Almost Done... Just Almost....
50 Books in a Year Update:
37. The Man Suit by Zachary Schomburg
38. Quipu by Arthur Sze
39. Deepstep Come Shining by CD Wright
40. Strange New Land by Peter Wood
Quipu and Deepstep were really awesome to read. Quipu because Sze is very aware of his diction, and Deepstep because...well, I'm not sure why. It was just a really good book of poetry. And I didn't even get the overlying theme until Tuesday's class, when it came to my attention it was about a fire burning down someone's life. Now it seems really, really obvious, but I'll live. I noticed something the teacher hadn't, so it's not like I'm the only one in the whole class.
But......I hate peer-critiquing. I can never point out anything that might be helpful, or at least nothing other people won't say. I can't say whether it's worse with poetry or prose, but either way I'm terrible at it, and I feel horrible whenever I'm face-to-face with the writer because they're looking to improve their work and they've given me great feedback and the best I can come up with is...."I really like the line-breaks and interconnections in the piece."
*sigh*
I've been having the absolute hardest time focusing on getting my assignments done. There's no reason for it. I must have mentally checked out of school when I went home for Thanksgiving. The only class I'm on top of everything in is my American History class, because all the written work was finished before Thanksgiving. My poetry class I'm mostly finished with, except for one book report. I'm not even going to go into what I need to do for my Witch Trials class--I'm a bit disappointed with the class; I expected it to be more interesting, but it's wound up being a bit more of a Sociology course than a History course. I understand a lot of what brought the Witch Trials about was due to people, but...it just feels like we're looking at the demographics. Maybe that's all you really can do with history, but my American history class still felt more like a history course without going too much into sociological aspects. Bah. It'll soon be over, and I can focus on reading tons of books. Yay!
I have some Thanksgiving leftovers in my fridge, and while I'm eating out tomorrow and probably Saturday, I think I might try and make a Thanksgiving leftover casserole for dinner at some point. The tricky parts would be A) getting a casserole dish (which Ian's sells aluminum cake pans, so I think I've got that covered) and B) buying some sort of substitute for gravy, since I have none. There will probably be an overabundance of turkey and not nearly enough stuffing and mashed potatoes, but...well, it's all I have, so I'll need to make do. I could always go to a grocery store and buy some food to go in the casserole, but the whole purpose of me bringing the leftovers up here was so I wouldn't have to go to the grocery store to buy food. But, ooh, I can put cheese on it....and maybe put a little bit of my, sadly unused, butter over the potatoes. Hmmm....maybe I can melt some butter in a pot, add some spices, and it'll be enough to keep the casserole from drying out? *plots*
My sister started reading The Dresden Files over the break, but she said she wasn't really into the first book. Since Sunday, when she still hadn't finished the first book, she has moved on to the second book and told me she might get to the third book by the weekend. I'm not sure if I have successfully converted her or if she's just reading them to appease me or out of boredom.
Two quotes, one thoughtful and one humorous:
"If we don't change directions, we will end up where we are going." --Chinese proverb I found printed with some random climate-related print-out taped to a door in the Oceanography-Teaching Building. I wonder if it's meant to be taken as wholly positive (keep on the track and you'll succeed!) or a warning (if you keep this up you're gonna be in trouble...)?
Unattended Children Will be Given ESPRESSO and a FREE PUPPY.
37. The Man Suit by Zachary Schomburg
38. Quipu by Arthur Sze
39. Deepstep Come Shining by CD Wright
40. Strange New Land by Peter Wood
Quipu and Deepstep were really awesome to read. Quipu because Sze is very aware of his diction, and Deepstep because...well, I'm not sure why. It was just a really good book of poetry. And I didn't even get the overlying theme until Tuesday's class, when it came to my attention it was about a fire burning down someone's life. Now it seems really, really obvious, but I'll live. I noticed something the teacher hadn't, so it's not like I'm the only one in the whole class.
But......I hate peer-critiquing. I can never point out anything that might be helpful, or at least nothing other people won't say. I can't say whether it's worse with poetry or prose, but either way I'm terrible at it, and I feel horrible whenever I'm face-to-face with the writer because they're looking to improve their work and they've given me great feedback and the best I can come up with is...."I really like the line-breaks and interconnections in the piece."
*sigh*
I've been having the absolute hardest time focusing on getting my assignments done. There's no reason for it. I must have mentally checked out of school when I went home for Thanksgiving. The only class I'm on top of everything in is my American History class, because all the written work was finished before Thanksgiving. My poetry class I'm mostly finished with, except for one book report. I'm not even going to go into what I need to do for my Witch Trials class--I'm a bit disappointed with the class; I expected it to be more interesting, but it's wound up being a bit more of a Sociology course than a History course. I understand a lot of what brought the Witch Trials about was due to people, but...it just feels like we're looking at the demographics. Maybe that's all you really can do with history, but my American history class still felt more like a history course without going too much into sociological aspects. Bah. It'll soon be over, and I can focus on reading tons of books. Yay!
I have some Thanksgiving leftovers in my fridge, and while I'm eating out tomorrow and probably Saturday, I think I might try and make a Thanksgiving leftover casserole for dinner at some point. The tricky parts would be A) getting a casserole dish (which Ian's sells aluminum cake pans, so I think I've got that covered) and B) buying some sort of substitute for gravy, since I have none. There will probably be an overabundance of turkey and not nearly enough stuffing and mashed potatoes, but...well, it's all I have, so I'll need to make do. I could always go to a grocery store and buy some food to go in the casserole, but the whole purpose of me bringing the leftovers up here was so I wouldn't have to go to the grocery store to buy food. But, ooh, I can put cheese on it....and maybe put a little bit of my, sadly unused, butter over the potatoes. Hmmm....maybe I can melt some butter in a pot, add some spices, and it'll be enough to keep the casserole from drying out? *plots*
My sister started reading The Dresden Files over the break, but she said she wasn't really into the first book. Since Sunday, when she still hadn't finished the first book, she has moved on to the second book and told me she might get to the third book by the weekend. I'm not sure if I have successfully converted her or if she's just reading them to appease me or out of boredom.
Two quotes, one thoughtful and one humorous:
"If we don't change directions, we will end up where we are going." --Chinese proverb I found printed with some random climate-related print-out taped to a door in the Oceanography-Teaching Building. I wonder if it's meant to be taken as wholly positive (keep on the track and you'll succeed!) or a warning (if you keep this up you're gonna be in trouble...)?
Unattended Children Will be Given ESPRESSO and a FREE PUPPY.