12 posts tagged “classics”
All right, I'm done freaking out about the mistake in my qual. I guess that after being in the library for pretty much five days straight, even the smallest snafu makes it seem like the world is about to end...
On the plus side, once I decided that studying any more would make my head explode, I re-installed the Adobe creative suite on my new-ish computer and made the photo manipulation on the right. It isn't particularly complex, but I think it turned out well. It's actually three separate photos combined: a Polaroid, a self-portrait in which I looked particularly demonic, and a boring but pretty image of Multnomah Falls that I took when I went hiking up around there with Matthew this summer. It felt pretty nice to be using Photoshop again, since I used to be pretty good at it -- I'd touch up all my photos and some of my friends', all that jazz. I miss my Wacom tablet, though; it was pretty tedious doing even just this little manipulation with the trackpad.
I've finished all the papers I need to write for the end of term, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Tomorrow morning is my Greek final, and for the first time this year, I really feel like I know the material. I'm sure it will end up kicking my ass anyway, but it's a good thing that I've been studying so much, even if it's been driving me a little crazy. Then, on Wednesday I have my qualifying exam oral defense, and on Thursday I have a Latin final. The Latin is just the Pro Caelio, not very difficult; the oral defense is, well, an oral defense. Nothing I can't handle.
The atmosphere in the library has been really wonderful this year. I think it's because this is the first year that I've really applied myself during finals week, really spent lots of time sitting at my carrel staring my work down. For those of you unfamiliar with Reed, every finals week students set up a "stim table" in the library lobby -- ginseng, tea, coffee, maté, multivitamins, ramen, PB&J, and a sound system playing "The Eye of the Tiger" every hour on the hour. Some students carry on a rather ridiculous tradition of doing lines of wasabe. Yes, you heard me: they snort lines of wasabe. It's a little surreal. Anyway, I never really appreciated the stim table before now. Not because I need their coffee or their tea, though it's pleasant to have hot water on demand in the lobby. No, it's the sense that we're all in this together. Everyone's equally tired, obsessed with their work, and in need of validation. Unhealthy? Totally. Affirming? In a strange, strange way, yes.
On another note, so this post isn't entirely self-obsessed, here's a link to an interesting translation of the Tao Te Ching. Anyone know how good it is, how much it represents what the message of the text really is? It sure sounds good and is very accessible, but that doesn't mean that it's right. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
Okay, so I'm pretty cracked out right now -- I'm on my fifth day of "all library, all the time," and that'll do it to you.
But I just found two major errors in my qual. I did parenthetical citation instead of a footnote, in one. In the other, I actually forgot to cite a quote entirely.
The worst part is, I am so crap at academia that I can't find that quote anywhere in my notes. I know it's from a particular book (Catherine Edwards, The Politics of Immorality in Ancient Rome) and I know that it's probably from a certain chapter in the book. But I can't find that quote.
I'm pretty sure that Ellen is going to make me commit hara-kiri. Or at least proskinesis. I still feel like the argument is the best I've ever made, but Ellen is a complete obsessive about grammar and formatting. I bet Sonia is, too. Crap, crap, crap.
I've completed my qualifying exam (well, except for the oral defense, which happens on Wednesday). Thank heaven! In the course of this experience, I've learned many things, to wit:
- Sallust is incredibly boring. Seriously. You'd think that he would be interesting since, you know, he's talking about a conspiracy to overthrow the government, but nope. Boring, boring, boring.
- Almost every word in Latin, ever, can be read as having implications of effeminacy.
- If you try hard enough, you can work fortunatam natam me consule Romam into absolutely any paper. You just have to really, really want to make fun of Cicero. All things are possible with the holy spirit of mockery.
- LaTeX is only moderately scary. BibTeX, on the other hand, is just about the scariest thing ever invented. Holy shit! Please, please, please don't eat my bibliography! I don't know what that error message means! I'm your willing slave, BibTeX, I'll do anything you want me to, just please tell me what to do in good -- plain -- ENGLISH!
- You cannot, in fact, make things italic in HTML by typing {\it this}. That only works in LaTeX.
I've also completed my Greek paper. It's basically a big, long truism, but I don't care: I'm not going to trash six pages of well-written blather for that reason. Actually, I'm not sure whether or not it's a truism, since I'm at that point where I have no ability to assess my own work anymore. I'm just going to go with it for now, since my world will be full of pain and suffering if I have to rewrite it, and frankly I have enough pain and suffering as it is.
Now I'm on to the last paper I have to write, "Sexuality in Defixiones from the Athenian Agora." I spent about thirty minutes trying to figure out how to say "Curse tablets written against criminals" in Latin, and I still haven't figured it out. Eventually I just emailed Nigel. That simple statement sounds easy, but I promise you it isn't, especially when defixiones (which means "curse tablets") is a bizarre word and I can't figure out its gender or declension.
Oh well.
Anyway, the good news is that this paper isn't due for another week, and since all my research is finished I'm going to be fine in terms of writing time. I'm mostly concerned about my Greek and Latin finals now, since I need to do very well on them. To that end, I am now going to study, instead of writing in my blog.
ETA: Oh, man! Nigel is my hero. He suggested defixiones vindices, that is "vengeance curse tablets," because the text of the tablets usually goes something like "may that jackass who stole my cloak at the baths never have a day's luck with it." And that works just fine. Super-professor-man, to the rescue!
I just thought up the best name title* for my qual -- and it's even G-rated!
"Our Bodies, Our Selves: Power, Effeminacy and Medicine in the First and Second Catilinarian Orations."
Rock on. Now, all I have to do is edit it into something I'll be proud of.
And write my Greek paper (6 pages).
And write my Religion paper (20 pages).
And translate for Monday.
Uh, and stop posting to my damn blog and whining about all my schoolwork. But, the title is still really awesome!
*Yes, I really did just type "name for my qual." I guess I should start calling it my only -- my love -- my fair mistress! It certainly is taking up all the time that a boyfriend would. Oy vey.
Today, my amazing professor Ellen Millender and I randomly, in the middle of class, burst out into song. Namely, "The Oedipus Rex Song," by Tom Lehrer.
For your listening enjoyment -- now imagine Ellen and I singing it:
So, here's my spring class schedule:
Tuesday-Thursday: Special Topics in Roman History, 2:40-4 PM.
Tuesday: Religion Junior Seminar, 6:10-9 PM.
Monday-Wednesday-Friday: History of Religions, 11-11:50 AM.
Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday: Latin 210, 12-12:50 PM.
Weight Training: Anytime I darn well please.
I'm pretty happy with this schedule, although Tuesday is going to be awful. I don't know why Steve insists on teaching Junior Sem so late, but I'm not happy with it. I'm also going to have to rearrange my work schedule; I think I'm going to try and have my lunch from 11-11:50, so that I can go to class but otherwise work all day. That'll be fine. We'll see. I guess I could otherwise split my work time between Monday and Friday, but I'm lazy and prefer to have just one work day a week.
Anyhow, I'm excited about leaving Greek and taking the Special Topics class, which is on women this year. It's going to be really fun, and this way I have a class with Steve, a class with Mike, a class with Sonia and a class with Ellen -- some of my favorite people at Reed, and not too much with any one of them. (I love you, Ellen, but having you in both Greek and Roman History is pretty intense!)
Wow, I have no idea how I am ever, ever, ever going to get my qual to even twenty pages, much less thirty (which was my original goal). Right now, I've got about six pages, and I've used all the research I've done so far, pretty much. The funny thing is, Ellen thought I'd done a lot of research, and that I had plenty to go on. Guess not.
Let's do the "Wow, I'm screwed" dance!
Oh well. As long as I have, say, fifteen pages to turn in to Ellen, I think she'll be able to give me good advice on what to expand upon. And I can refer a lot more to the Latin, which will both strengthen my argument and add words. I just am frustrated, because I am fitting a lot of ideas into a short paper -- but I'm not sure if I'm being admirably concise, or ridiculously dense.
I just found a sentence in my Greek 210 reading for tonight:
It is Patzer's aim to resuscitate, correct, modify, and ultimately to vindicate a version of Bethe's thesis, for therein lies the key, he believes, to understanding the paradox of pederastic behavior without homosexual desire: in the context of an institutionalized ritual of initiation, on his view, copulation ceases to be an expression of individual sexual inclination, of personal habitus, and becomes instead the fulfillment of a universally binding social obligation. (Nice work if you can get it.) David Halperin, One Hundred Years of Homosexuality, pg 56
Truly, truly, my day has been made.
1) Today I read the words "master chef" as "Master Chief." And I've never even bothered to beat Halo!
2) Final Fantasy XII is beginning to eat my soul. My thoughts so far: it took me a while to pick up the new combat system, but I like it nonetheless -- though the way one controls the other characters' AI still feels awkward to me. I wish that one was able to go back to an entirely turn-based system sometimes, but on the other hand, this is a lot more exciting (it makes the monster battles actually interesting, even after you've done a million of them). Also, hooray for monster battles no longer being totally random! The plot itself, too, I'm finding engaging, with a real mix of influences (so far our favorite description, I think, has been 'Aladdin + Star Wars + the Roman Empire + Harajuku fashion') and the bravery to break out of a couple Final Fantasy tropes. Last but not least -- Young men with beards? Thank God! The reign of the bishi is challenged!
3) My Greek exam is also eating my soul, but in a different way. I've studied more than enough; I'm gonna be fine... I just keep worrying about it. Oh well: it isn't till one o'clock, even if I do have to finish a Latin exam before then.
4) My qual status: still unwritten. That's what happens when you go out of town all weekend. Next weekend is going to be the Weekend of Qualling Horror, I think. Isn't it interesting that 'Qual' looks so much like 'quail,' as in "quail in fear"?
Quote: "But I'm a nice dominatrix!"
Quote: "We just need some stocks in the quad. Public shaming, that's a good deterrent!"
