May The Odds Be Ever in Your Favor

The theme of this quarter is... The Hunger Games! Well, folks. I've done the training, gotten a score, and yesterday they put me in the little glass tube and shot me up into the arena. Now I must spend the next ten weeks brutally fighting for my life and trying to find (time to eat) food. That's actually a fairly close approximation to how I felt yesterday getting on the bus to go back to campus. I'm not sure that's a good thing...

So after two days, the odds are... about even. Let's consider that I got maybe an 8 from the Gamemakers for this quarter. Kind of on the high end, but not quite Career Tribute. The class I TA for has a completely new format from the past two quarters which requires not a little bit of extra reading on my part, BUT after the first day of sections I'm pretty pumped. I really, really got a great vibe off my students, unlike anything from the past two quarters.

As for seminars, well, again. About even. Avant Garde is going to KILL ME. There's so much reading, so much expected from me, and I have no background whatsoever in the avant garde. I walked into the class nervous, got more freaked out during discussion, and left pretty much convinced that I was going to fail. My professor is wonderful, don't get me wrong, but I just feel so lost on the subject matter. Doesn't help that I can't get the double-double sized course pack with the readings for tomorrow until tomorrow morning... uh-oh! On the other hand, Shakespeare class today was amazing! It's mostly new material, but I have a really great foundation to build from, and I adored my professor. I'm really excited to dive in, though the reading load is substantial. I feel like if I could concentrate on one seminar or the other I'd be fine, but taking both together makes the next ten weeks look pretty overwhelming. Especially since I don't have time for lunch on Tuesday/Thursdays. Looks like it'll be another quarter of powerbars and Odwallas!

The good news? The arena is nicer than in the previous quarters. Instead of bleak clouds and cold biting rain, we have... well, clouds, but also cherry blossoms and soft warm-ish rain! Today I didn't even need a winter coat! I wore a sweater and was pretty comfortable. Everyone says that as we get farther into spring/summer the weather only gets nicer, so I'm looking forward to having the great outdoors on my side, finally. AND, I get to teach my sections in a great building in a nice classroom. So even indoors is cooperating more than in previous quarters!

Let the games begin!



(Photo of me during an archery lesson in Scotland, June 2010; yes, I did hit the bullseye!)

A Coffeehouse of One's Own

Today I have a stuffy nose and a cough. I have three readings to do before classes start again tomorrow, and nothing to look forward to in the near future but ten more weeks of seminars, teaching, and-- joy of joys-- first year exams. I'm bitter that the quarter system keeps me in school until mid-June. I hate it enough already, it doesn't have to hang on to me for any longer. May will be difficult, when everyone else that I know in law/grad school is free. Yes, I'm in a bad mood. Yes, I recognize that part of this is just that I have a cold and that the weather, while sunny, isn't quite spring-like, and I miss Virginia. I miss having a place that feels like home.

I miss Aroma's, and the Cheese Shop, and the Daily Grind. I miss the College Bookstore. I miss taking walks down DoG Street and stopping for apple cider and ginger cookies at the Raleigh Bakery. You would think in a town known for its coffee I could find a decent coffeehouse that felt homelike and happy, but so far, no dice. I like one place on campus quite well, but it's not quite Aroma's or the Daily Grind. I just want a place to take my books, to meet my friends, and to grab a homemade scone or a Southwest chicken wrap along with my latte or sweet tea. That's another thing: sweet tea. Sigh.

Maybe I just need to go for a walk around Greenlake to take in some Pacific Northwest beauty and feel a bit more lighthearted.

It's Legitimately Beautiful Outside

Today looks and feels like Spring. Finally. I would give just about anything if this weather would last. One of the hardest things about moving here (besides, you know, working on a PhD) was having to get used to the weather. I am a sunshine-warm-weather girl through and through. I'm all about autumn (sweater weather!) as long as there's sun, and I can take maybe two weeks of winter tops, but here it seems like everyday is cold and rainy. Except today it's in the mid-50s with a completely blue sky! Zan and I drove to University Village this morning to drop off my black boots at the shoe repair, and when we drove back this afternoon to pick them up I rolled the windows down. Gorgeous.

While the boots were being repaired, we saw The Hunger Games. You may recall that I've been obsessed with these books since last March, and I'm still holding a grudge that they didn't cast me as Katniss. I have the shoes for it and everything. ;) But, I was really impressed with the movie, overall. It was fairly faithful to the books while still recognizing that film is a different art than novel-writing. I loved nearly all of the things they added to the film, and they didn't cut anything too very important (though, *SPOILERS* I did miss the District 11 bread parachute and I would not have taken that Mockingjay pin back from Prim after I gave it to her and her name got called as tribute. I would've thrown that thing as far away from me as possible).

The sound design was gorgeous and the costumes were fairly impressive (though Suzanne Collins wrote them beautifully, so the costume designer had good stuff to work with). I liked most of the use of shaky-cam, but it became a bit much near the end. Pacing during the Games got a bit slow-- though that could have been an artistic choice, since the point of the book is that the audience in Panem is feeling that things are a bit slow. I also loved most of the casting decisions-- especially Wes Bentley as Seneca, and I liked Woody Harrelson as Haymitch so much more than I expected-- but I was not very impressed with Peeta. He was fine, but... eh. Nothing special. Nothing that made me root for him the way I did with book-Peeta.

Overall, highly recommended film, but read the books first.

Guest Post!

Hey everyone, go check out my guest post over at my friend Laura's blog! Laura is off on a tropical vacation, so I stepped in to take over her usual "Blu-Ray Tuesday" review. The film? Disney's The Three Caballeros. It's an incredibly strange film, so please go take a look at the full review :).

In other news, Spring Break continues! After finishing an incredibly cute book called The Tower, The Zoo, and the Tortoise (about a Beefeater at the Tower of London), Zan and I went out with Kris and Chris to a little dive bar called The Duchess, then we hopped over to Pair (the wine bar we visited in October). It was a lovely evening. We played two rounds of billiards at the Duchess, and then got a fantastic glass of Pinot Gris and some beet risotto at Pair. Pair just feels like a little French cafe in Provence-- it's so lovely. And on the way to the Duchess we passed a place called Queen Mary Tea Rooms and Tea Emporium, which I absolutely must visit.

On the docket today-- cleaning! And yoga!

Don't forget to check out my guest post!

Quarter 2 Down!

I have officially finished the first two quarters of my PhD program (only one to go until summer!). I submitted grades today, and all is done. So I am now, officially, on Spring Break. Yesterday I was pretty much on Spring Break, though. Zan and I drove up north a bit and visited an outlet mall. I got two cardigans for 32 dollars, which I call a win, and Zan got a new pair of Converse. When we got home we made fettuccine and watched Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. A movie on a weeknight! Crazy! Plus, Saturday night, Zan and I went out with Liz to a really cute tapas place in Ballard. Going out on a Saturday night? Wild!

But of course, I woke up this morning with a sore throat. Typical. I finally get a moment to breathe and my body decides to collapse. I'm trying to muster up enough gumption to go to Target for some cleaning supplies so I can deep Spring clean my apartment. Maybe this afternoon. For now, I think I'll sit on the couch with some tea and a book-- for fun! Mmmm Spring break!

wherever green is worn

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone. Today, for some reason, everyone in the United States becomes "Irish," wears green, drinks Guinness, and says things like "Slainte!" Most of them probably know little to nothing about Irish history or the symbolism of the color green... But, I have to admit, I even got in on the action this year: Zan and I pre-ordered St. Patty's Day cupcakes from Cake Envy.

(Photo from the Cake Envy facebook page)

These just looked too good to pass up! We have mint chocolate, green velvet, chocolate with Bailey's icing and stout drizzle, and green vanilla. We haven't tried them yet, but I'm very excited! I only have 16 finals left to grade, and once those are done it is cupcake eating time!!!

Still Going Strong

Well, about half-way through WEEK OF PRODUCTIVITY. So far, I've written my Baroque paper, written a little over ten pages of my Marxism paper, graded three of nine final projects, and tomorrow is my French exam. Whoooo. I'm so looking forward to Friday evening when I plan to head to Red Mill Burger for some yummy eats. And then a whole week off! I'm thinking I might try to hit up the outlet mall thirty minutes north of here.

Today, for my Marxism seminar, we met to read our paper beginnings for feedback. Overall, mine seemed to go over pretty well.  Afterwards, my friend Liz and I headed to the Ave for a pretzel and a pint-- and got caught in a freak snowstorm! Literally, it had been sunny while we were in seminar, we stepped outside and were pelted with pieces of snow and ice in a very strong wind, arrived at the restaurant on the Ave drenched and unhappy, dried off with napkins, and ten minutes later the sun was shining... *incredulous and unhappy face*

Got home, and now I'm going to eat dinner and study for my French exam. Tomorrow I'll take the exam, grade more 101 projects, meet with a student about the 101 final, and work on my Marxism paper. So close. Light at the end of the tunnel.

Also, the Regina Spektor song "Samson" has been stuck in my head all day randomly, so here, why don't you all listen to it!

Rare Post From Campus!

So, I canceled my second section and gave my students (and myself) the day off... well, sort of. I still had to teach my first section and I have to go to seminar in an hour, but the break was much needed. Why? Because tonight starts the WEEK OF PRODUCTIVITY. I have a paper due Tuesday, 10 pages of another paper also due Tuesday, a French final on Wednesday, 101 grading due Thursday, and a paper due Friday. I am going to be one busy girl.

In fun news, Zan and I are taking care of Dan and Katie's kittens for the next few days! The cats have moved into our apartment and seem to be adjusting well. I love having cats around, especially 8 month old bundles of energetic fur.

Currently I'm sitting in the PhD office trying to decide on a thesis for Paper #1... hmm. And looking at dresses online. Spring is in the air today and it makes my mind turn to sundresses and sandals. One little dress purchase can't hurt, right? I need something to reward all of my (future) productivity! :)

Sunshine and Ice Cream

(Photo found here)

The Häagen-Dazs was on sale. Let me repeat that: the Häagen-Dazs was on sale. So of course, my routine grocery shopping trip for staples like milk, eggs, bread, asparagus, and... funfetti cake mix... turned into a four-pint of ice cream extravaganza! 2 pints of White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle, a pint of Creme Brulée, and a pint of Banana Split. Yum.

I think the Heavens smiled at this, though, because very shortly after I returned home with my goods, the sun came out! Sun! After more than a week of not really seeing it anywhere, I've had a whole afternoon of blue skies. When the sun comes out I have this nice sunny patch right in front of my couch where I can bask in the warmth. I had a French essay to write on the film Un Héros Très Discret, and the sunshine and ice cream made the writing so much easier. Plus, I got to incorporate Brecht's Epic Theatre into my French film analysis which made me feel like a real theatre student (finally!).

I forgot to mention-- last Tuesday I had the opportunity to go to a faculty banquet at the Sigma Kappa sorority. One of my students invited me as her professor representative. I felt so honored and really had a wonderful time. Her sorority house was beautiful, had great lasagna, and very sweet girls.

As the day wanes, I plan on beginning my performance reconstruction in earnest and *hopefully* finishing up my readings for my Marxism seminar. Only one more week left of classes this quarter, then a week of finals, then Spring break! (Yes, let's please not talk about how that means between now and two weeks from now is the most stressful time of the year so far. Let's just focus on the fact that it's almost over. Then one quarter to go 'til summer! No, let's not talk about the fact that the last quarter contains first-year exams.)

The Crowd Still Cheers-- Opera!

Last night I attended my first ever opera. The professor of my Baroque class took our seminar (five of us) to see Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice at the Seattle Opera. Having never seen an opera, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. Would it be very different from seeing a musical? How long would it be? How exactly would the supertitles work? (To my great joy, supertitles worked very well and I could easily watch both the opera and the lyrics.)

The Seattle Opera House is very modern looking. In fact, the lobby bears a striking resemblance (in my mind) to the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. I had expected hoped that everyone would be in fancy gowns and tuxes, but-- though everyone looked very nice (much nicer than at a Broadway musical these days)-- it wasn't quite the fantastical display of Oscar-style gowns I had hoped to see. However, an aura of luxury pervaded the multi-storied lobbies, and Kris and I even pre-ordered glasses of Chardonnay for intermission.

Apparently Orphée et Eurydice is one of Gluck's shorter operas: the first act lasted a little over an hour with a half-hour intermission, and a twenty-seven minute second act. To their credit, the opera didn't even feel that long. When the lights came up for intermission I felt surprised! The first act started with Eurydice's funeral. Orpheus, desperately grieved, begs the gods to give Eurydice back to him. Love (Amour) comes riding in on a golden bicycle, tells Orpheus that Jupiter has relented and if he takes his lyre, calms the Furies of hell, and gets to the land of blessed spirits he can have Eurydice back-- on the condition that he never look at her again. They can talk and touch, but Orpheus must not look at her.

The act continues as he enters hell-- a crazy capillary world of reds, blacks, and yellows-- and calms the Furies, followed by a ballet in the springtime land of blessed spirits with the first introduction of Eurydice singing. Orpheus appears and begins to lead her out of death as the curtain closes. The second act takes place just outside of the underworld, with a beautiful set piece of twisting branches like fingers, as Eurydice and Orpheus argue about his inability to look at her. He finally gives in and faces her, and she immediately dies again. As Orpheus considers suicide, Amour re-appears, tells Orpheus that he can have Eurydice back alive because of the depth of his passion, and it all ends in a beautiful reunion of Orpheus, Eurydice, and their friends while the chorus sings "Love Triumphs" and hoists Amour onto their shoulders. Lovely.

Overall, I thought it was a superb night at the opera. The three named singers were quite good, the chorus was amazing (!), the sets were gorgeous in their evocative simplicity. I loved the leisurely style of a night at the opera: a long intermission to enjoy a glass of wine and good conversation, one to two minute breaks between scenes (in order to change the huge sets) that you just don't get in a musical anymore. I felt that the audience was there to enjoy what the performers could do. Rather than the audience in control of the performance, I felt that the performance was in control of the audience. We sat with rapt attention, rather than impatiently checking cell phones, wondering what we would do after the show. It was nice.

With nothing to compare it against, I suppose I can't really make a claim for the relative superiority of this opera, but I enjoyed it enough to want to return to Seattle Opera again and again. It wasn't shocking or life-changing, not really daring or even particularly innovative, but the performance was beautiful, relaxing, and a very well constructed piece of theater.

For some beautiful photos of the opera, check out the photos on the Seattle Opera website!