Happy Halloween..even though I forgot.

So, I knew Halloween was coming up. I meant to buy candy all week, as this is/was my first chance at playing grownup to the trick-or-treaters. My apartment is on the first floor, so I anticipated the inevitable doorbells.

I forgot to buy candy, and there was a talk by Joan Scott at 5:00 that I just couldn't miss (it was amazing, by the way)and I just got home. I debated stopping to buy candy, but by the time I did, trick-or-treating would be done.

Of course, as I pull up on my bike, there are kids at the door. I hid behind a parked minivan so they wouldn't see me and demand candy, projecting onto me that I was the irresponsible one who purposefully left the porch light on but who was a bad grownup who didn't buy candy.

I did a lap around the block, talked myself into and out of buying candy at the store, and then went back. They were gone. But! My upstairs neighbors are awesome and have a little sign pointing to their doorbell AND they have candy. Figures, they're 7th years. They're REAL grownups.

***

Anyhow, life has been good. Work has leveled off to a manageable level, though I've felt draggier lately. I have to keep my eye on the prize, though. I have a lot of work to do to write some quality final papers, and I still have to keep up a thorough reading job. This I think was difficult this week - that is, it was difficult to feel good about my reading comprehension - when we had one 800 page book and then a collection of pieces of manuscript for another class. Both were very difficult in their own way. And for narrative - I spend a lot of time this weekend on my Celia narrative (the 4 pager) and was quite happy with it. We'll have to see how my class likes it tomorrow.

My mom is coming to visit on Friday - I can't wait! We're going to NYC, and to visit my aunt and uncle and cousins, and just tooling around New Haven, free and easy. Whee!

I feel like blogging more frequently and less diary like, so I think I will do a series of posts that don't involve (necessarily) a run-down of my week. I'll be taking suggestions, but I will probably include:

1. Living car-free in grad school
2. Grad school unionism
3. Public vs Ivy schools

Any suggestions?

Life is good

Life is pretty good right now. Aside from missing Aaron horribly, this week was much better than last week.

Though last weekend was pretty lonely, I got a lot of work done, and was happy with my contributions in class this week. Now, if only this weekend would be so kind...but it's not shaping up that way. I've had two social evenings in a row, the former of which ended up with me drinking WAY too much wine and thus having a very slow day today. And then tomorrow is the big halloween party night, so...yeah. I'm thinking the 800 pages of reading for the one class is not going to get entirely read. Though in my defense, we are allowed to skim most of it. I mean, it's 800 pages. It's really more of a reference book.

Speaking of reference, I had a wonderful time in the law library last week. A very wonderful librarian searched with me for half an hour for a book of Missouri statutes that was cleverly misfiled, etc in the stacks. (I should email her to tell her that I eventually found it.) I've found a bunch of useful contextual details for my narrative on the slave trial I'll be writing about (same as my undergrad thesis) for my last two papers in my narrative class.

I'm thinking more and more about getting a law degree. Not sure about the J.D., but definitely an M.S.L. I am very lucky to be at a place where something like that is possible - essentially I take one year of law school to help me with my research. It's geared for people like me who don't want to practice law.

What else...my mom is coming to visit me next weekend! That will be very fun. Wedding dress shopping, yay!

Went to a great talk on Monday. Got a wonderful care package. Got my phone charger (which was an ordeal) and also got to go to Target, which was a huge boon. Bought a new computer (switched to Mac) and it got here today. Yes, it only took two days, and it is beautiful.

Been going to the gym occasionally, which makes me feel better. Yoga is good.

This week coming up is going to be fun. On Tuesday our class discussions will revolve around transnational Mexican cinema and its diplomatic impacts in one class and then a lively discussion about the rise of American democracy. Thursday will bring a trip to the special collections library and then a workshop on our narrative.

I pretty much love my life. Except that I need to do laundry...and I miss Aaron...and I have a lot of work. But at least it's fun work.

mid-October

Well, this week didn't go so well. I left last Thursday for a wedding in Minneapolis (which was great fun, that wasn't the not-so-well part) which took a half-day of travelling. Some people think you can get work done while travelling. I'll tell you, not for grad school. I read a book I needed to read for class - but by the time class came around on Tuesday, those brain cells were not near the top of the stack.

But I got to see the new Guthrie Theater (it's not really so new anymore, I suppose), have great fun at Gasthof, hang out with good friends in their awesome apartment, and attend a wonderful and moving wedding. Yes, I cried. And now Aaron is all about having music in our ceremony, so that's cool too.

Sunday I tried to work. I really did. It was really hard, though, and I did not spend enough time working on the assignment. Which led to much frustration this week, as I realized my classmates spent far more time on it and had much better products. But that's ok, because I can kick butt on this next one. I'm starting tonight, by the way. Just you wait! If it turns out well, I'll post it here.

So I had class on Tuesday, then the longest day ever continued as I attended a talk at the legal history forum and then had a delicious dinner and fascinating conversation after with some really, really smart people. I met a bunch of profs that I'd been meaning to meet (feminist legal profs, race and reconstruction profs, etc) and it was a really positive thing to be in such a feminist space again. I think I'm going to get sucked into feminist legal theory whether I like it or not...and whether I can fit it into my dissertation or not.

Wednesday I ran errands and read and blah blah blah. Oh, and emotional breakdown. But I'm over that now, for the most part, thanks to Aaron, my advisor, and my friends here. Thursday was class. Today I've spent reading, talking with my advisor, and searching for non-class related books in the library. Tonight I intend to draft the two papers I need for next week so I can revise them this weekend and have them sparkly by Tuesday.

So that's my weekend. I can NOT wait for Thanksgiving. I know it won't really be a break, and I'll spend much of it in a dorm room (no, not kidding) that I will leave only to go the library (really, watch the video in that link. That's exactly what it's like.) But, I'll get a bunch done cause Aaron has to work, too, and then I get to relax up at Aaron's parents' house (or shall I say, the future in-laws? Yeesh!) for Thanksgiving itself.

Only a month, right?

Wednesdays are the new Saturdays

It's official - Wednesdays always turn into my day off. Yes, day off - I only get one.

This week was crazy. I wrote a paper for my 19th century readings class on "Slavery and the Problem of Synthesis." I'm not super happy with how it turned out, but after reading it again I realized it wasn't too bad. I spent most of Saturday writing that, and Sunday and Monday brought substantial revisions. It also meant reading 1200 pages of slavery synthesis (3 books). It's fun to be writing papers again...but I can't wait to be working on my own research.

Speaking of which, I found out some interesting stuff that I might try to explore in my research seminar next semester. Of course, now I can't find it, but it was something cool about vigilantes in California. I'm really interested in extralegal "trials" and punishments.

Next week I get to write something more creative for my class on historical writing. It's about this church excommunication of a Puritan woman. We're all writing on the same document, so it should be interesting to see how we all turn it into a historical narrative - it's quite different from what I'm used to working on.

I can tell Thanksgiving is going to be a huge time to get my work done. Sigh.

Other than that, life is good. My kitchen is clean (for once...), I did laundry, I'm going to Minneapolis tomorrow for a wedding (yay!), and I got my hair cut today!

Montage

Some moments from the past week:

* Renting a blue Ford Mustang to drive to rural western MA for the early Americanists' BBQ. Driving said Mustang to IKEA to get a kitchen table, rug, and wine glasses. Driving it to the grocery store with new friends and getting our $26 out of that Mustang.

* Reading a book so long and complex and then having it sort of make sense as my classmates discussed it so that I want to revisit it.

* Going to a legal history forum and feeling very out of place as the only one wearing jeans. Exciting talk, though, and looking forward to getting involved.

* Joining the AHA and the OHA.

* Attending the meeting of our graduate student Union and having many conversations about whether or not to join. Perhaps I'll write more about this later.

* Having wine and cheese with a great group of women, then staying up and talking till 3:30 with my women friends who will likely be my best friends here. Haven't done that in far too long.

* Attending a talk on slavery in which people in the audience shared personal stories of slavery's legacies in their family (one white, one black). Reminded me why I love what I do.

* Having Indian food with a bunch of new friends and remembering why it sucks to divide up bills with large groups.

* Writing my first real grad school paper and reminding myself that I can't be afraid to say something, or I won't say anything at all. That's what I should be doing right now...

* Looking forward to a weekend in Minneapolis and environs and getting my haircut this week.

Crazy

This has been a craaaazy week, let me tell you. If I didn't have class tomorrow, I'd fill you in right now, but alas, I still have a book to read for tomorrow night and a goal of finishing another three by Friday to start work on my paper.

So, I promise to write after tomorrow night. It will be a long post!