And so it goes.

So Tuesday was a bust, dissertation-wise, and so too was Wednesday. I had a brief meeting on campus, then ran errands and came home, then read the internet for an hour, then ate, then went back to school to invigilate an exam. By the time I got home it was nearly 11pm. This is how life goes some days.

I've been doing some thinking about various things both trivial and not, but am not coming to any conclusions. Maybe inspiration will hit me soon.

I may have finally severed my relationship with Massey: Today I turned in my gate key and picked up my yearbook. And there's no reason I can think of to go back there. Hey, that was a conclusion. Ok, so maybe it's just that there's only room in my life for one conclusion a day.

What will tomorrow bring?

Old historians at the college.

Tuesday evening I went to Massey for dinner and a history lecture. All this is fine and good, but I do have some complaints. Having to talk to old professor and other types can be quite exhausting. Even when they're nice and are asking you all kinds of questions about your research. Because then I have to be "on" and be all chatty and pleasant and attempt to sound smart without pretending to be more advanced than I am. I hate to sound pompous. So it's all very exhausting. Plus, because I was chatting I didn't have time to eat all my dinner and then I had to eat dessert, which was full of sugar, which I don't like. And it gave me a headache, and the chairs at Massey are the absolute worst ever. (Except for the ones at the Munk Centre, which are, I think, worse.) And then I felt like my personal space was being invaded just a little bit by the dean I was sitting beside. Sigh.

I came home at 10pm and just couldn't do anything for the rest of the day. I couldn't even fall asleep until many hours later. Annoying. Complain. Just thinking about it again makes me want to have a nap.

Also, and somewhat related: Will the weather stop being weird so that my headache will go away?

Mix disk.

I've just finished putting together a mix CD for a Massey exchange thing. It was a fun process, but a long one! Being obsessive, I of course had to go through lots and lots of music, much of which I hadn't had a chance to really listen to yet. I made a few loose rules for myself: I wanted the list to be a bit varied in terms of musical style, but in general broadly "indie"; I wanted to highlight bands that I've seen live, and local bands in particular, but I didn't want to be strict about this; I wouldn't include any bands that I put on a mix CD I made for an earlier exchange; and everything had to have been released in the last year or so.

Here's what I came up with:

This was hard . . . the disk includes some stuff you will probably have heard, and other stuff you may not have. These are all songs I like, from bands I like. Many of these groups/performers you can see play in Toronto, usually for not too much money. If you like what you hear, you don't have to wait too long to go see Amos the Transparent (based in Ottawa), Basia Bulat (Toronto/London), Bon Iver (Wisconsin), Born Ruffians (Toronto), Chromeo (Montreal/NY) The Diableros (Toronto), Justice (France), Laura Barrett (Toronto), Metric, Miracle Fortress (Montreal), The Primordials (Toronto), Vampire Weekend (Brooklyn), and Yeasayer (Brooklyn) play live in local venues; The National's coming in June with R.E.M. and Modest Mouse (!!). I've only put on new(ish) songs on this disk. Some are from albums that haven't been released yet.

1. Amos the Transparent - Title Track (Everything I've Forgotten to Forget, 2007)
2. The Apples in Stereo - Energy (New Magnetic Wonder, 2007)
3. Basia Bulat - Snakes and Ladders (Oh, My Darling, 2007)
4. Bon Iver - Skinny Love (For Emma, Forever Ago, 2007)
5. Born Ruffians - Hummingbird (Red, Yellow and Blue, 2008)
6. Chromeo - Fancy Footwork (Fancy Footwork, 2007)
7. Cuff the Duke - Surging Revival (Sidelines of the City, 2007)
8. The Diableros - Nothing Down in Hogtown (Aren't Ready for the Country, 2007)
9. Holy Fuck - Royal Gregory (Holy Fuck LP, 2007)
10. Justice - D.A.N.C.E. (+, 2007)
11. Kate Nash - Foundations (Made of Bricks, 2007)
12. Laura Barrett - Robot Ponies (Earth Sciences EP, 2008 re-release)
13. Metric - Hardwire (Grow Up and Blow Away, 2007)
14. Miracle Fortress - Have You Seen In Your Dreams? (Five Roses, 2007)
15. The National - Fake Empire (Boxer, 2007)
16. Of Montreal - Gronlandic Edit (Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, 2007)
17. The Primordials - That's, If You Want Me To (Fourteen Prime Numbers, 2007)
18. Spoon - Don't You Evah (Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, 2007)
19. Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma (Vampire Weekend, 2008)
20. Wintersleep - Weighty Ghost (Welcome to the Night Sky, 2007)
21. Yeasayer - Sunrise (All Hour Cymbals, 2007)

And here's the disk I made a few months earlier. I think it's good, but the new one is I think reflective of my growing interest in discovering new music.

Indie Extraordinary! A selection of songs I’m listening to at home and at shows.

1. Homework - The Bicycles (The Good, The Bad & The Cuddly, 2006)
2. The Crash - The Craft Economy (All On C EP, 2007)
3. Hang Me, Oh Hang Me - The Deep Dark Woods (Hang Me, Oh Hang Me, 2007)
4. Narcissist In The Forest - Foxfire Forest (Foxfire Forest, 2007)
5. My Ghetto Noise - Ghetto Pony (Without A Name)
6. Thick Atmosphere - Ghetto Pony (Without A Name)
7. Footprints - The Gravity Wave (Martyr’s Brigade)
8. Cure for the Common Cold - Ladyfingers (My Prom, 2006)
9. The Sun The Stars - LLIONS (demo EP, 2007)
10. Righteous Heart - Nathan Lawr & The Minotaurs (A Sea Of Tiny Lights, 2007)
11. My Right Versus Yours - The New Pornographers (Challengers, 2007)
12. Walk In The Park - Oh No! Oh My! (Oh No! Oh My!)
13. Parables - Rebekah Higgs (Rebekah Higgs, 2006)
14. Edmonton - The Rural Alberta Advantage (The Rural Alberta Advantage EP)
15. Made Of Stone - Spiral Beach (Ball, 2007)
16. Odessa - Tin Bangs (Nice Backpack . . . You’re So Weird EP, 2007)
17. White Lies (Timekiller) - Tin Bangs (Ontario In Stereo EP, 2007)
18. The Age Of Pretending - The Mission District (Youth Games)
19. Dancer (Extended) - Woodhands (Dancer single, 2007)
20. I Can’t See Straight - Woodhands (Woodhands/Peter Project split single, 2007)
21. Little Fool - The XYZ Affair (A Few More Published Studies)

More favourites.

FN is busy packing her Toronto life away. She is leaving me and moving to Berlin for 9 months! This is crazy. It hasn't hit me yet . . . no more gourmet dinners!

Last night I went to Massey for a lecture. And then I went to Sneaky Dee's for Cold Dead Hands' EP release (for Novelization). SH didn't show up---what kind of friend would not cough up $5 to come to his good friend's release party? Even after he'd told me I'd better come? (Not only did I show up as promised, SH, but I bought the EP too.) But I had a great time! I met new people and got to see a couple of my favourite Toronto groups in addition to enjoying CDH's set: Barons and Lengthy, and The Vulcan Dub Squad. I thought B & L was fantastic last night. I was a bit down on B & L last time I saw them, but they've completely won me over. Could it be that they're better than Foxfire Forest? I'm thinking yes. I was even dressed like a real B & L groupie, which may have put me in the right headspace ;-). It had been too long since I last/first saw The VDS. They are just great, and a real class act. I must see them again soon.

I think I might stay in tonight to clean and get some work done. Because tomorrow the other conference organizers are coming over for an all-day panel-making party. We have about 80 proposal to sift through, and we can only take half of them. After that's done I'm going to the Rock Lottery at Sneaks. I love that place.

Random!

While I was at Massey Tuesday evening for the junior fellow lecture, I met two guys who were taught by both my father and grandfather back at Ashbury College in Ottawa. They graduated high school in 1990---8 years before I did---and both also attended the junior school, which is where my dad and granddad taught. It was so random meeting those two.

I introduced myself to one of the men because he was an unfamiliar face, and he was sitting with a friend of mine. Then I saw him later and asked him again what his name was, because of course I had forgotten. It turned out that he was just visiting the college with an alum friend of his, who presently appeared. We introduced ourselves to each other. The man's first name was familiar.

See, at some point in the recent past I noticed that one of my father's old students seemed to have a connection to Massey. (I think I saw that he became "friends" with Masseyites I knew on Facebook.) I'd heard this guy's name a lot growing up: my dad was very fond of him and he was very bright, etc. So I remembered his uncommon name and noticed it. Then when I heard the friend's name, I asked him was his surname was . . . and, sure enough, it was him! "You know my father, DP!" "Yes, Mr. P! He was my favourite. Actually, we both know him, and his father too." Crazy!

They proceeded to tell me a few stories, but by then the lecture was starting, and as an organizer, I had to dash off. I got the men's business cards, and later e-mailed my dad to let him know. He will get a kick out of his happening, for sure. (My grandfather died in 1989, and he had Alzheimer's, so I don't remember much about him. But he made a big impression on the two guys I met last night. It was nice to hear.)

Happy Hallowe[']en!

Why do people not put the apostrophe in that word anymore? I was brought up spelling it with the punctuation mark, but it seems like it's perfectly correctly to leave it out nowadays.

Speaking of punctuation and all things writing, I finished grading yesterday and the papers got handed back in class this evening. I wasn't there---was at home, asleep---so I missed the crestfallen faces.

I am feeling better today than I have been the past few days. I am not over this nasty cold yet, but at least I can function again. This afternoon I went to school for a quick lunch at Massey and then after dropping the papers off at the prof's office I headed to tutorial. In the first one, two students came. In the second, three! I guess now that the students know what goes on in tutorial and have handed in their first assignment, they didn't see the need to come. I feel slightly unloved, but not really: can't take these things personally. The next tutorials---they are optional---will be the week the students are working on their next assignment, so I expect more bodies then.

Since I skipped out on lecture, I was home by 5pm even after I did some grocery shopping. And what a difference this makes in my Tuesdays! For the past several weeks I've been getting home at 10pm or later after long days of teaching or meetings, class lecture, and Massey lecture. It was nice to have a few hours to decompress. I do need to get cracking on work, but the long nap was definitely in order.

The internet has ceased to entertain me (for today) so I think I'll go read. And then tomorrow I should get a paper proposal done and get back to my dissertation . . . .

Work hard, party hard.

Today was a busy one for me, but I end it not feeling too tired, so it's all good.

The first meeting (for 2007-08) of the Graduate Education Council was this afternoon. I sit on this body as a graduate student rep for the humanities division. Not much happened, but I learned some good-to-know things about the university and graduate education matters.

After that I trotted off to lecture. I ended up only half paying attention to the prof, because---like last week---I found my mind wandering to my own dissertation while he was talking. Going to lecture is actually turning out to be really useful for me! I get bonus points with the prof and the students, I learn new things about the course I'm TAing, and I'm inspired to come up with good ideas about my own research. Good, good.

I made my way over to Robarts Library to pick up some needed books, running into a couple historians while there. (Outside the department, the library is the best place to find history grad students. Perhaps this is obvious.) I got what I came for, then had a quick---and enormous---dinner at Hart House. At which point it was time to dash off to Massey College for yet another lecture.

This time a fellow junior fellow was presenting her work on bubbles. (The ones in space that have stars inside them.) She did a great job explaining complicated things, and I think I managed to come away having learnt something about astrophysics.

When the lecture ended, and everything was put away, I found myself energetic enough to want to continue my day out. So I walked over to Sneaky Dee's for a show. LA's The Deadly Syndrome, playing their first show in Canada, was first, followed by new Toronto band Oh No Forest Fires---unfortunately named, perhaps, for playing a show with guys from LA right now, and the headliners, Oh No! Oh My! I enjoyed TDS's set. Good, creative musicianship and energy. I thought the drummer was especially fantastic, while the main singer has a great voice. (Or so it sounded to me, through my earplugs.) Oh No Forest Fires was fine. I was glad to see all the players rocking out this time, and as they play more shows they will only get better at connecting with the audience. Their music is interesting and complex, but I felt like it didn't always work. But then, what do I know? (Not a lot.) I will see them again for sure, and not only because I like the guys in the band. Seriously, they just started playing shows, and they perform like they've been together for ages. It's impressive.

I wasn't excited about Oh No! Oh My! Their recorded songs are fine, but there's nothing special about them, I don't find. I'd read in the blogosphere that they were some kind of next big thing in 2006, but my sense is that this didn't pan out. They have a second album out now, and as they are touring, I suppose it's doing ok. Once they started playing, though, it was soon clear to me that these guys are actually a good group. They completely drew me in, and I was moving along with everyone else in the by-now quite small crowd. (It was after midnight on a Tuesday, after all.) I thought they were just fantastic. Their music was a good mix of standard pop, indie rock, folky ballads, and the occasional edgier bits, performed enthusiastically but still with a "we're just regular guys" kind of vibe. Well done, guys.

Ok, now I'm really starting to feel like a poser since I really don't know anything about music. My point, finally, is this: the show was good, the last band surprised, and I came home with a charming bit of stage memorabilia (see photo below), and an Oh No! Oh My! t-shirt and CD. Not a cheap night, but still cheaper than Spoon, and I will remember this one much more fondly.

Fulltime non-dissertator (it seems)

I can't believe the week is nearly over. I've done a lot and yet very little of it is related to my dissertation! Wow. So many meetings and errands and extra-curricular commitments . . . and I haven't even hit up an indie show yet.

This morning started off inauspiciously. I woke up really early and did some work---good!---and then headed off to school for tutorial. I entered the classroom early and waited. And waited some more. No students came. At twenty minutes past the hour (ten minutes after the class is meant to start) I wrote a note on the board and went to check my e-mail. Figured it was possible I missed something. But no, there was nothing. So I went back and waited another ten minutes before giving up completely.

The next tutorial at noon was well attended and went really smoothly. The students had a very interesting debate, and I think I'll really like tutorials this year. Yay! Afterwards I went to Massey for lunch, and then crossed the street to the Munk Centre for an interesting talk. There really is great stuff there. It's just key not to go there too often, or else I'd never get ANY work done. In all my travels thus far I'd managed to run into all kinds of good people I know.

After the talk I ran some more errands, and chatted with one of my supervisors about where we both are with work. Unplanned meetings are good!

But then I checked my e-mail and found out that a bunch of students had been waiting for me at 11am . . . in another classroom! What the hell. A few e-mails later it turns out the room had been changed and the professor sent the students an e-mail telling them this, but I wasn't sent the message. Oh well. Not my fault for missing the class, but I feel badly for the students.

More errands and conversations, and then it was time for dinner at Massey (yes, again). I went so I could meet with the other lecture series coordinators, so it was a bit of a working dinner. The food was decent, if expectedly bland. I can't imagine eating there regularly after having lived with FN. It would be such a letdown for my tastebuds. I had to hang around after dinner to chair the lecture happening in the evening. Did that. And I was home by 10pm. LONG DAY.

So, the day wasn't chock full of stuff, but it was pretty tiring, as you can imagine. I didn't get a lot done; this was unavoidable because of the timing of everything. I did talk with a whole slew of good people, so I can't complain about that. But, seriously: if I'm ever going to get going on my dissertation, I need to stay home and force myself to do it. Monday. Yes, for sure.

I heart historians.

Tuesday evening FN and I walked down to the Victory Cafe to meet up with a good handful of my fellow history grad students. And we had a great time!! I am just so fond of some of these people, and some of them I definitely need to hang out with more. Excellent, excellent. And, you know, we didn't really talk about history. (Although I love talking about peoples' respective research.) Just saying, is all.

On Wednesday my sister arrived from Montreal for a visit. Once she got in we went for a walk down through campus and to Kensington Market---which she, of course, absolutely loved---and then back through Chinatown, another part of campus, past the ROM Crystal, and back home. I really do live in a great part of the city. And, there's so much more to explore, both within and without walking distance! Toronto ain't London, of course, but it's got a lot of really interesting spots, if you're interested in urban neighbourhoods. Later on today she and I will hit up the AGO for free, thanks to Massey's corporate membership. Yay!

But first, breakfast and lunch. We get to eat leftovers from last night's super yummy (FN-made) dinner with KC and a friend of his and FN. I'm feeling slightly bad about not doing any work since Tuesday morning, but there you have it. It's not often that I spend time with my sister or some of my favourite historians, so it's ok.

La Traviata = ehn.

Last night I went and saw the dress rehearsal of the Canadian Opera Company's La Traviata. I got a free ticket through Massey and there were a handful of Masseyites (and historians) there too. The concert hall---the new Four Seasons centre---is gorgeous and well designed; the music and singing were excellent; but I was less taken with the visuals of the opera. Apparently (according to the son of the opera company's general director) the last time this production was staged, there was a lot of outrage among opera-goers. I wouldn't say I was outraged, but it just didn't do it for me. The combination Rocky Horror/18th-century-ish staging was bizarre. It didn't transport me. I don't think I'm particularly transportable, but still. Whatever. I thought it was a great production (in execution). Just an odd production (in design). I must admit that by the third act I was just waiting for the heroine to die already. I was that bored.

Anyways, afterward my Massey friend TaV and I walked to campus where I dropped her off and then made my way to a nearby pub. A group of Masseyites were gathered drinking and eating chicken wings. It was a good time, especially since I got to talk to some cool people I haven't really talked with before. And it was nice to do it outside the confines of the college.

I left the pub to take the TTC home, and when I got the streetcar on Spadina, guess who was on it? EC! Toronto is a small city sometimes. (I feeling I also had when running into historian DS at the opera a few hours earlier.)

Dissertating and other activities.

On Saturday I didn't leave the house---yes, I know, but I don't care what you think!---and worked on my dissertation. By which I mean I read part of a book related to my first chapter, took some notes on an article also related to my first chapter, and went through some notes. Yay me!

Sunday was a day of no work. Instead, FN and I met up with EC, AG, and YT for yummy dim sum at our favourite place in Chinatown. It was especially good that day, though I was less enamoured of the steamed BBQ pork buns than I usually am. The glutinous dumplings, however, were delish. Afterwards we did a bit of shopping in Kensington Market and then headed off home. EC and I then walked back south to meet up with some Massey kids and go to the Bloor Cinema. We saw (for free, thanks to the host of The Green Majority) "Everything's Cool," a documentary being shown as part of the Hot Docs festival. The film follows a few climate change activists---broadly defined---around for a while as they try to bridge the gap between public and scientific belief on the issue in the United States. It was quite entertaining and a little educational. It's not about the debate or the science, per se, but it was good for what it was. For dinner, EC came over and cooked up a lovely vegetarian pasta.

Yesterday I ran some errands at school. My supervisor gave me some books related to my dissertation. More books for my shelves! It just so happened that she was soon going to be meeting with a Russian historian friend of hers while I was around, so I got to hang around and meet him too. I've read his book (about the Russo-Japanese War, 1904-05), and he had some good things to say to me. So that was nice of my supervisor, and lucky of me. In ended the afternoon sitting in the Massey common room reading a book and enjoying the sunshine. How nice.

Now, what I've left out of my Monday adventures is that I kept running into people I hadn't seen in a while. I love this about campus---I can rarely go there without having to stop and chat. But this is of course also kinda annoying, since I am usually trying to get things done! But you can't keep me away from a conversation, so I love it. It was nice to see and chat with PM, BB, VM, and BB2 (hadn't seen her in months and months!). And at Massey I hung out with some of the guys, including SM, handsome guy, and the coolest guy. Good times. Not conducive to getting much work done, however.

The reason I was at Massey was not just to hang out but to go to a pre-departure meeting for my upcoming trip to Israel. There are 15 of us Masseyites going, and we got to meet our contact guy who will be coming with us, as well as have our questions answered. The trip should be amazing in several different ways. We're not going to do everything that we might potentially have done, but I'm ok with this because there's only so much one can do and expect to do in such a situation. The trip will be nearly free for us, and we leave on 13 May. Exciting. I just hope I can get along with the other 14 people. I think it should be fine though I may try to sensor my behaviour around at least one of the people, since she strikes me as the sensitive type. (I wish people were cooler, but maybe they equally wish people were less annoying.)

Ok, I spent way too much time updating this blog (which no one reads anyways), so I better get back to my day.

Last Massey event of 2006-07.

How sad. But it's ok---I have a dissertation to write!

Last night I was at Massey eating a hamburger and hanging out with a bunch of Massey types. It was fairly entertaining, and then I went off with a few of them to the Duke of York for more talking. Unfortunately, we left just as the dance party was really getting started. Now that totally looked like a good time (for the slightly inebriated and assorted uninhibited folk).

I am feeling uninspired by this blog today. But you should be happy to know that I am working on my dissertation. No, not actually writing anything yet, but reading relevant material and notes.

Unrelated to my dissertation, I am looking forward to heading off to Israel in a couple weeks. It should be fun times. (And probably exhausting.)

Time to eat. (It's important not to starve.)

Complaining about students.

Tonight at dinner the scientists I was surrounded by---all good, intelligent, nice people, so I don't mean anything by describing them as scientists other than the fact of them being scientists---were complaining about their students. They can't write and they can't think very well either. And it sucks. And there's no way these kids could have gotten into university back when, etc. I can't speak for all university and school systems, of course, but I am not prepared to be as harsh as them on students. Yes, it's true that many students are lazy and presumptuous and annoying. But I think most of them are genuinely interested in learning and doing well.

I think it's important not to exaggerate the argument I'm going to make. But here it is. If students are coming to university unprepared, then of course we all should agitate to make high school education link up better with university standards and expectations. This is a long-term project; in the meantime there are students who are floundering. While it's fine to whine, we need to acknowledge our students' unpreparedness and make a commitment to teach them what we think they need to know. It's up to us. We are on the front-lines. (By "us" I mean university instructors as a group, including professors and TAs.)

One of the scientists tonight claimed that somewhere along the way---somewhere in his many years of undergraduate and graduate education---he learned to think critically. I believe him, of course. When pushed, though, he could only say that he "picked it up." It's unfair of me to pick on him, because the conversation was just another one of those Massey affairs that doesn't require that advance thought be put into arguments, but I'm going to anyway. It's not good enough to expect students to just "pick up" critical thinking, writing, and analytical skills. They very well might, but all instructors (teachers) must ponder how to go about actually teaching these skills and attitudes. One can't just be brilliant at the front of an auditorium of 18-year-olds and expect some of it to seep into students' minds. Yes, sometimes it will. But we need to think harder about pedagogy.

Many professors and TAs already do this, of course. I can only hope that more and more of us will do so in the future. Students aren't any stupider than they were in years past. They might have a less wide-ranging vocabulary; they certainly don't read as many full-length books. But they do read and watch and listen to a much broader array of things than I think students did in the past. And they have more extra-curricular responsibilities and distractions. Can't we just accept this---when we have to, not resignedly---and adjust our teaching and our expectations to match? It's hard, but it's crucial. These kids will be the leaders and the toilers of tomorrow. There's no point giving them Cs and alienating them from the intellectual-university culture. That's just stupid.

End of rant. It's nearly 3am so forgive me for logical inconsistencies, please! But do call me on them.

Congratulations to Dr. TC, PhD!

Excellent! I didn't understand a word save the "and," "but" and "in conclusion" parts, but you seemed quite impressive, Dr. TC.

Today I also took in EW's talk---very well done and quite interesting, I must say!---and ran errands in preparation for my leaving the country Sunday morning. EW and I lunched at Massey and then I was back there for dinner, wearing my gown for the last time this school year. (I had someone take a pic of me so I can send it to my dad, who will laugh and say it's very ridiculous and strange. Which of course it is, but it's a "thing.")

Back at home I had to rest for a bit and then it was back to grading. Sigh. Which explains why I have NOTHING interesting to say. Blech.

Book people.

Today, after laundry and grocery shopping, I got to sit in on the panel discussion with the judges of this year's Man Booker International Prize. A bunch of us Masseyites got to go, for no other reason than the College hosted the judges for the three days they were in town whittling down their long list of authors to a short list of 15 worthies. Two of the three Canadians on the short list of 15 were in the audience (Margaret Atwood and Michael Ondaatje, though not Alice Munro), as was historian Michael Bliss and other Toronto fancy types and literature people. The discussion was generally interesting, and SM---who is rather taller than I thought he was---kept me entertained as we waited for the thing to start.

The reception afterward was in the Massey common room, and so of course I had to go to that. I chatted with some of my favourites, including CG. (That guy gets more interesting by the day, I think.) M2.0 was all excited about getting Ondaatje and another author in the room to autograph copies of their books. A glass and a half of wine later I managed to tear myself away so I could go home and put away my laundry. After a very late dinner FN and I watched "The Painted Veil," which was good, fine. It was then after 2am! Which means I didn't grade anything today yet. Crap! I think perhaps I should do one or two before bed.

The end is in sight.

Yes, I'm still grading. But, I handed in most of the essays today, and only have 22 more to grade. That's only, like, 20 more hours of work! Excellent.

In other news, I emerged from my house Tuesday morning to go to my reading group. And that was good. One of my friends from York is handing in her completed dissertation in a few days, which is awesome! And what is even more awesome is that I'll get to read it in short order.

After the reading group meeting---thankfully close to home this time, in the department---I met up with FPW and took him to lunch at Massey. Much fun was had by all, especially by me. (Really, since when do I not have fun at a Massey lunch?) Most of the crew was there: PB, CG, LG, SM, M2.0, handsome guy, and the first and second coolest guys at the college. Plus others of more or less interest. (That sounds mean, but I don't mean it to be mean. You know what I mean?)

And then it was back to the department to set up the weekly grad student coffee social. Some of the good historians were about there too. After heading back northeast to drop off the essays, gossip with the prof, and talk with a postdoc whom I happened across at the Munk Centre, I was back in the department partaking in more hanging out. (That means you, CB, MK, MS, PM, DR, EW, AT, et al.) I had vague plans of attending a job talk, but all my chatting meant I missed the start time so didn't go. And I had vague plans of grading a couple more papers before lecture at 5pm, but I was feeling pretty haggard, so I nixed that idea.

I hung around after lecture and walked back most of the way home with the prof, who is not on my committee, but is one of my faves here for sure. Once home, FN whipped up yummy food. And I found the recipe for it online, so I'm feeling slightly proud of myself. ;-)

The bad news at the moment is that I went to bed early---tired!---but then woke up after a few hours. So, basically, I had a long nap. Which is not what I wanted, and which is annoying because it throws my sleeping patterns off kilter once again. Ah well.

LATER (because it made me smile) . . . From an MSN conversation, 3:40am:

JP says:
luck wishes you well
CLM says:
wishes it you too.

And to you!

I heart Massey.

[The title is in honour of CG, who used a similar phrase in an e-mail to me yesterday. It made me smile.]

Friday after the meeting AB and I went for lunch at Massey, and then I descended to the basement library to grade papers. I was pretty good, managing to get through 6 of them in 5 hours, including a couple breaks for sanity's sake. I dragged LG with me to dinner (also at Massey) and then it was off to see "The Rocky Horror Show" for me.

The show was well done, but of course the plot of the play is kinda ridiculous. Still, it was a good time and a semi-lively crowd made it better. Afterwards a clump of us meandered home through the streets of Toronto back to the college. And there we gathered, chatting and laughing outside. It was fun! The coolest guy at Massey was there; and I told M2.0 that we should be friends. SM and PB and I then went for a 1am dinner. Because by this point we were all pretty hungry. (It's what happens when you have dinner at 6:30pm.) I really have a good time with some of the Massey boys some days. They should hang out with me more often, methinks.

Today was fairly relaxing but I really must grade. Or read my prof's book. And then I must wake up much too early to have dim sum with LG and CG.

A few minutes later . . . Oh, and I just finished watching "Stranger than Fiction" with FN. Apparently it was so uninspiring that I promptly forgot all about it. It's not bad; it's just nothing special, I don't think.

Lost her already.

Tonight (Friday night, that is), the coolest guy at Massey chose me as to take care of Elvisina, a female manikin bust acquired last year to keep Massey's golden Elvis bust company. Yes, this is bizarre. But that's not the point. The point is that it is my job to keep Elvisina and bring her around to Massey events. However, she's already been stolen from me! Some nefarious res or non-res fellow snatched her while I was dancing. A couple hours into the job, and I've already failed! [Thanks to TaV for the pic.]

Anways, back to less ridiculous occurrences. Thursday evening I took in a junior fellow lecture about quantum mechanics, which included such crazy (theoretical) topics as quantum cryptography and quantum bomb detonation, and entanglement. The lecturer did an excellent job because I left understanding what he'd been talking about, even though I have not taken a math or science course since high school.

This afternoon I went to the optometrist, and the good news is that I'm just as blind as I was before. Yay! So no need for new glasses. The doctor put these drops into my eyes which made my pupils bigger, and thus made light brighter. I had to wear this ridiculous dark plastic thing behind my glasses (like reverse clip-on sunglasses, but much stupider looking) as I walked along Bloor St. I ran into AG on the street and quickly whipped the thing off my face. But then it was too bright (even though we were standing in the shade) and I eventually had to put it back on. Ridiculous.

By 6:15pm I was at Massey, and didn't leave until about 3:20am. Massey was fun tonight. There is a good group of kids there. Not the most exciting people on the planet, but that's fine. (Heck, I'm not super exciting myself, so who am I to judge?) I partook in the dinner and the after-dinner conversation, witnessed the entertainment and the speeches, did some square-dancing---I was almost certainly the worst one on the dance floor, but whatever---and then went and chatted more until M (whose last name I don't know) walked me home. Oh, and handsome guy was there tonight and told me I should move in next year (!). No can do, but thanks for saying it ;-).

Now it is after 4am, and I must sleep. Happy Caturday, all! (To introduce you all to my new favourite website/blog. It made me laugh until I cried Wednesday night. No joke.)

Retreat.

The past couple of days I think I've been talking too much. And just generally being too much. I think it's time for a little retreat. Time to go into hiding for a bit. Ok.

Yesterday I was walking with LG---we ran into each other at Massey and walked to our respective destinations together---when we passed another Masseyite. Said Masseyite saw me first (I waved and smiled, as usual) and gave me the usual acknowledgment. But the next instant he saw LG and this elicited a large smile and excited "hi!" Harrumph. And earlier in the day I think I annoyed/was rude to a couple friends. Sigh. And then later I sent LG three different e-mails---they were legitimate ones---when I really should be leaving him alone to work. Grumble. I. must. stop. this. behaviour.

In a bid to appease the universe and get back in its good books I've just baked strawberry-bran muffins and will do some cleaning of the apartment today. Oh, and continue working.

And . . . working is much better now because I have a brand-new extra monitor to spread out my desktop on! I am loving it. Much recommended.

Films are cool, and other unrelated thoughts.

Who knew? Not me. Why am I only discovering this now? Well, today I sat in on AT's guest lecture to a film class! I was very impressed with his easy delivery and clear grasp of the material. That man is a smartie. Good for him.

After the 3.5 hour lecture/clip screening I went over to Massey to hear the election results. Turns out all positions were acclaimed (including mine) except one. But this means that I am now officially an office holder at the college, so I'll have to hang out there more often next year. Which I think is a good thing, but I don't want it to become a time suck.

And speaking of time sucks, after talking with AB2 and SA yesterday I'm feeling more comfortable about not TAing at all next year. Because of my funding situation I don't need to, and it seems unlikely that there will be a course that I'll feel compelled to TA for professional reasons. (This isn't quite true, but the one course I should do would likely require me to do a lot of hours. And I won't do that.) With the Massey job, probably being an organizer of the grad student conference in the department next year, and maybe also sitting on that governance council, I'll have enough to do besides my dissertation!

Today was another day when I got very little done but didn't do much apart from necessary things. I don't quite understand how this happens, but it happens a lot. And tomorrow will likely be more of the same! I guess I should just go with it and put off hopes of being productive for a day when I don't leave the house. That's really the key, you know: not leaving the house.