Thursday, August 31, 2023

101,618

31 August 2023: Finished the second Fuller entry for the book today and--just under the wire--finished my sixteenth entry for the summer (May, June, July, August). Four per month is okay, given how crazy the summer was on campus--and also working on the "Year's Work" essay.

I had hoped to squeeze out one more entry, to average just over four per month, but breaking 100K words today also feels pretty good and a nice way to cap off a summer of writing. 

Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Sounds about right?

30 August 2023: A bit of unintentional profound insight from one of my Bible as Literature students this morning: "So far it seems like all we've been reading about is...punishment and genealogy." Yes, we are still in Genesis. 

Tuesday, August 29, 2023

10:56 p.m.

29 August 2023: Just finished the last "work" item on my daily "to do" list, an entry for the "Year's Work" essay. (Down to just nineteen to go...) The past few nights I have really pushed myself to finish everything on my increasingly ambitious lists as I face down a couple of deadlines (one self-imposed, one external). 

Feels good to cross off that final item, especially because it gets me that much closer to "done."

Monday, August 28, 2023

Eleven to go...

28 August 2023: First regular Faculty Senate meeting of the academic year today. It was also the first in-person meeting since an attempt we made to do a hybrid meeting back in Fall 2021. (It went really poorly and we've been exclusively Zoom since then.) We are alternating this year between Zooom and in-person. All in all, despite some gallows humor, today went pretty well.

But I am counting down the meetings until my term is over. Eleven more to go. 

Sunday, August 27, 2023

Guilt even with a finished list?

27 August 2023: Finished up my entire weekly "Book Work/Year's Work Essay" list a few hours ago. I also mowed the lawn, washed the bed linens, vacuumed floors, ran an errand or two--basically worked my way through most of my daily list. It is crazy, though, how weird and wrong it feels that I already watched two movies since/during all of that and might be about to hit "play" on another. 

I spend a lot of time imagining what it will be like when this book is done--when I plan on taking a break from the pressure of deadlines and all that. And when Senate is done. A weekend without work as the norm and not a rare treat. Fewer 12+ hour days on campus. 

That kind of freedom will be, I think (as evidenced by today's guilt), a strange and maybe even anxiety-inducing experience. 

But I am still so excited as it keeps creeping closer. 

(Also hilarious that my brain just said, "So why not do some more work tonight and get even closer to that part sooner?" We'll see...)

Saturday, August 26, 2023

Birthday celebrating with Jane...

26 August 2023: Kind of mad that we forgot to take a single picture, but Jane drove out here this afternoon for a visit/mutual-birthday celebration. And she got to meet Jo. (Not surprisingly, they are already good friends.) We had brunch, walked around town, got some DQ for dessert, and then opened our respective gifts. Oh, and she showed me her shiny new car. 

Nothing like a Jane Hang-Out. No one makes me laugh quite the way (like, the actual sound of my laughter) she does. 

Ice cream and whisky...

25 August 2023: 

[Catch-up post]

Finished up the first week of classes with an ice cream social hosted by Sigma Tau Delta and then, a few hours later, a whisky tasting with some colleagues/friends. Not a bad combo, though I must say I preferred the ice cream. 

Thursday, August 24, 2023

The good stuff...

24 August 2023: Making myself write—before I forget it—about ten minutes of delight today. Just walked down the Sweet Shop to get a sandwich and talked with the wonderful manager, Katie, who always asks about the cats (ever since she learned about the cupcakes I would buy for Bing and Wes’s birthday). She told me about her son’s first few days of kindergarten, and how today was the first morning she didn’t cry when dropping him off. (He’s been fine with being dropped off the whole time. Ha!). As I parted, she said, “Come back more! I just love you!” Man, that felt good. 

Then I stepped outside and bumped into the Provost, who was walking with one of our new students: a young man who is a football player…an engineering major…and a poet. Where else do you get to meet people like this? 

Things will continue to be rough this semester. It’s just inevitable, but the good stuff is still there.

Wednesday, August 23, 2023

77!

23 August 2023: Today is my dear dad's 77th birthday, so he's been on my mind more than usual today. We had a nice phone conversation earlier, which made me smile and feel profoundly grateful for him. 

Later this evening, when I found myself with a burst of initiative to get some more writing done, this song came on and I found myself belting it out. And it's not a bad song for thinking about my dad. 

Tuesday, August 22, 2023

First WFH attempt of the semester...

22 August 2023: So far, despite some photographic evidence that might indicate otherwise, it's going okay. Working on my entry on Woman in the Nineteenth Century today. If I can get this one done this week and knock out the general entry on Fuller next week, I'll be so happy.


We did have to stop a few minutes ago for a feline nail-clipping--someone's little nails are so sharp and she uses them mercilessly when she's "playing" and trying to get you to play, too. She is pouting a bit now, which isn't a bad thing, work-wise. 

Monday, August 21, 2023

One day down...

21 August 2023: First day of the Fall semester went just fine. It was, as I knew it would be, wonderful to have the students around again and be back in the classroom. Even managed to get some writing done. 

Sunday, August 20, 2023

Pie with the neighbors...

20 August 2023: My very sweet neighbors across the street invited me and some other folks from the neighborhood over for pie they got for a church fundraiser. It was quite nice to spend time with these folks. We mostly wave and say hello in passing, but they are great people--all six of them--and I hope we can socialize more often. 

Saturday, August 19, 2023

They're back...

19 August 2023: As I sit here typing notes at 10:30 on a Saturday night, I can hear the bass pumping over at University Heights and groups students laughing as they head over for a party (or parties). It's like clockwork--every Saturday before a new semester... 

Really, though, it's never that bad, even with the apartment complex practically across the street. And, assuming everyone stays safe, it's nice to have another sign that the students are back. 

Friday, August 18, 2023

Class of 2027...

18 August 2023: Welcomed the class of 2027 (!) today--and it's always lovely to welcome a new group. Long day, though--hard in every way/part that didn't directly involve the students. But--even in the hard times--it's great to be surrounded by folks I respect and love so much. 

Thursday, August 17, 2023

Ram Band Preview Show

17 August 2023: The Ram Band put on a heck of a preview for their 50th anniversary show.



Wednesday, August 16, 2023

"... Fuller gracefully lets them go"

16 August 2023: "Depsite their powerful attraction to her...men and women came to find her too much for them. And however ardent her desire, Fuller gracefully lets them go. She reclaims them as friends. Fuller never loses self-respect in her frank pursuit of her objects, nor does she lose the esteem of those who refuse her. This is persuasive. And it helps me understand why I have never completely let her go" (Chevigny 266-267). 

Two posts in a row about scholarship and letting go, albeit in different ways. This passage from Chevigny's piece was a good one to read on the day I am starting to dive into Fuller for a couple of entries for the book. 

Also two posts in a row about scholarly passages that make me feel a bit teary. 

Work Cited

Chevigny, Bell Gale. “Forty Years with Margaret Fuller.” Nineteenth-Century Prose, vol. 42, no. 2, 2015, p. 237-272. EBSCOhost.

Tuesday, August 15, 2023

"this act of letting go, of sharing everything one has learned..."

12 August 2023: "Yet I must also confess to feeling a personal sense of loss. The moment that readers of Mark Twain’s Literary Resources open the Annotated Guide and the detailed Reader’s Guide, they will instantly absorb as much as I have ever known about these subjects. I will no longer be privileged to answer telephone and email inquiries such as those that arrived for decades. But then I remind myself that this act of letting go, of sharing everything one has learned, is, after all, what investigative scholarship must always have as its ultimate and unselfish goal” (xxi).

Still thinking about this beautiful excerpt from Alan Gribben's introduction to the second volume of his monumental Mark Twain's Literary Resources: A Reconstruction of His Library and Reading, Volume Two, the product of over fifty years of his scholarly labor. My eyes got a bit teary reading these words and being reminded of why literary scholars do the work we do. It's been on my mind today, too, as I toil away at my own (much, much humbler) book and the "Year's Work" essay. 

Work Cited

Gribben, Alan. Mark Twain's Literary Resources: A Reconstruction of His Library and Reading, Volume Two. Montgomery: NewSouth Books, 2022.

Monday, August 14, 2023

Back in the classroom, sort of...

14 August 2023: Lead a little session on preparing for college writing today for some students in the LEADS program on campus. After a really hard summer, it felt very good to be among these students and back in a place where you so clearly see the best parts of the job. 

(Plus, Hannah is the teacher for this group and any chance to work with/hang with her is a treat.)

Sunday, August 13, 2023

46 and one day...

13 August 2023: Slept in a tiny bit, mowed the lawn and did some chores, and am now ready to spend the rest of the day more or less vegging out. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday.

46

August 12, 2023:

[Catch-up post...]

Two of my favorite people, baseball, a free bobblehead, and fireworks. Couldn't have scripted it better.





Friday, August 11, 2023

Staying away...

11 August 2023: Made a concerted effort to stay away from the bad vibes on campus today. Stayed home instead and worked on my Year's Work essay (which is coming along slowly and steadily). Of course, the atrocious vibes from WVU permeated my headspace. 

Just need the students back so I can experience the best part/real joy of this job again.

Thursday, August 10, 2023

Jo at one...

10 August 2023: The folks at the adoption center guessed that baby Jo was born on this day last year, though she didn't come home until January. Here's to one year of this very cute and sweet criminal!

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

College-bound...

9 August 2023: Got to have dinner today with my parents and Aidan. He heads to college on 8/15. Time flies. He's a good kid, and smart, too. So he should be okay, especially if he takes advangate of all the resources and opportunities he has. Still, I can't imagine all the stuff running through his head as he starts this new chapter, but I told him I am here--just a call or text away--if he needs me. 

Tuesday, August 8, 2023

Little Kittens

8 August 2023: I recieved a really wonderful surprise gift from one of my favorite former students today. It just delighted me and made my day. And another feline Jo March approves, too.


Monday, August 7, 2023

Ten to go...

7 August 2023: I was really dreading today's special Senate meeting, but it was...fine? I do wish people would speak up more when folks who could answer their questions were there. But for now, it's done. 

I think this means just ten more meetings with me as Senate President, assuming no more "special" meetings. My kind of countdown! 

Sunday, August 6, 2023

Book Club

6 August 2023: This month's book club met in person at Cory and Hannah's house (to discuss this book). It really was a great time--not just the book discussion, but spending time at their lovely home and with Leigh and Kaitlyn. 

Saturday, August 5, 2023

Sleepy girl...

5 August 2023: It's still really lovely to look up and see this little one sitting all cozy.

Friday, August 4, 2023

Reservation Dogs

4 August 2023: So grateful that this show is back another new season, even if it's bittersweet that it's the last. Been looking forward to watching the first two episodes of Season Three all day. Given everything these days, a quiet evening with good TV is good enough for a Friday night. 

Thursday, August 3, 2023

Home to the girls...

3 August 2023: Spent a big old chunk of today in the car, first driving from Himrod to Philadelphia to drop off Vogel, and then back down to Shepherdstown. It was a great trip, though I do wish I gave myself the freedom to stay away a bit longer sometimes. At the same time, it is so good to be home and back to my routine, so, as Taylor would say, "Hi, it's me. I'm the problem," I guess?

But it's also nice to be be with Veronica and Jo, who I always miss when I am gone. 

Watkins Glen...

2 August 2023: 

[Catch-up post...]

It seems like a failed effort from the start to describe Watkins Glen State Park. Just amazing...


Seneca Falls to Plum Point...

1 August 2023: 

[Catch-up post...]

The second day of trip meant visiting the site of the first Women's Rights Convention, then heading down to our second hotel, right on Seneca Lake. 


Road tripping with Vogel...

31 July 2023: 

[Catch-up post]

Kicked off a mini-vacation on Monday, driving up to PA to pick up Vogel before we headed up to Seneca Falls, a place that's been on my "I need to visit there" list for years.