Guys... this program is hard. I mean, not that I'm surprised, but by the time Thursday rolls around I typically just want to go home, put on my PJ pants, veg in front of the TV, and ponder why I just spent the week desperately trying to teach kids about drama, while simultaneously struggling through dense theoretical reading on narrative and discourse, evidence and hegemonies. Why does history (even theatre history) matter at all? I had a blog devoted to that topic once; maybe I'll start it up again in a more manageable way.
Anyway, yesterday made me think it might all be worth it. My students were all wonderful in section. I gave an improv workshop (thank you, years of I.T.) and they all seemed to enjoy doing a shake-out, learning how to do 3-line scenes, and playing Fire and Ice. They all listened with rapt attention while I talked to them about how to make their writing less passive in formal papers. My historiography seminar in the afternoon drained me, but after class two of my fellow PhDers and I headed downtown. I haven't really been to downtown Seattle yet-- in fact, I haven't really seen much except my apartment, the bus, and the campus. But last night we went downtown, and it was nice to feel like I was in a city. We had dinner at a restaurant/wine bar called Purple-- warmed goat cheese with wild honey and dried cranberries, an avocado BLT with the best french fries in the world, and a lovely, necessary glass of white wine.
Then we saw Stephen Greenblatt. STEPHEN GREENBLATT. He's amazing; he edited my Norton Anthology of Shakespeare, wrote
Will in the World and
Hamlet in Purgatory, and is a leader of New Historicism (which a lot of people have problems with, I need to research it more). I've heard so much about the man, but don't know his work half so well as I should. Anyway, he has a new book out called
Swerve about an Italian man in 15th century Germany rediscovering the work of Lucretius. He sees in that discovery the beginnings of humanism, which soon raced across Europe. He came to Seattle to give a book talk.
Greenblatt is an incredible speaker. An hour went by without my realizing it. As he spoke, he seemed to almost become Poggio in the German monastery. I could see the whole tableau of Western Europe in the late middle ages. I suddenly understood Epicurianism more fully than I ever have before. His evident knowledge left me in awe. Of course, the whole time I kept thinking of constructing narrative and he mentioned that he "liked the guy [Poggio]", which led me back to a classroom discussion about writing biography of people you liked versus people you don't like, but for an hour it didn't matter. For an hour I sat enraptured by the story, I appreciated history again, I wanted to write books, I wanted to research, I wanted to sit there in that somewhat crowded room with Stephen Greenblatt for hours and talk about the world that once existed.
Even if creating narrative is tricky business methodologically speaking, it makes for an extremely exciting hour. I felt bettered by the evening, more alive, more excited, my passion renewed. I felt as if a window had opened and I could see the philosophies of the past here in the present. I became more thoughtful, and ever more astounded by those who had come before me-- from antiquity, to the middle ages, to even within my own century. And maybe, just maybe, that's the reason to do history.
(The Weird Sisters: fittingly Halloweenish AND Shakespearean!)
(Not the best picture ever, but you get the idea)
(Like, for instance, going to the zoo!)
Saturday morning we drove around some of the different neighborhoods in Seattle so Zan could get a feel for the city, and Sunday-- oh, Sunday!-- we went to the zoo!!! I LOVE zoos! We spent hours at the zoo. We saw red pandas (our favorite) and komodo dragons and elephants, giraffes, a snow leopard chasing a squirrel, wallaroos eating grass, and lions. The lions were amazing-- the male lion roared! and then the male and female began grooming each other and curled up in the sun. Absolutely majestic. I love love love the zoo.
(Zan pretends to be a baboon)
(The penguins and I enjoy the sun)
(The lions are both cute and majestic)
And now Zan has gone, and it's back to the grindstone :(. LOTS to catch up on after a weekend of fun.
(See how sad I am about Zan leaving?)
(And won't that be the best?!)
Organizing efforts! Ok, so this is tangentially related to schoolwork. I normally keep my school things in plastic drawers, but these classes are kind of different, so I'm going to use the drawers I bought as clothes holders in my closet, and I put my school stuff in the red, two green, and tan bins. Then in the baskets I have my correspondence and letter writing materials, and electronics! Perfect! I also bought two new bookcases because one bookcase simply will not cut it. I have too many books for that (and I love it that way)!
This is a print that I bought for the bedroom from here. I think it's pretty adorable. Soon I'm actually going to take it off of the dresser and hang it on the wall! (I will, I will!)
I also got myself a new pair of boots for fall. I found them on Amazon.com for pretty cheap (as far as boots go). They are absolutely perfect. I almost want to order another pair just like them. I call them my Katniss boots, after the protagonist of The Hunger Games trilogy. I could totally see her wearing these boots when she's out hunting with Gale.
My Halloween Mickey mug has taken a place of honor on my entry table to greet guests with his seasonally appropriate jack-o-lantern smile!
I also bought two of these adorable fall candle-holder/lanterns at Target for 2.50 each. I absolutely love fall, and even though decorating an apartment inhabited and seen only by me seems a bit pointless, I couldn't resist a few small touches.
Isn't it gorgeous??? (Photo found here)
(The candle in the middle is from Kris)
