Updates

- I have finally set a date for my proposal defense, with all four committee members on board. The date is in December, when the 4th professor comes back from the Middle East.

- My sections went very well this week, and I think the reason was that the material was complicated and confusing. When the reading is difficult, my students need me to help them, and after we talk through it, they say things like "Oh, I get it now." This makes me feel useful. When the reading is easy, however, I try to make discussion productive but I always wonder if they feel like it's a waste of time.

- Last night, I went to an awesome dinner party / dance party with my friends from the anthropology department. Even though hanging out with another department isn't branching out very far, it's wonderful to have friends outside of my program. My social life improved tremendously when I stopped relying on my classmates for weekend activities.

- Someone vomited in my building's stairwell three days ago, and the hardened puddle of chunky puke is still there on the carpet. We don't know who is responsible, and nobody will take responsibility and clean it up. I have to step over it every time I come and go... seriously fucking gross.