Paper Trails Are Bad, Mm'kay?

Fairly unpleasant day at work today. Will be even more so for someone else tomorrow, I'm guessing.

We always joke that our boss has never fired anyone, but there's a first time for everything.

There's Life Out There

As many of you are aware, I like to go camping in Wisconsin every summer. I usually sleep in a tent in the campgrounds my family has cleared in the woods.

There are bears in the woods and the occasional bobcat--I've seen the latter once and the former a couple times. I usually see a bald eagle every year--there is normally a nest on or near our lake. There are timberwolves...known packs are near our area, and last year they attacked hunting dogs a few miles away. I've never seen or heard a wolf--or if I heard one, I convinced myself it was a dog. I've seen large dog-like tracks when I've gone ATVing away from the "residential" area, though.

Bears are ten times more common than eagles, and even though I haven't seen bears very often, I always hear about either someone who did or some mischief they got into the night before. They like to pull down the bird feeders, you know.

Wolves are about as common as the eagles, but stay away from developed land for the most part. I think I'd rather see a bear at night than a wolf, anyway.

Cost Increase

Last year, I got a small tax reimbursement for my tuition, books, and fees. This year? Zippo.

Last year, my expected contribution* to my education expenses was manageable. This year? Up a thousand dollars.

I'm sure this is the Republicans' fault. And likely Dubya's personally.

Can't wait to see the Financial Aid offer for next school year...the trend is not promising.

* Meaning what I am expected to pay for right now as opposed to what I am expected to pay for after graduation with interest. There are no free lunches.
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Guess what week it is. Heh. Go Bears!

I've Accomplished Nothing

I had this weekend off from work. I wasn't going to go home or anything like that; no, I was going to get all kinds of schoolwork done.

Instead, my parents came into town for the first time ever. They came Saturday afternoon/evening to go to a nearby casino, so I met them there, had dinner, etc.

While I was there, I got a call from an out-of-town friend who was in-town. So I saw him in the late night and again this afternoon.

Now I don't feel like doing much of anything.

Here's a Question...

Let's say a high school is built in a predominately-black neighborhood. The school needs a mascot/nickname, and the kids vote to be the "Crackers" and have someone dress up in a Revenge of the Nerds type getup to be the mascot. Or they call themselves the "Wops" and have a Godfather-type mascot, except without any guns or violent imagery.

Would you have a problem with this? Why or why not?

Spring (Semester) Cleaning

My desk/work area was really out of control...it looked like some crazy professor's office up in here. Books everywhere, papers strewn about...it was hindering my study comfort.

I filled ten 12" x 12" x 6" boxes with books I can probably live without for the next year or so. The box size isn't that big, but I'm not trying to lug single 200-pound cardboard boxes full of books around. I also filled a large plastic bin full of scrapbook material that--let's face it--I won't be able to do anything with for quite some time anyway. So all of this stuff is getting hauled to storage (I already have a lot of furniture and things in a storage unit).

But the thing is, even though I culled the book collection, my bookshelf is still more than full.

It is possible I have too many books.

Especially since my bookshelf is a commercial-grade monstrosity designed to hold 1000 pounds of garage junk. (From the Steve H. school of interior design.)

Especially since I already have several boxes of books in storage.

But someday I'll have a home with a room for my office/library and all of my books will be on non-hideous bookshelves, arranged by subject, and life will be good.

In the meantime, I have some space to do homework again.

Irregular

I had every intention of blogging on a fairly regular basis, but it hasn't quite worked out that way. What have I been up to? Work and school. What else is there?

Today I handled a ginormous dinosaur vertebra. How cool is that? Answer: pretty f'ing cool. Also handled a coprolite. Not quite as cool.

Classes are going pretty well, and why wouldn't they? It's only week two. We have Archaeology, Paleontology, Latin, Native Americans, and Book History on the plate this semester; as well as my internship, researching local history. Lots of history, and lots of digging stuff up. You wish you were me.
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Oddly, three different boys in the last week have asked if I was 21 yet. There is apparently some sort of vision-deteriorating virus going around here. The first two had violently surprised reactions when I told them my age. The third, I just said I was older than 21 and left the specifics out of it. See? I can be trained.

Well, It's a C. Sounds About Right...

(Seen at sarahk's.)

Winter and Spring Semester Are Here

It's like 2 degrees out. And classes start back up today. Which means I get to walk around in the 2 degree weather.

I went to visit the family over the weekend, and left there this morning. Drove here, and now it feels like the day should be half over, but my first class isn't until 1:00.

The evil ex-sister-in-law is pregnant again. Fourth child, third father. This father has been in jail since early December for beating up his step-father (in front of my nephew, btw). So he's awesome. Just like her.

Anyway, what's new with all you?

Retaliatory Strike

Dear Europe,

Goddamnit, you will pay for this. I don't care if we did send you Madonna first...this is crossing the line. We have enough insipid, undernourished, overexposed celebrities running around that we don't need you to export yours across the Atlantic. I will not forgive this.

Rot in Hell you bastards,

Me

P.S. We still won't give a crap about soccer, either.

Booking of a Different Sort

Some fool thinks I have the time to read 8 books for one class over the course of a semester. Fine, except 4 of the books are over 600 pages long.

/drop class

Booking

Ah.

I have made myself somewhat useful this break. I have read (finished) Unto a Good Land, The Devil in the White City, 1066: The Year of the Conquest, and I am working on Reading Lolita in Tehran.

Unto a Good Land was actually an assigned book for last semester, but it is well over 300 pages long, and let's be serious. It was assigned for the last couple weeks of classes, and let's be serious. I skimmed it enough to be able to know what I needed for the exam. But it was interesting, and I did want to read the whole thing. So after the semester was over and I had nothing else to do, I read it. It's great, especially since its subject matter is of particular interest to me: Swedish immigration. There were a couple of minor discontinuities in the narrative, but someday I hope to read the rest of the books in the series. I highly recommend it...I could hardly put it down, but others lacking the same interest in the subject matter might be less enthralled.

The Devil in the White City was also very good. It unfolds like a mystery novel, even for parts that aren't about murder or anything so dark. It paints a vivid picture of turn-of-the-century Chicago and what living was like at the time. It follows both the building of the Columbian Exposition and the activities of a serial killer. One of the reviews on the cover says you won't believe you don't already know the story--and I have to agree. I highly recommend it.

1066: The Year of the Conquest recounts the events of England in that year, with enough backstory to put it in context. I had already read King Harald's Saga and of course textbook accounts of the Norman Conquest, but this book fleshed the English perspective out very nicely. It's not an entirely scholarly work, as the author takes some liberties with what might have happened or what might have influenced the players. Still, it doesn't read completely like a novel, and it took a little longer to plow through it, but it was a captivating read and I knocked it out in two days. It made me want to find out more about the facts of the events and take a closer look at the after-effects. I highly recommend this one, as well, but only to fans of the History Channel.

I just started Reading Lolita in Tehran, and so far I like it a lot. Any looks at the lives of regular people in the Middle East--and particularly women--is highly interesting in and of itself. And looking at how a group of women react to English literature and draw parallels to their own lives is especially enlightening. I can't say yet if I recommend this book, but I daresay I will.

Anyone who wants an interesting read about Iraqi women should try Guests of the Sheik, by the way. It's absolutely wonderful. It's written by an American woman who accompanied her husband to rural Iraq and took up the burqa to fit in. The story is several decades old, so it's not a contemporary look at Iraqi life, but I think it still has relevance--and insight that is valuable.

Highly Groomed

Just got a haircut, and if you're going to get a haircut, you may as well spring for the dry and style.

Also went to the Lancome counter, since I'm all addicted and stuff and had some Christmas money. I like to show up with my list, get my stuff, get some free samples of some other stuff, and go before I have time to start thinking I'd like some things that aren't on my list. However, wrench in the plan: they were out of two of the things I needed. Well, wanted...maybe not needed. So while she was initially looking around, I had too much time to browse and ended up with an extra lip gloss. I don't know how, but it just jumped into my hand! Darndest thing.

Anyway, I have to go back in a few days to get the things I actually went for in the first place. Hopefully I won't come away with anything extra. Lancome is pricey for impulse purchases.

One of my bosses back in the day said of her teenage daughter: "She has Estee Lauder tastes and a Cover Girl budget." I can relate.

Happy New Year! Pass the Aspirin...

I hope all of you had a safe and enjoyable new year celebration. Mine was extremely low-key, but extremely enjoyable. In my opinion, the smaller the gathering, the better the company.

I am happy to say we didn't see a single snowflake...let alone 15-foot drifts full of snowflakes.

Semi-regular blogging will resume in the near future.