burning like matchsticks in the face of the darkness

Both semesters this year i only had about 11 hours of classes each week. This serious excess of free time has caused me to become a worse slacker and procrastinator than ever before. I was much better in high school when i didn't have much free time because then i focused and get the work done.

My plan for next year proves that i am insane. I signed up for 6 classes, figuring i'd get into most and would then tweak my schedule. I got into all of them. So for now i am signed up for the maximum number of credits (and only 17 class hours).

CLS 227 Classical Mythology
RUS 126 Readings in 19th Century Russian Literature: Alienation and the Search for Identity
ENG 263 Romantic Poetry and Prose
PHI 236 Linguistic Structures
ENG 269 Modern British Poetry
SOC 101 Introduction to Sociology

Once again i have quite full Tuesdays/Thursdays, only now i also have full M/W/F mornings.


In other news, this week's CDO (Career Development Office) weekly internship newsletter included something about Women Express, Inc. -- the group that publishes Teen Voices. It was very unclear about what positions are available, though. I think there's a 12-hour-a-week 3-month internship position, which would be perfect. I e-mailed Women Express yesterday to ask for clarification, though, so hopefully i'll hear back from them soon.


Yesterday i talked to Doug a bit more about advisor-ness and he said it's quite common for professors to fill in as advisors when people are on sabbatical. I said it's not like i'm gonna need an advisor next year, i'm just required to have one to register for classes as a junior. He said most people don't really need an advisor. Tee hee.


My prof's comments on the last essay we did for Lit. Study begin, "This is an extremely impressive draft -- in many ways a model of how to approach a difficult or elusive poem." Go me. Shortly thereafter, "It is, in sum, the work of an accomplished close reader." Yeah!



Joe's away message this morning reminded me that today is the Day of Silence.

"Please understand my reasons for not speaking today. I am participating in the Day of Silence, a national movement protesting the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their allies. My deliberate silence echoes their silence, caused by harassment, prejudice, and discrimination. I believe that ending the silence is the first step toward fighting these injustices. Think about the voices you are not hearing today. What will you do to end the silence?"

One of the reasons i'm not participating (besides simply having forgotten) is the fact that it seems sort of moot at Smith. It's something i would love to have happen at my high school for example, but it doesn't seem all that necessary here. But then there's the shit that happened in Gardiner. And the racial incidents in Gillett (which would not be addressed by the Day of Silence exactly, but are further examples that this is far from a utopia). But because there have been actual incidents, the obvious next step is dialogue. I think shows of silence are a great way to raise awareness, but once there's awareness, dialogue and action should follow. And now i should really get into a diatribe about just what is effective, whether protests and sit-ins and such are really effective, and so on. But i don't really have anything to say about that. My preferred method is letter-writing and debating, getting people to think and perhaps change their minds, but "active" activism has its uses, too.

I think i'm going to do something which requires less thought now, like my taxes.