Seneca once said that "There is no great genius without some touch of madness." If this is the case, I must be a whopping genius, because I certainly have been experiencing more than a mere touch of madness these last few weeks! With four jobs and a PhD to write, my November was rather busy and somewhat frazzled. I nanny for three hours three evenings a week, teach two tutorial sessions of undergraduates every week, proofread for a wonderful friend with some learning differences, and organize wine receptions for my department every other week. I must admit I was rather pleased with myself when it dawned on me that I have four jobs... for now I feel like a proper overworked postgraduate!
In addition to all of this paid work, there is the work that I am paying for... writing my thesis. While they are taking much longer than anticipated (things of this nature usually do) I plan to have two chapters done and dusted by Christmas. Or at least to the point that I can shelve them for a year and move on to the next section! Here's hoping...
Let's see... what else has been going on... Oh! The annual Reformation Studies Reading Weekend was two weekends ago. Once again, the faculty and postgrads of the department scurried off to the Highlands. Without any major responsibilities this year--apart from introducing my supervisor's paper session on Sunday morning--I was able to relax and enjoy this sojourn from The Auld Grey Toon. I rode up early Friday morning in the car with my friends Adam and Andy. We left St Andrews at 6:30 am because the guys wanted to climb Schiehallion, one of the taller monros (mountains) in Scotland. The hotel hosting the Institute's weekend is located near the monro's base. Before you ask, I did NOT go up the mountain. It was my responsibility to call the authorities if the guys didn't return by the pre-arranged time! I personally feel I got the better part of this deal: while they were battling gale-force winds, snow, sleet, and horizontal rain, I was sat warmly by the fire in the Hotel lounge, sipping pots of tea, and reading.
Last week my housemates and I hosted 25 of our friends for a Thanksgiving Dinner. Most of us had to teach and/or attend seminars Thursday afternoon/evening. So we had our Dinner a bit early. But it worked out wonderfully! And boy did we have a spread! A 17lb turkey, prepared by Katherine, trays of cheeses and veggies for appetizers and mashed potatoes courtesy of Ginger, and sweet potatoes a la Patty Wackford prepared by me (Patty, they were a hit! Your potatoes have gone global-everyone wants the recipe!). I made pumpkin pie from scratch. From a fresh pumpkin. Not a can. His name was George. And as a friend commented, George met his end in a particularly early modern-fashion: he was beheaded, disemboweled, quartered, roasted, and then skinned. (This is what happens when historians bake.) In addition to the George pies, all of our friends brought dishes too: stuffing, mashed potatoes, broccoli casserole, green bean casserole, pies, cookies, pavlova, wine, champagne, etc. At one point someone commented that the meal was even better than what they would have had if they were back home, to which my Scottish friend Claire replied that that was because 5% of America was in attendance! It was a good evening... with lots of full and thankful tummies.
The next day, we started to put up our Christmas decorations! Which worked out perfectly, since my family always puts up the tree on Thanksgiving Day and Katherine's family puts theirs up the day after the Thanksgiving meal! So having our dinner on Wednesday was Providential! There are still some decorations that need hanging, but all in good time! I need something to look forward too after long days in the office!
Today is the graduation ceremony for all the postgrads who finished their degrees this summer. A number of good friends have returned for the occasion and I hope to get a chance to see them all before they head back to the "real world".
Speaking of the "real world", if I want to fend it off a bit longer, I better get back to the books!
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