a sudden recurrence of updates
It's been a long time since I last updated, and I'm very sorry for not responding to the people who last commented. Life has been pretty crazy this last month with work, attempting to take part in "extracurricular activities", and every spare moment spent on writing. But finally, I've hit a very short lull before my last bout of essay marking. It came very suddenly, but has been well-spent. :P
Yesterday, I went to the Art Gallery of Ontario to see the Tutankhamun exhibit from the Cairo Museum. I'd never been to the AGO before, so it was quite an experience. The Tutankhamun treasures were exciting, yet a lot of the pieces were just small bits of jewelery - the statues of various pharaohs was the best part, especially the colossal statues of Ahkenaten and Tutankamun. I was hoping for more inspiration for my story Sands of Time, but I still don't feel inspired enough. :/
My favourite part of the AGO was the Canadian collection, mostly the Group of Seven paintings. They're more beautiful in real life than in all the million pictures I've seen of them on calendars and the front of my old piano books. Some of the paintings can be see online here if you're curious. What I love best is their use of colour and shadows - very bold and striking, even from across a large room. There were too many that I wanted to wrap up and take home. ;) There were also paintings by Picasso, Van Gough, Monet, Renoir, and some very amusing Flemish artists - those Dutch and Belgian painters really know how to cram oodles of stuff (mostly hilarious or satirical) into their work.
So yes, I've been cultured out. :P
Afterward, went to the Eaton Centre, which is supposed to be the shopping centre, but you know, it wasn't as impressive as I wanted it to be. The malls nearby have just as good a selection - only the Indigo lived up to expectation, providing me with the Agatha Christie book I'd been looking for (A Caribbean Mystery one of the few I hadn't yet had) and the complete works of Oscar Wilde for my proposed PhD work.
I've been preparing my applications for PhD, which was a lot of work initially. I had to start by applying to the Humanities Council of Canada for a grant (which I know I won't get - they're that difficult to get), which meant writing a 2 page proposal and a 5 page bibliography. That was murder to do. But now, I can use the same proposal for all seven of the universities I'm applying for next year. Seven is a lot, and it's making me the joke of the English department (not that I'm not already the one everyone teases mercilessly). But everyone (when they're not making fun of me in some way) continues to say that I'll get in for sure this year, so that's good.
It's surprising how much work it is to be a teaching assistant - in total, I lead 3 seminars of about 18 each once a week, attend the lectures for three separate classes, and then am grading about 90 essays at a time (because they always come in within the same two week period). It'll calm down now that the term is winding down - so at least the teaching part will be over, and I already have about half of the essay marking done.
The awful part is that I have to supervise an exam on my birthday, which is a Saturday and in the evening, so it's like *&!@$^&. I complain about it often, but it doesn't make a difference: the professor said "I'm very sorry... but you still have to go." *sigh*
There's also been the reading group I attend once a week for James Joyce's Finnegans Wake. It has to be the highlight of every week - both because I love Joyce and am in love with the professor leading it. :P I'm still not sure which love led to the other, as they are easy to confuse. But the novel is crazy and I love that, especially in comparison to dragging myself through Pamela for the second time, as well as other difficult 18th century Gothic novels.
And somehow, in all of this, I find time to keep writing. NaNo is a big FAIL, but I've got about 10,000 words written this month. A whole chapter of Winner Takes All and extensive planning for the next few chapters; a whole chapter of This Longing, which only needs to be finished and posted; as well as two one-shots, one finished and posted, the other still in progress.
It has, altogether, been one very insane month. What I hate is how much I love being busy - no time for boredom or reflection, just work work work, going like the Energizer bunny. ^_^
Yesterday, I went to the Art Gallery of Ontario to see the Tutankhamun exhibit from the Cairo Museum. I'd never been to the AGO before, so it was quite an experience. The Tutankhamun treasures were exciting, yet a lot of the pieces were just small bits of jewelery - the statues of various pharaohs was the best part, especially the colossal statues of Ahkenaten and Tutankamun. I was hoping for more inspiration for my story Sands of Time, but I still don't feel inspired enough. :/
My favourite part of the AGO was the Canadian collection, mostly the Group of Seven paintings. They're more beautiful in real life than in all the million pictures I've seen of them on calendars and the front of my old piano books. Some of the paintings can be see online here if you're curious. What I love best is their use of colour and shadows - very bold and striking, even from across a large room. There were too many that I wanted to wrap up and take home. ;) There were also paintings by Picasso, Van Gough, Monet, Renoir, and some very amusing Flemish artists - those Dutch and Belgian painters really know how to cram oodles of stuff (mostly hilarious or satirical) into their work.
So yes, I've been cultured out. :P
Afterward, went to the Eaton Centre, which is supposed to be the shopping centre, but you know, it wasn't as impressive as I wanted it to be. The malls nearby have just as good a selection - only the Indigo lived up to expectation, providing me with the Agatha Christie book I'd been looking for (A Caribbean Mystery one of the few I hadn't yet had) and the complete works of Oscar Wilde for my proposed PhD work.
I've been preparing my applications for PhD, which was a lot of work initially. I had to start by applying to the Humanities Council of Canada for a grant (which I know I won't get - they're that difficult to get), which meant writing a 2 page proposal and a 5 page bibliography. That was murder to do. But now, I can use the same proposal for all seven of the universities I'm applying for next year. Seven is a lot, and it's making me the joke of the English department (not that I'm not already the one everyone teases mercilessly). But everyone (when they're not making fun of me in some way) continues to say that I'll get in for sure this year, so that's good.
It's surprising how much work it is to be a teaching assistant - in total, I lead 3 seminars of about 18 each once a week, attend the lectures for three separate classes, and then am grading about 90 essays at a time (because they always come in within the same two week period). It'll calm down now that the term is winding down - so at least the teaching part will be over, and I already have about half of the essay marking done.
The awful part is that I have to supervise an exam on my birthday, which is a Saturday and in the evening, so it's like *&!@$^&. I complain about it often, but it doesn't make a difference: the professor said "I'm very sorry... but you still have to go." *sigh*
There's also been the reading group I attend once a week for James Joyce's Finnegans Wake. It has to be the highlight of every week - both because I love Joyce and am in love with the professor leading it. :P I'm still not sure which love led to the other, as they are easy to confuse. But the novel is crazy and I love that, especially in comparison to dragging myself through Pamela for the second time, as well as other difficult 18th century Gothic novels.
And somehow, in all of this, I find time to keep writing. NaNo is a big FAIL, but I've got about 10,000 words written this month. A whole chapter of Winner Takes All and extensive planning for the next few chapters; a whole chapter of This Longing, which only needs to be finished and posted; as well as two one-shots, one finished and posted, the other still in progress.
It has, altogether, been one very insane month. What I hate is how much I love being busy - no time for boredom or reflection, just work work work, going like the Energizer bunny. ^_^