Countdown

I get my pre-lim questions tomorrow. Last night, I dreamt that I forgot to pick them up. See, I have EXACTLY 14 days to write them. We (the students) get to decide when we want to pick them, therefore, we have to plan very carefully. You don't want to pick them up too early in the morning, because then you either pull an all-nighter to get them finished, or you wake up and panic. You don't want to pick them up too late, because then you've wasted the entire "first" day. There is a science to this thing. So in my dream, I'm discussing American Idol with some overly obese former TV star, and I realize that the time has changed, and therefore, Jim will no longer be on campus (it was almost 5:oop), which meant, I couldn't get my questions until Tuesday. That would shave a day off of my time. And then some bug kept attacking me as I was trying to run to Jim's office to see if he was still there. I woke up kind of freaked out. Then I came and checked my e-mail and my friend Sarah, whom I miss very much (she's in Germany doing research for her dissertation), had e-mailed me a pep talk. She did her pre-lims last year. She's also a genius. She doesn't think so though. But she is. She's kind of like a history department legend. (Have you heard about Sarah? Smart Sarah? I've heard about her but I've never met her. Is she really a student here, or something the professors made up? Oh, she's real. I used to go swimming with her and I still e-mail with her. Really! You really know Sarah!?! OMG!!! Is she really as smart as everyone says? Yes, even smarter.) AND, one of our department's other students was over there for a conference and she's sending him back with German chocolate for Sean and I. GERMAN CHOCOLATE. That alone makes pre-lims worth it.

Today, instead of spending the whole day trying not to throw up, I've got a plan. I will clean my apartment and organize all my notes, notebooks, and articles. I will finish the book I need for teaching this week (I'm teaching this week because it's Solzhenitsyn) I'm not teaching next week though. I will probably play a game of AOE with my husband. We are going to go over everything we have to do before Oct. It is a lot, and he is freaking out. (He needs to move all his stuff, but he's out to sea 3 weeks out of every month. Makes it difficult to pack and move.). I think I might even give myself a pedicure. And I need to do laundry. I'll probably read over some notes too. I've decided I'm going to pick up my questions between 2 and 3 on Monday. That'll give me enough time on Monday night to decide which questions I'm answering and maybe start to outline the first one. But, I don't want to talk about that right now, or I'll freak out, and this day is about not freaking out.

I talked to Andrea this week. It's been almost a month and a half since we talked, and we have e-mailed a bit, but nothing serious. When she called this week, I answer. At first, she seemed a bit nervous because we haven't talked for a while. She let me know they've mailed our wedding gift. Ok, thanks. Then, she let me know that with their tax return, they were able to pay off her husband's car payment, and therefore, they had no more debt and could really start saving for that house. Then, she tells me that she's traveling a lot for work, up to Boston, so she figures that plane tickets might be cheaper from Boston to VA than from TX (huh?), so she wanted to make sure they were still getting an invite. And also, since work is paying for her plane ticket and a rental car (in Boston), her husband will be going with her at least once a month, so they can do little weekend trips (because 6 plane tickets to Boston is WAY cheaper than two to VA). They were looking to go to Scotland, but it's a little too much. Finally, she let me know she was leaving this week for that destination wedding of her CO-WORKER'S in Hawaii. As both Camille and Wes said: what the hell is wrong with this woman? But, as my friend and officemate Venus says "I'm over it!" I really just feel like, whatever. That's her stuff not mine and those are her choices. I have too many friends and family that love me to really worry about one little girl.

Finally, once my pre-lims and dissertation proposal are over, I'm going to start reading again. For fun. Books that I don't have to highlight and underline and write papers about. Books I can suggest to other people without saying, "You know this book is going to show up on McDonald's pre-lim questions," or "This would be a great book for your dissertation." Fun books. So, give me your book suggestions. (Even though I already have hundreds of books I haven't read yet, I'm always willing to spend more money at a bookstore.) Movies too (although I like books more). And DON'T FORGET TO CHANGE YOUR CLOCKS!!!