Just Another Manic Monday...

I was walking around on campus and I didn't realize how terrible Mondays are for people - students in particular- until I looked around and saw all of the somber dreary faces and heard the slow shuffling feet moving about around campus.. Some people just can't survive after the weekend! My classes of approximately 70 students were at about half capacity today even a little less.  Insanity.

We just got back from reading week.  It was completely uneventful for me thought I managed to purchase and read 3 non-school related fiction novels (yay!) and meet with a few friends that I haven't seen in a long time.  It was mostly unproductive though as far as school work is concerned... I feel like such a bad student because I barely lifted a book and I only opened my notebook at the end of the week to check my schedule so I could plan my Sunday night sleep time accordingly (wow homework fail on my part)...

After it snows on campus everything looks lovely and white and sparkly... you saw the pictures! But after the temperature heats up a bit, the sun comes out and everything melts, followed by gray skies, rain and more melting of snow and frozen ground the university campus takes on a muddy soggy appearance and turns into a giant puddle. The appearance of small lakes has become something to be expected when you are walking around the campus grounds post snow and during the melting days of rain and sun- and yet students everywhere forget to wear rubber boots and water proof foot gear (shoe fail!).  The grounds, walkways, and the buildings entrances and hallways also become messy, dirty, wet, muddy - basically disgusting.. and students do not care about it, they will walk anywhere in muddy shoes, even smearing the dirt onto the backs of chairs in lecture theaters just waiting for that unknowing person to rub against it as they pass or put their coat directly on top of it.. eww *shakes fist in anger at student ignorance and bad hygiene*

Anyway, I thought I would show you all a few shots of the giant puddles on campus today- they were so large and treacherous that entire pathways were blocked off with yellow wooden caution horses and orange pylons. So enjoy these images!  Don't forget I appreciate any and all feed back on here, drop me a comment or e-mail me at bilichc@hotmail.com

Beside the tree on the right is a caution horse that became partially submerged.. insanity

Where did the path go? It just disappeared! You can see the caution horse on the father side of this water mass- the other one is beside the tree on the right.. it became a part of the lake :(

 Good Night All - please comment!!

XOXO
Cris

It's Midterm Time!!!!

 I know I should be studying right now, because I totally have a midterm at 3:30 pm tomorrow but I wanted to post because I haven't in a while and I apologize..

I'm sitting at my computer fighting the urge not to open up a tab on firefox and watch The Nanny on youtube but it is very hard ...

must.
resist.
will
power.
decreasing.
AHHH!

Besides my midterm tomorrow afternoon I also have an early morning eye doctors appointment!! WOOo! because I need to get my vision checked as it seems to be getting worse and worse lately... I'm getting tired of having to squint through my lenses to see the signs, black/white boards, and peoples faces which are 20 feet away from me! I have glasses so I can see.. but they are so not helping right now. I don't want to get new frams though, because I'm in love with my current ones, so I hope they can replace my lenses and not damage my frames... after the appointment I have to rush to school for a 2:30 class on the literature of everyone's favorite 18th century british novelist- Jane Austen!! such a great class.. I got an A- on a paper I wrote for that class which discussed Jane Austen's ideal masculinity in Northanger Abbey using the character of John Thorpe and making a small comparison to Henry Tilney to prove that the ideal masculinity is everything which John Thorpe is Not... I know.. craziness, but hey I got an A- and there were only 2 A grades given out of the entire 200 student class!! Go Me! I should post it so you can all read it.. maybe next post.. hmmm..

... right, back to the Native American lit midterm.. ugh..   

My lovely sisters just came in and they brought me a chai tea latte!!! So Tasty!! and yesterday I went to the store and bought a large box of my favorite candy :D

Now i'm plunked in front of the screen with my latte, my nerds (so appropriate!) and my midterm review, obviously not studying right now (have been studying since 4pm this afternoon thought).  I decided I'd take a moment to express my self creatively before I go crazy...

So here are some pictures for you to enjoy..  Pray for me tomorrow from 3:30-5:30 while I write my midterms.. I'm going to need all the support I can get.  Well I wish you all a good night and I hope you will be thinking of me fondly while you are all enjoying your wonderful afternoons and I am stuck identifying terms and making comparisons of themes in native literature to native poetry and novels.. :(

I love the class, I am just so lazy right now and I cannot wait for next week.. Reading Week! The university student's much needed "February" (march) Break! It's almost here, just 48 hours to go.

XOXO
C

New In The World Of Literature...

I thought I'd share with all of you that congratulations MUST go out to my family's very own Dr. Smarty-Pants whose first academic book has just been put up for pre-sale!  Only If You Are Really Interested is being published and will be available to the general audience in the spring/summer of this year!!!

We are all soo excited and so proud of your accomplishments and cannot wait to be the proud owners of such  a moment as this! I am quite looking forward to reading said book, which is right up my cultural alley.

I hope you will all join me in congratulating Dr. S-P and his family in this wonderful success! I have posted a link below so you can see the publishers ad page for this wonderful book.

http://www.mcfarlandpub.com/book-2.php?id=978-0-7864-6274-2

Did you know? -  Being published, especially on your own is very important for University Professors? The more they have written and have been published, the more likely they are to get a job because being published means your thoughts/written work are good enough (ie you are good enough) for the world to read! (or for other academics in your field at least).  Most of the literature we read, even main stream fiction stuff, has a Professor, or Doctor of Letters/Philosophy's editorial notes published with it?  You can write a million words but if none of them get published then there is very little hope for you in the future.  Because it means nobody likes what you are studying, thinking and arguing about.. Such is the life of a professor.

Enjoy! Please e-mail me bilichc@hotmail.com OR drop me a comment on here, let me know if you checked out the link, or what you think about books, literature, writing ,reading ,publishing etc..

XOXO
Cris

It's A Snow Day!!!!!!!!!!

The part of Canada that I am currently living in has been ferociously attacked by a raging blizzard of 20-35 centimeters of snow!  It is soo fantastically exciting because the university had common sense to close for the day because no one would be able to make it nor have the will to do so.

I intend on spending the day with my family in my parents house eating, drinking tea, reading Austen's Sense and Sensibility among other novels that I have to catch up on.  And staying in my pajamas all day! My sisters and I quite enjoy lingering about the house on a blistery winters day soaking up the family chaos and surviving the stir-craziness that comes with being locked up in the house an entire day.

What are you doing for the snow day? (those of you who live in the same area of the country as myself or who are in parts of Manitoba dealing with much more snow than we have here) I hope you are enjoying your day resting and lounging about in your fuzzy slippers - I have yet to find mine.

So I decided to brave the storm and go outside in my pj's and boots to get some pictures of the wonderfully white scenery so that my readers far and wide can get a glimpse of what we are seeing from our windows.  I returned inside quite cold and rather covered with snow. 

Anyway here are some pictures of my house in the new blizzard conditions and the aftermath of last night, enjoy and comment and e-mail (bilichc@hotmail.com) please you know I love my fan mail (if I ever get any) :D  Enjoy!

From inside looking out the window to the right

from inside looking out the window with the curtains closed

looking out the window to the left

standing on the front porch looking left

standing on the porch looking forward at the covered lawn (you can't see the rock wall partition under all the snow!)

standing on the sidewalk outside facing the house

standing on the driveway facing the front left window and our trademark snow wave on the roof

standing on the driveway facing the giant mound of snow on the lawn from the shoveling

from the porch again just before going back inside

 I hope these pictures make you happy to be inside warm and snug and not outside facing this insane amount of snow. 

XOXO

C