I call this photo "the struggle is real." I think the reality set in after Stephen and I came back to Miami after we visited our families for Christmas. I still had several books to go through, I had to send a final revision of the Prospectus for my dissertation to my advisor, and …
This evening, I was taking notes on one of the books on my comprehensive exam list, and I thought to myself: "You know, it would be great just to get away. I could go to York for a few days, maybe. Or, California. Or anywhere but here right now." And then, came the sobering reality. …
Facebook recently incorporated an "On This Day" function through which users can see the posts they made on a particular date in prior years. When I look at these posts, they remind me of just how far I've come over the passing years, where I've lived, what I was interested in, and where I was …
Reading for comprehensive exams has had, thus far, two main components: reading the books (or the parts of them that are the most relevant for this purpose) and typing up notes on them. Granted, I have most of the books checked out from the library, and only a handful have ever been recalled since I …
When I was in middle and high school back in the mid-1990s, flannel was everywhere. The high point of the grundge movement had led to store after store stocked with flannel shirts for men and women. Even rock-slighly-too-influenced-by-hair-bands-in-the-1980s-band Aerosmith deliberately featured some very 1990s styles in their iconic videos from their landmark album, Get …
There are a lot of firsts that are inevitable living in a new environment. And, today, one typical "Miami" first that I have been dreading finally came to pass--my first highway car accident. Miami is not the greatest place to live if you have to drive anywhere. Given the nearly non-existent public transportation system here, …
Continue reading When Your Number Comes Up: Miami, Land of Car Distress
My partner is a merchant marine. And, he returned to work today. Stephen has been sailing ever since he graduated from college. Originally interested in a career in the military, he attended Maine Maritime and became a civilian sailor. Overall, he has done very well in his career. He has visited countless corners of the …
In two weeks, the school year will begin. For the second year, I am amazed by how quickly the summer, which always appears to stretch out endlessly when classes end in May, slips by. There's no question that this was a very good summer in a number of ways. I criticize myself for taking vacation …
Reference library help for the day.
Summer is, unfortunately, coming to a close. I have about a month to see how far I can get on additional comprehensive exam readings, and, of course, I haven't gotten through as much as I wanted to by this stage. I think that feeling is likely, to some degree, inevitable. Being on a school …
Medievalist in the Making 