reasons to be happy
In lieu of my disappointment over the HPFF Dobby awards, for which all my hopes have been dashed, and my very strangely swollen ankles - which came for no known reason and have left massive bruises up and down my legs (my excuse is that I was attacked by an octopus), I will think about things that, lately, have made me happy:
1. Receiving an 88% (A) on my final research paper for my MA in English. That means I pass that program with an 85%, which, as my professors kindly tell me, should definitely get me into PhD school this year (as long as I can come up with a good dissertation topic, of course).
2. My laptop is now back to normal and more. Windows was corrupted and so I'd sent it in. It came back with Microsoft Word, which I didn't have before, and now I've gotten an extra 0.5 GB of memory. So running Photoshop on it will no longer require closing down every other program and waiting some minutes for it to load and save properly.
3. I've gotten two extra seminars to teach this year! One of the other TAs, an American, wasn't able to get a work order due to the economic downturn (Canadian protectionism, just like in the 1930's), so I took two of the classes he was due to teach. So I'll be working with one of my favourite professors in Early Romantic Literature *crosses fingers for some Austen* in addition to my other two teaching assignments - the 18th Century Novel and the Gothic Novel.
The only thing I'm worried about with the Romantics class is the poetry - I'm not the greatest at interpreting poetry, but I suppose as the seminar leader, I'm instead supposed to make the students do it while I sit by and nod appreciatively. If we do Wordsworth's daffodil poem, I will not be able to contain my mirth.
And if anyone in my Gothic class mentions Twilight, I will go into a fit and give them a D. Well... only if they express a passion for Edward. If they're critical about it's comparison to Stoker, I'm happy.
Though it'll mean reading Frankenstein yet again. This will mean I'll have read it more often than half the Harry Potter books. Not good.
4. I have a greater appreciation for the Charles Dicken's BBC adaptations than for the books themselves. Little Dorrit and Bleak House are keeping me amused. However, I did prefer North and South, and not only because of Richard Armitage (though he probably had a lot to do with it XD).
5. Three people dedicated fanfics to me within a single day. I was very WTF when I saw it, not expecting so much love in a single day, but it was a lovely thing to see them. They were good stories too, which only adds to my appreciation. ^_^
6. There is no six. I'm trying too hard to think of something, and it's not coming. I should just stop procrastinating and get working. I've two things to write - a set of notes for my presentation at the upcoming MA orientation (where I'm playing the role of "survivor" providing the newbies with advise without scaring their pants off), and also a Tom/Minerva story that combines Yeat's "Second Coming", the song "Four Winds", and an awkward real-life event.
1. Receiving an 88% (A) on my final research paper for my MA in English. That means I pass that program with an 85%, which, as my professors kindly tell me, should definitely get me into PhD school this year (as long as I can come up with a good dissertation topic, of course).
2. My laptop is now back to normal and more. Windows was corrupted and so I'd sent it in. It came back with Microsoft Word, which I didn't have before, and now I've gotten an extra 0.5 GB of memory. So running Photoshop on it will no longer require closing down every other program and waiting some minutes for it to load and save properly.
3. I've gotten two extra seminars to teach this year! One of the other TAs, an American, wasn't able to get a work order due to the economic downturn (Canadian protectionism, just like in the 1930's), so I took two of the classes he was due to teach. So I'll be working with one of my favourite professors in Early Romantic Literature *crosses fingers for some Austen* in addition to my other two teaching assignments - the 18th Century Novel and the Gothic Novel.
The only thing I'm worried about with the Romantics class is the poetry - I'm not the greatest at interpreting poetry, but I suppose as the seminar leader, I'm instead supposed to make the students do it while I sit by and nod appreciatively. If we do Wordsworth's daffodil poem, I will not be able to contain my mirth.
And if anyone in my Gothic class mentions Twilight, I will go into a fit and give them a D. Well... only if they express a passion for Edward. If they're critical about it's comparison to Stoker, I'm happy.
Though it'll mean reading Frankenstein yet again. This will mean I'll have read it more often than half the Harry Potter books. Not good.
4. I have a greater appreciation for the Charles Dicken's BBC adaptations than for the books themselves. Little Dorrit and Bleak House are keeping me amused. However, I did prefer North and South, and not only because of Richard Armitage (though he probably had a lot to do with it XD).
5. Three people dedicated fanfics to me within a single day. I was very WTF when I saw it, not expecting so much love in a single day, but it was a lovely thing to see them. They were good stories too, which only adds to my appreciation. ^_^
6. There is no six. I'm trying too hard to think of something, and it's not coming. I should just stop procrastinating and get working. I've two things to write - a set of notes for my presentation at the upcoming MA orientation (where I'm playing the role of "survivor" providing the newbies with advise without scaring their pants off), and also a Tom/Minerva story that combines Yeat's "Second Coming", the song "Four Winds", and an awkward real-life event.