the program head reminded us, as four or five people explained their summers spent traveling between programs and interesting sites all over Europe. (The rest had mostly worked on their thesis or reading list, with a general 'don't starve' stipend type of funding for the time.)
* Then there was the meeting where we covered information like "How do you know what to address a professor by?" and "What's appropriate grad student clothing for attending classes, TAing, teaching, attending conferences?" and "Health insurance: for the love of god, sign up by the deadline!" and "Please don't take out the maximum student loans you're allowed, this will cause you problems" and "Undergrads think their TA is the voice of god, do not give definitive answers to these questions yourself." It was remarkably useful on at least two levels: one, that so many 'unwritten' rules were being made explicit; two, that it makes me confident I can actually ask for help with questions like these if I'm not sure.
* In related news, I bought a small amount of very cheap slightly professional clothing. Some day I would like moderately nice rather professional clothing, but I do not trust my own fashion judgment enough to spend money on such things yet.
* The light rail here is very handy and easy to use; the bus system is, despite their website, still rather baffling.
* I want to buy a bike, and the people at the bike store were gloriously useful in helping me figure out the right bike for me, but should I buy a bike when I'm not sure if I merely want one or if I'll actually use one regularly?
* Hoping to go to the state fair today. Wish me luck.
This entry was originally posted at http://fadeaccompli.dreamwidth.org/125686.html. Comment wherever you like.
* Endure is a tiny game by Emily Short, in which you translate a few lines of the Odyssey. In four different styles, piece by piece, for very different translated results. (Refresh to play again, if you've translated all the Greek and want to see it in different styles.) Very simple, and yet some great thought-provoking depth in what it's doing.
* Minneapolis has been lying to me, I've been assured. The weather has been gorgeous since I got here, it was gorgeous during my visit, and right now the temperatures are ambling toward my absolute favorite level of coolth. I will surely be shaking my fist at the sky come proper winter.
* There are a lot of dogs in this complex, as expected. What I had not expected was how many of them are completely outside the listed weight restriction. Neither that husky, that golden lab, nor that big brown dog that was yelling at us from the balcony is under 30 pounds. (And that pointer puppy is not going to be 30 pounds once he's grown up, either.) I'll just assume they got special exemptions made on the lease. But it does mean Adverb has been doing some cowering behind my legs as enormous dogs yell at/try to play with him.
To be fair, he also cowers behind my legs with small dogs yell at/try to play with him.
* Classes start on Tuesday. Right now, I am registered for seven classes, which is not quite as absurd as it sounds. Three of them are quite solid graduate courses (Hesiod, Roman Philosophy, Archeology of Pre-Historic Europe), but two are sight-reading classes with no homework, one is German reading, and one is an intro-to-CNES (Classics and Near Eastern Studies) course that's all reading and discussion. All but the archeology course only meet once a week, which means my schedule is bizarre and occasionally hilarious.
* As a Classics track PhD student, I get the full reading list that Latin PhD students do, and the full reading list that Greek PhD students do. I counted. 58 authors, many of whom I'm reading multiple works from. (Some of whom I'm only reading excerpts from, and a handful I only have to read in translation.) It's going to be a very busy...forever.
* We went to a meeting where all the current grad students talked about what they'd did with summer funding. "Don't expect us to be able to send you all over Europe," the program head reminded us, as four or five people explained their summers spent traveling between programs and interesting sites all over Europe. (The rest had mostly worked on their thesis or reading list, with a general 'don't starve' stipend type of funding for the time.)
* Then there was the meeting where we covered information like "How do you know what to address a professor by?" and "What's appropriate grad student clothing for attending classes, TAing, teaching, attending conferences?" and "Health insurance: for the love of god, sign up by the deadline!" and "Please don't take out the maximum student loans you're allowed, this will cause you problems" and "Undergrads think their TA is the voice of god, do not give definitive answers to these questions yourself." It was remarkably useful on at least two levels: one, that so many 'unwritten' rules were being made explicit; two, that it makes me confident I can actually ask for help with questions like these if I'm not sure.
* In related news, I bought a small amount of very cheap slightly professional clothing. Some day I would like moderately nice rather professional clothing, but I do not trust my own fashion judgment enough to spend money on such things yet.
* The light rail here is very handy and easy to use; the bus system is, despite their website, still rather baffling.
* I want to buy a bike, and the people at the bike store were gloriously useful in helping me figure out the right bike for me, but should I buy a bike when I'm not sure if I merely want one or if I'll actually use one regularly?
* Hoping to go to the state fair today. Wish me luck.
This entry was originally posted at http://fadeaccompli.dreamwidth.org/125686.html. Comment wherever you like.