Monthly Archives: October 2009

Sookie Books

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You know, I really loved the Sookie Stackhouse books when I was reading them. Sure there were some problems, including major continuity errors and absolutely worthless men, but they were fun. I even got my husband to read them… And my sisters and brother have read them and my mother has started them.

After working on the books for a paper, though, I am much less impressed with the books. I was driving home last night thinking about all of her books and I have to say that Charlaine Harris has issues with men. The only potentially good guy in the books is Sam… although Quinn has some incredible redeeming features and Calvin is a great person for who Calvin is.

I’m not even sure I like Sookie anymore. I was very turned off by her rejection of Quinn over his family.

Yuck. Way to ruin a fun read, really think about it.

Moving On

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Okay, so I have a paper to give on Friday. I wrote it, but I didn’t like it, so I spent this week totally rewriting it. I’ve got it into a close approximation of reasonable now.

And then I opened my computer and looked for new CFPs.

I don’t have any reason to do that.

I have another paper due next week of which I have two pages written. I should really get cracking on that.

I have an article in revision (for the third or fourth time) which is due after next weekend.

I am out of town this weekend at a conference. I am out of town next weekend at a conference.

I am teaching six composition courses, all of which have grading I need to do, I am sure. So… Why am I looking for something else to write?

My husband would say it is because I am an addict.

He may be right.

Am I becoming a workaholic?

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I didn’t want to be working on that Sh paper. And I was totally relieved for the first few hours after I sent it off. Now I’m a little paranoid again, but, you know, the worst they can do is tell me I suck and tell a whole bunch of other people I don’t know that too. So there’s not much of a problem.

But I didn’t feel like going to bed tonight and I am antsy. I read fora for a while and now I’m thinking I should go to bed.

I haven’t graded papers yet. That I’ll do in the morning. And I haven’t packed my bags to go to my parents’ house tomorrow either. (I’ll be home Saturday around 1.)

I’m going to end up with essays to grade from things people are writing on Friday and on Monday I have papers coming in. Yuck. Can I opt out of those? At least the midterm on Tuesday will be easy.

Okay, maybe I’m not a workaholic. Maybe I’ve just been getting positive feedback from publishing and not from anywhere else.

Papers

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I am not working on a paper this evening.

I finished the one that was due today and sent it off. Who knows if it will be accepted? God alone.

I am a little worried that it’s an “oh, duh” paper, especially after having read the reader reviews on the Chronicle forums tonight, but, you know, I looked. I didn’t find anything. I think it’s worth it. I did it. I sent it. It’s done.

Yeah!

On the other hand, I kind of want to send it in to CCTE because I think it might do well there. But I decided to send a rhetoric paper. I looked back over my rhetoric paper and found an error. Should I fix it now and send it again? I don’t know.

I start tomorrow on another paper, the premise of which I found in a source. So now I have to come up with something else or at least expand it significantly. This was mostly supposed to be an easy paper on a topic I enjoy. Oh well. We’ll see. At least it doesn’t have to be 20 (actually 22) pages long with 97 footnotes (some of which had ten citations in them).

I talked to my son M today about what my goals are. I have two reviews and one article published right this minute.

If everything that has been accepted actually gets published (the encyclopedia article won’t, the whole ency. was pulled), I will have five articles and chapters, two reviews, and one book.

I should also have a few more reviews soon. One is due in December and another is due whenever I get the book. I have no idea when that will be. I guess I should go make sure the book didn’t accidentally get sent to my college.

I did do a review of a book this weekend. But that was for money. I spent quite a while on it. Maybe more than I should have. I sent the review but didn’t send the W9 yet. I should fax that. I wonder if the machine will take a fax at night. I wonder if I should send a fax with my social security number on it at night. Maybe I should just mail it.

So five articles and a book. That’s not bad for a community college teacher. In fact, it’s great. It’s not great for an SLAC, although for one year’s output it is great.

I was talking to M and I said I would like to have 30 articles published. You know, I haven’t sent to high level journals, but… I really should. After a while, no one will publish me in the higher levels because I’ve only done lower stuff. I guess I need to work on that.

I’ll have to start thinking about what the good journals are.

Parents

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My mother was in bad shape on Friday. She’s in a manic stage, though, so she has actually pushed through and done a lot.

Yesterday I took both the folks to PF Changs. We took about an hour to eat and then another half an hour in the bathroom. Thankfully they actually have a large handicapped stall.

Today we went to church. It was good to go. It’s hard when Mom is manic because she talks to everyone, says stuff they don’t want to hear, and sometimes (not today though) makes up stories.

So… my folks are able to go to church together again. It’s been a while for that.

Dad exercises almost every minute he is awake. That is such an inspiration. I cannot imagine working that hard to gain anything.

I am hoping that it will help inspire me to get my Shakespeare paper done.

AAGGHH

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I have seven days from now to finish the Shakespeare paper.

I thought I had two weekends, this one which is shot because I am with my parents the whole time, and next one.

No. I have this one.

I have one week. I am getting in gear as fast as I can. (While surfing facebook and writing about my angst here.)

Marry an Educated Woman, Live Longer

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Reuter’s says:

In a study, researchers found that a woman’s education was a stronger factor in her husband’s risk of dying over the next decade or so than the man’s own level of education.

And a husband’s social class based on his occupation had a greater influence on a woman’s survival than her own occupational class, Drs. Robert Erikson and Jenny Torssander of the Swedish Institute for Social Research in Stockholm found.

Grading

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I SO do not want to grade papers. But these are overdue. I had to give the students extra credit, I was so late with them. They wrote them a week and a half ago. I really need to get them back.

I am going to Lausanne!

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My Hemingway paper from my graduate thesis was accepted at the International Hemingway conference.

So I am going to be in Switzerland next summer.

That is way cool. I wonder how much the tickets are.

Compilation of Sunday Notes

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1 Sunday-
throw a pity party and bring my own refreshments

arms too short to box with God

trouble has a reserved seat in your family

death runs in my family

God took the bullets out of Satan’s gun

“You make oceans from the rain.”

2 Sunday

camping lamp= a picture of a Christian

The church is a bunch of coals heating each other up.

3 Sunday

Lay up experiences not possessions.

Your greatest asset becomes your greatest stumbling block when you aren’t using it for God.

On to the next

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The conference is over and the paper was good. Yeah.

Now I have a chapter due in 12 days and a conference presentation to give in 20 days.

I have collected sources for both but not written much other than the two page proposal. The chapter needs to be twenty pages.

Late Proposals: Results

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Well, that was the fastest turn around I have ever seen. I sent the late proposals in last night around 9 pm.

This morning before 9 am I had two responses.

The chapter for the book was a no. The rejection was the most positive and encouraging I have ever received and, believe it or not, I have gotten some encouraging rejections.

The article for the journal was a yes. Although I am wondering if it’s really a magazine. But I don’t care. It will be published. Then, as my hubby mentioned, I’ll be an “internationally published” author.

Both papers were on the same series of books. If I don’t get an acceptance to CEA I may use the rejected one for a PCA proposal (if that call isn’t already closed then).

I’m staying very busy.