Kira Disapproves

Me and my hand sanitizer are off to the library again in a few minutes. After tomorrow, I’ve only got one paper to go.

Do I always feel this way when it comes time to write final papers and my internet monitoring is sending me into an unusually strong tailspin? I don’t know.

 I wish I could go back to college

Life was so simple back then

Sitting in the computer lab

4 am before the final paper is due

Cursing the world cause you didn’t start sooner

And seeing the rest of the class there, too!

~ Avenue Q ~

My internet has died and I am in the library working amidst a passel of undergrads. It is a totally surreal experience. I keep hearing people discussing deadlines and tests. At one point, the security guard came over and asked everyone to quiet down. There were about fifteen seconds of silence, followed by an explosion of “I’m being louder than my usual speaking voice because I’m trying ineffectually to whisper”-type whispering. It’s not that I don’t have deadlines and stuff as a grad student. But there’s a peculiar aesthetic to the undergrad freak out. I’m trying not to be swept into it.

My word count may not look particularly impressive, but I’m feeling pretty okay. I’ve done all my research for both papers, and I’ve actually written a number of additional words on my Dionne/Suleman paper. They’re just scattered in various documents as I think through where I want them to be, and it felt silly to spend 15 minutes of paper writing time adding them all up for a word count. The first two papers are due Friday. The one I’m most worried about is due next Tuesday.

I hope everyone who has papers to write is doing better than my little bean man. I’m sure he’ll wake up and get typing any minute now…

Okay, so Lila just sneezed, and I looked up “Can dogs catch swine flu?” in Google.

Would you believe there were actually a great number of other people who already asked this question out in cyberspace?

Somehow this makes me feel MORE calm.

That is all.

Being in graduate school, I have learned a few things about conducting research that I feel I should share with the masses. In order to really give you a sense of the front lines, I offer you the following itemized list concerning my research for the day.

1) Wake up at noon. Research should be conducted when one is fully rested. Besides, there isn’t really a lot of good TV on at noon, so you’ll have a better chance of making it to step two.

2) Look up potential library resources in Online Catalog. It’s great to know what you’re looking for before you even arrive at the brick-and-mortar library building. For example, I needed to return a book today that I received through Emory’s Interlibrary Loan System. ILL lets you borrow books from other libraries. The fine for an unreturned ILL book is 50 cents a day. Seven dollars later, I really needed to return “The Dionnes” by Ellie Teshler. But I found a copy in the Decatur Public Library! Yay!

3) Ensure that the online library catalogs you search are not from the wrong brick and mortar building. Upon arriving at the Decatur Public Library, I could not locate the book I had earlier found online. As it turns out, there is indeed a copy of “The Dionnes” in the collection of the Decatur, ILLINOIS public library.

4)  Coffee is imperative for research success. Today, I chose Dancing Goats Coffee Bar in Decatur. Partly because of it’s proximity to the public library (although not the one in Illionis.) As an added, unexpected bonus, I ran in to one of my classmates in line waiting for coffee. We briefly discussed my paper, so I ended up doing research while ordering coffee! Multi-tasking is an excellent way to increase productivity.

5) Organize your materials. After a visit to the Emory Library, I have about thirty excellent books to use in writing my final papers. However, I need a system for organizing these books so that I’ll know which ones work with which paper at a glance. In order to find the space for this, I will probably need to clean my entire room, do all my laundry, watch an organizational design show on HGTV and walk the dog. You know, just in case the dog gets anxious and chews on a pile of carefully organized books.

6) Talk with friends and colleagues. In about ten minutes, I’ll be on my way to Sunday dinner, where I will talk with my friends about my papers. Or, you know, about other stuff. All information can be useful if you have the right mindset.

7) Blog. Blogs are a good way to organize your research. Or to procrastinate. Which can also be productive. Just encourage your brain to cordon off a little section that will think constructively about [Insert Research Topic Here] while also browsing TMZ and Bored.com.

Happy Researching!

*This blog post is only appropriate for people who have an ability to read and recognize sarcasm in print.

^Hi, Michelle!

Today was not exactly a red-letter day. It started with my alarm not going off from a power hit and stayed lukewarm from there. But I did have these colorful cookies to brighten things up…

Nikki goes in for the kill.

They’re the “Best Sugar Cookies…Like Mrs. Fields!” recipe from allrecipes.com. This will likely be the last picture of the month, as I have used up my Flickr quota and don’t want to pay for more storage.

Tomorrow I’m going to campus early to observe an undergraduate class for my Pedagogy course. Then, I’m going to stay on campus and do some reading in hopes that I can finally jump start my most dreaded final paper. Wish me luck!

Final papers due May 1st, 5th, and 7th!

(I know this word counter is kind of dorky, but I liked that I could set it so that the little writer-bean-man was watching TV. Yeah, yeah, and I know I’m not writing a novel. Well, in this case. Use your imagination!)

I knew as soon as I said I was going to blog more, I would never blog again. I’ve been having an issue with 1&1 Blog (powered by WordPress) where the blog freezes when I try to add links to words. I always forget, and then I lose everything I’ve written, and then I am too annoyed to write.

Tomorrow I’m presenting the rough video draft of my Peter Pan project that many of you helped me with when we were in Portland. It’s coming out well and I’ll let you all know the response. Caren, your video was a particular favorite. The end is very sweet. At some point when I’m less busy and actually ever make it to the Post Office, I will send DVDs to everyone that helped.

I wish it were still March.

I started a new story yesterday. It’s about pool lifeguards and beach lifeguards who are bitter rivals. Does anyone have any lifeguarding expertise? So far it’s been fun to write, and it has kind of a beach-y, dance movie feel. I’ve been listening to the Grease soundtrack and thinking about the first Gidget movie, if that gives you any idea.

Nikki says Lila and I are starting to look alike.

That’s about it. I’m tired because I had a class this weekend and lots of work. Sunday dinner tonight was pancakes and challah french toast and tofu scramble, which was wondrously happy. Final papers are coming up, so that’s going to be stressful, although I’m really excited about my topics. I’ll try to blog more this week, but without the links it isn’t as fun.

This will be my last post of the day, and a quick one. I’m trying to post more, because final paper writing time is EXACTLY the time to start posting more. I will also be posting about one of my final projects, the Peter Pan Project, for those who are already involved.

These are cookies my Mom used to make with me for Easter. She made them with adorable licorice whip handles, but I was too lazy for that. I did make my own icing…

Step One: Bake circles of Pillsbury sugar cookie dough pressed in to a mini muffin pan. They’ll come out something like this…

Step Two: Fill the “baskets” with icing Easter grass using a pastry bag with a star tip.

Step Three: Press Cadbury Robin’s Eggs in to the icing. If you want, you can also add the licorice handles at this point by anchoring them in the frosting. I did not, so at Sunday dinner everyone thought they were bird nests until I informed them of my concept.

Alleluia! Hallelujah! Alleluia!

The choir director at the church I grew up in called Easter “Hallelujah Sunday.” During Lent, the word Alleluia is removed from the prayers and  everything because its a time of reflection and remembering sad times rather than of celebration. On Easter Sunday, the choir director would post the word Hallelujah all over the church and give a prize to the person who counted the most written and spoken Alleluias in the service.

The Easter Bunny came! See the bowl of candy??

This Alleluia Sunday, I’ve totally bought in to Easter consumerism. Last night, I dyed Easter Eggs. I also started another project that I’ll blog about later today when it’s all finished. There is even Easter grass in the overdue carepackages that are on the way to some of you…

The Colorful Process.

I went to church this morning with Mary, and it was one of those services that reminds you that part of chuch is being with people in a tiny, tiny room and loving them anyways. We had two gossipy ladies behind us who talked through the whole service. At one point during the sermon, there was a screaming baby who wasn’t immediately taken out of the church. Which is annoying, but I can understand trying to teach a child to sit through a service.

Lady 1: Aren’t they going to take the baby out?

Lady 2: They don’t think they have to. This is why they call it the “Me” generation.

Lady 1: I can’t even hear!

So, the minister just speaks over the baby (and her detractors) til she quiets down. He’s doing a sermon about how the gospel story of the resurrection is about play and joy, but also about fear, and how the disciples and Mary are afraid when Jesus comes back.

Minister: Are we afraid of God? Are WE afraid of God?

Previously Crying Baby: [into meaningful silence] Nooooo.

Well, that just about made my Easter. The Minister told her to shush, because that was the end and she was giving it away. But it was just so darn cute. One of those kitschy church moments. “Why is that guy talking? Of course not! God isn’t scary.” And maybe she was saying “no” to sharing her coloring book or something, but it was still perfect.

Don’t you wish all eggs came like this?

Happy Easter! Alleluia! Halelujah! The Lord is risen indeed!