I Think DM and I Would Make an Awesome Couple

Last night I heard Donald Miller speak "Let Story Guide You" at Willow Creek. He is amazing. I feel like everything he says is a slicker, funnier version of the feelings I have. He is able to articulate the importance of story beyond what I have cognizantly recognized, but I know to the core of my being is why I have dedicated my life to it. Perhaps it's a cop out, but I don't want to even try to explain his ideas because my version would not do justice to his presentation. Looking around at his website, I see that the message seems to be in the same vein as what his new book is going to be. So, if I see you soon, I'll play you the cd I have of his message, if not, then read his book when it comes out. But, I will say that a quote that opens Neil Gaiman's Coraline is perfectly in keeping with the theme (though not really what he spoke about).

Fairy tales are more than true: not because
they tell us that dragons exist, but because
they tell us that dragons can be beaten.
—G. K. Chesterton

Incidentally, worshiping with The David Crowder Band was far more energizing and satisfying than any of the True Colors artists, even Erasure.

Waiting for the Starting Gun

There is nothing that stands in the way between me and studying. I have compiled the list in the chronological order in which I will read the primary sources, with the secondary sources inserted in a different color where their subject matter most directly applies. I have the first four books that I'm reading ready to go (Joseph Conrad's Lord Jim (1900) and The Heart of Darkness (1902), and The Twentieth-Century Novel in Britain and The Edwardian Turn of Mind). I have created templates to fill out after every book: author, title, summary, characters, major themes, pedagogical implications. I am set.

And yet, I have every night of this week filled with social engagements: True Colors concert, Donald Miller/David Crowder Band, small group leaders bonfire, scrapbooking 'crop club', and Q101 Block Party. I am never, ever this busy; hopefully, I will soon be able to go back to my hermit-like existence that supports good studying. Plus, I still have three HP books to re-read before the release (39 days, 4 hours, 12 minutes, 29 seconds) of book seven. I thought not teaching was going to free up time...

The End.

Of two books that is.

1. Special Topics in Calamity Physics. I realize that I just recently complained about this book, but as I was set to shoulder through the final two hundred pages, I broke through the boring section and the final 150 pages flew by. While I stand by my previous observation that it could be shorter, ultimately, it was fantastic--a fairly satisfying read that satiated all the narrative curiosity I had. I was finishing it in a coffee shop when a friend that I was meeting there showed up, on time the nerve, so I spent three hours playing chess and talking with a mere eight pages to go waiting for me!

2. Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart. This was a quick read that was highly enjoyable. Not much on character development, but it wonderfully encapsulates a place and time: New York City, Summer 1945. It seemed like a fairy tale (of sorts), but also made me think about the differences between how war affects a nation. There were tons of off-hand remarks about rations, curfews, and daily details of life that were changed because of the war. Beyond the higher gas prices, I don't feel as though my day-to-day life has been altered because of the war. While I realize that soldiers have died, no one I know or even no one I know knows anyone that has. I'd like to think that there will be an end to our war that will be celebrated as joyously as they did in Times Square on VJ Day.

It Amuses Me

I realize that those hip to the internet may already have seen this picture, but tonight was my first encounter, and I wanted to share it with the peoples because it makes me laugh.




In addition to this, there are a number of other walrus (walri?) and bucket (or lack thereof) pictures that others have contributed to the story, which can all be found here.

A Little Late?

I realize that The Prestige came out a long time ago, but I didn't see it until now. And in case anyone was wondering, it's really good! I loved David Bowie as Nikola Tesla. Christian Bale is amazing; my little boy from Empire of the Sun, Henry V, Newsies, and Swing Kids is all grown up. I'm quite intrigued to read the book, but I'm afraid that I'm going to have to wait. I'm trying to finish Special Topics in Calamity Physics before I really start reading for exams. I will admit that the book is quite interesting, but it's just too long. I'm 300 page in--far too much to quit--but there are still 214 to go, and my interest is waning. This woman needed an editor to be a little more insistent.

The Plan

So, in light of the previous instability of my life, I've decided what to do this summer (I think). I'm planning on not working unless some acceptable job falls into my lap and studying for my field exams. There does seem to be a light at the end of this tunnel of school. I have finished all but one of my courses, which I'll be taking in the fall and will help me study for exams as it is a seminar on British Literature from 1880-1920; I've passed my reading requirements in two foreign languages; now, I've just got to pass field exams and write the dissertation.

I'm not so much worried about the dissertation. I have an idea that I think is interesting and mildly innovative, and I know I can write. It's these field exams that are scaring me. I'm planning on taking them in January, where there will be two days with a four hour block in which I answer three questions which proves that I fully understand and can teach my fields. If ever there was a this-test-determines-the-rest-of-my-life sort of moment, it's this one. You can retake the tests once, but after that, if you don't pass, you're finished. Thanks for playing the past three years of your life were wasted. So, in order to avoid that, I'm starting the studying now.

First up on the menu: Joseph Conrad's Lord Jim and Heart of Darkness, which will perhaps prove to be a bit more intellectually demanding than 28 Weeks Later and Knocked Up, which I saw last night. Sometimes I wonder at the trashiness of my taste...