I was up very late last night, trying to finish the readings for today. And then my alarm went off at 6:30 (to make sure I was up by 7:00), so that I could be good and ready for my 8:30 bus (including going back over a couple of the readings).
And so today killed me. Remind me that I need to go to bed early on Thursday nights, or else I become a zombie by the end of my second class.
But a lot of positive things happened today. I was plenty early for the bus, and then it turned out that one of the other PhD students takes the same bus! We discussed the readings, so that I was really ready for the discussion. Then, my Canadian history prof talked over how we were to handle the readings: yes, there is a lot of reading to do, but just focus on the important parts and skim the rest. She's not expecting us to read everything in detail. I can do that. On the other hand, I really need to do my European history readings in detail, which I did last night, and yet I was too sleepy to be of much use by the time European history rolled around. Coffee didn't even help. (It just made it so that I feel like I have no eyeballs.)
I also got together for lunch with two third-year PhD students. That was awesome, and we talked a bunch about our research, and how to handle things. They also introduced me to an MA student from the department, who is working on her thesis, and is studying late Weimar and Nazi films! We had a good talk about Leni Riefenstahl, and about what films are in the University library (most of the ones I'll need). She gave me her e-mail address, which is really good, because she'll be a good one for me to consult about my research.
I also had a good talk with a grad student who has all the same classes as me, but who is from here and knows the profs really well. We figured out how to survive the semester (while we have to keep up with the readings, our research essays are the most important).
And my European history prof is hilarious (but not in an "I'm really jokey" kind of way. Quiet, dry sense of humour). Today he used the phrase "Ever since I was a little kipper."
1 comment:
I love professors like that. Lyn and I had one in undergrad who'd make dry jokes all the time, but that pretty much no one but us would realize were jokes. He actually inspired me to get my minor in linguistics, and, more importantly, to watch "The Apartment."
Post a Comment