1. Still Here. But there’s nothing much going on. I spent fifteen days reading five books, then four days reading four books. Now I’m casting about for something indulgent to read before school. I’m thinking about Blackout by Connie Willis, but am not sure whether I’ll be able to finish it in time, as it’s some 500 pages.
2. School Stuff. I went to campus today and got my parking sticker, which will enable me to park in a wholly different set of equally full parking lots. Seriously, I think I’ll have to get to campus before 8:00 to snag a space less than a five-minute walk from my building, though that’s an improvement on how far I sometimes had to walk last semester. I just want my university to raze the two largest parking lots and build a seven-story garage. No really, they need to.
3. Conference. I’m also working on a conference paper for a conference in October, and find myself, as usual, to be too long-winded. A conference paper should be able to be read in twenty minutes, give or take, and after doing some quick math (normal reading speed of 15o words/minute times 20 mins = 3,000 words; 3,000 words divided by approximately 250 words/page = 12 pages), I see that I’ll definitely go over. It isn’t that my paper isn’t better after I’ve cut it by 10-15%; it’s just that the delete key can sometimes be quite painful.
4. Iron. I need to buy one. So that I can do it to some of my clothes. But it’s the one household chore I just can’t stand. Sigh.
Mostly About Books 