Photo: The Halifax harbour boardwalk heading toward the casino.
We have been blessed with incredible weather the past few days here in Halifax. Yes, I know that the weather is rather a prosaic topic, but it has been phenomenal. Yesterday was 28 degrees and sunny, but without the humidity and inevitable smog warnings that as a Torontonian I'm used to. I spent the day sitting on my minuscule, but adequate, patio working on my thesis, and it was great. The flowers are blooming, the trees are having a heyday, and as a newspaper headline that confounded my South Korean student today stated, the balmy weather is picking up everyone's spirits. Living where I do, I have the option of walking ten minutes to the harbour (which I did last night), fifteen minutes to Point Pleasant Park (which I did on Wednesday), the Public Gardens (which I did on Tuesday) or ten minutes to the Northwest Arm (which I'll probably do tonight.) I really am spoiled to live in such a beautiful city with so much to offer right around me.
Progress on my thesis is slow but steady. I'm getting to work on the third chapter this week, as it is probably going to be the hardest, but also the most interesting, to write. I'm laying off of the Northrop Frye for a bit and re-immersing myself in Anne Wilkinson. It got to the point where I forgot how much I really wanted to write about her, and how much I enjoy her poetry, because I was so much focused on Frye. I don't want him to take over my project, because that isn't what I'm trying to do, so I'm happy to be back with Wilkinson. Every time I read her, there's something new and fascinating to find, which is why I chose to write on her work in the first place. I think I've almost covered my bases with the Frye research anyway; there is no possible way that I could read everything, as there is WAY too much, but I've done pretty well.
I've gotten a job (well, it's not really a job) house/dog sitting for one of my professors for the tail end of June and most of July while she goes to Toronto. I'm quite looking forward to it. The hubby is moving back to Toronto in two weeks, so it will be nice to have Sam the standard poodle and my prof's daughter on and off for company, while enjoying a nice house with a big patio, a BBQ, and cable. I've never been allowed to have a dog, as my mother is allergic to all animals but fish and my current apartment isn't pet-friendly, so I will quite enjoy having a surrogate pet for a few weeks.
I've decided that to keep myself from going crazy from reading things only reading things related to my thesis topic, I'm going to attempt to read as much of the PhD comprehensive exam 20th century Canadian reading list as I can as my fun reading. I really am lacking in Canadian reading--there are lots of Canadian authors that I love, but my experience really isn't that diverse, and my one Canadian literature class at UTM was useless--so I'm looking forward to experiencing more. My first book is Elizabeth Smart's By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept, which a number of my Canadianist friends list as one of their favourite books, so I'm quite looking forward to it. Reading through the list will give me lots more to post on Melissa's Library too, which I've been neglecting a bit lately. I'll have to get back on that.
Progress on my thesis is slow but steady. I'm getting to work on the third chapter this week, as it is probably going to be the hardest, but also the most interesting, to write. I'm laying off of the Northrop Frye for a bit and re-immersing myself in Anne Wilkinson. It got to the point where I forgot how much I really wanted to write about her, and how much I enjoy her poetry, because I was so much focused on Frye. I don't want him to take over my project, because that isn't what I'm trying to do, so I'm happy to be back with Wilkinson. Every time I read her, there's something new and fascinating to find, which is why I chose to write on her work in the first place. I think I've almost covered my bases with the Frye research anyway; there is no possible way that I could read everything, as there is WAY too much, but I've done pretty well.
I've gotten a job (well, it's not really a job) house/dog sitting for one of my professors for the tail end of June and most of July while she goes to Toronto. I'm quite looking forward to it. The hubby is moving back to Toronto in two weeks, so it will be nice to have Sam the standard poodle and my prof's daughter on and off for company, while enjoying a nice house with a big patio, a BBQ, and cable. I've never been allowed to have a dog, as my mother is allergic to all animals but fish and my current apartment isn't pet-friendly, so I will quite enjoy having a surrogate pet for a few weeks.
I've decided that to keep myself from going crazy from reading things only reading things related to my thesis topic, I'm going to attempt to read as much of the PhD comprehensive exam 20th century Canadian reading list as I can as my fun reading. I really am lacking in Canadian reading--there are lots of Canadian authors that I love, but my experience really isn't that diverse, and my one Canadian literature class at UTM was useless--so I'm looking forward to experiencing more. My first book is Elizabeth Smart's By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept, which a number of my Canadianist friends list as one of their favourite books, so I'm quite looking forward to it. Reading through the list will give me lots more to post on Melissa's Library too, which I've been neglecting a bit lately. I'll have to get back on that.
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2 comments:
You're probably one of the few people I know who would understand me when I say "I'm so sick of reading! I'm going to take a break and do some reading." *grin*
You're so right. It's all about the kind of reading. If I get to choose what it is, then that is as relaxing as can be. It's the forced reading that gets me down.
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