Good: I passed my thesis defense!

Bad: I had to put my cat to sleep at 2 am.

Hello!

It's about 3 weeks into the semester, and I have a rough draft of one chapter of my thesis and part of another. I need to collect my data once I send the revised draft of chapter 1 to my advisor (and then to another member of my committee for feedback on his specific area). I should also finish the draft of the second chapter and send it off. I almost have enough information to write up the part where I explain how I'm collecting my data. (I just need to try logging in to the corpus server and see if I can access the one I want.) My completed first draft is due around March 1 so my advisor can get feedback to me before spring break starts a week later and I revise it over break and give him a close-to-final version the week of March 17, get final comments, and send it to my committee so I can defend the week of April 1.

It sounds like a lot (it is!), but I already have about half of the 50-page requirement for the linguistics department, and that's without any tables or graphs because I have no data yet. So I'm making good progress. It helps that I write fast, at least when I know what I'm trying to say. Revision is much slower, of course. Most of my revisions so far have been "explain this better" or "add more detail here." (Which is a lot like my fiction revision process...)

I've also drafted and revised a conference abstract that's due by Feb 1. My advisor is going to give me feedback on that again and I'll poke at it until the deadline, probably. I'm trying to get two of my friends who are also looking at old Germanic languages to submit abstracts, too, so we can all go together and be roommates and it'll be fun.

I'm planning on going to 4th St Fantasy this year, partly because the timing is better than for Readercon, and partly because I know so many people who go and speak highly of it that I want to give it a try. I'll need a roommate, and I'm planning on flying from RDU and getting Ben to take care of my cat. And I want to go through my stuff again while I'm there; maybe do some KonMari on that shit. I definitely want to organize a lot of it better and into fewer containers. I might pick up some plastic tubs to put books in, but that would be either a lot of tubs or a few v heavy ones. Which I guess isn't that different from the current box situation but the boxes are already full and cost nothing. But they aren't waterproof or bug-proof, so ... idk.

Will I see you at 4th St? Let me know!

I got straight As again. I did surprisingly well in syntax, considering that I don't believe in X-bar theory, but logic puzzles are kind of fun, even if I don't believe that it is anything resembling the actual way language works in the brain. The online language acquisition class was easy (if tedious), and Old English is just another dead Germanic language, so that was easy enough (modulo not remembering what the vowels are in the infinitives because it's ai in Gothic and ei in Old Norse and Old High & Low German... (it's long a in OE...))

I've read pretty much everything there is to read on Class VII verbs in the old Germanic languages (though I recently remembered I have a book I need to read and there's another one I should get out of the library), and I'm taking my notes that I made in a notebook (or by highlighting PDFs) and writing them on index cards so I can organize my information for the literature review part of my thesis more easily. Next I need a research question or two...

I'm teaching 2 classes in spring (normally I'd teach one, but they asked if I could). One of them is perilously close to being canceled, but as long as nobody drops before Jan 4, we should be fine. They're back to back MWF, which means I can work on my thesis in the mornings and go to school in the afternoons. I'm auditing a class that meets TR at 12:30, so I have to go in every day, which sucks, but I never have to be there before noon, which makes up for it.

One of my students came out to me as trans in her essay on the final. I'm honored that she trusts me enough to do that, and I asked her how she wants me to call her in class next semester (because I don't want to out her, but I also don't want to misgender her). She told me her new name and said she wants to be more herself next semester, so I should use female pronouns.

And I've now had 4 students ask me for recommendation letters! They like me!

I'm still learning how to roller derby. I'm a bit frustrated with it, because I'm still not scrimmage eligible, and I'm putting in so much effort, but it's not enough. I refereed at a scrimmage tournament 2 weeks ago and really enjoyed it; I like the camaraderie among the officials. I want to give scrimmaging a try - I've never played a team sport, and I want to challenge myself to do something that's Not Like Me - so I don't want to just quit because I'm not making progress like I want to. And hitting people with my butt is a lot of fun! I know I've improved since I started, and people have told me I hit better than I used to (even 2 months ago) - but I keep not passing assessments, which is how you move up. I don't want to set a deadline, so *flail* I joined a gym to work on strength and get cardio in (it's difficult to motivate myself to run in the early morning to avoid the heat (summer) or in the cold dark (winter)). I don't know.

This is my last semester of 4 classes; two of those in a row was hell. Very stressful, especially with teaching on top.

I finished my MA in German Studies, however, and that is a good feeling. I got an A in the class I was worried about, because the professor wanted us to write Proper History Papers, and none of us were really cut out for it. So I was worried about that, because she didn't seem too thrilled that we couldn't do historiography or put things into the broader historical context and didn't seem to understand that we had no idea what she wanted us to do. So I wrote the best paper I could (about the effects of GDR-era education & language policies on the Sorbs & their culture) and sent it in.

I rocked the hell out of Gothic; I got a 97 on the midterm and had a 97 average on the quizzes, and I felt pretty confident about the final after I finished it, so 90s probably. But I feel a little bad about that because I wrecked the curve and my friends might not have gotten as good grades as they hoped. I'm just really good at memorizing shit, and it's a Germanic language, so...

I also had a class in German morphology and phonology, which is counting toward my LING MA, and I got an A in that. My last class was a seminar in variationist sociolinguistics, which I managed an A in even though my paper was a chaotic mess.

In fall, I have 3 classes: Syntax (TR), Old English (MWF), and L1/L2 acquisition (online), and I'm teaching 2 sections of GRMN 1002 (which I taught last fall and have a ton of materials for). Then in spring, I only need one more class to graduate.

Right now I'm on vacation until June 1, when I go back to Athens for a week or so, to work on my summer independent study of Old Saxon (and go to roller derby practice). I just watched season 2 of The Expanse, and I want to watch Black Sails, and I want to catch up on anime from the last 8 months. I'm also going to read books I've been wanting to read for ages.

I'm going to a conference Thursday - Sunday, but that's the last school-related thing this month. I'm also visiting family in Maryland on the way up to Penn State, so I can break up the horribly long drive.

Semester 1, Professor A: class and readings largely in German, secondary literature discussion in everyone's own native language. "Write your paper in your native language because using the other one will get you a lower grade because you're not good at it."

Semester 2, Professor B: class entirely in German; paper in whichever language we want (yay visiting professors).

Semester 3, Professor C: class mostly in English. "Write your paper in your native language, because it won't be as good in the other one."

Semester 3, Professor D: class entirely in German. Every written assignment in German, including final paper.

Me: complaining about this sudden change in expectations
Other people: "It's a German Studies program, what did you expect>!?!?"

Gee, idk, two of our professors think we shouldn't even bother writing in German because it will be shit, so I DON'T FUCKING KNOW where I could have gotten the expectation that writing in German wasn't an obligation.

Uh, hi, I guess I didn't update my journal very often. I kept a paper one, though! Because I needed to keep track of stuff so I can turn in a paper for the people who gave me a grant.

Hamburg was nice; I met with a professor whose research interests me, and he gave me some advice on things to look at (including some translation theory, even) and wanted to hear more about my research in the future, because it's an interesting topic. (So I know one place I'm going to send my exposé once it exists, even if the prospect of living in Hamburg doesn't fill me with glee.)

Dresden was AMAZING. I really liked it there, and the Altstadt was beautiful, even if half of everything was under construction. I took day trips to Leipzig, Bautzen, and Pirna, and Ben and I went to Saxon Switzerland, which is a place I could definitely go back and spend a week in a cute vacation rental or hotel and go hiking and work on a novel. But there isn't a university for me there, because the TU doesn't have anything that matches my research interests.

Berlin was, as usual, great. I got to see kriski and dirtyzucchini and kriski gave me a copy of her poetry collection, which I am excited to read. I flipped through and the one about the woman at the knitting group punched me in the stomach. Good job! I can't wait to share these with my classmates.

I also got to see some parts of Berlin I'd never made it to before, because I didn't have to go to the obligatory tourist sites. I didn't even set foot on the Museum Island!

I have all my photos up on GPhotos; let me know if you want the link (or if you have a GPhotos/gmail you want me to share it with). They are sorted by city but otherwise unlabeled. That's a huge project...

I learned that you don't have to live in the same city you are doing a PhD in, if you are doing a solo promotion and don't have to meet f2f with your advisor very often, which means that theoretically I could live in Berlin while promovieren in Hamburg and go there every other week or whatever. And that your student ID is valid at all the libraries in all the universities :O

I just don't know which city Ben would have better luck finding a job in. Both have a lot of tech/software stuff, but they're both also full of young jobseekers who are more the type (ie cheap labor) startups want. So idk. But any decision is at least 2 years off, because I won't finish here until May 2019 (that's the target) and I doubt I'll finish my thesis and immediately want to write the exposé for winter admission (October). Summer admission (March/April) might be better, even though I'll probably have to turn it in around October anyway.

... yeah, I kind of fell into a really cool dissertation idea, so...

I'm going back to Georgia on the 2nd, so I have another week here. I'll start packing up at the end of this week or the weekend. Mostly I just have to put my clothes into suitcases and streamline a lot of loose crap floating around.

Oh, and I'm going to a roller derby boot camp, so I might join a roller derby team. (My academic schedule may prevent me from participating much this semester, but we shall see.)

Intense. Damn.

So, class is 3 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 15 days, in order to get an entire semester's worth of instruction in. This means we read approximately a chapter a day, with 1-2 articles a day in addition (a total of 50-80 pages or thereabouts). Taking graduate-level German classes has me saying "300 pages a week? In English? With no other commitments? Pfffff, easy."

The class has a lot of discussion and presentations, and we had an individual project and a group project. My group project is ok? I guess? but I had to wrangle undergrads, which is annoying. That's due Tuesday, and I can't start data analysis until the last data points are collected.

But the prof only counts the 2 highest tests, and I'm satisfied with my current test scores (100 and 96), so I won't take the third test, which is Wednesday. That definitely makes my weekend a little less stressful. "All" I have to do is write up my paper and put the rest of my things into boxes and take them to the office.

I'm moving out of my apartment, so I have virtually nothing in it. My furniture is at a friend's apartment, so I'm sitting on a spare couch cushion and using a lap desk. I've been eating TV dinners and things I don't need dishes for, using paper plates & bowls and plastic cutlery. I feel very College Student. Small remaining things are going to my office (cleaning supplies, what little furniture I have left) over the weekend, and Tuesday will be the final clean-up before the walkthrough, and I'm driving home Wednesday morning (staying with a different friend Tuesday night).

Update the first: I was accepted into the Linguistics MA program! So I will be in Georgia one additional year (and hopefully only the one). Ben doesn't want to move to Georgia, so we will be maintaining 2 residences. I found a new apartment that is closer to campus, has 2 bedrooms and a kitchen with actual cabinet space (though still not a lot of counter space) AND is almost $100/mo cheaper. Plus it has central HVAC. I look forward to it.

Update the second: The paper I submitted to a conference was accepted (as a poster)! I will be going to Austin April 20-23 to hang out with a bunch of Germanic linguists and tell them about how cool my research about German memers on tumblr is (and get them to tell me what else to look into). I applied for a travel award through the department, and I hope I hear about that soon, because I need to book the hotel room; if I don't get the grant, I will beg for floor space with a grad student at UT (or find a roommate).

Update the third: GERMANY! I bought my plane tickets and have an itinerary. I will be in Hamburg June 5-30, Dresden July 1-13, and Berlin July 13-17 (and fly out the 18th). While I'm in HH, I will be at the Goethe Institute, so I'll be spending the afternoon there and doing as much of their Kulturprogramm as interests me (tours, excursions, museums; probably not ballet, though if there's opera, I'll go). I don't know how much free time I'll have.

The class I was planning to take in Dresden was cancelled, so now I'm on my own for there. Because of the grant I'm getting, I have to make it related to my education as a teacher, so I'm going to keep a journal of how I can use various things to teach my students. I'm mostly going to go to Cold War-related sites (including a day trip to Leipzig), but also the usual Dresdner Altstadt stuff. (I'm going to have to go to the Oper for reasons relating to the story that's coming out in fall.) Ben is probably going to come join me for part of that week. I want to try to swing a trip out to the Sächsiche Schweiz, but I don't know how much time I'll have.

Then in Berlin I want to see an exhibit in the Alliierten Museum, probably stop in the Deutsches Historisches Museum to spend more time in the modern section than I had last time, and go to the Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer, and if I have time/schedules work out, take another Berliner Unterwelten tour. I also want to try to see a Hertha training day (if they're there and not off in Turkey) and meet up with friends.

Classes and stuff: the 2 classes I have that aren't literature are going pretty well. Old Norse is fun, and the term paper, in which we translate something and justify our decisions, sounds like fun. Syntax seminar is harder, but also kind of fun, because we get to talk about language acquisition, and our term paper is partner work and will be about second language acquisition. Literature seminar is still overwhelming and I have no idea what I'm supposed to write about; the instructions are "choose something in the broad thematic we've discussed this semester" and we read a novel every week how the fuck do I even begin with that.

In fall I will have 4 classes again and be teaching 2 sections of 2nd semester German, I am going to die. But Phonetics & Phonology is supposed to be not a lot of work, and Language, Gender, and Culture may or may not be; Medieval Courtly Literature will be tough but fun because we're reading parallel texts of Middle High German and modern translation. Culture Seminar will be Jewish Studies because of who's teaching it, and we will have to read a lot of novels (but less than this semester, thank god).

The forecast has been calling for dire weather since about Monday. It's been raining since mid-afternoon, and it's getting closer and closer to freezing. The current forecast has it changing to sleet around midnight, then snow around 1.

Because this is Georgia, the highs Saturday and Sunday are supposed to be in the mid-30s, so stuff will melt, then when it gets down to 18 overnight, everything will freeze into a nice sheet of ice. Because this is Georgia, there aren't a lot of snow plows or brine trucks, so Monday morning is likely to be really interesting.

I'm freaking out less about the literature class, though I'm sure it's still going to be terrible. I'm also not entirely certain the professor understands how US university courses work, so that's going to be exciting.

I have created a side tumblr for collecting a corpus of posts for potential thesis purposes. There are currently 65 posts in its queue, in addition to the handful I posted before thinking about the fact that I had a lot of posts and didn't want to be banned for spamming. And I only went through the google doc I'd put together for my term paper and my likes, not my tags/reblogs. (That can wait.)

Tomorrow, since I can't actually leave the house or anything, though I might put on my rain boots and walk around the complex, I'm going to revise the abstract I'm submitting to a conference (due next Sunday).

I still don't feel like the semester is real, but I've only had 2 classes so far & TA'ed one. By next Friday, things should be better. I hope.

Grades are in. History of German: A. Teaching College German: A. Languages in Contact: A. Seminar in German Studies: A-.

I was honestly concerned I'd get a B in SGS, because I have no idea what I'm doing in that class, and 40% of our grade was a term paper, which I had no idea what I was doing for. I'd never written a literature term paper which had to rely on other people's ideas and various theories of X (in this case, memory). I can't say I particularly enjoyed it. I much prefer talking about what is in the text itself - symbolism, characters, narrative arcs, tropes - than about what other people have said about it (which is apparently what they call "research" in this field?).

I mean, I wrote several thousand words on narrative arcs and themes in the first season of Iron Blooded Orphans (and would do it again), but that isn't what you're Supposed To Do In A Real Term Paper, which is complete bullshit IMO.

I would have been pretty upset with myself if I didn't get an A in Teaching, after the Goethe Certificate and all. The principles are largely the same, but for US secondary education, the application is a little different, because we have a mostly homogenous, English-speaking group, and we can use some English in class.

History of German was kind of annoying; we had a lot of little homework assignments to turn in every session, and he basically never graded them or turned them back. He didn't give back our midterm before the final. (I got a 96 and a 91, respectively, according to the Blackboard-equivalent UGA uses.) It was interesting, in that it's useful to know why German does some of the weird things it does (and, by extension, why English does), and there's a lot more sociolinguistic stuff in the last section of the class. Also we got to talk about why nationalism is bullshit and language purity movements are stupid and why capitalism is garbage (though that was my point, mostly; we read Marxist philosophers and historians, what do you want me to do?).

Contact was neat, and the comments the prof left on my term paper should be useful in me turning it into an abstract for the big German linguistics conference in spring. They're due 1/15, so I'm going to need to figure out what to do with it pretty quick. I want to look at sociolinguistic aspects of bi-/multilingualism for my thesis, I think, so that should be really helpful for me.

Spring semester, I have Seminar in German Literature (topic: the metropolis in literature), Seminar in German Linguistics (topic: syntax of some variety, using Universal Grammar), and Old Icelandic. I'm also auditing 4th semester Russian.

I am actually really glad that the old department chair got a new position as assistant dean, because that means his Goethe seminar (which would have been mandatory) was cancelled, and I can take Old Icelandic. And I don't have to have 2 horrible literature seminars in one semester. I'm already cranky that I have to take one 3 of 4 semesters as it is.