tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2209957678425966342024-03-13T17:16:36.806-07:00A Good (Enough) Woman"The perfect is the enemy of the good." --VoltaireGood Enough Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.comBlogger471125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-220995767842596634.post-2147234948393599822015-07-02T14:57:00.004-07:002015-07-02T14:58:08.717-07:00Overnight Research Trip<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday, I took a two-day research trip to a nearby university that has most of the books and databases that I need for my PhD thesis research. My big question is this: Why have I not been going down there, lo, these many years of PhD work? It's not. that. far. Part of why I haven't been going down is that I do have database access (including ECCO and EEBO) through my UK university, but access is somewhat restricted by the UK hosting process. I thought it was an ECCO restriction, but I learned in March that it's a UK restriction. So I realized that if I visiting the nearby uni here in the US, I might be able to download PDFs of rare texts to my heart's content. And yesterday, I did just that. I felt like a cyber thief in a spy movie. But I was legit!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I look forward to trips to that library being part of a regular (perhaps bi-weekly?) routine as I start picking up the pace and pushing towards the finish line.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And why did I post today after over a year of not posting? I have no idea. I have toyed with the idea of starting back up as I dig in deeper to the thesis, but I only want to do it if it helps rather than hinders my progress. What do you think, bloggers who are still blogging and haven't given it up? Is blogging helping your productivity? Or hurting it?</span></div>
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Good Enough Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-220995767842596634.post-83379469554714167612014-04-22T15:05:00.003-07:002014-04-22T15:09:19.375-07:00Spring Break--Having a PlanThis week is my spring break. The kids are in school, Hubby is gone on vacation, and so I have lots of hours in the house to myself. It. Is. Wonderful. But, unfortunately, I cannot just luxuriate in the silence or lie on the floor, staring at the ceiling in relaxed bliss. I can't even curl up on the couch with a book. No, I have stuff to get done, including two (out of three) batches of essays*, several sets of quizzes, and a chapter draft for the dissertation. Plus, there is all manner of housekeeping, gardening, and bill paying to which I should attend.<br />
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In order to get said stuff done, I figured I should have a plan, especially for the grading which I really want to ignore but cannot. Here is the basic plan that I came up with last Thursday:<br />
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Grading:<br />
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<li>Sunday evening: grade all quizzes</li>
<li>Monday during the day: grade paper revisions </li>
<li>Each day, M-F: grade five essays from batch one during the day, and grade two essays from batch two each evening after the kids go to bed</li>
<li>Sunday at the end of break: the remainder</li>
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PhD:<br />
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<li>Do a lot each day</li>
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How has it been going, you ask? Well, it's Tuesday afternoon, and I have graded all of the quizzes but only two essays. Out of about 45 or 50. (Wow, typing those numbers just spooked me, big time.) And I wouldn't say I've done a <i>lot</i> for the PhD but rather a little, or maybe a medium amount.<br />
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What have I been doing instead of grading? Oh, I don't know--taking morning walks with the dog, cleaning out the pantry, tidying my environment, drinking tea, talking to the cat.<br />
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But unless I want to be totally screwed on Sunday, I better get busy with the grading. And if I want to have a decent chapter draft by Friday, I need to step up my game on that front, too.<br />
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I will happily accept any advice for how to milk this break for all its worth so that it seems both productive and vacation-like (rather than unproductive and not-so vacation-like).<br />
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<i>*The third batch will just have to wait until next week.</i>Good Enough Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-220995767842596634.post-11954612310557489822014-03-26T13:58:00.000-07:002014-03-26T15:00:16.187-07:00Gender in the Simplicity MovementLately, I have been focusing on the concept of simplicity. It's not the first time I've gone down this road. It usually happens when I'm deep in the thickets of a semester, the house is out of control, and I'm feeling frazzled. During these times, simplicity is more of a fantasy than a philosophy.<br />
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But my recent attention has been more serious. Although I'll never be a true minimalist, I've have become more aggressive as I pare down the possessions in my house. Beyond the clutter, I'm trying to simplify in other ways, too.<br />
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But I've noticed something interesting as a I read more about/from this movement. Specifically, I've noticed that there are gender differences. With the men, it's often about having very few possessions, being physically healthy, and living with low expenses so they can follow their dreams. With the women, it's all about spending more quality time with their children and making organic food from scratch.<br />
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Granted, some of the male writers from the minimalist movement have children (Leo Babauta has six!), but, with the exception of Joshua Becker, not many well-known men in the simplicity movement seem to talk much about their kids. Even though Baubata has six kids, his blog posts don't focus on them very often.<br />
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The dichotomy struck me most when I was reading one of Joshua Field Milbourne's books. I read about "a day in the life of a minimalist"--an example of a "typical day" for Milbourne. One part of his day involved going out to a local cafe for a burrito. In fact, several parts of his day involved meals at restaurants. The rest of his day was spent writing, exercising, or hanging out with friends.<br />
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Yet, when I read about the simplicity movement for women, it doesn't always sound so simple, especially when it comes to food. In fact, some times it sounds like the same old backlash again moms. Now, perhaps this isn't really a male/female difference, but a kids/kidless difference. Still, I feel as if I need to be very careful that I'm not being snookered into feeling guilty about being a working mom who doesn't grow her own vegetables, raise her own chickens, and make pizza from scratch. I can't help but raise an eyebrow when simplicity writings for women seem to make dinner time so much more complicated.<br />
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All of this said, I've found two voices from this movement that I really like a lot. The first is Kim John Payne (with Lisa M. Ross) in <a href="http://simplicity parenting" target="_blank">Simplicity Parenting</a>. I thought this book was wise, fairly well researched, and even well written (the latter, perhaps, thanks to Ross?). And Payne even suggests having repetitive, simple meal plans, so I didn't feel as if I was being attacked for imperfect nourishment or some other failing. In fact, from this book, I felt compelled to make changes not from a place of guilt or insufficiency, but merely for a greater chance to embrace the joy of parenting over the worry and guilt of parenting. Also, I truly believe that the actions he recommends will make better, happier lives for my children and for me.<br />
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I also really liked <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Notes-Blue-Bike-Intentionally-Chaotic/dp/1400205573/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395865986&sr=8-1&keywords=notes+from+a+blue+bike" target="_blank">Notes from a Blue Bike</a> by <i>Tsh Oxenreider</i>. Although she does want me to prepare local, organic food from scratch, she, for the most part, seems to be encouraging true simplicity and joy--not motherly perfection or guilt. Oxenreider's book is more memoir than instruction, and I was inspired by her stories to make further changes within our home and family.<br />
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What about you? Have you noticed gender differences in the voluntary simplicity movement? Do you have any books that have inspired you to simplify your life or increase the space for joy in your family?<br />
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(Sidenote: I enjoyed the audiobooks for both books.)<br />
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<br />Good Enough Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-220995767842596634.post-46973775114696265292014-03-19T14:41:00.001-07:002014-03-19T14:57:57.757-07:00I Want to Spend Time in My ClosetCan I tell you how great my closet it? I cleaned it out a few weeks ago--one of my first decluttering efforts--and it's fantastic. I have cleaned my closet many times in the past, of course, but this time I threw away or donated so much more than in the past. I wasn't totally ruthless, but close to it. I am the kind of person who wears the same clothes all the time, and I alternate between just a few pairs of shoes, so I just don't need that much.<br />
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The most significant change is that I got a sweater hanger. For the past ten years, I've been <strike>folding and stacking</strike> throwing and piling my sweaters on the shelf above the hanging rack. I am only 5' 2", and, therefore, I've spent the last 10 years with a mess of sweaters falling on my head and on the floor whenever I try to get a sweater down from the shelf. Now, the sweaters are in the sweater hanger, and the top shelf of the closet is reserved for storage of photos, mementos, and travel supplies.<br />
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The photo below is from the project in process, but it shows my awesome sweater hanger. Now that the project is complete, the floor of the closet has nothing but few pairs of shoes, and the top shelf has the items I mentioned above. The clothes on the right edge of the frame are my husbands. I also have a bureau for socks, skivvies, t-shirts, and tanks, but, otherwise, this is my wardrobe.<br />
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The closet is wonderful, and I know that it won't become a disaster again because I got rid of so much. I have finally learned a way I can organize: Have less stuff! <br />
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Now I've moved on to the desk in the study.<br />
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<br />Good Enough Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-220995767842596634.post-68626594725535542042014-03-12T09:46:00.000-07:002014-03-12T09:46:12.272-07:00To Scrivener or Not to ScrivenerAbout a year and a half ago, I bought my first Mac, and the first program I installed was Scrivener. Three friends (<a href="http://writingaccount.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Amstr</a>, <a href="http://www.yarnagogo.com/" target="_blank">Rachael</a>, and <a href="http://clearedforflight.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Cleared for Flight</a>) had raved about the program, and, being mid-stream in my PhD thesis, I figured I needed all the help I could get.<br />
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I spent last spring drafting a thesis chapter on Scrivener, and I recognized the benefits. Multiple times, I moved sections around, changing my mind about the order of the different sections. Scrivener made it easy to make those changes.<br />
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But now, for the past 10 months, I've been working on the same damn chapter, and I've had a terrible time. Although I don't want to blame Scrivener (or my use of it) for all of my woes and ineptitudes, I am throwing a little blame its way.<br />
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Here's the problem as I'm starting to understand it: Scrivener breaks my chapters up into chunks or subtopics, and, therefore, I tend to only think of the chapter in chunks or subtopics. As a result, I've had a harder time identifying the central argument of the chapter--the thread that will hold it all together.<br />
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This past weekend, the family gave me a one-night hotel pass, so I had many uninterrupted hours of work. This, in itself, was gloriously helpful, but I think what really led to a breakthrough was when I got out of Scrivener and started working in Word, when I started thinking about the chapter (and reading the chapter) as a unified thing. Granted, I had compiled my Scrivener files into Word plenty of times before, but then I kept going back into Scrivener to attempt further progress.<br />
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My conclusion? I need to write in Word. But this does not mean Scrivener won't be helpful. This weekend when I was writing in Word, I was mining from my Scrivener files, and I discovered how Scrivener might best work for me: it should be a holding and organizing place for my notes and research. <br />
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Maybe this is how everyone else is already using Scrivener. Maybe I was just doing it wrong from the get go. But I'm glad to have clarity as I move forward. As for actually writing up my chapters in Scrivener? I prefer not to.Good Enough Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-220995767842596634.post-14024234715043829172014-03-04T19:23:00.000-08:002014-03-04T19:23:13.487-08:00The Silver Lining of Leprechaun TrapsMy daughter's only homework this week is to design and build a leprechaun trap. My first thought was, <i>Gah. Not this again.</i> It is due Friday, and she'll be working on it Monday-Thursday. One of her big wishes for the project is that she can build it <i>with me</i>. There are impediments to her wish. She is with other people M-Th afternoons (dad or grandma), and in the evenings when we all get home, I'm usually working on dinner. I do pick her up on Fridays from school, but she will have already turned it in by then.<br />
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I let her know that I could help her on some of the evenings, but that other people would have to help her, too. But last night, in my efforts to honor her wish, I left the dishes sitting on the countertops after dinner so that she and I could sit down together to consider the project (it was very difficult for me to ignore those dishes). It started with me just giving her moral support while she colored some of the designs on the trap panels. But then, she announced that she wanted to make a bean bag for the leprechaun to sit in when he fell into the trap. My first thought was <i>Really? We have to make a bean bag now?</i><br />
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But earlier in the evening, she had also expressed a desire to work on a sewing project together sometime soon. So, regarding the bean bag, I said, "We could sew it if you want to."<br />
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Now, sometimes, I say things like this, and they turn into such time-consuming, poorly-planned ordeals that we have to bail on the whole shebang. But last night, we easily cut out some circles, and she sewed them together. She was thrilled by the transformation that happened when we turned the sewed circles right side out, exposing her nice (and somewhat circular) seams. Then, we stuffed the little bean bag with quinoa, and she stitched it closed. The project was done, bedtime wasn't too late, and I still had the kitchen cleaned by 9:30. I couldn't believe that we managed two fulfill two of her wishes: doing a sewing project and working on the leprechaun trap. It all felt so purposeful. But the best part was how proud she was of her little project. Seeing her touch and handle the bean bag, marveling that she made it, gave me great joy.<br />
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If it sounds like I'm patting myself on the back, that's because I am. I so rarely manage to accomplish something like this without it either devolving into something stressful and/or being left unfinished. And there were no tears from either of us! But mostly I'm just grateful that the dreaded school project actually turned into something valuable for us*.<br />
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*Granted, the trap isn't finished yet, so things could get bad, but I'm going to try to maintain optimism, basking in the glow of our first efforts.Good Enough Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-220995767842596634.post-82273025458217167022014-02-24T14:10:00.004-08:002014-02-24T15:58:34.065-08:00The DeciderThis Saturday, it started to happen again. Any ideas I had about a schedule for the day began to get entirely hijacked. Around 11:00 a.m., I hadn't yet done much of anything except for try to figure out how we'd spend the day. Hubby had made a decision to do yard work, so that's what he did. I was navigating play date possibilities and competing schedules, none of which coincided with what I wanted to do for the day. As a result, I found myself frustrated and in tears (again! twice in one week!) on my bed.<br />
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And then it hit me: I can just decide.<br />
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So I got up, went back outside, sat on the bench and started putting on my shoes. "I'm going to the tide pools," I said. "I would love it someone wants to come with me. Oh, and anyone who stays home with Daddy won't be playing video games because it's a beautiful day. It's not a day for gaming."<br />
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Guess what? Both kids wanted to go. It took us a while to get out the door, but they were eager and never complained. We had a wonderful time, and I felt in control of myself as a person and of my parenting. Sometimes, in my effort to make my kids happy, I just offer too many choices. Perhaps those choices are not always good for them or for me. Sometimes, I just need to decide.<br />
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Below: a "gumboot chiten," sometimes known as the "wandering meatloaf" <br />
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Below: Beautiful purple sea urchins!<br />
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Below: a very large sea anemone all closed up (SO soft!)<br />
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Below: Hello, hermit crab!<br />
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<br />Good Enough Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-220995767842596634.post-77253731037918590912014-02-19T20:44:00.001-08:002014-02-20T12:38:14.749-08:00teeter-totterWith kids, a job, and a PhD to finish, each day is a delicate balance, and I often find myself feeling pretty much the same way I do when I'm attempting tree pose while wearing my baggy pajama bottoms. It just doesn't work.<br />
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Lately, I've felt really out of balance. There have been many illnesses at Chez GEW. Strep throat (once for one kid*, twice for the other kid**), a serious case of viral tonsillitis, and various colds. Good or bad, I have not been sick yet***, but when the kids are sick, everything else stops. And these illnesses are never expected, of course, so they disrupt plans.<br />
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Granted, I am a parent, so I know my plans will be disrupted by my kids' needs. But lately, I have felt as if this is happening <i>every day</i> and, especially, <i>every weekend</i>. As a result, I find myself spinning in circles, sometimes literally (as I stand in the living room trying to figure out what to do next), not feeling productive (or good enough) at anything.<br />
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I had a bit of a breakdown on Monday. There were tears. I can't remember the last time this kind of distress caused tears. It felt weird. But the tears and the breakdown did help me realize that I'm just feeling very out of control and ineffective.<br />
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This probably won't last long, but I probably do need to try to figure out ways to either change or accept the circumstances--maybe a little bit of both--over the next couple of weeks in order to feel better. I'm still working on what that balance will be and how I'll go about it. Or maybe I just need to realize that balance is not the right metaphor. Maybe I'm on a teeter-totter that will always be heavier on one side than the other. Maybe I just need to make sure that, occasionally, I switch sides and that I avoid crashing hard one way or the other.<br />
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Note: This distress feels really silly and inconsequential when I think about a family in my community who just lost a teenage son to leukemia on Valentine's Day after he struggled with the illness for two years. I really can only barely imagine the stress and subsequent grief of such an experience.<br />
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*although the kid who has only had it once is worried that the second shoe will drop on him later this week (and since one usually gets it when the other does, his concerns are legit)<br />
**at this point, we are wondering if someone is a carrier<br />
***probably just jinxed myselfGood Enough Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-220995767842596634.post-63739776140001952592014-02-07T13:27:00.000-08:002014-02-07T13:27:44.594-08:00Something is Better than Nothing, Except for When It's Better to have NothingI have been paying attention to the Rule of Three, but I have been only partly successful. So far, I have walked at least three times per week (that is, if I take two walks in the next two days), and until this week, I've done about two hours per week on the PhD. But I've only done yoga about once a week. As for home-related projects? It's been a bit of a blur.<br />
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This week I had interruptions to my regular walking and PhD schedule, so now I need to do some make-up work over the next couple days. Doing things around the house is such a constant <strike>battle</strike> effort that it's hard to separate the productive projects from everyday management. I've made a couple of project lists, and I haven't done very well with them. But something is better than nothing, right?<br />
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Well, sometimes. Except when nothing is better--like an empty junk drawer or shelf with nothing on it. To that end, I have decided to try to find at least one thing per day that I can give away or throw away. On Wednesday, I took 15 minutes to pull old clothes out of three drawers, and I ended up with one bag of clothes for Goodwill. Yesterday, I found some toys and books that I could donate to my daughter's class "store." I am hoping that these daily efforts will seem less overwhelming than a giant overhaul while still helping me make progress toward decluttering our home so that we can all be good stewards of what we have rather than collecting a bunch of stuff we can't manage.<br />
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Below is the bag of stuff I got rid of. It's not much, but it only took 15 minutes. I'm keeping the dog.<br />
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<br />Good Enough Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-220995767842596634.post-69623758960770301942014-01-22T16:08:00.002-08:002014-01-22T16:08:25.007-08:00Rule of ThreeI have really neglected the PhD thesis for the past few months. Other than a conference paper that was loosely connected to the chapter I'm working on, I've done very little work. I'm not sure what happened. I got out of the habit of getting up early to read and write (partly because of several months of often being up at night with an anxious son), and I think I let work and family squeeze out time on the thesis in general. The extra family time has been nice, but I don't like the idea that grading and general laziness have put me behind.<br />
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I tried to think of a crafting a New Year's Resolution that might do the trick, but I am skeptical of my ability to keep long lists of resolutions. Then I saw that my friend <a href="http://www.yarnagogo.com/blog/2014/01/holy-crap-yall-my-new-word-rest-is-working-so-well-i-mean-im-jumping-the-gun-and-all-since-its-only-ten-days-into-the-n.html" target="_blank">Rachael Herron</a> chooses one particular word for the year: last year was <i>now</i>; this year is <i>rest</i>. I tried and tried to think of one word that would capture what I want for this year. I want typical things--to eat better food, to get rid of clutter, to spend less money, to work more on my thesis. I considered the word "purpose," but it seemed a bit vague.<br />
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So, instead, I'm taking a slightly different tack, and I'm focusing on a "rule of three." This rule establishes the following <i>minimum</i> guidelines. I might reach beyond these rules, but if I meet them, then I can be certain that, at the very least, I'm not totally ignoring my priorities. (I might add more "threes" later, but I don't want to overwhelm myself in the beginning).<br />
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<ul>
<li>Three walks per week</li>
<li>Three yoga sessions (of at least 20 minutes) per week (I do these at home with video classes)</li>
<li>Three hours on the thesis per week (this might seem pitifully small, but it's realistic and better than nothing)</li>
<li>Three house projects (other than regular maintenance) per month.</li>
</ul>
<div>
I would like to have a family goal in the list, too, but I'm not sure how to quantify that part.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So far this week, I have put in two walks, two yoga sessions, one hour on the thesis. I'm also 75% finished with one house project (rearranging the study so that my daughter's new keyboard can fit in the room).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We'll see how it goes.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Good Enough Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-220995767842596634.post-76915787651246623942013-10-19T19:12:00.000-07:002013-10-20T09:43:45.807-07:00The Joy of Conference PapersAs I sit here writing a conference paper that I'll deliver in two weeks, I am reminded how much I like writing and giving conference papers. And I think I'm starting to understand some reasons why this is the case:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Writing such papers is <i>way</i> better than grading.</li>
<li>Since I will read the paper aloud, I don't have to perfect my footnotes and bibliography in impeccable MLA/Chicago/MHRA style.</li>
<li>The papers are short. 10 pages. It's like writing a poem. It's long enough to be a challenge, but short enough that that I can spend a lot of time tinkering with it and practicing it aloud so that it will sound just right. Also, it's not as unwieldy as a chapter or article. I don't feel like I'm wrangling a giant squid.</li>
<li>I can be playful. Although I want my argument to have substance, I feel like my voice can (and should?) be more conversational and informal that it would be in an article or, certainly, in my dissertation. Therefore, the writing feels a bit more creative and experimental.</li>
<li>I am isolated as I write my PhD thesis. My university is in the UK, and I am in California at a community college. I work in my own little bubble. As such, I really enjoy conferences (even though they intimidate me a bit) because I like to hear what other people are saying, and I like having the chance to throw my own words out into the world.</li>
<li>As I write, I regularly envision myself at the conference, in the hotel. I love staying in hotels.</li>
</ol>
<br />
<br />
The paper I'm currently writing is especially fun because I likely won't be presenting to a room full of eighteenth-century specialists. As much as I love my fellow c18 people, I feel great inferiority regarding my own knowledge of the c18. I am not yet an expert even though I feel like I already should be, so presenting to other c18 people scares me. But this conference is not an c18 conference, so I am a bit more relaxed.<br />
<br />
Tonight, my family is camping, and I have stayed behind to finish a solid draft of the paper and do a bit of grading. I am having a great time writing (and ignoring the grading). My enjoyment is enhanced by my the three-course dinner that I will consume over a span of several hours:<br />
<br />
First course: strawberry-rhubarb pie paired with English Breakfast tea<br />
Second course: boiled peanuts paired with beer<br />
Third course: dark chocolate paired with port<br />
<br />
Good brain food, I'd say.<br />
<br />
What about you? Do you like writing conference papers as much as I do?<br />
<br />
<br />Good Enough Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-220995767842596634.post-65029137732041526962013-10-02T13:18:00.000-07:002013-10-06T16:59:51.724-07:00Stepping Lightly but with Purpose<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I will go ahead and begin with a truism: It's been a long time since the last post. Frankly, I became a little disenchanted with blogging and the whole bloggity blog world. But around the same time I stopped blogging and participating in blog-related writing groups, my productivity towards my PhD thesis/dissertation* slowed. I'm not sure the two are related (what with correlation not implying causation and all that), but I'm thinking that maybe I should take a page out of <a href="http://writingaccount.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Amstr's</a> book (or <i>blog</i>, as it were) and use the blog as an dissertation account, of sorts. She has been blogging, and she has finished the PhD! (Not that one caused the other, of course.) And I send such a huge congratulations to her! Way. to. Go.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Nevertheless, I think I will step lightly back into this blog as a place to keep track of my thesis goals, once or twice a week. It will feel a little lonely without Amstr being on the same path, but I know she will be cheering me on from the finish line, which she has already crossed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Currently, I'm writing a conference paper that I will give a the beginning of next month. Typically, I would be at the polishing stage by now, but, alas, I have barely started, so the paper is my current priority. From that paper, I will try to build a draft of Chapter 3 of the dissertation.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Between now and Sunday:</span><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Review a primary text that is central to the paper</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><strike>Read two articles or chapters related to the paper</strike></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Craft a clear working thesis statement for the paper </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><strike>Write at least 500 words of the paper </strike></span></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Onward.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">*I am American, so I am used to referring to the PhD project as a <i>dissertation</i>. However, my PhD university is in the U.K., so I also will sometimes refer to it as my <i>thesis</i>. I'm not really consistent about this.</span></span>Good Enough Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-220995767842596634.post-9040549684384405202013-05-29T10:07:00.001-07:002013-05-29T10:07:12.621-07:00Summer Lovin'In the spirit of summer, I have updated the look over here at Chez GEW. It's not customized or fancy (it only has to be "good enough" after all), but it is cheerful and suggests the summer season that is blowing in. Granted, here on the Central Coast of California, spring is still blowing hard and cold off of the ocean, but soon the winds will settle, summer will arrive, and . . . foggy marine layers will settle over my town. But still . . .<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b_LD657ypyc/UaY02fg8liI/AAAAAAAAAXA/R5DDEDY66Ig/s1600/Image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b_LD657ypyc/UaY02fg8liI/AAAAAAAAAXA/R5DDEDY66Ig/s320/Image.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Finals are over, and I am firmly limiting service work this summer. I am still grading exams and essays this week, but really, who cares about that? I still have time to tidy the house, purge a closet, have lunch with a friend, and then get back to the essays. This year, it's especially nice that I have been chipping away at the PhD thesis in early mornings throughout the semester. In the past, at this time of year, I have often felt panic about <i>thesis neglect</i> because summer, for me, means family time, for the most part, rather than <i>extra time for the thesis</i>. But since I <i>have</i> been chipping away in earning mornings, and since I will continue to do so during the summer, that panic is greatly reduced.<br />
<br />
Plus, yesterday I finally bought a sugar dish. I have been looking for the perfect sugar dish for a few years now, mostly in thrift stores. The one I found isn't perfect, but it is good enough, and it was only $2.95, and I felt happy when I used it this morning as I prepared my tea.<br />
<br />
This week's thesis goal: finish reading a chapter from a secondary source book.Good Enough Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-220995767842596634.post-14153889965799523672013-03-21T17:33:00.003-07:002013-03-21T17:33:51.884-07:00Once a Year Whether I Need it or NotAt home this morning, things got busy, and before I knew it, I didn't have time to take a shower before class. In addition to my daily morning showers, I often take quick evening showers before bed since they seem to facilitate sounder sleep.* Last night, however, I was up until 1:30 a.m. working, so I skipped it. But I'm often a two-shower-a-day kind of person.<br />
<br />
But no shower last night. No shower this morning. I'm still at work, and it's 5:30 p.m.<br />
<br />
I feel <i>so</i> grimy. And, perhaps since I'm teaching <i>Twelfth Night</i> this week, I just keep thinking about how grimy those Elizabethan Londoners must have been under all of those layers of clothing as they crammed in next to each other at the Globe.<br />
<br />
I'm sorry, I know it's natural, and we're all human, but eeewwww.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>*There is some data that seems to support my perceptions. Apparently, we sleep better when our body temp is falling (as it is after a warm shower) rather than rising (which mine does when I slide into my bed with freezing feet, and curl up in a fetal position as I wait for the heavy blankets to work their magic).</i>Good Enough Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-220995767842596634.post-23201077864509830962013-03-18T22:37:00.002-07:002013-03-18T22:37:32.798-07:00What You WillAbout 45 minutes after we put the kids to bed, we heard a funny noise from their room. Turns out, the Girl was still awake, and the noise we heard was a sheet of paper being ripped out of a spiral notebook. She was awake, with a booklight, writing a play.<br />
<br />
She will be unbearably tired tomorrow, but I must admit that I am excited by how engaged she was in her writing process. I went in to kiss her goodnight (again), and she told me that she wants to videotape the play and that she thinks I would be perfect for the parts of Mom 1 and Mom 2.<br />
<br />
One of the weekly activity centers in her class has been "reader's theater," and I can tell that she has internalized (at least to some extent) the dramatic format.<br />
<br />
I just finished prepping <i>Twelfth Night</i> for tomorrow, so her playwrighting (not a word?) makes me feel warm and fuzzy.Good Enough Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-220995767842596634.post-49591231285991412492013-02-14T12:09:00.002-08:002013-02-14T12:09:36.303-08:00College Crisis ResolvedFor the most part . . .<br />
<br />
We still have some work to do before we are entirely in the clear, but our progress has been praised, we will not be shut down, and I got a personal shout-out from the college President in his campus-wide e-mail announcement about the issue.<br />
<br />
I am both proud that I helped save the college and slightly mortified than I am now in league with "the man." I am so <i>establishment</i>.<br />
<br />
But, I still have a job, and so do the rest of my colleagues. And the students still have a place to go to school.<br />
<br />
So there's <i>that</i>.Good Enough Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-220995767842596634.post-16030739289873715192013-02-07T10:52:00.003-08:002013-02-07T10:52:55.541-08:00Not on my A GameI'm a pretty good teacher. I am not spellbinding or mindblowing, but I'm pretty good.<br />
<br />
But so far this semester, I feel like I'm sucking in the classroom. I don't know what's going on. I feel disconnected. I'm prepping a lot and excited about the work, but things in class seem to be falling flat.<br />
<br />
I want to turn it around, but since I'm not sure what's wrong, it's hard to figure out what to do.Good Enough Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-220995767842596634.post-17042729756577810932013-01-25T17:18:00.000-08:002013-01-25T17:18:00.840-08:00GratitudeFor the past few years, I have regularly taught five days a week with meetings filling up the afternoons and in-between times. All of my prep work and grading have been done late into the evenings and on weekends. The ongoing college crisis has added significant stress to the daily routine. Every day is jam packed with working and parenting. Life is wonderful, but certain things just don't fit well into the schedule, and the days, at times, seem rather frenetic.<br />
<br />
But this semester, I don't teach on Fridays. Granted, most Fridays I will be on campus at meetings, but not always. And not today.<br />
<br />
Today, after the kids went to school, I went for a run. Then I spent a couple of hours working on the dissertation. Then I worked on boxing up some Zappos returns that I've neglected for months, and I finally took them to the post office. Then I finally got a flu shot. Then I returned some boots to Sears that were too small for my daughter. Then I read for a while at a coffee shop. Now, I'm heading home for movie night with the family.<br />
<br />
Exercise, quietude, productivity, relaxation, family time--it all seems so civilized and *balanced*.<br />
<br />
I am so grateful for this day.Good Enough Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-220995767842596634.post-49707347925471803732013-01-16T08:00:00.000-08:002013-01-16T08:00:11.401-08:00Thrift Store HaulI just returned from a trip to a local thrift store, and I just have to share the details of my haul. I got 23 items, including the following:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Four shirts for Hubby, including one Eddie Bauer</li>
<li>A few tops and sweaters for me, including one Banana Republic cardigan</li>
<li>A couple of skirts for me including an Izaak Mizrahi for Target (sp?) and an Old Navy</li>
<li>A bunch of jeans and slacks, including <i>but not limited to</i> the following:</li>
</ol>
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>two pairs of Gloria Vanderbilt pants (I know, so 80s, but still nice)</li>
<li>one pair of Old Navy jeans</li>
<li>two pairs of Carribean Joe slacks</li>
<li>one pair of slacks from Anne Taylor Loft</li>
</ul>
<div>
The total price? </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
$20.00 even, including tax.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Once when I bought from this shop, I found $25 in one of the pockets. *fingers crossed*</div>
Good Enough Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-220995767842596634.post-45091562609545037742013-01-14T21:18:00.005-08:002013-01-14T21:21:20.439-08:00Ch-ch-changesToday I worked on the syllabus for my Brit Lit survey course. Each spring, I alternate teaching between the first half of Brit Lit (Old English to mid-c18) and the second half (French Revolution-Modernism). To clarify--one spring I teach the first half, and the next spring I teach the second half. I have been doing this for about 10 years.<br />
<br />
As I was updating the syllabus today for this spring (which is the first half), I found myself making some significant changes to the readings, which is something I really haven't done much of since I've been teaching the class. Some of the changes are the result of me adapting to a new text. Others were the result of some kind of internal impulse, the source of which is mysterious.<br />
<br />
Here are the changes:<br />
<ul>
<li>No more take-home exams. Sick of plagiarism. From now on, we'll do in-class exams which will be totally fair but full of surprises!</li>
<li>No more <i>Faerie Queene</i>. I know. I know! But I like to teach Book III, and none of the texts have Book III, and many of the students fight the text anyway, so I'm going to take a break.</li>
<li>I'm teaching Chaucer's "General Prologue" in translation. Gaspe!</li>
<li>I have gotten rid of the Cavalier Poets in favor of adding more background on the English "Civil War."</li>
<li>I have kicked out Pope and added more Johnson.</li>
</ul>
<div>
These changes felt very weird and even a bit wrong and scary, but, at the same time, it was liberating to delete "To His Coy Mistress" and "Essay on Criticism." I know these texts are important and show us things about the time periods, but Marvell really is a bit of a <i>tool</i> in that poem, and novels totally beat out the heroic couplet (Sorry, Pope! You lose!), so I'm thinking we might try focusing on other things.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So there. I am ruling my own curricular kingdom! </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Do you have any favorite texts that are great for survey courses but still somewhat off the beaten path?</div>
Good Enough Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-220995767842596634.post-74301423101612262712013-01-03T09:58:00.003-08:002013-01-03T09:58:34.185-08:00Things Students Say (or Write)I am finishing up my grading for fall (yes, really--our grades are due tomorrow), and I stumbled upon this surprising sentence:<br />
<br />
"Castration is as much a part of history as art."<br />
<br />
Huh. I'm certainly curious about what will follow . . .Good Enough Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-220995767842596634.post-78005508334875919812012-12-15T16:15:00.002-08:002012-12-15T16:17:29.954-08:00Another Hotel NightIt's a hotel night for the purpose of writing. I'm not even going to spend much time blogging, especially since I doubt there are many of you out there checking. But if you do read this, send smart focused vibes my way, please. I'm hoping to leave tomorrow around noon with a baby (or toddler) draft of Chapter 5 with at least 15 pages (if not 20).<br />
<br />
It's' on.<br />
<br />
P.S. And also a confession: I'm feeling a bit bogged down in <i>Wolf Hall</i>. I'm about 200 pages in, and I think reading it in 10-15 minute increments (as I do each night before bed), it probably not the best approach to the book.Good Enough Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-220995767842596634.post-38455250458302242322012-11-10T09:19:00.000-08:002012-11-10T09:21:41.680-08:00Wolf HallYesterday evening, after working for a few hours at a coffee shop, I decided to swing by the bookstore before I headed home. I had a gift certificate burning a whole in my purse, and I wanted to look around. Specifically, I was thinking that maybe the time had come for me to pick up a copy of <i>Wolf Hall </i>by Hilary Mantel.<br />
<br />
I know everyone else has already read it and that I'm late to the party. But I hadn't picked it up yet since it's so long, I have a dissertation to write, and my dissertation is about the c18, not the c16. But, for some reason, I started to feel as if it might be time. I think part of the impulse might have come from my recent reading of <i>Heresy</i> by S. J. Parris (it is billed as an "Elizabethan Thriller," but I thought of it more as a historical mystery). And I guess it got me in the c16 frame of mind. It might also be that the evenings are getting colder and darker, and such a context seems fitting for a such a book.<br />
<br />
But I had read mixed reviews of <i>Wolf Hall, </i>so I was hesitant to take the plunge. Most readers seem to love it, but quite a few deemed it "unreadable" because of a taxing writing style. So, when I arrived at the bookstore, I immediately texted <a href="http://writingaccount.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Amstr </a>to ask her if I'd like it. Amstr knows me very well, and she has an amazing way of remembering a lot of details about my interests and tendencies (a great quality in a friend, no?). She texted me back right away, which was fantastic because I only had about 15 minutes to spare. Here is what she said:<br />
<br />
"Yes! I really liked it! It took a while to get into the groove of the narrative style (a weird kind of limited omniscient present tense, if I remember right). It took about 50 pages to get into it, but I'm glad I did."<br />
<br />
I have just started the novel. I'm only about 15 pages in, but I really like it. And do you know why? Well, yes, because it's good, but I think I like it mostly because of the completely apt heads up that I got from Amstr. Since I knew what to look for in the style, and since I was assured (by someone who knows my interests well) that there would be a pay off, I wasn't thrown or confused by the POV. In fact, I was able to focus more on its benefits--the ways in which the characters and the relationships between them feel so real and alive.<br />
<br />
So here's to good books and, even more, to good friends.<br />
<br />
<br />Good Enough Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-220995767842596634.post-9665489982137290132012-11-01T23:14:00.001-07:002012-11-01T23:15:48.005-07:00The Freaks Come OutI have some crazy friends who are doing NaNoWriMo. These are crazy friends who are even busier than I am who are committing to write 50,000 words of a novel this month. I can't believe how crazy they are. I am just not that crazy.<br />
<br />
But still. I kind of wanted to stick my toe in the water to see how it would feel. So today, after a few exuberant texts were exchanged with my buddy over at <a href="http://clearedforflight.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Cleared for Flight</a>, I gave myself an hour to write 1,000 words. And, guess what? I did it! I wrote 1,200 as a matter of fact--1,200 words of a novel. And you know what? It felt pretty friggin' great.<br />
<br />
So. Even though I am not crazy enough to commit to writing 50,000 words this month, I am going to commit to writing 10,000 words of a novel and 8,000 words towards my dissertation. These are my goals for November, and they are crazy enough for me.<br />
<br />
And Tiki the Wizard (a.k.a Tiki Freaky) hopes that you had a great Halloween.<br />
<br />
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<br />Good Enough Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-220995767842596634.post-52502285795139235242012-10-19T09:58:00.003-07:002012-10-19T09:58:38.468-07:00Friendly RespiteIt's been a grading heavy week, and I am still stacks and stacks behind. But yesterday I had the reward of meeting <a href="http://clearedforflight.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">SwallowingSoul</a> for coffee, and, this weekend, <a href="http://www.twoorthreelittlebirds.com/" target="_blank">Rebecca</a> will stop over for an evening with one of her little lovelies.<br />
<br />
On top of all of this, tonight is family movie night: pizza, snuggles, and a low-quality dog movie are typical fare. And a cool gin and tonic with extra lime for me, of course.<br />
<br />
There will have to be work done this weekend, but these little respites are golden.Good Enough Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.com6