May. 28th, 2015 09:04 pm
Some random thoughts
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subjunctiveThe semester has ended. Grades have been turned in. Only two change-of-grade forms to fill out, and no disputations so far as I know.
Still behind on my doctoral exam reading. My chair probably thinks I hate him/I've disappeared off the face of the earth because I haven't finished revising the exam list since he asked me in March to add a bunch of stuff. (Which: :/ thanks a lot, dude.) Of course, the final version doesn't need to be turned in until, well, the day before exams, so I'm not in trouble. And I know other students have used the summer rather than take two full semesters to read and done well, so it's not unsalvageable. On the plus side, should I actually stick around for a dissertation, I f.i.n.a.l.l.y. got a workable and not super difficult idea for one.
Speaking of leaving, I only re-upped my apartment lease for another six months, through December, on the assumption that I'm going to put my body where my mouth is and actually get a job teaching English overseas. I could use a free apartment and a few million won per month. The #1 thing holding me back at this point is that in the last year I've taken up hobby orcharding, and I won't be around to see the (literal) fruits of my labor at my dad's house. Plus, somehow I doubt there are that many gardening opportunities in S. Korea.
My parents divorced last year. It sucked. But they're both seeing other people now and that is starting to feel more normal.
I'm not reading so much fic lately. A comment on FFA about how fanfic spends so much more time on facial expressions and body language than profic got me thinking about my favorite stories and how they are written. Sure enough, the best examples of writing I like don't do that. It's made me stop and reflect on my own writing a lot - I'm culling much more severely than I used to and thinking more carefully about the details I include. On the plus side, I really like what I have managed to turn out; it's a lot tighter and actually has some subtlety. On the minus side, it is hard to undo habits and it makes for a much slower writing process.
What I have been reading lately is mostly Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond books. I'm about 100 pages into the first. I don't really read historical fiction and honestly have little interest in it, but the prose is exquisite.
Still behind on my doctoral exam reading. My chair probably thinks I hate him/I've disappeared off the face of the earth because I haven't finished revising the exam list since he asked me in March to add a bunch of stuff. (Which: :/ thanks a lot, dude.) Of course, the final version doesn't need to be turned in until, well, the day before exams, so I'm not in trouble. And I know other students have used the summer rather than take two full semesters to read and done well, so it's not unsalvageable. On the plus side, should I actually stick around for a dissertation, I f.i.n.a.l.l.y. got a workable and not super difficult idea for one.
Speaking of leaving, I only re-upped my apartment lease for another six months, through December, on the assumption that I'm going to put my body where my mouth is and actually get a job teaching English overseas. I could use a free apartment and a few million won per month. The #1 thing holding me back at this point is that in the last year I've taken up hobby orcharding, and I won't be around to see the (literal) fruits of my labor at my dad's house. Plus, somehow I doubt there are that many gardening opportunities in S. Korea.
My parents divorced last year. It sucked. But they're both seeing other people now and that is starting to feel more normal.
I'm not reading so much fic lately. A comment on FFA about how fanfic spends so much more time on facial expressions and body language than profic got me thinking about my favorite stories and how they are written. Sure enough, the best examples of writing I like don't do that. It's made me stop and reflect on my own writing a lot - I'm culling much more severely than I used to and thinking more carefully about the details I include. On the plus side, I really like what I have managed to turn out; it's a lot tighter and actually has some subtlety. On the minus side, it is hard to undo habits and it makes for a much slower writing process.
What I have been reading lately is mostly Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond books. I'm about 100 pages into the first. I don't really read historical fiction and honestly have little interest in it, but the prose is exquisite.
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