Trying to decide whether to take an evening course at Birkbeck, the part-time learning college at University of London. If I'm going to 'dip in' for just one or two modules, I can only take undergraduate courses. But uni is starting up again in Leeds, and I feel like I need some class discussion to encourage me to read again (especially with an unfinished dissertation hanging over me). Costs money, though. Hmm.

Ooh, I need to call my mother today.

I usually call about twice a week, more if something interesting happens. But we used to talk every single day, during the craziness of Simultaneous House Building. That was fun.

I do not know what to think about the crossbow-weilding cheerleader, other than I saw a crossbow for sale on craiglist yesterday and thought about getting it for the SO. But we have no crocodiles out here.

Take the class, Seska! It's never a bad thing. Okay, probably it sometimes is a bad thing, but yay learning!

Okay, another round of Facebook questions. The last names "Cameron-Smith" and "Rojas"? I think I know who Rojas is, now that I think about it.

Interesting that you are posting about that, Seska. I am home sick still - wretched cold - and am exploring Ph.D programs in the area in between sneezes.

I am tired, tired, tired of my job. It is dog-work, very emotionally draining, and intellectually unsatisfying. I know that I want to leave, but I am not at all certain that I want to work with high-school age youth anymore. I want to teach at the college level again, but with an M.A. in English, I would need to take multiple lecturer positions, and forgo insurance and benes. Point the first. Point the second - a doctorate would be more loan expense, which I an already swimming in, and there's no guarantee that I would be able to score a position in the KC area when I am done. But if I am going to teach at the college level, a doctorate would be more logical.

I've also been out of post-secondary academia for twelve years (well, a M.Ed, but, umm, not the same) and even though I enjoy the more rigorous intellectual demands of graduate work, I don't now if I could take the superspecialization of the ivory tower without rolling my eyes forever.

Plus, I dunno what my dissertation would be. Atwood? The explosion of female heroines in modern fantasy? Buffy? Urban fantasy as a response to a mechanized global culture? Umm.

Maybe thinking about this while sick isn't the best plan. Dammit, I'm 37; shouldn't I be all settled into a career path by now?!

Rojas is Alibelle. Who I don't have to bother on Facebook, as she is just down the hall. I can stick my head out of my office and look right into her doorway. Cool to have a Buffista right here, huh?

Okay, yeah, I thought so. Thanks, Scrappy.

Also, I am jealous of people who have Buffistas in person.

Me, too.

Also, a letter.

Dear Maker of Stacy's Pita Chips -

I would like to marry you and have your pita chip inventing babies. Because holy fuck are these things good!

Yours in Nom, nom, nom-ing,
Aimee

am exploring Ph.D programs in the area in between sneezes.

Solidarity. I've almost finished my (second - heh) M.A., and have been desperately looking for Ph.D. funding for the past six months (and plan to spend this academic year continuing to try and secure future funding). It's been a nightmare so far, as the economy means less university funding is available, so my distinction is worth less than it would have been a year ago. But I am determined!

Hey, Atwood is a great topic for a Ph.D. thesis. I'm a former English teacher, but could never have made an Eng Lit Ph.D. work. It's all social science for me. I only wish my teachers had told me about it, instead of setting me up to be a mediocre English student.

Dammit, I'm 37; shouldn't I be all settled into a career path by now?!

I'm 31 (and was beginning a career that got cut short for various reasons) - but my friend, who was doing a Ph.D. when I was doing my M.A., is in her 40s I think. You're never too old for academia!

I've been beset by milestones, lately. Owen's got his first loose tooth! What's the Tooth Fairy leaving, adjusted for inflation? I used to get a quarter.