Look at me post 2weeks in a row!
Today, I am in Knoxville, Tennessee with my mom. She is taking a 1.5day course and has a really intense test to take at the end of the second day. I am sitting in our hotel room enjoying the peace & quiet. And procrastinating from actual work. Dude, it's my holiday break - any work I get done means I am one step ahead, and any work I don't get done does not mean I am behind... at least that is the way I justify emailing, & reading blogs and twitter posts and facebook statuses for 2hrs. wow.
So this past week was Christmas. My first Christmas at home in 4 years, to be exact. And I thought it went pretty well! I am grateful to be blessed with a family who is honest, loving, open and emotional. While we are very typical in the fact that we're all a little crazy, I like to think that we are slightly atypical in the fact that we admit it! :) I love that we are always trying to improve who we are and the relationships we have - with one another, with other people and with ourselves. There is this sense of self-analysis that I truly appreciate in each of my family members. I don't know if everyone else's family is like this or not, but I like to think it's what makes my family special - and not in the bad way.
I would hate to live in a family where everything always stayed the same and we ignored our problems. I would hate to be a part of a family that was "perfect" on the outside and completely insane in the hidden parts. I like that we can talk to one another, process with one another and argue with one another - without ever feeling less loved.
It really is a good feeling to know that wherever I am, whatever I'm doing, however I feel, or whoever I disagree with, I will ALWAYS be loved - TRULY loved by my family. That love is what keeps me going. It's what encourages me to better myself and it is what pushes me to really look at my faults and desire to change them.
For me, family is not about tradition. It is not about history. It is not even about proximity. It's about relationships.
I have taken my family for granted over the years and it took me leaving for 6yrs to truly appreciate them. This week - actually, this month - that appreciation was tested - and proved true. I love them more today than ever before. Even if they do get on my nerves. :)
Today, I choose to assume that when my family gets on my nerves, it is an opportunity to BE LOVE. I will fail, I am sure, but this is the outlook I want to have from now on.
Love to everyone in blogland - I hope you find a way to BE LOVE in your life too! :)
28 December 2009
21 December 2009
New Read
In an effort to post more regularly, I may resort to posting on my current reads... tonight for instance:
I have completed Plato's Symposium and thought I would be continuing Plato to read The Apology... but when I started reading it, I realized that I had already read it for my undergrad*, yay! So since I know the basic plot, I am going to put off reviewing for the details until its turn during the course. So as of last night, I have begun reading Pale Fire by Nabokov.
Whoah.
I am really glad that I have read Nabokov before and feel that he is worth reading - Mary was one of my fave books of undergrad - because this book is craaazy! If I didn't know how brilliant Nabokov was, I would probably be irritated, but I'm going into it with an open mind...
Basically (if I understand correctly), it's a completely fictional book written entirely by Nabokov which includes a foreward; a 4 Canto, 999 line poem; and over 100pp in commentary. The foreward and the commentary are 'written' by a fictional character, who is a self-proclaimed friend to the "poet". So as far as I can tell, there are 3 authors in this book: Nabokov, the Poet and the Commentator. Keeps life interesting, I guess! :)
I am over halfway through the novel and it is really tough to get through the commentary portion, but I am pretty excited to see how class discussions go next semester, haha!
PS
The course is named "irony & truth"... I am really looking forward to this class!!! (that is not sarcasm, fyi - I fully embrace my nerddom... and reserve the right to make up words in the process)
*Things I have learned about myself since beginning my MA: names and I are not compatible. I usually know books and characters by the actions performed. Sometimes, I feel like I am discussing literature from a kindergartener's perspective... "you know, the tall guy whose dad made gravestones and mom was obsessed with property... the one who thought his whole family hated him?" (also known as Eugene Gant from Look Homeward Angel) or "the story that involved a magic ring the lady stole and put under her tongue to become invisible and decided that she no longer needed help from a heroic man who slays sea monsters" (aka Orlando's Furioso - right?) --- all of this to explain how I didn't realize that I had previously read The Apology. The title did nothing for me. But once I realized that it was the defence of Socrates, all was well!
I have completed Plato's Symposium and thought I would be continuing Plato to read The Apology... but when I started reading it, I realized that I had already read it for my undergrad*, yay! So since I know the basic plot, I am going to put off reviewing for the details until its turn during the course. So as of last night, I have begun reading Pale Fire by Nabokov.
Whoah.
I am really glad that I have read Nabokov before and feel that he is worth reading - Mary was one of my fave books of undergrad - because this book is craaazy! If I didn't know how brilliant Nabokov was, I would probably be irritated, but I'm going into it with an open mind...
Basically (if I understand correctly), it's a completely fictional book written entirely by Nabokov which includes a foreward; a 4 Canto, 999 line poem; and over 100pp in commentary. The foreward and the commentary are 'written' by a fictional character, who is a self-proclaimed friend to the "poet". So as far as I can tell, there are 3 authors in this book: Nabokov, the Poet and the Commentator. Keeps life interesting, I guess! :)
I am over halfway through the novel and it is really tough to get through the commentary portion, but I am pretty excited to see how class discussions go next semester, haha!
PS
The course is named "irony & truth"... I am really looking forward to this class!!! (that is not sarcasm, fyi - I fully embrace my nerddom... and reserve the right to make up words in the process)
*Things I have learned about myself since beginning my MA: names and I are not compatible. I usually know books and characters by the actions performed. Sometimes, I feel like I am discussing literature from a kindergartener's perspective... "you know, the tall guy whose dad made gravestones and mom was obsessed with property... the one who thought his whole family hated him?" (also known as Eugene Gant from Look Homeward Angel) or "the story that involved a magic ring the lady stole and put under her tongue to become invisible and decided that she no longer needed help from a heroic man who slays sea monsters" (aka Orlando's Furioso - right?) --- all of this to explain how I didn't realize that I had previously read The Apology. The title did nothing for me. But once I realized that it was the defence of Socrates, all was well!
18 December 2009
10:36pm, EST
Hello all,
It is not late enough for me to be as exhausted as I am... having done as little as I did today... I blame the rain. And I'm not in Ireland... it just follows me... yay.
Here's a tiny baby update, sort of:
So last month, I met with a man who works with the sustainability department of the University about getting a film brought to Columbia, and last week, he phoned me to ask if I was interested in a graduate assistantship with him next semester! of course, I said "yes." It's basically doing what I did for Dan: managing a billion projects and organizing a small administration. Because of this assistantship, I now qualify for in-state tuition, which is approximately $6000 less per term than out-of-state. WHEW! It's 10hrs/week and I will get a small stipend for those hours, although I don't know how much yet. This position is strictly for one semester for two reasons: his wife will be having a baby and he needs someone to cover the office mid-semester, and...
in the fall, I plan to be in Mulhouse, France, woot! Which brings me to another mini-update. Here are the basics:
Mulhouse is in the northeast corner of France, on the German border & 20km from the Swiss border. It is 1.5hr from Zurich and 3hrs from both Paris and Brussels, by train. And approx 4hrs by car to Milan. craaazy!
I will be teaching English at the university "de haute-alsace" and receiving a paid stipend as well. The position is called a "lectrice" or "lectrice d'anglais" position and runs from october thru may.
I plan to return to the Carolinas over Christmas (the French break is mid-december to 1 february) so that I can take my phd qualifying exams in the first week of January. Otherwise, I will have to postpone my phd an extra year.
I won't be taking phd classes while in France, so I am already postponing one year, but it's worth it because: 1) I get teaching experience at the uni level, 2) I get paid and don't go further into debt, and 3) I plan to be fluent in French by the time I'm done... which brings me to step 3 in this crazy little thing I call "my plan":
I have pretty much been guaranteed a teaching assistantship to teach in the French dept of U of SC (if there is space in the budget) when I return from France, if I do attain the appropriate level of fluency (and I will). Which will give me teaching experience at the uni level in two languages, WOOT!
in other news: my GPA at the end of term 1 is a 4.0! (that's straight As, for you non-GPA minded, haha)... the first time I've made straight As since grade 7.
It seems like I only ever get on here to brag lately... but my life is not always roses, I promise... I just want to take every chance I can to thank the Lord for His guidance and for showing me clearly the path He wants me to follow... Proverbs 16:9.
Now if you'll excuse me, I will return to my regularly scheduled program of "Plato's Symposium"... it took me 21 minutes to write this post. I really do hope to post more often so that you guys aren't limited to my random updates on here!
PS
This break, I will be attempting to create two work-related blogs, so maybe if I get into the habit of actually posting for those, I can add something personal on a regular basis too... idealism, I know, I know... and fyi, the topics of my other 2 blogs will be: environmentalism made easy and a biblio of utopian publications (obviously not the titles of the blogs, haha!)
It is not late enough for me to be as exhausted as I am... having done as little as I did today... I blame the rain. And I'm not in Ireland... it just follows me... yay.
Here's a tiny baby update, sort of:
So last month, I met with a man who works with the sustainability department of the University about getting a film brought to Columbia, and last week, he phoned me to ask if I was interested in a graduate assistantship with him next semester! of course, I said "yes." It's basically doing what I did for Dan: managing a billion projects and organizing a small administration. Because of this assistantship, I now qualify for in-state tuition, which is approximately $6000 less per term than out-of-state. WHEW! It's 10hrs/week and I will get a small stipend for those hours, although I don't know how much yet. This position is strictly for one semester for two reasons: his wife will be having a baby and he needs someone to cover the office mid-semester, and...
in the fall, I plan to be in Mulhouse, France, woot! Which brings me to another mini-update. Here are the basics:
Mulhouse is in the northeast corner of France, on the German border & 20km from the Swiss border. It is 1.5hr from Zurich and 3hrs from both Paris and Brussels, by train. And approx 4hrs by car to Milan. craaazy!
I will be teaching English at the university "de haute-alsace" and receiving a paid stipend as well. The position is called a "lectrice" or "lectrice d'anglais" position and runs from october thru may.
I plan to return to the Carolinas over Christmas (the French break is mid-december to 1 february) so that I can take my phd qualifying exams in the first week of January. Otherwise, I will have to postpone my phd an extra year.
I won't be taking phd classes while in France, so I am already postponing one year, but it's worth it because: 1) I get teaching experience at the uni level, 2) I get paid and don't go further into debt, and 3) I plan to be fluent in French by the time I'm done... which brings me to step 3 in this crazy little thing I call "my plan":
I have pretty much been guaranteed a teaching assistantship to teach in the French dept of U of SC (if there is space in the budget) when I return from France, if I do attain the appropriate level of fluency (and I will). Which will give me teaching experience at the uni level in two languages, WOOT!
in other news: my GPA at the end of term 1 is a 4.0! (that's straight As, for you non-GPA minded, haha)... the first time I've made straight As since grade 7.
It seems like I only ever get on here to brag lately... but my life is not always roses, I promise... I just want to take every chance I can to thank the Lord for His guidance and for showing me clearly the path He wants me to follow... Proverbs 16:9.
Now if you'll excuse me, I will return to my regularly scheduled program of "Plato's Symposium"... it took me 21 minutes to write this post. I really do hope to post more often so that you guys aren't limited to my random updates on here!
PS
This break, I will be attempting to create two work-related blogs, so maybe if I get into the habit of actually posting for those, I can add something personal on a regular basis too... idealism, I know, I know... and fyi, the topics of my other 2 blogs will be: environmentalism made easy and a biblio of utopian publications (obviously not the titles of the blogs, haha!)
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