screaming english major fan girls

In preparation for a class in three weeks, I have begun to read Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit. Now, as much as I adore A Tale of Two Cities and swoon at the ending every time and enjoy my soon-to-be-annual reading of A Christmas Carol, Dickens' diction in Little Dorrit is phenomenal, eliciting giggles as the result of ridiculous passages.

Sometimes, I love my homework. What's not to enjoy (besides the pressure of getting it done) about reading 3 books every 2 weeks?

academic procrastination

Some have Facebook, some have Twitter, I have When In Academia.

opening doors

Last semester (or "term" as they call it here), though thankful for the opportunity and learning experience of working as a TA of an online course, I was very much hoping for the chance to be a part of an in-class course. Now, when I'm least expecting it, a window is opened beside me and all I have to do is crawl through.

As a result, my semester has just gotten a little bit tighter, and needing just a little bit more organization and self-discipline. So, as I prepare for that which lies ahead, please pray for me that I will be able to do my work well, that I am able to learn, and yet able to enjoy life as the gift it is. Learning can be such a joy, but often we [I] get bogged down and distracted by the tasks that need to be done and forget the sheer enjoyment of reading and learning.

I am excited about the semester: all of the things I am studying are so distinct from each other. The Early Modern English Title Page (how much more specific can one get?) to Victorian Literature (where we are reading delightful novels such as A Tale of Two Cities and North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell's famous novel that has a wonderful film adaptation starring the actor who now plays Thorin Oakenshield in the recent movie The Hobbit) and all the way to the present day with Contemporary Canadian Life Writing.

Now it is time to stretch those muscles and prepare for the mental workout and training program that has already begun.

reflecting windows

Oh the late nights when I tell myself to go to bed at 10 to make up for past late nights and yet continue to do work well into the nights.

The promise that tomorrow will worry about itself is often difficult to accept - I keep wanting to do all my work in one day.

calling it home

After months of searching, watching, waiting, and hunting, we have been blessed with a place to call home for twelve months. It is everything I hoped for (except for the carpets and the lack of closets): location, privacy, quiet, and brightness. There is even space for a piano! 

times are a-changin'

It's strange to think that the past four years have slipped by so quickly. My life has been showered with so many blessings, with the support of family and friends. The Lord has seen me through my undergraduate degree and has enabled me to continue on with a Master's degree by providing me with financial support from the government, a large and generous scholarship. 

the recent graduates from Redeemer and Covenant 

mid-afternoon musings

My days at Redeemer are numbered. I sit at home with my feet in the sun and tap away at the keys as my 6,000 word paper slowly reaches its mark, losing myself once again in Tolkien's Middle Earth with C. S. Lewis and Paul Ricoeur as guides. The sun is shining, my sister is practicing piano, the floor is home to books that don't fit on my shelf, groaning with the thought that there are more to come, my bed is covered in reams of notes, various essays, several books, and yet another acceptance letter to grad school. I am undecided, envious of those whose direction has been clearly marked. I am still waiting for the neon signs to tell me where I ought to go.

I distract myself from my work and studies with these thoughts, then am reminded that there is still a task at hand. Papers do not write themselves nor do exams. Only three. Nine days left. How do four years slip by so quickly?

school, school, and more school

I received my first acceptance letter to an M.A. program from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario this week! Even if 4 rejection letters come in the mail, I will still be able to continue on in my education.

A large weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

default

A cup of tea, several stacks of books, my agenda (a.k.a. my lifeline), some music, my computer, a pen with blue ink, a mechanical pencil, sheets of note paper, a sweater (or blanket) (or both). . .

I'm doing schoolwork.

cast your eyes on the ocean

The ever calming sound of waves crashing on the shoreline is a sound I could listen to on a daily basis. Perhaps it's a sound I should listen to on a daily basis.

This week provided a sampling of grad school with my first batch of assignments to mark and the early stages of research for a grad-level sized paper.

the swing of things

the title of the video says it all

I have completed the first week of the final semester of undergrad and the future holds a lot of written pages by the end of April. 3 seminar presentations, 1 midterm, 3 quizzes, 1 performance review, 1 4 page paper, 2 8 page papers, and 1 20 page paper. My ambition is to remain positive, to see all of this as a a welcome challenge and as preparation for grad school, especially since I am officially a TA, not just a Departmental Assistant, this semester and will grading alongside my writing and reading.

Reading. I've actually been enjoying the assigned readings so far. Tolkien's Silmarillion, various articles by David Lodge and R.B. Kershner regarding literary theory and criticism, a short story by Ruby Wiebe, who is known as the author of the dreaded novel study in grade 11: Peace Shall Destroy Many, selected contemporary novels such as Haroun and the Sea of Stories and In the Skin of a Lion. And on the side, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, one of John Le Carré's spy stories which I have started now for the third time. Oh what fun it is to ride on the sleigh which is getting closer to the edge of a sheer cliff, the Cliffs of Insanity.

It's great being a student. :)

i can only imagine

Post no. 1 for the new year - it's only a week late.

No, this is not about to be a review of the past year, as it was rather quite eventful. Although, I do have to mention a few things which have had an impact on my life: England (obviously), the passing away of my oma, ending a long-distance relationship, and beginning my final year as an undergraduate student.

These holidays have been filled with all sorts of delightful things: skating, visiting many, many friends, and generally spending time with family, (although I didn't do any of the baking I said I would…). Grad school applications are almost completely finished, and I am on the brink of a new semester.

The challenging task of this year is to put all concerns in the hands of the One who controls all things, and not getting caught up in the cares of tomorrow. Here's to putting all things to prayer.

falling in love with poetry

As Kingfishers Catch Fire

As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;

As tumbled over rim in roundy wells

Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell's

Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;

Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:

Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;

Selves - goes itself; myself it speaks and spells;

Crying What I do is me: for that I came.

I say more: the just man justices;

Keeps grace; that keeps all his goings graces;

Acts in God's eye what in God's eye he is -

Christ - for Christ plays in ten thousand places,

Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his

To the Father through the features of men's faces.

- Gerard Manley Hopkins

haunting the halls

A lengthy silence.

A filled summer.

A new school year.

A final year, begun with a vengance like the blaze of a summer sunset over the Atlantic ocean.

A year which promises long days and full evenings, but brightly coloured patches in all of the work which sometimes seems to overwhelm.

A year which will result in growth, carefully crafted, though it sometimes takes the evening light to appreciate the delicate lace of a weed.

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Last week, our theory assignment was to create a Christmas song based on the words by Christina Rosetti. Little did I know that this idea is a part of the "been there, done that" category. So here is "Love Came Down at Christmas" by Jars of Clay. It's strange to hear it, after having drummed my own melody into my head.

Love came down at Christmas,

love all lovely, love divine;

love was born at Christmas:

star and angels gave the sign.

Worship we the Godhead,

love incarnate, love divine;

worship we our Jesus,

but wherewith the sacred sign?

Love shall be our token;

love be yours and love be mine,

Love to God and to all men,

love for plea and gift and sign.

racing towards the finish line

for the literary folks:

In modern linguistic terms, the story of the Incarnation is the story of how the Transcendental Signified became a lowly signifier while continuing to be a signified.

The project for this weekend is an essay on C. S. Lewis and how his sense of morality influenced his writing.

One of the strengths of Lewis’ writings is that he gives us such an exciting picture of what goodness looks like. His fiction is filled with characters who demonstrate that being virtuous is not a weak characteristic in a personality, but rather one of strength, courage, honour, and power. Lewis gives us pictures of good which fascinate and draw us, awakening within us the hope that we too can rise above our instincts and limitations and do the right thing. Virtue is the ability and power to choose good, which arises from a transformation of our hearts and minds.

.

who are you and what have you done with [name]?

A crazy week has drawn to a close. It began with the completion of an essay, the frantic rewriting of that same essay within two hours to make the midnight deadline, a power outage at school, a rescheduled midterm, and a movie review.

Welcome to November, folks.

It's hard to believe that this semester is more than half over. I realize I mentioned in my previous 'post' (apparently two sentences don't constitute as a proper post) that only a couple months remain until the holidays. My brother clearly announced this afternoon that there are only seven weeks left until Christmas (inevitably followed by his ever-growing list ;) ) which means that in ten weeks I will be distanced from home and loved ones by an ocean. It still seems all a little unreal.

But that's the future.

For now, I'm waiting to put the icing on the cake.

Also, I have been struggling with "Thy Will Be Done" so I would like to share this link. It is from the soundtrack of "Joseph King of Dreams" which speaks of letting go of our own dreams when doors appear to be closing and following the path He has set out for us.

to/two/too

In two months and a few days, the first semester will be over and we'll be into the holidays again.

In two months and a few weeks, I'll be in England for a few months.

at the end of the day

"Some texts are born literary, some achieve literariness, and some have literariness thrust upon them." [Terry Eagleton, Literary Theory: An Introduction]

School, in all its various forms, has begun once again. These lofty ideas of criticism, ambiguous statements, the idea that each reading is a rewriting ... my favourite quote of today's reading is from Paul Ricouer as he is discussing the relationship between story and life: "We learn to become the narrator of our own story without completely becoming the author of our life."

How true is this?

I can learn, acquire knowledge and insight, but at the close, I am just myself. Me, as I am. And it is the simple things which matter most.

the ninth hour

It's the last minute crunch before the end - the final exam that concludes half of my undergraduate education. Granted, the milestone isn't as large as that of finalizing that education, but it is a pillar of a kind.

Had we but world enough, and time,

This last-minute studying were no crime.

Time slips past so quickly, it's wingéd chariot hurrying near. [No, I did not write a seventeenth century exam a few days ago and just quote Andrew Marvell.]