Nothing Doing

I want to blog regularly again, I really do but I feel it just takes so much energy to squeeze out interesting words on the page that I rarely feel much past the temptation to write. I think I am in absorbtion and not production phase right now. I think probably I produced just a little too much writing last semester and now I am just trying to replenish what knowledge left me.



I went to a DG Ladies Who Lunch Brunch on Saturday and the lovely older women asked me what else was going on outside of my life other than preparing for PhD school. I felt really boring at that moment because I thought other than work, maybe I don't have that much going on. This concerns me.



1. Intensive Reading Schedule Last year, I promised myself that I would try and read one book a week. I failed pretty miserably at the because I only ended up with 29/52 which is just a little embarassing considering 6 of those were Harry Potter. This year, I made the same promise and am actually keeping up with myself. in order to ready my mind for the PhD marathon, I am making myself read academic writing for a minimum of one hour a day. It has been going really well and I am mainly reading Latin and books by my future professors at this point but at least I am totally up to date with my book a week goal. The only problem with it is that I also try and work out for an hour a day and the 2 hour commitment screws with my social plans, so sometimes I have to say fuck it and abandon both.



2. Intensive TV Watching My favoritist person moved back to C. Springs a few weeks ago and we have been like peas and carrots. And this can of peas and carrots watches a lot of amazing television. With her, I don't feel guilt that my hobby is the boob tube and together, we celebrate the Joy of TiVo. And joyful Tivo is. LOST premieres tonight and we are so ridiculously excited. We have been planning this LOST party for weeks and it will most certainly be the television highlight of January. I also got her hooked on Veronica Mars and Arrested Development and I love the validation that I feel when someone else likes my stories.



3. Intensive Drinking I went to 15C last night for the first time in 1000 years and I forgot that I really like that place and I also forgot how much I really enjoy the smoking ban in Colorado because I came home reeking. Blech. But the fun and the boys were worth it. I just have to be careful about too much drinking because it slows down my metabolism like crazy.



4. Intensive Working Out I love the gym but not so much in the cold so I have to force myself to go a lot and I don't always appreciate that force. However, I've started getting out of my jogging/elliptical niche and doing more yoga and pilates and while it makes muscles hurt that I forgot I had, I do like the results. It totally makes it apparent which set of abdominal muscles are the weakest. It also makes muscles hurt that I typically only use in an intimate relationship and that's a little weird.

5. Intensive Travel Schedule. LA, maybe several times, maybe London, maybe Denmark, maybe New York, maybe Chicago. We'll have to see where the cookie crumbles.

Blogging feels so nice. I need to do it more. Perhaps I will try since I am not taking any classes this semester. I just gots to practice my writing skillz for PhD school. And in answer to the DG ladies question, no I don't really have whole lot of interest going on in my life right now but that's ok. I'm getting to spend a lot of time with my friends and my family before I relocate and the slower pace is a welcome change the the frenetic sleeplessness of last semester. I'm happy right now and I am about to embark on doing exactly what I want to do with my life which is a tremendously fortunate opportunity.

Cloud 9 is Where I'm At

I got a phone call from a young woman last night which may have been the best phone call of my life. I was just about to go out to the gym and run some errands and so I hadn't even intended on answering it. I thought that it probably was someone from the Obama campaign because the just keep calling me for my support. (On a side note, I will support Obama 100% if he gets the nomination but right now, my support is for the articulate and savvy H. Clinton.) The phone call was from an Early British Modernist at my top choice university. She was calling to tell me that I have been accepted with full funding, living stipend and health insurance to their graduate program. I was one of two medievalists and one of 16 total acceptaed candidates. They are flying me out in early March to visit the campus and meet the other students and faculty. I really just feel like I was handed everything I could want on a silver platter. I also feel incredibly blessed.

I have a lot of people to thank because it certainly was not just my efforts that got me to this place. I have many family members, faculty advisers and friends and fate to thank for my incredible gift. Sometimes, I get a little self-righteous and think to myself that I have just been wasting my time when I could have applied to a program two years ago but in all honesty, things happen for a reason and I wasn't ready then. I needed to hit bottom before i could pick myself back up and see that the PhD path was really what I wanted. I needed this semester in grad school to reformulate my thoughts and strengthen my academic voice and I needed the to understand how I should prioritize my values. I wasn't ready to apply for fall 2006 or 2007. Now I am ready. Scared silly but ready. I am armed with my lists, an amalgam of glorious O. Cramer Latin advice, a summer job plan and a shit ton of youthful naivety.

My mind has wandered a little to the "Do you really deserve this" question but I don't want to contemplate it. It doesn't matter why they chose me it just matters that they did. I do though really want to see my acceptance letter just in case the lovely phone call was a cruel joke. J. and my mom think that my Doubting Thomas stance is ridiculous but it all does feel a little to good to be true.

Yes, I still have to wait for 6 other schools answeres but at this point, it doesn't really matter a whole lot. It can't get any better than 1st choice plus full funding. I can't really think of any reason I wouldn't go to this school and Carol has confirmed that. (I would be a Trappist monk though if Carol told me she thought it was best.)

Well kids, I'm moving to Los Angeles in a few months. What am I going to do next? I'm going to Disneyland!

I Just Love the Fug Girls...

I'm not as in to celebrity gossip as I used to be. I think because it just gets too repetitive in it's tragic glory and I get bored. I'm avoiding the whole Britney stand-off thing entirely just because it makes me tired. That being said, I just love the Go Fug Yourself website. I just can't ignore their witty repartee and their biting sarcasm. Better quality writing can not be found. They also have a column in New York Magazine which is awesome. I just wanted to share this:

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2007/12/the_fug_girls_since_when_is_je.html

Sassy. I like it.