New Post

So, school's starting. Grad school is fun because every day is different, since classes generally only meet once a week. Rather than having a first day of school, I get a first week!

I'm not teaching this semester because I'm working in our writing center and our computer lab. While excited about both of those assignments, I'm missing teaching this semester. I was sad that I didn't get to design a syllabus and schedule, print out a class list, make out the new page in my gradebook. All of that.

I did end up replacing my laptop. The combination of a failing computer and a week and a half of actual vacation between summer school and the semester weaned me from my daily habit of spending hours online, which thus increased my email return speed and blog posting regularity. Now that I'm back to school and working a job where I'm supposed to sit in front of the computer, I'm sure I'll be plugging into the world of the virtual fairly quickly.

Of Computers and London

So, I've been having computer issues lately that may result in a new laptop (hopefully not though). I've done a little bit of looking at new ones, and they have about four times the power of mine for about a third of the cost. Maybe a new one wouldn't be so bad... However, I'm not sure I have the budget for it because I just bought tickets to London!!!

I'm going to see Katie over New Year's! I'll be there for two and a half weeks, and I'm dead excited. Already we have plans to go to Scotland and Mount St-Michael (in France, where I can utilize my nearly useless French skills from this summer--provided no one tries to speak with me and writes doewn whatever he/she is trying to communicate!). I hope we can eat curry in Brick Lane, go to the British Museum (can you believe I didn't go when I was in London before?), and ride the Eye--strange touristy phenomenon that it is.

So, until I get to go do all that I'll have to content myself with being an anglophile in the USA, reading British authors like AS Byatt (I'm in the middle of Angels and Insects), watching BBC America (Life on Mars and The Kumars at No. 42 are fantastic), and planning my travels.

Fantasy--About and Actually

First, I just finished reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Sigh. It's absolutely genius, having many of the qualities that I appreciate most in fiction: a high amount of symbolism/mythology that borders on allegory (at parts); humor, I mean it's fun to read; lots of clues/foreshadowing, if you're clever enough to catch on early (sadly, for the most part, I wasn't); truth and love triumphant. If this guy wasn't already married, I'd being driving around WI right now looking for him to throw myself at.

That said, who wants to go see House on the Rock and Rock City?

Second, I was on my department's homepage, where we have a "Quote of the Moment," when I saw this:

Fantasy remains a human right: we make in our measure and in our derivative mode, because we are made: and not only made, but made in the image and likeness of a Maker. -- [J.R.R. Tolkien]

Not only is it cool, but I can't believe that it was coming from my rather secular department. Nifty, says I.

Ho-hum

So, one week of summer school, then about a week and a half before the fall semester starts. It's starting to feel rather weird because I won't be teaching. I'm working as a tutor in the writing center and then helping in the nwr (networked writing resources...computer lab stuff). Well, hopefully, I'll be teaching literature in the spring and not just another composition course.

I finally succumbed and joined myspace today. Interesting, very interesting. I just hope that I can keep myself from spending (actually, wasting) too much time on it.

Over the weekend I saw two excellent movies: the first, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and the second, The Exorcism of Emily Rose. The former had a fresh narrative technique and Robert Downey Jr. being oh so talented and charming. The latter blew me away. While I occasionally indulge in scary films, I am no connoisseur; however, I do find the spiritual messages, symbolism, etc. often thought provoking. This one seemed downright evangelical. If all my dreams come true and I am one day teaching film at a Christian college, this will be on my syllabus.