it's funny how the old habits come back, isn't it? back in the day i'd avoid homework by talking incessantly on aim, or writing in my livejournal, or watching random videos people had forwarded me (sadly there was no youtube at that time) (saying that makes me feel oddly old). now i'm blogging-- not that i'm totally avoiding reading, but i would like to give you, dear readers, something to read and an update on my life. k? now, onto a handy bullet proof format b/c i really don't have much time (i have like 300 pages to read of random, dry articles for american studies intro class tomorrow, and Wharton's entire House of Mirth to read by Thursday, so I have to get cracking).
-- grad school is awesome. i love my classes, my profs are awesome, i already have a little posse of friends, williamsburg is fucking great, virginia beach is really close so i'm going to the beach with some friends this wkend, going to colonial williamsburg (students get in for free) next week, seeing Hamlet 2 this week with the posse (all aforementioned activities are with the posse). oh and my cottage is AWESOME. i ADORE it. pictures forthcoming, i swear-- my lame computer doesn't want to accept pictures from my camera for no apparent reason, so i'm going to have to figure out another way to do it. (i need to just get a card reader). you guys will swoon-- the office, where i am now, is awesome and pink and pretty and i LOVE it!
-- my posse is great. it consists (so far) of Maggy, who graduated Rhodes College in '06 and is fron NC/Dallas, is very outdoorsy, says awesomely smart stuff in class and is interested i
african american culture in appalachia (sp). Nikki just grad. UNC this May and is a cheerleader type (she was a cheerleader, actually) and is interested in material culture and has this adorable and fun boyfriend that lives in DC and comes here most wkends. Shaun is 26, our only boy so far, and has a master's from one of the SUNYs and and undergrad from...university of rochester? he's from rochester, NY and has the most insane accent. it's like a cross between michigan and jersey-- very odd. he's into literature and when we were watching the House of Mirth movie with Gillian Anderson for class the other day i cried at the end (it's so sad! she kills herself and eric stoltz sobs "I LOVE YOU LILY") he was like "i LOVE this shit! i love misery!" he's a sweet pea.
that's pretty much it so far but we're a very inclusive posse-- anytime we see anyone from our department and especially our class, we invite them to hang but everyone's so crazy shy! there's a few married people and people that live in Richmond/Newport News/VA beach so they commute and dont really hang but thats ok. we're trying to expand our group so i'll keep you posted.
-- my classes are: intro to amer studies for grad students (we all have to take this), 20th century women writers (there's a lot of undergrads in this class! and its VERy heavy on the reading), and an independent study i'm taking with my advisor on African American Religion. that's the one i'm most excited about b/c i have never studied it and it's fascinating. today in class my advisor, Maureen, said, "can you think of a single black leader now that is not involved in religion in some way?" (she said obama, but other than him, who else? and i couldnt think of anyone. can you?). fascinating! maggy's in that class with me and then 3 other girls that are af. american so i'm very interested to hear some of their personal history with the subject. it's going to be effing amazing! hooray!
-- for some reason i'm REALLY into studying to secular music. like in latin, old school choir in a cathedral music that was written in the 1200s. i have always loved it (it sounds so ethereal, and it's so soothing, esp. when they sing "deus" which means god) and it's marvelous study music.
-- virginia is gorgeous. just the other day i was driving around and i saw this beautiful sunset over the trees and thought, this is SO beautiful! there are little public gardens all over town that you can go sit in (one has these HUGE passion flowers and morning glories, it cheers me up so much everytime i walk by) and the weather, while slightly hot (people keep bitching about the 90 degree weather-- im like are you SERIOUS), is lovely. it's actually cold at night! so amazing.
-- williamsburg is really cool. my classes meet right at the front of the campus, where it hits the school (it actually hits Merchant Square, if you know anything about wmsbrg). there's tons of little cafes and shops and stuff right nearby. it's so great! the parking is a nightmare, but luckily i got the insider's tip from Wendy on parking down the street in this parking garage where they never ticket so you can park for free. weee!
-- clearly i'm happy as 800 clams right now. everything is going really well so far (despite the fact that i havent gotten my student loan check...grrr) and i just LOVE it here. hooray!!! :D
