Tuesday, March 7, 2006

Spring Break Eve Eve

I've had my head in the grad-sand of late with all that might be expected of year and semester 2.2 in the four-year PhD program. Now that I'm on the verge of spring break, I am doing my best to brace for an amazingly productive and regenerative month of March (I know it's the 7th, but we're due to exceed freezing temps tomorrow...finally). And I say "verge" because I still have one class that meets tomorrow evening (albeit virtually for this particular session), and I'm down for leading the chat-client discussion on Ronald Eglash's African Fractals, what's proven to be a provocative read through issues of pattern/math language, design and fractals. We're also IMing for an hour with the editor of a book we read earlier this semester.

After that, break is officially underway, and it includes highfalutin plans for fine-tuning my qualifying exam lists. I have loosely defined areas, and although I haven't yet formalized a committee, I want to spend three days of the break fixing the lists (which are still very much under construction) and write a half page or so on each exam toward proposals. I don't have any strict deadline for this work, but I've been finding respite in stealing moments for future work, ahead of this semester. In those moments when I lack energy for the current lineup of seminar projects (nah, it's not as bad as I'm making it sound) or when I have the slightest impulse to work on exam lists, I do it. That simple. And why not? It's all going to get done one way or the other before the middle of May.

Here is what's up for the next fourteen days:

D. and Ph.'s birthdays (exactly one week apart); this'll make the average age in our house 26.33.
In no special order, they're wishing for 1. a dog, 2. a laptop, 3. car detailing and wash, 4. dinner at Pastabilities, 5. something I've forgotten.
Firm up CCCC pieces
Read Devitt's Writing Genres
Read Spinuzzi's Tracing Genres Through Organizations
Read three articles for GEO plus an outline and annotated bib for that paper
Read Weheliye's Phonographies (plus turn out two 1pp response paper, nos. 8 and 9 of 10 this sem.)
Drafting of 651 paper
Taxes
Roughing out a New and Improved! teaching philosophy statement
Some other work converting 78 slides to jpegs and making a keynote address web-ready
Wallowing in the NCAA Conf. tourney coverage and early rounds of the Big Dance
And if I'm lucky enough to win the good graces of my slow-to-act health care provider, an MRI...any day now.

Bookmark and Share Posted by at March 7, 2006 9:30 PM to Unspecified
Comments

Funny, I don't recall a laptop on either D or Ph's list...

Posted by: Anonymous at March 11, 2006 10:44 AM

Hey! No anonymous commenting on this blog...

Okay?

Okay. Maybe I confused some of the wishlists around the house.

Posted by: Derek at March 11, 2006 12:26 PM