Awesome Blog of NON-Procrastination

PROCRASTINATE, PROCRASTINATE, PROCRASTINATE, No I am not a chronic procrastinator and lazy slattern. I need to get back into regularly blogging, eventually daily if only for myself. I'm always at a loss what to write about because I don't lead a necessarily exciting life. I'm always finding cool things and often think different things that I feel merit blogging. There's so much to talk about sometimes, I don't know where to begin or what to focus on. So today I'll make a short blog with two of the awesome things I've recently gotten into and discovered.

Baccano: Great Anime! I've been meaning to watch this for a long time. I've been watching and loving Durarara! which is by the same creator. Hilarious, kinda crazy story, great art style, tons of memorable characters, and rounded off perfectly with jazz music. Fave characters: Isaac and Miria--quirky pair of stupid thieves whose stupid plans actually succeed in getting them lots of money; they typically rob people while wearing costumes. Totally awesome that I can watch the show for free on Funimation's website.




Reduced Shakespeare Company: 3 guys perform ALL 37 Shakespeare plays in 90 minutes! HILARIOUS! One of Dustin's fellow student teachers showed him a clip of their version of Romeo and Juliet. He in turn showed it to me, and we both about died laughing. I had tears in my eyes. The show's a mixture of wit and slapstick that comes together to create the most awesome adaptation of Shakespeare ever!

"I'll Never Let Go"

Today I went with Dustin, his mom, and grandma to the Louisville Science Museum to see the Titanic Artifact exhibit after lunch at Logan's Roadhouse. The movie Titanic is being shown on TV tonight. I was not allowed to watch the movie when it came in theatres; my mom thought it should've been rated R because of the sex scene which you saw nothing. I finally got to see it when it came out on VHS, but my mom said she had to watch it with me so she could fast forward through the sex scene. I was the most deprived and desolate 6th grade girl. Then one day I caught my sister watching the second tape when our mom wasn't home. I was like, "We aren't allowed to watch this!" She was like, "It's okay. Mom's not home." We watched all the second tape, sex scene included. I cried pathetically at the end; my sister and mom thought I was stupid for doing so. It was funny today after the exhibit, Dustin's grandma asked about the diamond, "The Heart of the Ocean," and asked where was Rose's story. She thought it was real; gotta love her. Dustin's mom was very nice about telling her the truth. 

The exhibit was really cool and fascinating. They gave us little cards which were our "ticket" to the Titanic. Each had a passenger name and details about their travel situation and companions. They were all real people and at the end of the tour was a giant list of the survivors and those lost when the ship sank. I was Mrs. Thomas Potter Jr. (Lily Alexenia Wilson -- maiden name), first class, taking a European vacation with my daughter. There were variety of artifacts from the china which meals were served on in first and second class, toiletries, glass wine bottles, light holders, rivets which held the ship together. There were images on the floor plan. There were letters and a German-English dictionary which belonged to an immigrant passenger and money too. There was a man-made freshwater "iceberg" which you could put your hand on and get a feel for what it would've been like in the water; actually the water would've been much colder than "iceberg" on display.  One of the most unique items I thought was a bottle of champagne which still held champagne inside. The cork got sucked in to the bottle and expanded so it couldn't be removed. Scientists or archeologists (whichever) actually inserted a needle to extract some of the champagne to taste. It still tasted like champagne with just a touch of salt water. Much of the coal from the Titanic was taken out by archeologists; now, the coal is being sold in little bits and pieces--a tiny fragment is sold for $20. Granted it's supposed to be worth a whole lot more in the future. There's also a cruise ship which is sailing out the day of the 100th anniversary of the Titanic's maiden voyage. The ship is going the same route and the same speed, obviously without the disastrous results. Tickets are being sold for $4,000--equivalent to the amount it would've cost a third class passenger back in the day--$90. The exhibit was really fascinating, and it turned out my passenger survived the voyage.

I had a pretty full weekend with three dates! One for each day! Dustin called me Friday after he got out of school (from teaching) and said, "Shower and dress nice. We're going on a date." I was taken aback, "I was like what?! A date?! One where I have to go out and wear a bra?!" I'm super lazy and almost always get away without wearing a bra (both pro and con). We went to dinner a new or rather redone asian restuarant; La Que (pronounced La "Whey"). The place served Vietnamese, Thai, and Chinese; I thought the selection of Vietnamese dishes was small--mostly noodle dishes. Dustin ate Green Curry Chicken & I ate Ginger Chicken (served in a hotpot) with vegetables. Twas delicious. Then we went to the Comedy Caravan where we saw three comedians, one of them was Torian Hughes who is a writer for Tyler Perry. There was an obnoxiously drunk woman in front of us who kinda sucked the energy and fun out of the jokes; she thought everything was a joke for her and would not shut up. Finally, the second comedian, Cleveland, bluntly told her to "Shut the fuck up." She did for a while, but towards the end of the show she was shouting out and laughing 20 times louder. In spite of her, we enjoyed the rest of the whole show -- all three comedians were absolutely hilarious!

Saturday Dustin wanted to go to lunch at O'Charley's, and I wanted to go see Much Ado About Nothing played by the Savage Rose Classical Theatre Company. So we combined them and made another date. The Savage Rose performs shows close to the way they would've been performed in the Renaissance; they use period costumes and have a limited set. I saw my friend Sutton and her boyfriend Stephen there and my friend Liz and one of her sisters Peggy. Her other sister, whose name I now forgot, was playing the role of Margaret. I saw several people I knew from the U of L theatre department performing in the show. It was really great, and I laughed so hard.

When You Ask Me Who I Am, What is my Vision, Do I Have a Plan

I know I love Medieval/Renaissance lit and want to devote my life studying it and women and women writers of the time period. I always knew from when I was young I wanted to be a writer. As I got older and further in college, I realized I wanted to write academically; I love picking apart and analyzing texts. I definitely wanted to pursue my college career further with grad school; I sold my soul to academia, academia is my life blood. I don't regret it, I love it with every fiber of my being despite the fact it causes me so much stress and headache and makes me physically ill during finals.

Ever since I decided to devote myself to the academy, it always seemed obvious and logical to become a college professor. I liked the idea of teaching; I wanted to share my knowledge and help fellow literature lovers and aspiring writers and academics. Plus, as Dr. Kopelson (one of my favorite professors who taught literary theory) said, it is a job that makes you write for a living. I wanted to write papers and lecture at prestigious Shakespeare conferences. This seemed the way to do it.

At the end of last semester and throughout the summer, I began having a not so mild but not dire career/identity crisis. Neither of my two med/ren classes were what I expected. Frankly, I thought they were boring and generic; nothing I couldn't have learned in a 300 level literature or history survey course. Granted this was due to the fact they were a mix of grad and undergrad students. I was taking 4 classes (12 hours) which is a lot in grad school; the workload was intense and overwhelming. I began to have doubts as to whether or not I wanted to continue with grad school all the way to PhD. I knew I definitely wanted a year off, but wanted to finish my Master's degree first.

Today, I had a meeting with my mentor, adviser, and idol, Dr. Rabin. He asked me if I'd given any thought to what I wanted to do after I finished my Master's. I told him, I'm thinking of taking a year off. He actually encouraged me to do so. He said taking a year off would not hurt or affect my chances of getting into a PhD program; I would just have to frame myself a little differently than if I was going straight from a Master's program. He also said, most groups PhD students are half and half--some who've taken a year off and others who haven't. He told me the only problem would be if one year turned into two then three...so and so forth.

Then he brought up other careers/grad programs to look into for Med/Ren: Museum Studies and Library Studies. He kind of alleviated some of my fears that I'd be stuck in a corner of the library cataloging books and babysitting middle schoolers and studying purely cataloging. He said, "It's not like you're going to study the Dewey Decimal system [in library science]. You specialize in a niche, work in the rare books collection, work with book preservation, and manuscripts. In fact, librarians work more with manuscripts than even I do. It's not like you're going to be working in the Louisville Free Public Library. You'll be in a university or a museum." He mentioned my background in theatre could be useful for museums like the Frazier which stages reenactments of the Middle Ages. I could be in charge of collections and setting up exhibits. Conveniently enough, University of South Carolina has a great museum studies program.

He told me to consider these options before settling on a PhD. A PhD is a great risk, especially nowadays. There's no sign of universities getting any more government funding soon. U of L recently only hired one new faculty member, a graduate from Vanderbilt. She was the only recent graduate from Vanderbilt to get a job, and it was only a temp teaching job. She would only teach for a year, without any guarantee of a job next year, and teaching lots of classes for a pittance. 25% of recent graduate students got a job and that was just any job, not necessarily teaching or english related. He told me to think, it's a risk that can pay off and or end badly. He said, "You have to think carefully, do I want to spend 6-7 years just trying to get a PhD, get out at 30-something, and will I look back and consider this time and money well spent when I don't have a job guarantee."

So now I'm seriously considering changing my life plan. I was so burnt out last semester. I realize I'm getting a little tired of the classroom. I want to do something else. I wish I'd got a teaching assistantship to see if I liked teaching as well as pay for my tuition and get insurance. As grad students, we're taught mainly content and just thrown into the classroom and expected to fly. Do I want to teach English 101 to stupid, jocks or deal with snobby honor students or people just in English to get some kind of degree? Mrs. Campbell (my senior AP English teacher) said teaching is casting pearl among swine. You just gotta hope for those few students who truly love learning and care about literature.

I'm really considering the museum and library studies programs. I'm leaning more towards museum right now because I'm thinking of the different items I'd be involved with besides manuscripts. I'd really love to incorporate my theatre background into my med/ren career. Dr. Rabin said, I would still be involved in the academic world, reading articles, writing and publishing articles of my own.

Museum and Library studies programs would also be shorter, about 2-3 years. Dr. Rabin said the best places to get jobs would be Chicago and Washington D.C. --both awesome cities with tons of museums and libraries and great universities with libraries. He recommended to apply in those areas for a library or museum assistantships if I decided to take a year off. He said they are perfect for Master's students looking to go further in Med/Ren studies.

Epically long post, I know. It helped me get my thoughts together though. Talking to Dustin helped too; he actually said, he thought I'd be happier in a museum setting rather than classroom. I know my mom would be happy if I chose library or museum studies; she thinks I'd have a much better chance at getting a job. I don't have to make a decision overnight. I must make one before the end of the semester though. If I want to go on to a PhD or other program next year, I need to start applying soon.