A real ‘Life Update’ post

It’s been a long time since I’ve done an actual actual update. Keep reading for tidbits on my semester, my Ph.D. program, my summer jobs, my birthday, and small announcement!

MY SEMESTER: This semester has been insane. On top of finishing my thesis, taking my comps, and doing my oral defense, I also managed to present at two conferences, write four papers for class, and do two classroom presentations.  Needless to say, I’m exhausted.  But, fingers crossed, there’s a strong chance I’ll be graduating next month with a 4.0 GPA.  On top of that, I was our department’s nominee for Outstanding Graduate Assistant. I think the word I’m looking for is flabbergasted.

PHD PROGRAM: So, as you may have seen in my March recap, I have officially accepted a Ph.D. offer at UIC and I could not be more thrilled.  I’ve visited twice already and am so excited about the faculty and students, and the kind of work that is being done in that department.  Plus, staying close means Joe doesn’t need to look for a new job and we now have an excuse to move closer to the city.  We’re going to start apartment hunting in Oak Park at the beginning of June.  If anyone knows of a good deal, please please please let me know.

SUMMER JOBS: I had been quite concerned about money for the summer, considering my TA paycheck from NIU is obviously done-zo, but I’ve discovered that it doesn’t hurt to ask for a job… you just might get it.  That is exactly what I did: I’ll be teaching video game design at a camp for girls at NIU in June, and I’ll be teaching creative writing at a camp for girls at my undergrad in July. I’m incredibly excited.

BIRTHDAY: My 26th birthday was last Saturday, and I could not have been more spoiled.  I slept in and spent the morning in my pajamas, leaving the house only to retrieve the lovely flowers off the porch that my mom had sent me.  In the afternoon, we trekked to the little Italian bakery, intending to get cupcakes but ordered humungous cannoli instead.  Luckily, this didn’t spoil our amazing dinner at Pizzeria Neo, where we shared three different bruschetta: artichoke, broccoli rabe with sausage, and prosciutto with arugula; and two pizzas: olive/mozzarella/cacciatori salame and speck/arugula/cherry tomato.  Somehow we managed to waddle over to the adorable historic theatre to see Ira Glass, who was hilarious, charming, and poignant. He said that public radio is the only mainstream media that is growing in this economy. Not surprised.

FUTURE: And finally, I’ve been working on turning the Powerful Woman Monologues into its own free-standing feminist community.  I’ll post an update with more details soon!

If you work hard and are kind, amazing things will happen. – Conan O’Brien