Academia is exhausting business
Nov. 3rd, 2009 12:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yuuagoBefore I start, I want to share something cool. While I was frantically working on my essay last night, I had to check something related to the Canterbury Tales, and the resource I used was the digitized pages of the General Prologue from the Ellesmere Manuscript. That's the MS that the portrait of Chaucer in my icon comes from. Check it out, it's pretty fabulous. If you scroll down to Folio f. 1r, you can see the first page of the GP and all its gorgeous border decoration (I find 'medium' view is best, large is a bit too big). The pages that come after that are mostly the ones containing images of the pilgrims in the poem.
Anyway. Last night was, uh, pretty special. I had to pull an absolute, complete all-nighter. Normally I manage to get to bed around 5 AM, but not this time. No avoiding it. So right now I'm kind of wired, and I'm running on mango juice and multivitamins, but you know - I feel great. Mind you, the paper that I handed in absolutely sucked and I have a feeling that professor Liu is going to have a rather negative impression of me as a result, but at this point I'm not bothered too much. There is another essay, and this class continues into the second semester, and so I'll be able to make up for it and prove to her that I'm not an idiot.
Something good came out of all that, though. I've been in a slump for ages, but last night, I felt like a scholar again, I really did. Maybe it's because I was burning the midnight oil, or maybe it's because I was searching through tons of texts to find just the right thing, but whatever it was, that did it. I feel so good. I have a feeling that now, things will really turn around.
It certainly doesn't hurt that class this morning was wonderful, even though I was falling asleep during it. Hearing professor Liu read things out in Anglo-Saxon never gets old. And for the last bit of class, we headed over to a certain part of the library (not connected to the rest of it) where some of the Ege manuscripts were on display, and we got to look at them and geek out over the gorgeous decorations and try to figure out exactly what kind of script was used, and based on what. And somehow toward the end Liu ended up going on and on about Runes and inscriptions on some sword or other that was dredged up from the Thames and ahhhh, it was so wonderful.
AND THEN. When I got home I found a package waiting for me. Very (very) early Solstice present from Minako, ahhhh! She sent me candy and salmiakki and some other neat little things and a lovely little painting that she did and eeeeeee I'm going to have to go down to the dollar store to get a frame for it. <3 This just made me so, so happy. ... Though it also reminds me that I need to get my ass in gear and start preparing Christmas cards. By the way, I'm still taking addresses if anyone wants a card from me; more information is in this entry.
Augh. I'm so tired. But I still have another class to go to. I think what I will do is just take it easy tonight. Relax, maybe edit some fic (or read some fic, as my favourite fic-writer updated today, wonderful!). Maybe watch a movie and knit. Start work on the Christmas messages. Catch up on FList entries and replying. That sort of thing. And I'll go to bed early tonight, I promise! I don't think I'd be able to stay awake past 11 anyway... most likely I'd fall asleep at the keyboard, and we can't have that!
Anyway. Last night was, uh, pretty special. I had to pull an absolute, complete all-nighter. Normally I manage to get to bed around 5 AM, but not this time. No avoiding it. So right now I'm kind of wired, and I'm running on mango juice and multivitamins, but you know - I feel great. Mind you, the paper that I handed in absolutely sucked and I have a feeling that professor Liu is going to have a rather negative impression of me as a result, but at this point I'm not bothered too much. There is another essay, and this class continues into the second semester, and so I'll be able to make up for it and prove to her that I'm not an idiot.
Something good came out of all that, though. I've been in a slump for ages, but last night, I felt like a scholar again, I really did. Maybe it's because I was burning the midnight oil, or maybe it's because I was searching through tons of texts to find just the right thing, but whatever it was, that did it. I feel so good. I have a feeling that now, things will really turn around.
It certainly doesn't hurt that class this morning was wonderful, even though I was falling asleep during it. Hearing professor Liu read things out in Anglo-Saxon never gets old. And for the last bit of class, we headed over to a certain part of the library (not connected to the rest of it) where some of the Ege manuscripts were on display, and we got to look at them and geek out over the gorgeous decorations and try to figure out exactly what kind of script was used, and based on what. And somehow toward the end Liu ended up going on and on about Runes and inscriptions on some sword or other that was dredged up from the Thames and ahhhh, it was so wonderful.
AND THEN. When I got home I found a package waiting for me. Very (very) early Solstice present from Minako, ahhhh! She sent me candy and salmiakki and some other neat little things and a lovely little painting that she did and eeeeeee I'm going to have to go down to the dollar store to get a frame for it. <3 This just made me so, so happy. ... Though it also reminds me that I need to get my ass in gear and start preparing Christmas cards. By the way, I'm still taking addresses if anyone wants a card from me; more information is in this entry.
Augh. I'm so tired. But I still have another class to go to. I think what I will do is just take it easy tonight. Relax, maybe edit some fic (or read some fic, as my favourite fic-writer updated today, wonderful!). Maybe watch a movie and knit. Start work on the Christmas messages. Catch up on FList entries and replying. That sort of thing. And I'll go to bed early tonight, I promise! I don't think I'd be able to stay awake past 11 anyway... most likely I'd fall asleep at the keyboard, and we can't have that!
Yuu. Fic writer & book lover. M/Canada.![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-11-03 08:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-03 09:53 pm (UTC)Also, don't you miss Whetter's Canterbury Tales tie? That always made my day. Rather, his enthusiasm for it did...
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Date: 2009-11-04 02:04 am (UTC)And I do totally miss it. Ahhh I miss everything about Whetter's classes, really.
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Date: 2009-11-03 10:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-04 02:00 am (UTC)That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
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Date: 2009-11-03 11:10 pm (UTC)Hey. Hey Yuu. Go to bed. You've earned it.
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Date: 2009-11-04 02:01 am (UTC)GOing to bed soon. Mmph. I need it.
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Date: 2009-11-04 01:23 am (UTC)And it's so nice to have high resolution versions of that manuscript! Cool beans!
I had a prof who would read out parts of Beowulf in Old English from memory and did the same thing when we covered the Canterbury Tales. It's awesome to be able to hear it, especially Beowulf because, lol, oral tradition.
Glad you think you're getting out of a funk and hope you sleep well!
no subject
Date: 2009-11-04 02:04 am (UTC)I'm so glad that I'm slipping out of this funk. Makes me SO HAPPY