And not just any book...Greg Semenza's (otherwise known as virile god of the forest) book.

Okay, not exactly by name. But in his appendix, he included several different examples, like applications, cover letters, and syllabi. In one, he references 2003's Lit. Goes to Hell course, which I was in. So, I was excited about that. Then, later, he gives student comments, and the last one included was from my evaluation!!! Of course, he doesn't know that, but I remembered writing it!

Joy!

Also, he is all that is awesome:

*I have included some of my own professional material, not because of my massive ego (which he gets pinged for a lot in evals of students who don't do well) but rather because I do not need permission of any sort to do so.

*In order to keep the advice I offer here as immediate and personal as possible, I use the second person familiar pronoun far more often than I would ever allow my undergraduate students to do.

*The only realistic solution to this national, systemic problem (forcing graduate students to do the work of professors, which wears out students and cuts out tenured jobs, both of which serve the purpose of saving the university money) may be graduate student (and adjunct) unionization....Even in cases where union movements have eventually failed, activist graduate student bodies have tended to benefit from the concessions offered by the universities in their attempts to block unionization. "If we can't beat them into submission, we can at least pretend to treat them fairly," would appear to be the line taken by many administrations.

*Unless one is able to claim with a straight face that unionized schools such as Berkeley, UCLA, Michigan, NYU, Rutgers and Wisconsin seem to be struggling as a result of having been unionized, arguments against the move seem totally unpersuasive and unethical.

After reading all that, it may surprise you to know he had a bumper sticker in his office that said, "You're welcome for the weekend. --The Labor Movement"

Clark also has a Carriage House.

I'm fairly confident their Carriage House is nothing like Uconn's Carriage House (of further interest, I nearly put 'our' Carriage House).

No one has decided to co-op Guy Fawkes Day and spend the afternoon burning effigies of [hated politician] here.

Also, there wasn't a single riot at Clark last night. Seriously, people, what's up with that. In MY days as an undergrad, we rioted for everything. In the snow! Uphill! Both ways!

And were grateful!

Go on, look outside your windows! Oh, look what it's doing! It's...sleeting! I hate winter so so so so so damn much! Arrrrgh! It gets all cold and wet and windy and mucky and I get more cold! Stupid season in a stupid state in a stupid climate!

And I don't wanna hear nothin' from you lucky folks who live in warmer places, or you crazy folk who happen to like this season and this weather. Fuckin' nutsos.

Other than the miserable meteorological development outside my window, I'm in a pretty happy mood. Or, at least, I'm so busy I don't have time to be cranky today. Busy busy busy Nuance! Health services, library, (hopefully home to get my brushes and comb), GRE study, work....busy little monkey today!

But I'll prolly be back to update soon, dontcha worry.

Hey gang.
I feel like I should update, seeing how I haven't done in quite awhile. Of course, I really don't have much to say, so...

Let's see, for the most part classes are going well. I think I did really well on my Chinese midterm, and my Asian Lit midterm. I got an A on my Italiant midterm, so that's pretty much in the bag. I kinda fucked up a paper in my grad course (ie forgot to do it) but I was able to smooth that over and I can do it for Monday. Which means, of course, that I'm gonna start working on it NOW, to make sure it's done on time. I still have "Dipshit, Nov 1 close reading and prospectus due" written on my hand. Fucking permanent ink. I've given up hope for a 4.0 (cause everytime I thought it would happen, I got screwed by an A- somewhere) but I do believe I'll end my Uconn career with a respectable 3.98-ish for my last semester. That'll prolly pull my overall GPA up to a 3.65 or something. *sighs* I don't think that's summa cum laude territory, but it is magna, so not too bad. Fortunately, my major GPA is a 3.93 right now (I think) and all my applications have been asking for that before they ask for my cumulative, so...

That reminds me. Today's a good day to print out my transcripts and some copies of papers and leave them in the mailboxes of the professors who are writing me letters of recommendation. Oh, Leigh found out yesterday he was NOT going to be writing me one. He got this funny look of like "who could you get to write a letter more important than I am?" I pretended to ignore it, cause really, I just was not in the soothe-Leigh's-ego kinda mood... especially after the "almost lecture" I got about not being around to game for him, or work on the website, or anything else Leigh-centric.

Oh, in other news, AQUA won 3rd place in the Homecoming parade! w00t! The trophy is currently in the RC. This is really cool considering this was the first time any of the queer clubs and the like on campus were in the parade.

I'm really worried about my Grandpa. He's back in the hospital, with fluid in his lungs and congestive heart problems (or something). This is one of the reasons I'm not 100% sure about Florida for Xmas...I don't want to be so far away should the worst happen, and if this is his last Christmas with us, I don't want to miss it. And yet I feel really bad, cause I want to go and I almost certainly will end up going--I'm trying to convince myself that I'm not being selfish if I go, that I deserve a bit of freedom and a break. Intellectually, I know I've busted my ass for four years here and this'll prolly be the only big grad gift I get, but...the bonds of familial guilt are strong with this one.

Interesting things brewing at home. I sense a storm on the horizon between my mother and I. Perhpas a brief squall, perhaps hurricane. Hard to tell. My aunt agrees--it was she who pointed out the undercurrents to me actually. I think the best thing would be to leave home as soon as possible--I always get along so much better with the family when I'm not in close proximity to them.

In other news, things are going very well between shogunhb and I. I'm spending Thanksgiving up there (don't worry Toph, we'll be visiting home occasionally, and you're certainl invited up to spend time with us). I don't know how much more I want to get into here, but just know I'm happy. If nothing else, I've made a bunch of really great friends evan712 (who actually became my friend the same time Shaughn did), doc_smiley, and etherial. And, for some inexplicable reason, they seem to adore me too! Crazy huh?

Okay, I'm spending way too much time playing around online instead of writing my paper. Bye all. Happy Halloween!
Oh yeah, does anybody know how to change the little mood icon picture. I'm getting tired of the goth girl.

Oh, and I'm gonna be Artemis for Halloween! (the goddess, not the cat). Quish is gonna be Athena, and Myke's gonna be Dionysus! Ain't it great?

First and foremost, my cell phone is back on! Yay! It drained my bank account back down to $10, but between the $40 in cash and the DQ check in the mail, I should not have to worry about $$ for another little while, ESPECIALLY since that I not only paid last month's cell phone bill AND the activation fee, but also this month's AND got a text message package for 100 text messages for $2.99. But that is not what tonight's LJ entry is to be about.

So I'm at work, and my darling friend Sheena came in and sat down to chat. "Dr. Phil" was on in the background and we're all merrily making fun of it (all would be themonstertamer, insanityxvii, mischeviousfey, Sheena, and I) and we saw a commercial for a future show about a woman all tearful over her husband's porn obsession. I'm sure you can all see where the conversation went. Well, Sheena's AWESOME contribution was the following. Hee.

Nerd Porn Auteur
by Ernest Kline
I've noticed that there don't seem to be any porno movies
that are made for guys like me.

All the porn I've come across
was targeted at beer-swilling sports bar dwelling alpha-males
Men who like their women stupid and submissive
Men who can only get it up for monosyllabic cock-hungry nymphos
with gargantuan breasts and a three-word vocabulary

Adult films are populated with these collagen-injected
liposuctioned women
Many of whom have resorted to surgery and self-mutilation
in an attempt to look the way they have been told to look.

These aren't real women. They're objects.
And these movies aren't erotic. They're pathetic.
These vacuum-headed fuck bunnies don't turn me on.
They disgust me.
And it's not that I'm against pornography.
I mean, I'm a guy. And guys need porn.
Fact.
"Like a preacher needs pain, like a needle needs a vein,"
Guys need porn.

But I don't wanna watch this misogynist he-man woman-hater porn.
I want porno movies that are made with guys like me in mind:
Guys who know that the sexiest thing in the world
is a woman who is smarter than you are.

You can have the whole cheerleading squad,
I want the girl in the tweed skirt and the horn-rimmed glasses:
Betty Finnebowski, the valedictorian.
Oh yes.
First I want to copy her Trig homework,
and then I want to make mad, passionate love to her
for hours and hours
until she reluctantly asks if we can stop
because she doesn't want to miss Battlestar Galactica.
Suma cum laude, baby!
That is what I call erotic.

But do you ever see that kind of a woman in a contemporary adult film?
No.
Which is why I'm going to start writing and directing Geek Porno.
I shall be the quintessential Nerd Porn Auteur.
And the women in my porno movies will be the kind
that drive nerds like me mad with desire.

I'm talking about the girls that used to fuck up the grading curve.
The girls in the Latin Club and the National Honor Society.
Chicks with weird clothes, braces, four eyes, and 4.0 GPAs.
Brainy articulate bookworms, with MENSA cards in their purses
and chips on their shoulders.

My porn starlets will come in all shapes and sizes.
My porn starlets will be too busy working on their PhD to go to the gym.

In my kind of porno movies the girls wouldn't even have to get naked.
They'd just take the guys down to the rec room and
beat them repeatedly at chess
and then talk to them for hours about Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle
or the underlying social metaphors in the Aliens movies.

Buy stock in some hand cream companies
because there is about to be a major shortage.

And I'm not just talking about straight porn. Oh no.
There should be fuck films for my nerd brethren
of all sexual orientations.
Gay nerd porn flicks with titles like "Dungeons and Drag-queens."

This idea is a fucking gold mine.
I am gonna make millions,
because this country is full of database programmers
and electronics engineers
and they aren't getting the loving they so desperately need.
And you can help . . .

If you're an intelligent woman is interested in breaking into the adult film industry,
and if you can tell me the name of Luke Skywalker's home planet,
then you are hired.

It doesn't matter if you think you're overweight or unattractive.
It doesn't matter if you don't think you're beautiful.
You are beautiful. . .
And I will make you a star.

If you didn't die laughing while reading this, you suck at life. I personally intend to make "Dungeons and Drag Queens." It sorta reminds me of Aubrey:
http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp06092004.shtml
http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp06102004.shtml
http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp06112004.shtml
http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp06122004.shtml
http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp06142004.shtml

Am I the only one who senses a potential fortune here? God, I love being a geek-girl!

Nuance is an English major and has taken several literature courses
that
cover the time period studied in HIST 100. I am going to ask the
degree
auditor to use ENGL 220W, 221W and 267, all taken in the spring of
2004,
to substitute for her HIST 100 requirement. I am sending the paperwork
in today and Nuance should see the substitution listed on her
transcript
within the next week or so.


This means that there is no need to take an exam to earn HIST 100 or
101
credits. I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have questions
or concerns.
Best,
Monica Kettle

This, ladies and gentlemen, is FANTASTIC news. Your darling Nuance-chanlet was in some serious trouble, ie possibly having to NOT graduate in Dec. because of a lousy gen ed. However, they looked at her transcipt and realized that she is the GOD of History 100 (history from Egyptians on up through the Renaissance, with an emphasis on Medieval and Greek culture--you know, my favorite chunks of history) and declared that she is NOT responsible for taking that stupid ass class. Hell, I don't even have to test out of it.

In my grateful response to them, I thanked them both profusely for taking a giant weight off my shoulders...just in time for the GRE's and grad school applications. I'm sure they'll be amused.

For today, October 13, 2004, my life is good. Ah, the blessings of fortune. I know that this will change at any moment, but for now, I intend to bask in the joy.





Oh, and though I would have preferred Ravenclaw, this is pretty cool too.

Harry Potter Meme of All Memes by Osaku
Name/Username
Age
Gender
House	Gryffindor
Wand	Pine, 10", Unicorn Hair
Best Course	Muggle Studies
Worst Course	Divination
Pet	Eastern Screech-Owl
Patronus	Mandrake
Quidditch Job	Chaser
Wizard Candy	Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans (Mmm! Tripe!)
Profession After School	Hogwarts Professor
Quiz created with MemeGen!

Okay, now I see what Claire-chan's talking about with LJ fucking up. Twice now I've tried to respond to astareal's post, and have twice been told that my message was blank. I'm already stressin' the GRE's, here folks, you don't wanna give me another excuse to go buy a handgun!

Oh, and I discovered another reason why the GRE's suck. There's a whole 'nother fee waiver form that I'm supposed to send out along with the ones by my financial aid office. How'd I find out about this sheet? Certainly not from the fucking website, lemme tell you! Nope, fortunately I called the GRE hotline to figure out where to mail my stupid forms (cause the website was a little hazy about that too, and, trust me, the address I mailed it to and the addresses on the site are not the same addresses) and the dipshit lady I talked to slipped up that there was a 3rd form I was supposed to fill out. Later, I had to call back and find out what USA's country code is, cause the only place I could find that might have had it listed was the Adobe version of their 32 page bulletin, which I couldn't read without printing all 32 pages of it. Fotunately, I have since gotten everything filled out, and the fee waiver sent. Now I just sit back and wait for a billion years for it to come in.

Oh and Stef, here's my reply, since LJ's currently too busy sucking at life to post my reply, here it is:
Oh cool, I'm the best man! I'm so flattered! Just so you know, I'm totally hot in a tux. And, and I secretly want to marry you too. You should come to my room and get molested sometimes. You're avoidance of my Love Lair/molestation tactics actually made you miss out on the three days when I had a bag of Twix in my room. See what happens when you try and maintain your personal soverneignty over your own body? You miss out on Twix. I pause and wait for you to absorb this lesson.

Dear God, thinking of all the things I have to get done in the next couple of weeks makes me want to curl up in a tiny ball and cry. Out of nowhere real life just kind snuck up and smacked me dead in the face. What's up with that? I need to take the GRE's next month and grad school apps are due in December, but I'll have finals then, so I need to get them done before that, I have to test out of HIST 100 just to graduate, plus do all the stupid bullshit to graduate that Uconn's administration says is necessary, apply to Plainville schools to substitute teach in the spring...there's probably nine hundred more things that I have to do, but I can't remember them all right now. You know, just the regular stresses of taking 18 credits, working, and trying to maintain a competitive GPA. And my grad class makes me wanna cry a lot, too.

What makes everything worse? When my stress level rises, so does my libido. Therefore, a word of warning to any and all interested parties: don't be surprised if that's a constant theme in my LJ/conversation/whatever. See, it makes sense to me why my libido skyrockets during times of stress. It relaxes a body already wound tight, it takes my mind off of everything that's stressing me out, and, of course, it's one hell of an enjoyable way to pass the time. Particularly when you're with someone who knows what he's doing and enjoys doing it well. ;)

Maybe I'll just quite everything and become a wandering crackwhore or something. Not a lot of stress, particularly if you eliminate the crack part. And Georgie's already promised I can live in a big refrigerator box below her apartment. Or maybe I'll just follow along the respectable path of many women before me and just become the mistress of someone willing to take care of me. He doesn't even need to be wealthy--just willing to well, you know, support me. Or maybe I'll just scream until my vocal cords rupture. That'll take care of things for now. Okay, I'm off to study, cause that's all that's left in my world.

Someone love me, okay?

So far this semester, my GPA's only a 3.567 (no, seriously, it is) I'm still waiting for 2 more grades, but my English 271 grade was an A-. not an A. I pout. I shall have to e-mail Prof. Eby and ask where I went wrong. I expected an A! Waaaahhh.

Anywho, I must take this moment to apologize to Diana. She was looking for me last night and was all upset and stuff, but I never answered the phone. I'M SORRY!!! She called during D&D and we have a rule there that all cell phone calls are to be ignored unless it's a dire emergency. Then Chris and I (it was his first time at my D&D place and he had a ball. Rock on!) went home to grab something to eat before going to see Star Wars again (well, his first time) and I was gonna call Di then, but Schon came over and we got into a huge argument. Then Chris and I went to the 10:30 showing and we didn't get home till after 1:30, which is definitely too late to call. So I apologize muchly to my beloved Diana. I'm so sorry!!!! Di, I love you, please forgive me?

You know what I really like about this SW movie? The way they're depicting Anakin's descent to the Dark Side. He's NOT a BAD person. It's not what I expected, he's not seduced my power or anything, he's actually doing a lot of things because of love. He kills those whaddaya-call-ems out of revenge for Shmi, he defies the Jedi order out of love for Padme...he's acting like a normal person would, when faced with the situations he is. He's still a young, adolescent male, no matter how powerful. Lucas is doing a fantastic job of getting that across. I'm impressed, I didn't think it'd be as nicely done as it was. Even Anakin's dual love/resentment of Obi-wan; how many teenage boys do you know who don't simultaneously love and resent their fathers for the same reasons Anakin does?

Of course having Palpatine whisper poison into Anakin's ear for a decade now isn't helping much. That was a surprise, but another nicely done touch.

And Dooku's Christopher Lee! Rock on! I didn't place his face until last night--he was just Saurumon from LotR. Hector-ashke and I had a long talk about him being type-casted into evil roles. I'd like to see him as a good guy for a change. Hmmm...now I'm trying to think of an older man in the Black Jewels Trilogy who's NOT a bastard. Fuck...I'm coming up with a complete blank here...WAIT! he could be Beale! Wai! That'd be pretty funny, specially with Kathy Bates playing Mrs. Beale. Heehee, that makes me giggle.

Speaking of Hector-ashke, we had a fun little talk last night after he dropped Javi off. He, Javi, Nilo, Cheryl, Cheyl's sister, & girl's boyfriend all went to see Star Wars last night, and afterwords, he called me and we talked. Unfortunately, I fell asleep when we'd hung up momentarily to call his parents to let them know he was all right (it was 4 am) and never called him back! He called me and then told me to go back to sleep. Silly me, I did. Fortunately, he called me again this afternoon, so we managed to have a good, long talk anyways. Wai!

So, I'm going back to work at Kohl's again, staring next week. They begged and so I returned. I'll be working 1-2 shifts a week, 12-6, either as a cashier or in jewelry. That shouldn't be too bad; Kohl's is much less stressful than DQ. And, since I won't be closing, I don't have to worry about the part of working there that IS stressful. So now I have two jobs, so my bills will get paid off faster. Kohl's will be my play money, while DQ goes to my bills and savings for college. Yay! of course, Kohl's will prolly go to my bills too...I'm currently over $2000 dollars in debt and I still need to pay for room and Board up at school and get a new computer. Oy vay.
Breakdown of debt:
Mastercard: 1500
School Debt: 450
Anonymous Debt: 400 (well, 385)
Kohl's Card: 250
Aunt Abi: 200
Plus there's daily living expenses. Yep, I'm toast. Hmmm...let's say I spent NO money on anything excluding my debts. Now, using a conservative estimate of $150 a week from DQ and $50 a week from Kohl's, it would take me 14 weeks to pay off everything. Of course, then my phone would get shut off, I'd have no money for school and an utterly worthless computer up at school. So, taking the same wage estimates and saying my monthly costs are as follows:
Phone: 50 (taking into account the possibility of going over my minutes)
Personal debts: 200 (50 a week)
Mastercard: 50
Kohl's: 25
Random junk: 75
My monthly expenses are about $400 a month. I'll be bringing home about $800 a month. So, if I follow this budget I should be able to sock about $400 away in the bank every month. Of course, hmm...about three months of this will be $1200 saved. Barely enough for a computer. Again these are conservative estimates, but I'd also like to give my MC more than $50 a month...that'll be barely enough to keep my head above water. Hmmm...personal debts= $1050 (I'm putting my school debts in there) so, at $200/month, it'll take me...about...5...months to pay off. Wow...hopefully I'll be able to use my scholarships and grants to pay off my school debts. Or maybe i can convince daddy to give me money.

Well, that was an exercise in depression. I'm going now. I've gotta eat and get ready for work. Oy.