lalala

I am, actually, a writer. I have always been a writer. (And if you believe my grandparents, I'm destined for genius. Don't believe them.)

So I've decided that I not only can finish this dissertation, I will do so with a minimum of pain and suffering. And even though I am tired of the ideas, I don't actually need to throw out the first chapter.

I only need 15 more pages for chapter 4. I have that. Then all that's left is the final chapter, and that's no problem. In the meantime, chapter 3 is getting some much needed polish.

So yes, I am bad at blogging. I never was good at keeping a journal. But oh well.

We're staying put for another year as the job market did not do what I wanted it to do. Such is life. I am still writing this stupid dissertation, but hopefully I will be able to finish it this summer. And hopefully the job market will be better and the stars will be aligned next year.

Oh, and I'm contemplating buddhism...

The goose is getting fat...

ie: Christmas is coming. Almost here, really. There was a time when I wouldn't have been able to fathom spending Christmas away from my own family, and yet here I sit in the snowy midwest. Snowy is a bit of an exaggeration, but there is snow. It's mostly just blowing around, though. The wind is too strong to let it settle. I'll miss them, of course, and I wish I could see them sooner than 11 days from now, but it will be fine in the long run.

Really, though, I need to dissertate. This is not dissertating....

Prepositional Confusion

Based off of? Really? I saw that phrase in multiple student papers this semester. I know that they mean "based on," but I can't figure out where it's coming from. They must be seeing or hearing it somewhere, but it is really odd. Why use two prepositions when one will suffice? Not that I'm the best writer out there, but still....

I'm no longer visiting the wiki. It's too hard. I want to, but I'm scared to now. I feel like the guy in the Cox phone commercial, who gave his number to "three smoking hot ladies" and now wonders why they haven't called. All will be well, one way or another...

Still waiting...

I'm not supposed to visit the jobs wiki anymore. I'm still getting consolation from it, but one of these days I'm going to click that button and find out that my top choices have requested interviews. Or that the list has dwindled down further than I'm comfortable with. I do hate this process, I must say. I'm not good with change, and I'm even less good with uncertainty, so the combination is a recipe for disaster. In the meantime, I grade papers and create syllabi.

Biding my time.....

I think that this font will be better. Things that are going on in my life right now:
My grandmother has sprained her ankle quite badly, which leads to all sorts of questions about my grandparents' ability to live in a different part of the country from their children.
My sister is waiting to give birth. There's a good month or so to go, so it could be something of a wait.
I need to finish my dissertation.
I hate parts of my job.
I am waiting to find out where I will live next year.
I am maybe almost a little bit reaching the end of this extended delayed gratification that is graduate school. Want a job? later. Want kids? later. Want new clothes? later. Want new glasses? later. I don't usually bitch, since it's really a pretty privileged life. But it gets old, and we are definitely reaching the end of our shelf life here. I'm ready to go, and it's exciting to go, but there's an awful lot of soul-sucking anxiety in the process. It's hard to write through soul-sucking anxiety...