And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn / would.I'll just say following that floating leaf left me wondering how your test came out for you and what Eileen Joy's rockwalls look like. Cheers!īut not having my password erased it all. I have never regretted anything, and things tuned out okay. I never stressed out, assuming life always would take its strange twists and turns regardless of my own intentions. Big confession: I failed my medieval exam the first time I took it, partly because I was too casual in my preparation, but mainly because a close friend of mine was having a psychotic breakdown and needed my sustained attention. When I was in graduate school, some of my closest friends were horrified that, as I got closer and closer to exam and other "qualifying" requirements, that I could often be found building dry-stack stone walls in my garden or reading back issues of the "New Yorker" on my front porch, while, of course, also "prepping" my exam texts: close friends thought I was crazy because I wasn't freaking out like they were. Good luck, MKH, and congrats on this whole serenity/leaf on the wind affair: you've got it exactly right. Never mind that the last time he says it, he gets impaled by in-coming spear. Those of you familiar with Joss Whedon's Firefly and the movie it spawned will recognize that as a recurring line for the Wash, the pilot of the ship named the Serenity. This one more thing, and it's on to building a career. This one more thing, and then I can start writing. Doesn't make me any less scared, but it does lend a sort of a serenity of purpose to the whole exercise. A chance to dress up, get very nervous, and prove (once again) I know more than I think I do. The oral exams have already accomplished what they were supposed to - I have a dissertation topic, even if to date my favorite way to express is "Time does weird things in vernacular texts dealing with the "English" nation in the periods immediately pre- and post-conquest." So really this is a formality. I definitely need to re-write my Chaucer list justification. Maybe a few "sit down and write about what I said I was interested in" sorts of exercises. A few stray Canterbury Tales I wouldn't mind re-reading (though given that I lectured on the Pardoner a year or so ago in a class I TA'd for, perhaps my notes for that will suffice). It's mostly note-taking and articles now. I know what needs to be done - I could probably make a list of it. I've resisted the idea of making a schedule of my work, right to the very end. Speedy Pros Metal License Plate Frame I'm A Leaf on The Wind Watch Soar Humor Funny Metal Car Accessories Black 2 Holes 1 Frame 18.99 18. Which means reviewing Bede and Aelfric, reading some articles (and a book) on the same, and then.well, whatever seems to be next on my list. Last night? Bede's De Arte Metrica, and the work on Tropes that I can't remember how to spell (thank goodness these are orals, eh?) Today, I'm prepping for my final meeting with my major list adviser. Yesterday it was re-reading and taking notes on Chaucer. When I'm not serene, I'm obsessively reading something. It's funny, but the closer I get to my exams, the more serene I am - during my serene periods, that is.
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