Februari update

so it's time to send out a musing on the last month of my life. That sounds incredibly dramatic, and it has been to some extent. I will update based on area, so skip to whichever you are most interested in.

School.
I'm currently in my third semester at Iona, taking Greek Drama and 14th century litterature. The Greek drama is pretty sweet, and oddly, I understand why it's considered the purest of art forms.(please note we've only done tragedy so far. I'll let you know what I think of the comedy...it's going to be pretty raunchy, so beware!)
The Greeks wrote tragedy to invoke pity/fear in their listeners. pity for the protagonist and fear for themselves that they might be guilty of the same mistakes. Thus the theatre was an educational experience. There are only two students in the class, so if I close my eyes, I pretend I'm in oxford, where they model their courses on the mentor/mentoree model. A handfull of students do the reading, take notes, then meet with a mentor and discuss. This is the most helpfull of methods, and I'm glad I can be a part of it in Iona. My prof has a masters in medieval writing and a phd in 20th century american drama, yet a passion for the greeks, so it's nice to know that you can be well rounded in the field of litterature instead of becoming incredibly specialized in one area only.

the medieval course turned into an independent study, and since my professor is an alumnus from Fordham uni, she's decided to have us meet in fordham's Walsh library, the library of the gods! They serve sushi in the library cafeteria as well as the standard bad coffee, but their genius is in their reference library. It's larger than the library at Nyack, and chock full of very usefull reference books. They also have a bookscanner, which means I can scan in books and use them later on my computer!!!!!
what fun! Dr C. basically threw out the syllabus after meeting with me once, and we're working on a thesis length exploration of flemish influence on english culture, more specifically chaucer in the canterbury tales. It's a very interesting area, and I sort of have an advantage because I read dutch. This has the potential of branching out into my phd work. I hadn't originally thought of myself as a medievalist, mostly because I was resisting the Inklings and their pull, but what better place to begin my studies than at the beginning of the english language as we know it? I can work my way up from there, branching out with more research in different areas later, but in essence, the time period I'm most drawn to-the 1910-1950 english and american writings (which is a huge range of writing) is grounded in medievalism and classicism. It will be satisfactory to my somewhat Khobolt-ish tendencies to bury myself in research to begin at the roots and work myself up. So, last night was my first night in Fordham and I loved it! please make sure to remind me of real life if I become to owlish.

My paper is accepted to the Elizabeth Maddox Roberts conference. now I just have to write it! I'm looking for influences to pull into the paper, as there isn't enough on the writer to use just her own work and commentaries. I am able to go to the conference thanks to my tax returns which, because I'm a student now, are ridiculously high. the four days will be a fun relaxation for me and a chance to meet professors in a field I'm interested in. I'm a little worried about fitting in, to be honest, as I don't know allot about american literature. I hope to find in the conference a group of people who are creating art and literature for the same reason people have been doing it since forever, to understand the world they are living in now. I find I miss that creativity in the research I do. It can be very dry, and I have to keep reminding myself that everything I do has or should have relevance in my day to day life, and in the lives of people I meet. That's the hardest thing to balance, because working a full time job and being in school requires most of my time, and I am relying on the friendships I've already made. I only wish those friends would stop moving away :-( I don't have time to make new friends

Work is continually a challenge. I've made the colossal switch in my mind, that although everything should be done with excellence, not all things will be so. my job is a job, and it can't take over my life. I'm learning the art of good enough. Because in the long run, this is a temp job and I need to learn boundaries. I'm more and more amazed to find how different my missionary trained intuitions are from the real world. growing up, it was all for one, we all pitched in, helping where we could. I felt like I was a fullfledged member of the team, making beds and cleaning (although I prolly did less of that than I remember) working as a volunteer on the ship, for love europe and for de bron. That mindset does not work in the real world where a salary is earned based on a set parameter of effort. going beyond that is danherous to my health and I am the sole protector of my own health. It's a maturity thing

Social life. I get incredibly lonely at work because there is little or no real interaction. it's a series of tasks I need to perform, much like a machine, for other who have the creative imput. I then feel like I MUST have friends to hang out with or else! so I feel a lot less connected to the world than I in fact am.
I had D. come up to stay with me from Belgium for two whole weeks! that's pretty amazing! and I'm heading to Philly on saturday to see M. and I was in the city three days in a row, going to the met with friends, seeing brooklyn with A and J and back to the met with R. so socially, I'm doing ok, I just feel like a zombie after work.

N and I bought a punching bag. I've used it once and it feels wonderfull. I have to be carefull though, because I've gone and damaged my back from prolongued studying and desk-sitting without proper posture. It's pretty painfull right now, and I'm seeing the chiropractor very often :-( (again, yeay for taxes!)

I also, under the influence of R, have bought the bestest cookbook eva!!! How to Cook everything Vegetarian. now, I'm not a vegetarian. I don't like labels, so I won't admit to joining any following, however much I would like to. I like the occasional chicken, and of course, there's sushi. But vegetarian dishes are so Jummy! and, oddly enough, I feel comfortable cooking them. I should have know, because all these years, I've loved reading Brian Jaqcues redwall series, mostly because of his dialects and food descriptions. seriously add nuts or honey to anything and I'm there. I should have seen this coming, because as I look through the cookbook, everything sounds good! it's like those dime novels, I just can't put it down!
I made a cauliflower couscous that is out of this world

1/2 c whole almonds
1/2 c parsley
3 tbsp olive oil
small cauliflower (chopped)
small onion (minced
1 c couscous
1 1/2 c white wine, water, vegetable broth or a mix (I used the wine and it was a bit strong, maybe diluting it with water?)
semi hard goat cheese
2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper

1) in a dry medium, deep pan with lid stir the almonds untill they begin to pop (on medium high)

2) set aside and chop

3) add olive oil and onions, cook till transparent and soft. Add cauliflower, salt and pepper. cook untill coated with oil and soft (5-10 minutes)

4)add the couscous, stir in untill slightly toasted and covered in oil.

5) add paprika and water/wine/stock, stir and cover for about 5 minutes till couscous is cooked

6) sprinkle in chopped nuts and chopped parsley and sliver goat's cheese on top.

it's devine...

ok. enough of an update.
things I want to do for fun very soon. make myself another summer dress and hand stitch it. It's refreshing.

things to deal with in march: still not having a date for 2011. it's my goal to be asked out at least once by a semi reputable person this year. it's not happened yet. but I have faith.

I would love to hear news from all of you!