Language adjustment

I was searching through archives for an event that I was hoping I'd blogged about so I could figure out the date when I noticed that the language I use in my blog varies considerably from month to month and even from day to day.

Sometimes I avoid swearing either by choosing other words or inserting those annoying symbols, and other times I just let it rip.

I suppose it comes from trying to imagine who will read that particular entry. Some of the people who I know have access to the blog detest profanity, others probably wonder why my language is so sanitary, when it isn't in real life.

My language in general is far cleaner than it used to be. I don't know whether that's because a) I'm getting older; b) I have kids; or c) I'm entering a profession that frowns on swearing (especially in front of the students!). Perhaps it's all three. With the kids, you know, I've given up on trying to suppress all my swearing because I know its a lost cause.

Besides, they'll probably all experiment with swearing at one point or another. Growing up in a house that was squeakly clean, I remember clearly the thrill of how illicit it felt the first time I swore... and that's probably why I got to sounding like a sailor at one point (working in an all-male auto body shop probably had something to do with it as well). If I can teach my kids judicious swearing... as something that must be used sparingly for finely-timed emphasis, then maybe they'll be better off. Or at least that's what I tell myself.

So what does that have to do with my blog? Probably nothing. But I'll likely continue to waver between sanitary and gutter.

You've been warned.

More books

See? Titles... so you can decide whether you want to read the rest of the post. But I should warn you that just because I've felt the need to add titles does not mean I feel the need to strictly adhere to them and not wander off into talking about other things.

Having said that, I haven't written about books for a long time - over a month, so here's what I've been reading:

Finished:

The DaVinci Code - Dan Brown
Walking on Glass - Iain Banks
Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
How the Dead Live - Will Self
The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - R. L. Stevenson
Five Children and It - E. Nesbit

Reading:

A Wrinkle in Time - Madeline L'Engle

On Deck:

[Ha! This is actually a very long list, but I think I'll start with the following:]

Dracula - Bram Stoker
Narrative/theory - David Richter
Lullaby - Chuck Palanhiuk

So, The DaVinci Code was interesting, but it's definitely plane-material. It's got some cool ideas, but doesn't make you think to hard about them. And even though it's long, it's also a really quick read. That some of the far out stuff mentioned in the book actually takes place outside literature (i.e. the real world) is slightly disturbing in a fascinating kind of way.

Walking on Glass was cool in a alternate-world-intersects-with-thought-process-of-insane-person kind of way. A neat premise and also a fun read. Quick too because it's short. Only problem is that I think I had to special order this one if I remember right because it's out of print. Maybe I could do a documentary about it in a kind of Stones of Summer (which is also on that summer list, but I'll read it later when the pool opens) way and get it back in print!

The Victorian stuff, Dorian Gray, Jekyll & Hyde, Tess, are actually not very Victorian (i.e. they weigh in at less than the usual 800 pages) and I have a newfound respect for Hardy that I had lost reading Jude the Obscure. I actually found myself empathisizing with Tess and really getting involved in her problems, feeling the injustice of her position and such, something that I rarely lose myself to in Victorian lit, so I was duly impressed by the book.

I did not feel that How the Dead Live or Day of the Triffids wasted my time, but unless you want to read a lot of obscure sf, don't bother. If you are into obscure sf and you like old sf film, then you definitely need to read Triffids and then see the movie adaptation.

I'm looking forward to rereading Dracula, since its been a very long time and too many film adaptation screenings since I read it to really remember it well. Hopefully I'll get it done before next weekend when Van Helsing opens, since I'm DEFINITELY going to see that.

I can't believe my week is almost over. I had so many things that I wanted to get done. Not that I didn't get them done, I actually scratched a lot of stuff off the to do list, but most of it was the boring stuff. And I go back to teaching on Tuesday with assignments still waiting to be written. UGH!

I'm also feeling really sleepy - I think I got too much sun yesterday... yes, the weather's gorgeous here this week. I spent most of the early afternoon cleaning the weeds out of the garden at the back door. It's not very big, about 10x12, and there are some shrubs and the A/C ground unit that I can't move or replace, but it will do for growing some veggies, herbs and maybe even some nice flowers. I like digging in the dirt - I haven't had a garden for about four years, so I had great fun cleaning it out and dreaming about what I'll put in there. Now I just need to go get the plants - maybe we'll do that this weekend.

I also got lots of sun while playing basketball. In playing with my friends, I've come to the conclusion that it was probably a really good thing that I wasn't into sports as a kid. I'm clumsy enough as an adult, but as a kid, I would've just been one big messed up body of injuries. Only yesterdays scrapes and bruises weren't my fault... no, honestly. We played next to the track field here in Watertown since Sandy & Steph were both there at a meet (Steph) and practice (Sandy). I even managed to surreptitiously watch Steph's high jump without messing up my own game, but then as I went for the ball, Sandy called to me and I got distracted. I rolled. But basketball courts are pretty hard. At first I thought the scraped up knee was the worst part of it, but then a couple hours later I saw the bruise, and now that leg from knee to ankle aches. Dammit. I don't like injuring myself, but I do like the games. Sucker for punishment I guess.

Oh, and before all this, before the distraction and my lovely rolling, when we first got there, I said hi to Sandy as she walked past. She looked a bit puzzled because I don't think she'd expected to see me and then looked over my shoulder toward the basketball court and said, "Oh! It's the old people!"

I think it was Alex said I should ground her for the comment. I'm seriously considering it.

I guess after all that, I can't complain about not getting fun stuff on my to do list done, since I had a really good day yesterday, but that leaves me with mostly boring stuff to do today. Which I of course am procrastinating about.

I've had coffee on my mind for a while I guess. Must be the Tim Horton's I got! I like coffee a lot. I often get energetic and make my own capuccino at home, or Irish coffee *mmmm*, which is especially good with a quality whiskey (or scotch, though then I suppose it's scottish, not irish coffee) and lots of whip cream. Just writing about it makes me want to got get one. Anyway, took one of those ubiquitous quizzes that tell you what kind of all sorts of things you might be.

Turns out that I'm Plain.

You Are a Plain Ole Cup of Joe But don't think plain - instead think, uncomplicated You're a low maintenance kind of girl... who can hang with the guys Down to earth, easy going, and fun! Yup, that's you: the friend everyone invites. And your dependable too. Both for a laugh and a sympathetic ear. What Kind Of Coffee Are You? Take This Quiz :-)

Ever wonder about the word "plain"? Say it three or four times. It starts to lose its meaning doesn't it? Odd how you can take a word for granted and then when you really focus on it, repeat it over and over, you sort of unhook it from its usual meaning and it seems alien and strange. Plain. It kinda is a weird word.... and its a homonym (which is another weird word). So, today's weird word of the day is plain.

I had such an odd weekend.

On Friday night I came home from school, did the dinner thing, read some of my book, The Iceman Cometh (okay, its actually a play) for the Book club last night, cleaned up some stuff, watched some tv.

On Saturday, I helped friends move, went to see The Punisher, and had dinner at the Elephant Walk (mmm, very good) with another friend to celebrate her birthday. On Sunday, I finished reading the play, cleaned up some more (since the book club was meeting at my place this month), met with them and then read the last couple of weeks of The New Yorker, which I'd put aside because I didn't have time.

What was so odd about that, you ask?

It was so bloody lovely ordinary! That's what was odd. I cannot remember the last time I had such a wonderfully mundane weekend.

I have to do this more often!

I had such yummy coffee this morning! It was Tim Horton's coffee and it was absolutely fabulous!

A friend who was in Maine last week had heard (from me, of course) that there was a Tim Horton's there and she bought me a tin of coffee. Ah! Tim Horton's coffee. Beats Dunkin Donuts hands down any day of the week. What a great way to start a Sunday!

I feel a little lost.

I have no deadlines hanging over me... well, other than having to read the book for the Book club (which I'm also hosting this week, so I can't just bag it). It's a weird feeling - I haven't not had some kind of deadline looming for a couple of years now.

And since it looks like I'll have July & August off, I'll not have anything to do then either.

Good news is that the pool opens Memorial day! Yeah!

So since I have nothing pressing, I was surfing - since I'm always looking for film adaptations, well, okay, in this case, a condensation, I just had to share. The possessed bunnies are quite amusing.

Done the papers! Yeah!
Now I have to mark student papers to submit final marks before tomorrow. Boo!

It really is a small world you know. One of my students wrote a paper on home schooling and quoted an article from a couple of weeks ago in the Calgary Herald. Cool! Mixed feelings. Happy memories & homesickness.

Speaking of which, I had a dream the other night that I came home and all my very bestest friends were there. I woke up happy.

Since my brain is dead right now, I was doing a little mindless searching when I came across this on Book TV from one of my favorite authors. I knew there was a reason he was one of my favorite authors!

I'd put in a profanity warning on this, but its no worse that what you might get reading this blog, so fuck it.

Halfway through the last papers I will ever have to write... yeah, yeah, I know I have to write the dissertation and I have to write the proposals for my exam areas and I have to write the prospectus, but leave me my fantasy that these are the last papers I'll ever have to write.

One down, one to go. Man! Will it be nice to finish this!

Been reading lots of disaster fiction lately, you know end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it kind of stuff. Where something happens and most of the population is gone and people have to start all over. Got me thinking how useful I'd be if everything came crashing down. I think I'd fall into at most a moderately useful range.

My friends and family who would be really useful: the mechanic, the dentist, the engineer, the veterinarian. Those of my friends and family are teachers, well, we'd be useful for the next generation but not immediately. The social workers, political scientists, computer programmers and us teachers would presumably have other skills though - at least I know how to grow vegetables and then how to preserve them, how to sew clothing and how to bake bread. All rather domestic skills, but necessary. Not unique though - many other people have the same kinds of skills.

How would you fare?

So I have the dubious distinction of winning the Graduate student essay prize this year for an essay titled "Indelible Ink of the Palimpsest: Language, Myth and Narrative in H.D.s Trilogy". Did that title mean anything to you? No? That's okay - probably doesn't mean much of anything to most people. Though the metaphor of the palimpsest is interesting. It's based on the early, early practice when people were writing on vellum (sheepskin) before they imported paper from the Chinese, of reusing vellum by scraping off the top layer with the ink and rewriting on it. [It would have been a bit like writing on your leather coat and then scraping away the top layer - by the way, that's where we get the term 'sheepskin' when referring to degrees because they were written on it. In fact, there are some schools in Britain that still use sheepskin and being a calligrapher is an actual profession over there - I know, I sat in a lecture with a bunch of them] The problem with this practice (or in the case of people who study manuscripts, the cool part about it) is that sometimes the indentations made by the first writer as they scratched across the vellum with their styluses were left behind after the ink was scraped off, so you could see shadows of the earlier writing through the later writing on top. So the metaphor refers to literary situations where you find echoes of earlier writing in later writing.

Cool, eh?

Anyway, the distinction is rather dubious, not because the cash prize is paltry (nothing like the Laurence Decor - now that was a nice cash prize, AND I didn't know about it ahead of time and was terribly/delightfully surprised when they called my name), but because it requires me to present a 10 minute precis of the paper at the graduate end of year reception this afternoon. I spent three hours last night trying to condense 30 pages of writing down to 4 - I still only made it to 5 - they'll have to sit through 12 minutes. And it wasn't because I was procrastinating - I didn't find out till noon yesterday that I'd won. Ergh!

Taxes. Ugh. And I have two sets to complete.

Luckily they're both pretty basic... 'cause I don't have any money! Hehe

Unlike in Canada, where the government only cares if you file on time when you owe them money, here you have to file...and the deadline's tomorrow. I don't know what the penalty is... maybe for non-residents its deportation. Who knows? I don't want to find out, so I've been dutifully doing my taxes.

Actually, I started them in February when I got my W-2 (= T4) ... [sounds like some strange robot language]. But I put it aside when I realized they took Social Security and Medicare off, which of course they're not supposed to do since I can't access either of those resources. It took me a while to find out how to get it back - I don't get it from the government, but instead I have to yell at my employer. Normally, international TAs don't have it deducted, but when I worked last summer, I was classified as part-time staff, so they processed me the same as everyone else.

So, okay, I get the form and photocopy my I.D. etc. and take it back to payroll so that I'll get my $200 back. And me, thinking it would be smart to avoid this mess next year, asks what we can do to keep this from happening again this year. Good idea, no? No. The answer: there's nothing they can do to avoid taking taxes off of me again this year when I work part-time in the summer. And I'll have to submit a new form next year to get the money back again.

So, does this strike you as a bit asinine? Maybe I'm just being picky...

But computers are supposed to be such wonderful tools to help us make paperwork so much easier....

It's raining again.
I think I'm going to cry.

Spring is here - my nose and cheeks are pink from standing outside for a couple of hours yesterday watching Angela's first soccer game. I guess the sun was strong, but I was still wearing a tee, sweatshirt & fleece. Hope it continues nice - would like to get out and enjoy some sun!

Happy Easter!

...in whatever way you want to take that. Whether you celebrate the holiday as a chance to have an extra day off, or as that week when you have to find something to do with the school-age kids 'cause they aren't in school, or as a chance to spend time with family, or as a deeply religious celebration. Happy Easter to you.

Since I don't get any extra days off, my kids are old enough to take care of themselves for their week off of school, my extended family is far, far away, and I'm not particularly religious, I'm not sure what to think of the holiday. But you do get chocolate if you've been good, right? (Actually, I bought chocolate for myself... I had bought bunnies for the kids, but then on my next grocery trip thought 'well, no one else is going to get you chocolate, so if you want it, get it yourself - why should the kids have all the fun?' So I did.)

Chocolate is good.

So is coloring Easter eggs. I suspect this year it will only be Ange & I. But that's okay - all the more for us!

Hmmm... maybe I should make the chocolate a reward for participating in the egg hunt... acting like a kid is always good - especially for teenagers I think. They tend to take themselves WAY too seriously!

Hehehe... I think I will! New house rule: You don't get your chocolate until you've hunted for eggs. Beauty!

Having children is a bit like having ghosts. Either way, you live in a house full of strange noises where your things never stay where you left them.

yesterday I wanted to poke a pen in my eye - if only to take my mind off other things

today I want to stick it in someon else's eye... anyone else's

after all, sticking it in my own eye would HURT!

60 litres.

Little did I know when I added Watertown weather to my blog that water and weather would become central components in my day today. I just vaccuumed up three gallons of water that have leaked into the basement. And since the forecast is for rain (90% chance +) till Saturday, looks like I'll be doing more of the same for a while to come.

So you can assume as long as my weather block says its still raining here, that I'm vaccuuming! Grrr!