monday morning ughpdate: finals edition!

1.  finals week.

due dates:

• today: 3 page analysis paper on fun home – turned in
• tomorrow: 12 page research paper on AP Testing and the effects on college-level writing.  1/2 of the way done, getting extension to turn it in on thursday/friday.
• wednesday:  two back to back finals.  chaucer at 8am, history of the english language and grammar (two separate finals combined into one massive ‘death by final’ for added fun) at 10:50
• wednesday afternoon: collapse, but only momentarily because…
• thursday/friday: ultimate due date for aforementioned 12 page paper
• monday: 10 page literature research paper on hemingway’s persona in the sun also rises and a commentary on the effects of such a literary move.

are you tired?  i’m tired just typing it 🙂  and yet, as much as i want a break and i want this semester to be over, i still want about 2 more semesters of english classes.  like, seminars and smaller classes, reading and writing more.  because, apparently, i like to punish myself.  professor awesome told me that that is what graduate school is for, and highly recommended i get my master’s degree.  in english-related fields, not education.

i cannot say that this is out of the question.  hardly.

2.  in other news, though, my good friend rob stennett asked me to read his new novel coming out this summer in advance and write a review and tell you all about it.  so, my leisure reading list just got one bigger, and i’m excited about it.  and, of course, i’ll blab to you all about it and, if it is as interesting as rob’s other writing has been, i will push it on you like crack.

3. addison mae finally said my name.  she pointed, and said “thar-wah”.  i was the only one she wouldn’t say, and now i’m totally IN.  so cute.

4. mother’s day was good times.  i love my mother so very very much, and i like occasions that center around you telling people specifically what you like about them.  genuine thankfulness and appreciation is never undervalued currency for me, and i hope to have a wealthy account from which to giver generously in this regard.  and, i like food and balloons.  let’s throw more parties.

5. the lilac bush has a few blooms this month.  the lilac bush in the backyard was my grandmother’s favorite, and it bloomed extravagantly the summer right before she died — never before, and never since.   this year we have a few blooms, and i like to think that she’s just peeking her head back into our lives to see what’s going on.

my brother picked a few, and they are sitting in a wooden bowl filled with water on my desk, and this makes me infinitely happy.

6.  one of my professors was talking about how he could never get through any book by james joyce alone, that he could only make sense of them in a group.  i liked that, because this is how i learn well.  some books i will read, and love by myself.  but many times, it’s only through a discussion in a class or a conversation with people does the book become meaningful and interesting to me.  this is what happened with hemingway for me, and many others.

which leads me to say that…

7. i want a book club.  i do.  i have wanted one for so very very long.  but nothing seems to last these days, unless what you are doing is important to people, so important and interesting that they make every effort to engage.  it could possibly be a pipe dream in my current culture of committed and over-committed friends, but i’m just putting it out there that i would LOVE to have a book club.  or like, a book club where drinks are served and we end up going on tangents from the book to more important things.  and we love the book.  or hate the book.  but at very least, we read and engage with other people, and gab, and have a fabulous time.

8. why does the state of illinois contain so many of my favorite people?  i think that everyone illionis and east needs to begin their westward migration.

9. hypothetically, i bought nutty bars this week.  allegedly, i have bought them every week around finals, because i like to eat them layer by layer so that two little bars of goodness become 8 tasty little layers in my mouth. supposedly, i feel a little guilty about eating such a field-trip lunch food.  you remember field-trip lunches, right?

i’m just saying, you know, hypoethetically.

10.  i think my dad should get another master’s degree, in like english literature or political science.  or his phD.  he’s wicked smart, and i think he would have fun.  then he can get back to teaching math in college again.

11.  going to see flight of the conchords and iron & wine this weekend for the boy’s birthday.  i hope the weather is warm, as it’s outside at red rocks amphitheater.  i’m in the mood for a good summer concert, i think.  and red rocks is perfect for just such a thing.  the last time i was there was with mr. harms and de novo dahl and my kinseyfriend, so it’s been awhile.

12.  still haven’t heard back from the job i interviewed for…hopefully this week.

i thought the picture, above, would make the boy laugh.  it’s from a company who makes these random t-shirts (hence the “men’s” in the lower corner).  i forget the name of the company, so i’ll edit this later with a link.  but seriously – this is why this semester needs to end.  i have become this un-superhero, and it’s not pretty… 🙂

12 things to start your week, people.  and…..good blog.