Ironies Abound

So in the interest of transparency, I should tell you that I'm graduating in May. I'm on the cusp of embracing my adulthood, taking responsibility for myself, and figuring out what these years of study are truly for. No pressure.
If any of you have followed this blog for a while or read my sidebar -->>>> you'll know that I rejected the idea of being a high school English teacher fairly early in my academic career. Last week, thanks to a number of factors, I settled on what I want to do when I graduate.
Ironically, the plan involves teaching (and oh, how my father teases about that). But not quite in the way most English majors do it. I've decided that I want to live abroad for the next few years and support myself by teaching English as a second language. I want to travel and write and unfortunately, that needs funds. Teaching ESL might be the way to it. I think that might be more enjoyable for me anyway. I won't be convincing bored American teens to care about Shakespeare and To Kill a Mockingbird. No, I'll be sharing language and culture with students around the world. And yeah, some of them will be bored, but I feel like in an ESL curriculum there's more room to be inventive and incorporate technology and digital culture. If they're bad in class, I can always Rick-Roll them.
The job climate in the US is depressing to say the least. I don't want to run off to NYC to intern at a magazine or be an assistant at a publishing firm like every other graduating writing student on the east coast. Confession: I don't even like NYC that much. I'm more of a country girl.
Of course the hope is that I'll start publishing my fiction and make an income from that. But I don't live in fairy land (or even the world of Hemingway's A Movable Feast). Writing doesn't pay that well. Even if you're good. You have to be both prolific and popular
I know I want to write and travel and I'm afraid that if I don't do it now, I never will. I'll fall into some job that I don't really like that will sap my energy and my time to write. I'll get too settled to leave. Like most of my family, I'll end up living the rest of my days within 20 miles of the place I was born. That's why I have to go now. I can't give myself a chance to fall into a rut because I'll stay there.
And yes, I know that this lifestyle I'm describing has many drawbacks and challenges. Arranging visas, tax forms, language barriers, being far from the familiar, not being able to have many material possessions, etc. I'm not saying I'll do this for the rest of my life. I feel like I should spend the rest of my 20s with rich eyes and poor hands. I should sleep on other peoples' couches around the world. When I hit 30, I'll reevaluate and see if it's time to buy my own couch.
So that's my manifesto of the moment. Updates on this painful process of arranging my future will trickle in. Thanks guys.

Bill Bryson: The Mother Tongue

The Mother Tongue: English and How it got that Way is a delightful book. Anyone interested in language, etymology, or history will love this book. Anyone vaguely curious about why English can seems so strange or confusing will find it enlightening and amusing.
Bryson works his way through some of the basics of the history of the language: how a bastardized peasant tongue somehow became one of the dominant languages of the world. Some of the sketchier bits of history like "the great vowel shift" are skirted over with good reason: there is no definitive understanding of that strange happening to this day. Dialects, American and British are discussed, as well as how the names of places and people came to be, and also the origins of swear words.
What always rings clear in this book is the fact that language is not a permanent thing. English is strangely malleable, constantly shifting, picking up bits of other languages, and changing. Where some languages have change very little in the past thousand years (so much so, you could read ancient manuscripts with little difficulty), old English is nearly unrecognizable to modern readers. Though Bryson admits English has its failings and that other languages are more expressive or sensible in certain areas, his love of the language is seen on every page. He reminds native speakers that the language they speak is beautiful, expressive, and unique among world languages.
Perhaps he is a little biased in his love of English, and doesn't go into all the textbook definitions. It's not a textbook, and it never feels like one. Overall, it's a book that is both fun to read and will teach you dozens of new things about the English language. Something about Bryson's voice is engaging and personable. You feel like you're chatting with an incredibly smart friend while having a drink together on a lazy Friday night. I'm currently in a Linguistics class at the moment, and I must say, that though The Mother Tongue seems light on the science, it was a fantastic book to read before the class. Nearly all of the topics on our syllabus were touched on by Bryson. I feel much more prepared than going into the class cold.

No Room For You (in the workforce)

Perhaps it's my own fault for keeping an email account with Yahoo. It seems like every few months they post a new story about "useless" college majors. They're not the only culprit, plenty of news sources print and post such articles.
In their most recent article, they discussed the usual "worst" majors (mine, English, included). When discussing the poor job prospects for philosophy majors the writer said,"Our philosophy, at least, is to look into a major with a better return on investment."

Hilarious. It seems that this is the mindset toward education now. We treat it like a product. Commercials for online degrees are a perfect example of this. "I want to get my degree faster." "I don't want to take classes I don't need." If only we could streamline it and have people line up to get implanted with a micro-chip labelled "bachelor's degree."

I don't understand how anyone can call something that enriches your mind a waste. The concept of the Renaissance Man is now outmoded. People want to take the classes that give them a specific set of skills that will enable them to do a specific job that will bring home a certain sized paycheck. 

It's true that perhaps if I had gone into the sciences I would have a more certain job when I graduate, but I prefer language and literature. Obviously most of the people pursuing the "worst" degrees are doing them because they love them. They are more interested in feeding the soul than feeding the wallet. These constant articles in the media beating down the Arts and Humanities are basically saying to me: "There's no room for you."

There's no room for the poets, the philosophers, the painters. There's no room for the people who appreciate beauty or show us society in a new light. There's no room for people who try to give us greater understanding and consciousness. We don't need them as long as we have doctors, lawyers, scientists, and investment bankers.

You shouldn't go to school to become a smarter, better person, you should go to school so you can make lots of money. Even if you do it by studying a subject you don't love.

I know that I won't be a Warren Buffet. I will never live in a mansion or have servants.  I will live in an apartment and cook Ramen noodles over a hot plate. So what? There are more important things in my opinion. I'm a story teller and I don't have a choice. I came out of the womb that way. 

I think I've gained something from every college course I've taken-- even the courses that weren't in my major. Thanks to our liberal arts curriculum, I've take classes in biology, sociology, mathematics. I don't think they were a waste. Learning something new can only improve your mind for whatever it is you plan on doing.

<I can't help but wonder if the writer of that article is just a frustrated English major stuck writing for Yahoo now. And consider: would the world be any richer had Shakespeare chosen the more sensible profession of fishmonger or become a glover like his father?

I've been... Inducted

This weekend I was inducted into Sigma Tau Delta, the International English Honor Society. Basically, I promise to uphold the ideals of "Sincerity, Truth, Design" and do my best to support and further writing and literature.
I got some fancy red and black cords I can wear at graduation, a pin, and a certificate. I can also now publish in Sigma Tau Delta's two journals: The Rectangle and The Review. The Rectangle is for creative writing, The Review is for scholarly pieces, essays and the like.
It's sort of exciting to be recognized and be among the group on campus. Of course, it's not like a sorority or anything, though that would probably be excellent. We could have a permanent literary salon where we sip caffeinated beverages and share our latest masterpieces in the rough. Oh the metaphysical debates... but alas, there's no Greek housing on our campus anyway. Only six new members pledged this year,and some of the officers are graduating, so it's a rather small group.
I hate to be immodest, but it feels nice to be among the "chosen few." There are many benefits to joining and I look forward to taking advantage of them.

Upstairs Downstair Reboot on PBS

The original Upstairs Downstairs was wildly popular, so it makes sense that it's being revisited. Last night the first episode of the reboot aired on PBS's Masterpiece program (and is available to watch online as well).
The first episode laid a lot of groundwork for things to come. In one hour they rather efficiently introduced a brand new set of characters (with the exception of the beloved Rose who now runs an employment agency for domestic workers). There were a few moments of humor and heartbreak, but over all, not a stunning episode. I look forward to seeing more plot and character development now that all the necessary exposition is out of the way.
Lady Percy, played by Claire Foy (of Little Dorrit) was hardly seen in this episode, but her struggles with her family's genteel poverty, adapting to her sister's new lifestyle, as well as her temper poise her to be an important character that will possibly serve as a catalyst to future plots.
It was a risk to try and reproduce a show that was so loved and so revolutionary. It was also a risk putting it in a Masterpiece season that just debuted the spectacular Downton Abbey-- another program that deals with the dynamic of aristocracy and their servants. Both Downton and Upstairs set their characters in a world on the verge of change, social and political conflicts challenge tradition and the way these characters view the world, especially in regards to class and position. Where they seem to diverge (so far) is that Downton is more rooted in family drama, where Upstairs seems to be going in a direction more focused on politics. All in all, worth the watching

Quick- I just think I coined a new term

I doubt I'm the first to come up with this term, but I really like it, it made me feel clever. Sitting in the draughty living room, drinking tea and brooding over the tickle in my throat and the possibly dead deer from earlier, I decided to check and see if the Sherlocking forums were back up. They were hacked a week or so ago unfortunately.
The answer is no, they aren't back yet. So, feeling a bit melancholy that I am seperated from lighthearted Sherlock Holmes discusssion by one hacker and the glass box surrounding the world of Tumblr, I thought to myself, "I guess I'm just feeling Holmesick."
That caused me to smile.
Spread it around people: Holmesick.

English Major Tee Shirts

The science department in my college is the dominant area of study in the school. When the college first opened it was especially dedicated to science studies and those are still the most populated programs of study.
Recently the sciences came out with a witty tee shirt that references how much time they spend in labs, so my friend Sacha and I were pondering what witty tee shirt the English department could come up with to combat this and boost morale.
Here were some we came up with:
"I'm not saying I'm perfect, but I'm an English major, so I'm a little more perfect than you."
"I have better taste than that, I'm an English major."

Those were our best, but please leave your own suggestions.
Now, I have to go read about 50 more pages without falling asleep or having my eye balls fall out. This will be a challenge.

Another Book I Have to Read

I just saw the first two episodes of Pillars of the Earth on the Starz website (I'm a poor college kid- I can't afford any special channels). Unfortunately it seems like they aren't going to put up any more episodes, and I can't find any websites to watch it on that don't involve me taking some sort of invasive quiz that asks for all of my personal information. So, I'll be anxiously awaiting (and saving up) for the DVD release.
Historical fiction or semi-fiction has always been one of my favorite, especially stories regarding the English monarchy in the medieval to renaissance period. It takes me back to my days at the Ren. Faire. So far it seems like a really interesting story with wonderfully varied characters. So, here's another book to add to my list. As you undoubtably know, I'm way behind on my reading list.
However there is one vital thing that the mini series has that the book won't:


Ah, Eddie Remayne, cutest male ginger ever. There is something utterly heartbreaking about him no matter what role he plays.
My seamstress persona has also found inspiration for some projects from the beautiful costumes in the show.

This Looks Like a Job for Language Rehab!

As I sit here with my frozen yogurt and pretzels, waiting to get tired enough to go to bed, I ponder something my father said last week: "Well you know she's preggers again, right?"
This worried me. Beyond the fact that he's turning into a gossip, my father at age 67 just used the term "preggers." Have we as a civilization become too lazy to say whole words? Is everyone going to begin speaking like the bored 16 year old girl that cut me off in a parking lot yesterday? I can see it now, "Word of the Day" calendars will disappear, soon vowels will become too much for us and we will speak only in grumbled consonant noises.
We all have our little bad habits, myself included, but some people I hear out in public are so disjointed in their use of words that I'm sure it must effect their personal and business lived.
This is where I step in. I believe there is a need for something between a super hero and Stacy and Clinton from What Not to Wear to take these people in hand and and change their speech to change their lives. I'm already sewing my argyle cape and am wearing my underwear on the outside as we speak.
I just need a really cool super hero/fashionable host name and persona. "The Book Eater" isn't really sexy or intimidating enough.
Oh, and one more gripe, the other week I saw a spelling error on a billboard. Not only are you assaulting the English language, you are doing it at an enormous scale, for a whole city to see. No one probably noticed.

Awkward First Blog

I keep seeing more and more authors nowadays that have gotten their start online through blogging. It struck me that perhaps there really is something useful and educational about it, that I should move with the times.
I don't want to talk about my personal life or the exploits of celebrities, mainly I want to create an intelligent forum for literary based discussions in relation to life, pop culture, and more literature. At the forefront I should state I am not just an English geek, I have many geeky interest or at least interests that I have been told are geeky.
Mostly I have been inspired by the fantastic girls on the BBCA Robin Hood forum that provide stimulating discussion every week and have given me confidence in my own ability to give commentary.
Now that this awkward first blog is out of the way, hopefully enthralling discussions are to come.