There is Halloween candy on the shelves at my local grocery store. In August.
I'm listening to Jane Austen's Emma on CD, but the logo on the CD reads, "Books on Tape." No joke.
I saw an interesting license plate today. MAMA. On a minivan, of course.
Tommy Hilfiger Boyfriend jeans are my new favorites, and they're absolutely perfect for a woman shaped more like a Grecian urn and less like Twiggy. The rise is high enough to hide what your momma gave ya and low enough that you don't actually look like your mother. I only wish they offered them in 33" lengths; 32" is almost, but not quite perfect, and 34" is just too long.
Classes started yesterday, and I already have homework. I'm taking an introduction course and another called "Internet for Educators" wherein I will be required to create, from scratch, a curriculum-based website. Using code! I haven't written code since college and that was COBOL.
Quick update on the masters program to answer Lucy's question. Educational Technology deals with the use of technology in education. But seriously - it's focused on how computers and software are used in the classroom by both teachers and students, specifically the integration of technology into the curriculum. Just visit Apple Education, and you'll learn more than you ever wanted to know.
Traveling so much means eating out almost contantly, which requires vigilance to remain fit. And, invariably, there is some guy, sweating like a pig and hogging up the hotel treadmill. And, when one decides to take a walk around the block instead, there will be a dump truck or garbage truck or 18-wheeler spewing black filth into the air, filling one's eyes with soot and lungs with carbon monoxide. Either way, ICK.
The Lord of the Rings audiobook has made for pleasant travel the past few days. I remember reading several years ago that Tolkien remarked he didn't originally write his work as "Catholic" in nature but changed it to be intentionally so in the rewriting. Listening to the work makes that intention more clear. (Although, not nearly as obvious as C.S. Lewis.) It's another layer I'm enjoying in this fine work. (Also, there are some interesting comparisons to be made between LOTR & Harry Potter. But that's another discussion for another day.)
And of course, no post containing miscellaneous happenings can go without updating you all on the best news of the week: I've made my annual sales quota with six weeks to spare. Yay! Party! Woohoo! (etc., etc., etc.)
Now, back to work.
Many years ago, a fiery literature professor taught me to love the writing of Thomas Hardy. And not because I wanted to. Return of the Native was looooonnnnnggggg and seemed tedious at first, but within a few nights' reading, I was hooked. His prose whisked me away to worlds unknown unlike any other writing, and it was less the stories than the actual writing that won my admiration. (Although his stories are compelling in their own right.)
His work is sensuous in the truest sense, grasping all five sense in one's imagination. It requires you to slow down and absorb all the things your mind can comprehend, leaving nothing unstudied. It's easy to get lost in vivid, often unexpected, descriptions of country wilds, pastoral landscapes, and simple human interactions.
Today, I've been listening to, rather than reading, Far from the Madding Crowd, and I hate to admit what joy I had long forgot. If only textbooks could be written so well and recorded for easy listening. Ah, to dream...
It's official, folks. I've been accepted to grad school and will begin classes on August 21st. I'm pursuing a Masters in Educational Technology - a subject about which I already have significant experience.
Add that to the recent expansion of my sales territory, and you're reading one very busy lady. All this means that posting may be light. Either that or I'll find a sudden burst of creativity and write constantly. Who knows!
In other news: I saw The Devil Wears Prada a couple weekends ago, and you know what? It was better than the book, which is really not very surprising given the quality of the book. Nonetheless, the plot changes gave the movie much more heart and a stronger resolution than the novel. But be warned; it's rated [G] for "girl".
You know how "they" say that a kitten weaned too young will suckle exposed skin? Well, guess what - it's true. And I have a little kitty hickey on my neck to prove it.
"They" should teach the grocery sackers how to sack groceries. For example: the watermelon should NOT be sacked on top of the tomatoes. And the raw chicken should NOT be sacked with...well, anything.
"Jesus called: He wants His religion back" is a stupid bumper sticker.
The milk ALWAYS goes bad a couple days before the expiration date. Why don't they just reduce the expiration date? Really - why? At least I only buy it in quarts or pints.
It's not normal to wake up early on a Saturday morning worrying about one's expense reports. But, at least they're done now.
The biggest adventure of the week: I applied for grad school. More details soon.
