It's a magical world

So, I got a $200 ticket for biking in the walk zone on campus in July. I was an avoidant moron and didn't look at the ticket until a week ago, when I realized that I had missed all the opportunities to take the bike class that would reduce the fine to $50. I was able to get the campus police to extend the processing period for the ticket…but only until the last class of the month, when I will be in Minneapolis. I actually considered changing my flight, but there is no way that it would be less than $150. …Actually, I should check that again. I could fly out on Friday and vastly inconvenience myself even further for about $100 more, which would save me about $50 off the cost of the ticket all told. Not worth it.

I would just like to note that $200 for biking in the walk zone is more than the ticket I got when I was pulled over driving a car with expired registration without current proof of insurance. So, in conclusion, my fundamental dislike for the campus police remains unchanged.

I did finally buy myself a bike pump with a working hose and air pressure gauge and oh my god, tire pressure, never leave me again.

So after all the seating chart meetings and the last-minute emails (oh the last minute emails) and the finagling food orders, Visit Day went off quite well. I don't honestly know how our recruitment efforts will turn out by the numbers--this year's crop of admits seemed quite young (one guy even brought his mother, WTF)--and we're basically banking on total honesty up front re: the job market and the shifting terrain of higher education and where we are situated with respect to both--but if people don't come here it won't be because Visit Day was bad. I hosted someone, and I really hope she comes; we could use more sarcastic women. I also got to hear some rather embarrassingly fulsome praise for me from my department chair, as well as the thanks and recognition of people in general, which was quite nice.

And then, after three solid days of socialization, hostessing (the last day in heels, no less), and drinking, I went home and talked to no one but my housemates and had four meals of leftovers and didn't even put on makeup on Saturday and it was quite nice. It's the first time in a while that Daylight Savings hasn't totally whacked me out.

And now back to the grind, specifically fellowship applications for this summer. Which means…you guessed it…the FAFSA.

I bought plane tickets to Argentina this evening.

Books I'm reading: I'm just about to finish, finally, Michelle West's Skirmish. It is so good and so darkly hilarious and so much the core of what I love about Michelle West books, I am very sad to see it end and I have consequently been taking it in very small chunks. For next week, I get to re-read my favorite parts of Mary Elizabeth Berry's The Culture of Civil War in Kyoto, which is an amazing book that everyone should read.

Books I'm writing: That magical pirate thing, and the princess thing (which may be getting an update to cod-1930s, because hell yes the 1930s), and also the Sherlock Holmes/Singsong Girls of Shanghai steampunk thing. Everything else is gravy.

The book I love the most: This…is a tough question. I usually duck out of this by saying that I haul His Dark Materials around the world with me (I do, and it's The Amber Spyglass out of all three of them that is a book of my heart), but of course I don't have just one. The Culture of Civil War in Kyoto would have to rank near the top of that list on the non-fiction side. It's just so good, you guys! It's about medieval Kyoto, yes, but it's also about cities and people and popular uprising and revolutions and it's directly relevant to today, period.

The last book I received as a gift: Well, I think that was William Joyce's wonderful picture book The Man in the Moon, from some of my chosen family for Christmas--it's the first in a series. I just learned via the internet that there are books for young readers as well as the picture books, and the first one is about the Easter Bunny and warrior eggs? I'm so there.

The last book I gave as a gift: …Hmm. I leant my sister my copy of Cat Valente's Deathless last summer with a strong recommendation, and she enjoyed it very much, and I think that will have to do for this category in the absence of my memory of Christmas presents.

The nearest book: The aforementioned Skirmish. Michelle West = ♥.

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So, I'm still alive. The course I'm teaching for is great, but unfortunately the middle third of it is basically four weeks of straight grading (paper-exam-paper-exam) and on top of that I'm chairing our department's Visit Day efforts--we are going all-out to recruit people this year, and 34 people are coming to campus next Friday, and that is a lot and I have been inundated with emails about it since last week, when I had a two-hour meeting about, among other things, seating charts with mini-meetings about seating charts. So I am rather stressed out, and by "rather" I mean "really."

On top of all this, as usual, I have a ton of things to do--abstracts and conference proposals and articles and an informal but serious talk next month--which are slowly but surely becoming more consequential for my career and which I need to get better about prioritizing. All of these things are, in isolation, good, but putting them all together is a bit much. I'm very much looking forward to next Saturday, as you can imagine.

Finished, thank the Yulegoat. Speaking of the Yulegoat, I guess I should write my Yuletide fic, huh? 

But yes, finished. I stayed up til 3am grading and I turned in my paper and I went to the post office and I finalized my students' grades and I dropped off my bike at the shop and I packed and I left. I am currently in OAK without any real clue as to when I will get back to the East Coast. Sometime tomorrow, but when is very much up in the air. There may or may not be a rather long wait in LAX in my future. 

I passed my third semester exam. I'm not surprised, but it's gratifying all the same. Now I get to try to become a PhD candidate. But between now and then I am going to, hopefully, sleep. And make vids and write things and read things and watch things. Yeah. 

Me: …I'm sorry, it's been a long morning.
Prof. C: It's 10:20.
Me: Yes.

That said, I am still having way too much fun, though I have to retool my Monday caffienation schedule so as not to be hyper in my China seminar (from which the above conversational tranche).

# I actually said the above at the end of my Roman armies & taxes seminar today. I laughed along with everyone else, and immediately followed it up with "It's been a long week" (it has), but even my professor could not repeat the phrase "robot arms" without laughing. Yup.

# Waiting for wintercreek to arrive for FOGcon! I need to wash dishes while I wait; I left my Chinese textbook on campus. Anyone who's going, I think my badge will say starlady. I never know what to say about myself, but please don't hesitate to say hi.

# Speaking of Chinese, I realized I didn't realize I had neglected to do half a semester's worth of listening assignments this morning, FTW. Goodbye, 50 points that I could have used! Oh well, it's not like it matters anyway. (No, it really doesn't.)

# I went to the dentist for the first time in four years yesterday. Her comment; "I'm going to use the hypersonics to clean your teeth." I have a cavity that needs filling next month; getting my wisdom teeth out at some point over the next 5.5 years is on the table as something to keep in mind.

# I have a doctor's appointment next week; the thing is that in some ways it feels like acknowledging in yet another way that I'm an independent adult and that my mother is gone. Ignorance is not bliss, it only seems that way in retrospect.

# Someone in my house is playing "Wake Up", appropriately enough.