Le Freak: C'est Chic??

Stress.

Party last night was delightful - started around 7:30 went until about midnight, which is just fine by me (although I still sometimes have that party standard in my head that says things should start at 10 and end at 3...).

I leave for a conference (at which I am thankfully NOT presenting) on Thursday night and I need to get some stuff together for that.

I have, oh, about 85 job applications to skim before next Monday for our First Vetting.

I completely forgot to pay my rent this month and my landlord finally called today to see if I was okay and not sick or dead. I felt like such a schmuck. It looks like I'm actually going to have to write down on my calendar that I need to pay rent on the first of the month - if it isn't written down, it doesn't exist for me.

Article, article, article...

A Dialogue Between Medieval Woman and her Article Notes

MW: Hi! How have you been? I know I'm late getting back together with you....but, um, the traffic was hell. Really. Hell. Brutal hell.

AN: (*sniff*)

MW: What? Are you giving me the cold shoulder? I told you it would take a while before I'd get back to you. I mean, I have other responsibilities.

AN: Oh? And what am I? Chopped liver?

MW: Well, at the moment...I mean, let's be honest, you've looked better.

AN: And how the hell would you know how I look?! Silence. Nothing but cold dark silence between us for months! You never call, you never....write!

MW: I know, I know...

AN: You know I'm not going to be around forever, don't you? I have a shelf life. I have big plans....I could be a series of essays! Even a book!

MW: Now, now - let's not go overboard here...

AN: I am cutting edge, baby. I'm so sharp you can't even see me! I'm going to change the face of medieval studies! Kneel before me, supplicant. Kiss my boots...

MW: (*under breath*) Note to self: when you leave your article notes alone for too long they get delusions of grandeur.

AN: You're not bowing low enough. And where's my offering? I'll accept a pan of brownies - nothing less.

MW: Look, I realize I'm to blame for all of this - I really did leave you in a vacuum and...

AN: No shit. And one of your damn cats threw up a hair ball on me.

MW: Yeah, I saw that - I'll need to re-copy that page.

AN: (*makes rude gesture*)

MW: Okay, enough of the hostility! I tell you what, I'll take you to Sonic and get you dinner.

AN: Really? With tater tots?

MW: Whatever you want.

AN: And a strawberry vanilla diet coke?

MW: Sky's the limit. And we can cruise there with the windows down and play our El DeBarge tape.

AN: Well...okay. But I need to start getting some better treatment around here or I'm gonna spontaneously combust. I mean it...

MW: Yeah, yeah...research immolation is a bitch...

Random Update

So, I haven't been trapped under a large piece of furniture - I just haven't been at all in a blogging mood for over a week. Maybe it's because the semester has begun and I've been launched into an odyssey of trying to balance work and teaching (more on how to do this later...if I figure it out at all...). Also, TD has been in town and I've been spending my time swinging between total happiness in having back my domestic bliss and arguing about all kinds of things (welcome to the world of "long-distance luv"). This most recently consisted of us talking about adding TD to my bank account (i.e., making it a joint acct.) when (not if) we move back together. He said he also thought it would be nice if we had a joint acct. and then separate individual ones. Of course I flipped out and read all this as him not trusting me with his money, wanting to keep things secret, etc. I know, I know...paging Dr. Overreaction. Other than that, we've been spending some time with my new colleague friends (who are lovely and delightful) and watching a lot of TV (which is no different from what I usually do).

So, here's he deal. We looked at TD's joblist (the beginnings of which are being posted) this afternoon and two of the local universities are hiring in his field! These are extremely good schools and I'm hoping that another one is also going to be hiring (one that is very comparable to where he is now). But, this bodes well and I would like to request that my bloggy friends please keep all appendages crossed for us! I know that these are only job ads and that there's still a long row to hoe, but at least there are local openings.

Other bits of random fluff:

1) I have Santa Claus in one of my classes. He's a spherically-shaped older student (much older than me) and he has the tendency to "ho-ho-ho" at my lame jokes. We'll see how the semester shapes up, but I have the feeling that he has my two front teeth and I want 'em back by Christmas, dammit!

2) They clapped when I chanted Old English.

3) I have purchased a water fountain for the Furballs - TD thinks this is crazy, but I've noticed that they've been drinking more. Since we moved in, they've been drinking out of the bathtub because it drips. So, the fountain (a.k.a. our "water feature") is meant to interest them in a healthier way. But they're so cute they go up and bat at the water a little with their paws and then drink a little. TD says it sounds like an old man taking a leak.

4) I have two conference abstracts to write this weekend, but I bet only one of them gets done (the other isn't due for a month).

5) I met with my first grad student yesterday and it was fun - I'll be advising part of their thesis.

That's pretty much all the news that's fit to blog! My life continues on at break-neck exciting speed!