picked a handful of violets in my name

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 16:24:57 GMT

Rough few days, depression-wise. I took a three hour sad nap Monday and my moods have been low. On the bright side, my sleep schedule hasn't been fucked over by it.

And I finally dug myself out from under my work for this week, and I have finally figured out what historyprof expects and how to work with her. I have an assignment due Saturday, but I already started it and it's going well. Everything else is done (~~save a final proofreading of Thing for today before I submit it~~ and submitted, yay).

Now that I am actually doing housework, I am re-configuring my life balance. Work is reasonably well blocked-out, since I have set hours for Fun Job, enough love of money to work reasonably consistently at Boring Job, and a total inability to bring work home. Classes are even better blocked-out but homework time really is not; I do all my stuff on my computer, which means poor separation between "homework time," "email break," and "internet time." Housework doesn't quite fit in yet - I tend toward mini-marathon cleaning (not hours and hours without breaks, but longer than Unfuck Your Habitat recommends), but I can also find lots of quick little tasks and do one or three of them before moving on to something else. But I've been using housework to procrastinate on schoolwork for a week or two (and then been completely ignoring the house to catch up on homework for a few days now), which means my balance is off. I'm putting all my homework assignments into SuperBetter now; part of the motivation for preferring housework tasks was that I got rewarded in SuperBetter for them, so now my academic work is gamified too.

Ellie and I are starting to think about moving. Our landlords would like to take over our apartment because it's a bit smaller and on the first floor of the building, and they're getting older and so on. (They've given us tons of warning because they're awesome like that.) Ellie wants to try living with people she isn't related to, and may be moving out of JP, whereas I don't feel like living with not-relatives is an important marker of adulthood and will maybe punch something if I have to leave my neighborhood. It's too early to be seriously looking for apartments, but Ellie is checking listings anyway - I am mentally splitting up our common possessions based on who bought what (mostly Ellie) and who uses what (varies) and trying to figure out what I will need to replace and what I can live without.

Now to get dressed and get to campus. Nerdy games to follow. :)

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floomp

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 01:21:02 GMT

History prof is totally my favorite today! Our last class is on a Monday (the very last day of classes for the semester, actually), and our paper isn't due until the Friday after class ends. o_O

I am actually leaving Boston that Friday, and going to Maryland for a long weekend. JetBlue was running a 25% sale, and even before that discount, tickets were much cheaper than they had been for Thanksgiving holiday travel. I'll be with Cory and his family from Friday the 14th to Tuesday the 18th... giving me time to recuperate from the hell semester and finish that seminar paper before I leave, and to clean my damn apartment before my parents get here for Christmas.

I meant to have a batch of holiday cards in the mail today but I kinda failed on that. Soon, though! In the meantime, still plenty of time to ask me to send you one.

Now to answer comments and get groceries. Not necessarily in that order, or both this evening.

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okay, seriously

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 01:08:55 GMT

I am granting myself dreamroll amnesty. I will never catch up and I'm just going to have to be okay with that.

Because, I shit y'all not, I have not been around since shortly after Con.txt. I was eaten by an unfortunate combination of Analog Life (mostly work, now work + class), tumblr (so low-effort!), fic on AO3, and a grue.

( Major things happening for me right now: work, school, nerdy games, relationship, fandom )

Clearly nerdy games are the bright spot in my life. Pretty sure that group are my BFFs.

I also revived my abandoned twitter account tonight. Whee, back on the social media wagon.

So, two things to conclude:
1. If there's anything you need me to know that has happened since, like, mid-June, comment or email me or something? :)
2. If you are in or near Boston, come to the Anarchist Bookfair. Especially come on Sunday, November 11, at 11:00! Most of my Community Archives class (including me) will be on a panel about community archives.

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Gratuitous Capitalization

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 23:49:44 GMT

My weekend has come to a satisfactory conclusion, with all work completed on time, even with social media sanity breaks. \o/

Ellie has decided to Clean All The Things. The apartment totally needed it, but it was a little stressful to come in from Special Work Event after lunchtime and find Even MOAR Stuff in my bedroom.

Also, today I talked to my mom about getting a new computer. My Macbook is five years old!* It's still a perfectly adequate computer for my needs, except for two problems:

The fan makes loud angry noises whenever the computer is sleeped/hibernated/shut down, carried in my bag, and woken up again.
The plastic case around the screen and keyboard/trackpad has begun to chip off. Including right under where my right wrists rests when I'm mousing.

But, as my mother needs a new computer (hers is so old she can't update past Firefox 2, and she's understandably worried about Bad Shit From The Internet), we have decided she can have the Macbook, since she won't be moving it around or using the trackpad.

So now my goal is to locate the best Macbook for the least money. We have determined that it is a worthwhile investment to get a better computer than I need Right Now, because said computer will serve me for more years.

* I have been pretty impressed with the longevity of the Macs I've owned. 6 years, 4 years (would have been longer but Evil Ex stepped on it and refused to admit it was his fault the screen died), over 6 years (since AFAIK the iBook I gave to Cameryn is still kicking), and 5 years. Mom's iMac is 7.

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end-of-semester hell weekend, ahoy

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 22:12:34 GMT

I am now the proud owner of these boots. I got them for about 94% off. (When we play D&D at Loraine's apartment, I stop at Buffalo Exchange on my way, to see whether they've got anything I simply must have.)

The two biggest assignments of the semester are both due early next week, so there goes my weekend. (Except for a brief respite on Sunday, when I'm doing a Special Thing for work.)

(I maybe should have stayed home from Shadowrun last night, since without our GM we weren't going to be advancing any plot or earning any karma and nuyen. But I like my friends, so I went. We watched Buffy and played Cards Against Humanity.)

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Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:17:39 GMT

It's been a very uneven start of the semester for me - everything usually just feels kind of off (although I do have stretches of time where everything is going well and making sense, too).

So I've been doing so much ordinary stuff and feeling so weird so much of the time that I haven't been posting.

I'm going to try and attend the Louisiana Historical Association annual meeting, because there's a lot of things that mesh really well with my interests. I'll have to miss at least one class session (conference begins on Thursday, I have class on Thursday, sigh) - I'll talk to my professor tomorrow and see how to work it out.

( my semester )

I have decided that from now on I should only take 9-12 classes. Any other time of day interferes with my work schedule and/or my ability to have a few empty blocks of time in my week.

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One more class to the end of the semester.

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 23:46:31 GMT

Yesterday, I went to a Wyrding Studios jewelry party hosted by shadesong. Getting there was an adventure - I didn't take a close enough look at the map before leaving (so I didn't know how to get from the bus stop to her house) and then I got on the wrong bus. Fortunately, my parents bailed me out with Google-Maps-over-Voice-Protocol, also known as "I called them and asked them to read directions to me over the phone." *facepalm* But I was right on time and the party was great.

It turned into crazy necklace day. I got a necklace with a small silver leaf, some dark peacock and purple beads and pearls, and a hammered-and-folded copper leaf. One of the other guests got a fantastic necklace she named Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey Stuff. I don't think Kythryne has put any of the photos up on her flickr yet, but she said they'd be up there eventually.

Lunch with stultiloquentia today. We're planning on being airplane buddies for Con.txt (at least for the return trip - I may be couchsurfing with relatives in the area for a couple of weeks beforehand).

Before lunch, I went to CVS for assorted necessities; the self-checkout stations were all behaving badly. After lunch, I dropped off a bag of donations and went thrifting. I have acquired a cardigan! It is burgundy.

I had to go to campus to work on an assignment that's due tomorrow, and then I wound up going grocery shopping to pick up a couple of things that'll get me through this week. Which apparently includes flowers. (For the latter half of my high school career, particularly while I was living in Atlanta, I always had a vase of small roses in my room. They're pretty much the only cut flowers I buy, because they're inexpensive but lovely and understated.)

Once I hand in this assignment in class tomorrow, I only have to write a fairly short final paper for my history class to complete my school stuff for this semester. Wheeee.

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Three more classes until the end of the semester.

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 21:36:59 GMT

Had to go to school early today to wrap up an assignment, because there was a piece of it that could only be done using resources on campus. But at least I wasn't the only one; I ran into loads of classmates all doing the same thing.

I should probably start packing for New Orleans soon, just so I can be sure I have everything together. I won't actually need that much clothing because Mom does laundry pretty much constantly - just enough variety that I don't get bored by the third week of vacation. And probably a variety of clothing weights/warmnesses, since my parents say the weather's been weird and they can't predict how warm/cold I might feel.

Shadowrun later today. Kind of sad it's the second-to-last session until I'm back in Boston (maybe even the last, depending on what kind of end-of-term stuff everyone else is up to next week). On the other hand, I can use that time off to copy my character sheet onto some fresh paper not yet stained with tikka masala and pepper steak.

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oops

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 23:41:22 GMT

Made a rather small error in reading comprehension a few weeks ago (thought a primary source was from Corporate Body X, whose records have been digitized, but actually it was Corporate Body Y, whose records don't even have complete online finding aids), procrastinated on an assignment, and only discovered my error at the eleventh hour. I would have been massively sunk were it not for my kind-hearted parents, who went to the repository the very same day I called them in full freakout mode, and took photos of some very old documents for me.

Best parents ever, y/y? I am totally buying them a nice dinner when I go home for the holidays.

***

In other news, I wish to remind folks that I like to send holiday cards around this time of year! (Not that I have mailed any just yet, but I have loads of time.) I'm happy to send cards anywhere USPS will let me, and I am also happy to send you a card even if you're not doing your own "mail stuff to people from the internet" thing.

***

I have a speaking engagement later this month at my undergraduate institution - in my old dorm, no less. I'm not really nervous about it yet, but I'm sure I will be. I will probably do some practicing in the mirror, since I haven't done the full speech since I was trained over the summer.

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testing

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 23:32:44 GMT

Dreamwidth's new update page has entered beta testing - turn it on at the beta features page! There's an entry at dw_beta for reporting bugs.

I have been sitting on my ass the past couple of days, because I am so uncoordinated that I wrenched my knee getting into a taxi. /o\ (My foot got stuck, and then I tried to turn the rest of me 90 degrees clockwise. It hurt.) Ellie had to go to CVS and buy me a knee brace. On the bright side, I succeeded in getting to class this morning, although I was slightly late since I waited for a bus at Ruggles instead of walking.

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Thu, 13 Oct 2011 02:53:34 GMT

Weird week, school-wise. No class Monday due to shitty imperialist holiday, no class tomorrow due to surprise!out-of-town professor, and class Friday starts two hours late, runs half an hour later than usual, and is followed by an optional film screening (the screening is optional because it'll end at 8pm; the film is required and on reserve).

I really need a massage. My upper right back/shoulder blade area isn't supposed to crunch like it did earlier today, and I've had this one knot just below that mess for so long it feels permanent. *sigh* I really should have booked a massage ages ago but it's really hard to convince myself it's not some absurd luxury. I can afford this.

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life continues as usual

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 01:42:36 GMT

So I posted a while back that I was really stressed about something and then I didn't post anything for a while. Oops.

The stressful situation is resolving itself, both more quickly and more slowly than I might have expected. But at least I've stopped losing sleep over it.

I've pretty much just been going to class, going to work, and doing face-to-face social stuff. I'm not in a bad place, depression-wise, but I am not as active as I'd like to be. I think it comes down to recalibrating myself again: the structure of my life has changed quite a bit lately.

Grad school has a different feel to it. The good news is, I'm keeping up with readings and assignments much better than I managed in undergrad. But I need to train myself into spending a bit more time on campus being involved in groups and meeting people. (Tangential to grad school: I have already encountered a fellow student in the local kink scene. We spotted each other on FetLife, but have not yet managed to be at any of the same events.)

I have been more social within my pre-grad school contexts. I attended a couple of munches - someone has relaunched the munch for Mob New England, and someone else has started a munch for bi/queer/etc. women in relationships with men. I also spent a nice chunk of time with oration on his birthday. I hung out with him while he cleaned his house for the party (and then had to leave the party early because being there while Cid was cleaning had upset my lungs something fierce, and I didn't have my inhaler).

Plus my Battletech group is switching to Shadowrun. The character creation process is so involved, and our schedules have been so start-of-term hectic, that we've only played one mini-session so far (and only one of us had a proper character - I used a stock character from the rule book and Cid was using a character our GM made, I think). We had a nice character creation session on Cid's back porch last night - well, Cid was working on a character and I just went over for people-time and got a couple of questions answered.

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Fri, 26 Aug 2011 17:42:40 GMT

I don't actually have the faintest idea how serious Hurricane Irene is going to be, but I haven't been able to work up all that much concern about it. I feel pretty confident Ellie and I won't starve or be flooded out or blown away. I am expecting the power to go out for at least an hour or two; we've had more power outages per year in JP than anywhere else.

On the other hand, we are taking semi-serious hurricane protections at work. A portion of the library basement has flooded before, as a result of prolonged rain of moderate heaviness (and a clogged storm drain somewhere nearby - mostly the storm drain). So we're doing what we can to stop it happening again.

Classes at Simmons start on the 1st but mine are actually spread out over more than a week. I suppose it's nice to ease into the new academic year?

I wouldn't say Doctor Who is my new fandom, exactly, because I'm not feeling an overwhelming desire to read fic. But I am enjoying it and I do plan to keep watching. Not only have I got the new episode marked on my mental calendar, I'm using Ellie's Netflix account to catch up on Nine and Ten, and I'm ahem-ing as much Old Who as I can get my hands on.

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internets! I have missed yoooouuuuu!

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 04:38:41 GMT

Notes

My parents have been here for the past two weeks, and then my internet connection spent a couple of days being pissy, and then I had other shit to do. But I'm back!

Parents

It was a good visit! We did many fun things, such as go to museums (Museum of Science with Ellie's kinda-sorta-girlfriend-I-think,* two three year olds, and the dad of the of the other three year old! MFA, wherein I learned exactly how intensely my dad does museums), elbow our way through the North End (I have been to concerts that were less crowded than those sidewalks, sheesh, also who the fuck drives in the North End are you fucking kidding me), etc.

* Yeah, I'm not sure what's up with that relationship thing, so I do not have a single-word term for it. It is very functional and they seem happy! It's also kind of hilarious (but possibly only to me, because of the sheer amount of TMI I have on Ellie's life and personal identity).

Thanks to a trip to Ikea and two carloads off to Goodwill, my room is in pretty good order! This is kind of miraculous. I still have too much stuff, but A) some kind of shift has occurred that unblocked my ability to get rid of things I don't need and B) I have improved my storage capabilities.

An important note: if you are planning to rearrange some furniture, and are drawing something out on paper, make sure your measurements are correct. We were off by two feet.

Grad School

I am not sure why advising needed to be an all-day process, but it was. There was assorted fuckery related to my being listed with the wrong concentration and assigned to the wrong advisor, but I did have the proper advising experience I was supposed to. Then there was the unrelated fuckery of not enough seats in classes, the end results of which are that I'm taking core library classes in a slightly different but still completely reasonable order than I'd originally thought, and I am still waiting to hear which history class I've been placed in (they needed volunteers to take Methods some time other than first semester, and one of the alternatives was a women's and gender history course, so I volunteered, but we're being manually registered and I haven't received an email about it yet).

There were two really bright spots in my day: I think I met a friend of a former schoolmate (one year ahead of me, so we weren't really friends), and one of the professors pinged my "you are from the internet" radar. Also there was ice cream and I got to go to work for a little while afterwards.

Work

Boss is departing; she'll still be available to advise us but today was her last real workday. This makes me the second most senior employee in the archives. I am deeply unsettled by that.

I am processing a new collection... three new collections... six collections? There are three organizations who donated their records, so there will be three collections. There are six accessions right now, because sometimes they gave us stuff in multiple batches. Some stuff will need to be moved between accessions because it belongs to one of the other organizations. Sorting that out will be the easy part.

The third organization was created by the merger of the other two, which helps to explain the cross-pollination of materials and also makes it a little harder to deal with it. Furthermore, each of those orgs is the result of mergers and renamings of even older organizations, such that the final conglomerate can say it dates back to the 1800s. (The bulk of the collections is more modern, but there are items from the predecessor orgs and these are the oldest papers I have processed.) I am going to need a nice detailed organizational chart to make sure everything is housed where is belongs, is referenced where relevant, and is laid out sensibly and accurately in the finding aid. Fortunately for me, someone wrote a history of one of the orgs and all those materials are in the collection; a thank-you card to that person may be in order when I'm finally done.

(JP)

(That's supposed to represent those oval bumper stickers that usually have two-letter country abbreviations. Someone makes such a sticker for Jamaica Plain. I keep threatening to buy one for Ellie, to upgrade her Subaru wagon [Level One JP Vehicle] that now has a carseat for a small child [Level 2 JP Vehicle; can also qualify with one of those fences to keep your dog in the back] to a Level 3 JP Vehicle.)

Boomerangs has been holding a massive sale to empty the store ahead of planned renovations. I've paid them a visit every day since Tuesday; retail therapy works for me and thrift stores reduce the financial burden and potential for guilt. (I mostly look for things with violets on them. It's kind of a theme.) I also finally made it to one of our local botanicas, which I have been meaning to do for over three years (ever since we were apartment-hunting and I saw it out of the realtor's car window); unfortunately I think I kind of interrupted the owner's lunch. The botanica has a shop cat, whom I briefly petted when I walked in; I spent the rest of my time there being insistently headbutted in the ankles. Secretly I was delighted, because I almost always love cats more than they love me.

I also keep returning to City Feed for lunch. It is very pleasant to eat a ham and cheese sandwich and watch people walking by.

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giant robots in space

Wed, 04 May 2011 00:10:01 GMT

Recently

Capture the flag didn't happen; no one from the Camberville side showed up, so the four JP residents (well, three plus Daly, who is probably on our side anyway, regardless of where he actually lives) got ice cream and hung out at Cid's house instead.

I got recruited into a BattleTech game. Daly taught me how to play on Saturday and my first session with the group was Monday. (Daly severely underestimated our ability to defend a base. And we discovered a loophole for artillery - if every spotter is -1 to hit a target and we have ten mechs peering over the wall... "hey Cid, the pilot's got brown eyes, are you aiming for the left one or the right one?") I fielded three mechs (all of mine, none from the communal pool) and actually managed to keep track of all of them! Although I think I'm going to have to get my own miniatures, because keeping track of which vaguely similar grey plastic mechs are mine (and which one goes with which sheet) is going to drive me nuts. And because I am me, they will be painted to suit my tastes and will therefore not look anything like they're supposed to.

Biggest news, though: I got into Simmons, after an eon of waiting for a decision. No info on financial aid yet, but I have wonderful parents who will put me through grad school regardless.

21 Days of Dreamwidth

( I missed a few. )

Links

( three links )

comments

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 02:13:12 GMT

Notes

Turned in my last assignment today! Except actual content soon as a result. :D

21 Days of Dreamwidth

4. What do you do online when you're not on DW?

Tumblr, Fetlife (sofiaviolet on both). I read a bunch of non-Dreamwidth blogs plus I use Twitter and Facebook, but since I interact with those mainly through apps instead of a browser (Vienna for feeds, Socialite for Twitter and FB status updates, Adium for FB chat), they don't feel the same.

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Wed, 27 Apr 2011 01:43:36 GMT

Recently

Hearing on sexual assault on college campuses at City Hall today. There was a rally beforehand that I missed because I couldn't find it (stupid circus taking over City Hall Plaza *pout*).

21 Days of Dreamwidth

( day 2 )

Plans

Write a little more of my music paper tonight (it's about half done) or write the last short paper for my other class. Work tomorrow morning, then finish the music paper (and write the other one, if I don't get to it tonight).

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I'm not drinking from the firehose, it just seems like I am.

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 21:02:09 GMT

Notes

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth happening now. Expect everybody to be posting all the time. (Seriously, the amount of stuff on my reading page today was terrifying. If you want the actual firehose, the threeweeks feed on Latest Things aggregates posts tagged with several variations on the fest name.)

Recently

Got to see the US Archivist speak today but was barred from the reception afterwards due to being a student (supposedly because of the presence of alcohol, which is doubly hilarious to me because I am over 21 and still do not ever booze it up). Although his speech was good (and confirmed that government archives are not my first choice but would not be too soul-sucking), and I got to archives-squee at the guy I sat next to.

21 Days of Dreamwidth

( day 1 )

Questions meme

erika asked: ( three questions )

Links

( 4 links: male privilege, derby girl names, non-fictional women of interest, migraines )

Plans

Last blog entry for class, last paper for the same class, only paper for the other class, book reviews, responses for the New Orleans FONSFAQ (also still taking prompts), possibly some responses for other FONSFAQs, possibly a notable woman for She's Kind of a Big Deal, the thing I am making for MCR (yes, I am making them a thing).

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Tue, 19 Apr 2011 15:43:06 GMT

Notes

I already have a few ideas of things to post. If there are things you would like me to post about, then prompt me. (No guarantees, since I will be offline for 5+ days, but I will try.)

Questions meme!

( Long-overdue )

Links

( 2 links: Portal fanart and criticism of rape culture )

Plans

Finish up my semester (my last semester of undergrad omfg), MCR concert, Capture the Flag in Franklin Park, play party.

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Sun, 10 Apr 2011 15:28:44 GMT

Ellie has found a new grocery store, which is good because it's closer and has better produce, but bad because it's not near anything else (that we know of). (Seriously, we switch grocery stores basically every year. At our old place, we went to the one in walking distance. The first year we lived in JP, we needed a T-accessible supermarket. After Ellie got a car, we started going to South Bay because there were other stores (like Home Depot) nearby. Then we switched allegiance to Dedham - Home Depot along the way, BJ's down the road.)

forthwritten: fanfiction and my younger self

And so, when we were about 16 or 17, one of my friends discovered fanfiction in general and slash fiction in particular. In a way, we used it as a silent, secret rebellion, swapping these stories underground (no, really; our common room was in a basement). It fascinated me. Here were stories about people who presented as female one day and male the next, who loved people of their gender, who negotiated sex, who didn't have happily-ever-afters but who had to talk and argue and reconfigure their friendship. The screen did not coyly fade to black and the story often did not end with sex; instead, there were morning-afters and misunderstandings and confusion that had to be resolved. The people had agency and were active participants and, as the_shoshanna notes, sex did not fundamentally change them.

denise: dw_suggestions: A User's Guide

So, you want to learn more about the dw_suggestions process! This entry will be made the "sticky entry" in the dw_suggestions community (replacing the existing one, which was starting to show its age) to serve as an introduction to the Suggestions process, Dreamwidth development, and just what the heck people should be keeping in mind while they're discussing things here.

dw_maintenance: New imports temporarily stopped; import queue paused

We are therefore temporarily pausing the existing import jobs until the traffic clears up some and we are able to further modify the importer so that it is even less of a load on LJ. We are also temporarily stopping the ability to queue new imports, so that once we bring the import queue back up, it will give the queue the chance to clear a bit. (Also, we'd like to minimize the impact on LJ.)

Now to assemble a Powerpoint for tomorrow's mini-lecture on Maria Callas, Renata Tebaldi, and Teh Famous Rivalry!!!! (Wondering whether it would be cool to play an aria and make the class guess which of them is singing it...)

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Bits and pieces

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 18:08:07 GMT

Giant centipede thing in my room this morning. It disappeared under my dresser before I found a shoe to kill it with. Ick. Anyone know if this is something I should legitimately be worried about (infestation, centipedes secretly carry zombie virus, IDK)?

Ate lunch in the presence of a bunch of cricket fans who had a large screen set up in the student center. No idea who was playing (between glare and giant pillars, I could barely see the screen well enough to figure out that it was cricket), but all the students seemed super-happy with what was going on.

I harbor an irrational resentment of the class right before The Networked Society. Basically I hate them because they prevent me from using the classroom as a quiet place to chill and make serious use of teh internets. This is a stupid reason to be annoyed at them but I am still annoyed. Ah well.

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To do over the next few weeks

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 01:52:55 GMT

Pack for Muskrat Jamboree

Attend MJ

Write capstone paper

Create 30-45 minute presentation for music seminar

Edit capstone paper

Write a few more blog entries for The Networked Society

Write two short papers for TNS

Write paper for music seminar

Possibly make Shiny Thing(s) to try and give to MCR after one of their shows

Go and see MCR a bunch of times

Remember to take my meds consistently (essential if all of the above is to get done, get done well, and get done on time)

And here are a few links for today:
( Read more... )

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[The Networked Society] Link, with some thoughts.

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 00:52:18 GMT

[Originally posted at The Networked Society]

A bit of a throwback to our strength-of-weak-ties conversations: Tenured Radical: The Social Network: Or; Does Networking Really Matter To An Academic Career?

In this post, Tenured Radical argues that deliberately "networking" (or strategically cultivating lots of weaker ties) is not particularly beneficial to academic historians in terms of their career prospects. Knowing the right people will not automagically get you the job you want. (I suspect this to be broadly true almost everywhere, actually.)

I think one of the most important parts of this post is Tenured Radical's differentiation between the various things that can influence a hiring process. Networking for its own sake: not so helpful, especially when compared to the kinds of influences over which you have more limited control. On the other hand, given the general hype surrounding networking and the fact that you can make an effort to network, I am completely unsurprised that people glom onto networking even when it's of limited utility for their concrete goals: it's popular and it can give a sense of greater control over one's life.

Tenured Radical does see upsides to networking for less concrete and less self-centered goals (Getting Shit Done, exchange of information and ideas) than the job search. I think it's best summed up in this bit from the end: This, I think, reveals the basic value of networking: when it works, it isn't about you. It's about you in relation to others.

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Thu, 17 Mar 2011 04:28:29 GMT

Interview went well, whee!

Bostonography: Three-decker diffusion
I have a fondness for triple-deckers now that I live in one.

synecdochic: [fic] P3, "on a bed where the moon has been sweating"
Go. Read. You don't need to know anything about the fandom or the characters to love this.

The Pursuit of Harpyness: bisexual invisibility: a new report

The San Francisco Human Rights Commission LGBT Advisory Committee has recently released a report, Bisexual Invisibility: Impacts and Recommendations (PDF) that reviews the existing research on bisexuality as a sexual orientation and discusses the experience of bisexuals within the queer community and society at large.

cluegirl: An Open Letter to the Men of America and the World, on the Subject of My Feminism;

In short, gentlemen of the world, I am a feminist because I respect you more than the society in which we live respects you. And because I see no reason whatsoever why you could not, or should not live up to that respect. Some of you do so, and regularly. Some of you exceed my respect, and impress me all the time. But others of you persist in coasting along at the level of the lowest common denominator, making cheap jokes, taking cheap shots, settling for cheap sexual encounters, and generally cheapening yourselves for the illusion of tribal acceptance, for the notion that the bros will somehow back you up when it counts, and so the hos don't matter much. Even though you know, deep down, that you're better than that.

I know you're better than that too, and I will accept no bullshite excuses for acting like a coward, like a bully, like a jerk, like a rapist, like a liar, like a user, like a player, like a creep. You're better than that, and I will accept nothing less than your best from you.

And that is why I will always be a feminist.

comments

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 13:33:03 GMT

Much of this essay annoys me, but I want to reproduce this quote:

But, in the digital world, you get to decide exactly who to be, where to go, and how to behave. This can be problematic if you try to create an entirely new persona (it’s a dishonest and unsustainable representation of yourself), but when wielded skillfully, it can propel the real you to new heights. Rather than create a whole new you, create the best you. Choose the traits you like about yourself, and exemplify them online. Let the less attractive qualities fall by the wayside. Place yourself in a digital environment that will allow you to flourish.

When I focus on creating an improved digital version of me, I find those qualities actually start to carry over into my physical self.

This is actually something I did in my offline life, parallel to beginning and sustaining my online life. I've referred to the name 'Sofia Blackthorne' (which I use in any context where my legal name is not required and where explaining myself won't be absurd) as an aspirational identity, by which I mean: I had an idea of who my ideal Me was, and I continued to develop that ideal self, and I named it so I'd have easier access to it all.

( links and stuff )

Now to get ready for my interview. It's going to be great but I am still super-nervous, of course.

comments

picked a handful of violets in my name

*floomp*

okay, seriously

Gratuitous Capitalization

end-of-semester hell weekend, ahoy

One more class to the end of the semester.

Three more classes until the end of the semester.

oops

testing

life continues as usual

internets! I have missed yoooouuuuu!

Notes

Parents

Grad School

Work

(JP)

giant robots in space

Recently

21 Days of Dreamwidth

Links

Notes

21 Days of Dreamwidth

Recently

21 Days of Dreamwidth

Plans

I'm not drinking from the firehose, it just seems like I am.

Notes

Recently

21 Days of Dreamwidth

Questions meme

Links

Plans

Notes

Questions meme!

Links

Plans

Bits and pieces

To do over the next few weeks

[The Networked Society] Link, with some thoughts.

floomp