Well, it’s July and I’m back Abroad. I had several other lovely craft projects going over the holiday, but of course forgot to take pictures of them — so you’ll have to wait until Christmastime to see. As for now, I’m settling back in, getting back into the swing of Work, beginning a new exercise regimen, learning a bellydance choreo to be performed in two weeks, searching for yarn for a Very Special Flat Project, and considering taking up another dance form.

The new exercise regimen is the big deal right now — I’ve been unhappy with my fitness levels for a while, but was struggling to find something that actually worked for me. Then one of my mother’s friends lent me a book on weight-training for women, saying it had helped her — and I, like an idiot, had forgotten that in my undergrad years the happiest and healthiest I ever was when I lifted weights and ran every morning. It only lasted one semester, but it was AWESOME.

So now I’m lifting weights again, and soon running will be added back in. Somewhere in here, things will be knitted, and dancing will be done. But for now, bring on the dumbbells!

Tags: life
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Long time no post! The middle of my June has, indeed, been crazy (a friend’s FABULOUS wedding, and running around North America with another friend!), but the last few weeks have been quiet. I’ve done some research, but mostly I’ve been rediscovering time for myself. One thing that I’ve lost in the past few years, in my desperation to keep up with both my arts and academics, is that I don’t really give myself much ME time. Yes, I spend (far too much) time on the internet, reading webcomics etc., but that’s not ME time. However, for two weeks in the middle of this month my computer was getting repaired (oops), and so I had to find other ways to entertain myself than the endless streaming of digitized information. So, gleefully, I’ve been reading children and young adult fantasy novels, a guilty pleasure that I feel absolutely NO guilt about. I discovered Rick Riordan, first via his new book “The Red Pyramid” and then via his “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” series (OMG I just finished book 4 and haven’t bought the last book yet NEED NOW), which despite what I’ve heard about its related rubbishy movie has been really quite entertaining. I also went to see Knight and Day with a friend, and to my surprise it was quite awesome. Not fourteen flavours of awesome, but at least five. And I’ve gone SWIMMING. If it weren’t for my dislike of public pools, I’d go swimming all the time. I find it calming and restorative, and I do some of my best thinking underwater.

Representative of this whole rediscovery, however, is a craft project I began years ago. The yarn, pattern, crochet hook and beads were a store-created kit given to me by my parents, but as I rarely worked on gifts for myself, it was often put off until I went on holidays (or at least plane flights), because crochet hooks are OK on planes (knitting needles aren’t). But on this trip home, I’ve finally finished it.

It’s lovely, soft, and light. And its structure reminds me that I shouldn’t over-structure my life — leave time for the ME-time, and the arts and academia will follow.

Tags: art vs. academia,crochet,life
Categories: Academia, Arts, crochet
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I kept this prediction to myself because I didn’t want to jinx myself, but I had the feeling that after my conference I would probably get ill with something. I was hoping for something small, like a cold, but rather I came down with the bane of my existence* — asthmatic bronchitis. The last time I had bronchitis, I had full-blown pneumonia two months later; of course, that time bronchitis wasn’t properly treated. This time, my doctor tutted, commented that I don’t seem to do anything halfway, and said that if I hadn’t come in when I did I probably would have ended up in the ER, as my lungs were almost completely closed up.

So that was fun.

I’m now on lots of meds, including codeine cough syrup, and am mostly useless. I’ve got some of my energy back, but massive coughing fits (and codeine) are not conducive to dancing or studying. I managed to get a few days of work in at the local copyright library (sooo pretty) before the bronchitis kicked in full-force, but more research trips are currently on the backburner. Instead, I’ve been doing a bit of knitting, some clay modeling, and started roughing out a choreography to learn once I’m well. Pictures will follow in a few days.

I’ve also been catching up on ridiculous amounts of TV. I love the Capital One Vikings.

* Secondary bane of existence. The primary bane of my existence is the platypus. The bane of my existence is adorable.

Tags: life
Categories: maintenance
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Well, I thought May would be calmer.

I was wrong.

This weekend was fantastic, but as it is I’m already thrown headlong into finishing my conference paper. I’m running around packing for said conference, seeing friends before I head off, et cetera.  And now thanks to that bloody volcano, I’m worrying about getting out of the country.

This is stress that I do NOT need.

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Looking back through this month, it’s apparently been one long thought process on academic influences, with a bit of knitting thrown in (and one entry on bellydance, goodness!). I guess that’s only to be expected, as I’ve been working on a new thesis chapter (which I will hopefully edit and submit tomorrow!).

That said, I’ve still been doing things to keep myself sane—as noted, mostly knitting. I’ve the missing skin and new callus to prove it. But I’ve also, since I’ve been well, started into getting a dance routine habit. I haven’t necessarily been able to dance every day, but I’ve been doing the most pertinent leg stretches as well as some strengthening exercises, with an intensive set last Sunday. I can still feel a bit of twinge when I sit down, and walking up and down stairs this week has been interesting. Surprisingly, I’ve found it easier to move my sore legs if I make myself jog, or at least walk faster than normal. I’m sure there’s a proper physiological explanation for this, but all that matters to me is that it’s made me more active!

And that’s April, folks. A lovely holiday, a bit of illness, a lot of knitting, and a return to research. Now comes May, with my first ever conference (yipes!), research in copyright libraries, visiting family, and (oh yeah) my birthday. Hopefully I’ll have a new site layout to reveal by mid-May, too.

But first, I need to survive this weekend. Beltane + film + ceilidh + who knows what else. It’s going to be MADNESS! In a good way.

So, Lysse-bird out… until May!

Tags: life
Categories: Academia, Arts
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So I should be going and having dinner as a reward for actually writing part of a chapter (2700 words!!), but instead I’m rewarding myself by writing a blog post. Yes, I’m rewarding writing with…writing. My ability to reward myself with the same thing that was my task never ceases to astonish me (seriously, I do this a lot).

That said, I thought I’d write a few notes on teaching. I received a couple e-mails from last semester’s students over the weekend (mostly panics about “will I violate exam rules if I do XYZ?” to which I tend to reply “better safe than sorry, so try not to do XYZ”), and I was surprised at how much this made me miss my students.

I really like teaching.

And I’ve started to have a few worries about whether I’m actually good at teaching. I haven’t looked at last semester’s student comments yet (I’m waiting until I rework my syllabus over the summer—I’d like some distance on the semester before I destroy my soul), but student comment sheets can only go so far. Mostly because people don’t know what makes a good teacher until either a) they’re teaching themselves, or b) they’ve been taught explicitly to do or learn something new. Unfortunately, most of the teaching I do is ephemeral critical thinking skills (that don’t involve a workbook like mine did in elementary school), which is a bit harder to measure. I remember the teachers that TOLD me that I needed to start using my brain (yes, this happened…twice), but I don’t remember how they TAUGHT me to. It just happened as we went along.

Which was why this weekend was really nice, because I got to teach something where both student and teacher could see results. A bunch of my country dance friends organized a knitting afternoon, and one friend asked me to teach her how to knit at said afternoon. By the end of the afternoon she was casting on exceptionally well (I wish my tension had been that good when I’d started!) and have several rows of knit-stitch finished. I kept having flashbacks when I taught a friend from home how to knit, and that she’d been successful in learning, too (I should ask her if she’s still knitting). And tonight, I’m going over to a third friend’s to watch Glee (DON’T JUDGE ME), and as she’s just recently gotten into knitting, I’ve been asked to show her how to increase and decrease stitches. And I’m really looking forward to it.

Goodness, knitting, teaching and friends—since when did I have a social life? You’re not supposed to have one of those when you’re writing chapters!

Ah well. Off to have that reward-dinner now. Lysse out!

Tags: academic,art vs. academia,knit,life
Categories: Academia, Arts, knit
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Here’s a hint: if you think about a blog post so long that you’re sure you’ve written it and posted it by the time you go to bed, double-check. You may very well be wrong.

Anyway, to continue from Friday! When I applied to colleges I found one that had a medieval reenactment group. Due to one thing and another, it’s also the college I attended. I almost didn’t join the group, though—I had second thoughts before signing up, and only attended my first meeting because I heard some of my friends were going. I was quickly sucked into both costuming and combat. Fast-forward four years, and I’d served in four of the ten positions on the committee (in order: tech, historian, chessboard, publicity).

That group was That Medieval Thing.

A banner I made in my last year, during a chessboard rehearsal, after our nice one was stolen.

Combined with my fabulous classes in medieval literature and culture, and I’d been hit—I needed to continue in my medieval studies. If it weren’t for TMT, I wouldn’t be in Scotland. It’s amazing that it took me until starting my PhD to realise what I wanted to write on. The late Middle Ages in England and France had been my focus the whole time I was in TMT—I’d convinced the committee more than once to set our festival or feasts there. The day-in-day-out of TMT revolved around costume and combat—if you went to one of those, you’d be sure to know everyone. Now my whole PhD is on costume, and one of my chapters is specifically on arms, armour and heraldry. How did it take me this long?

I’d thought I’d write more than this, but I find it difficult to write on something that held such meaning for me. I honestly don’t think I gave the group the best I could have, but I certainly got the best out of it (my career).

Yesterday was their twenty-fourth Medieval Festival, and it’s the second I’ve missed. I hope they did fabulously. Since I wasn’t able to visit, I wandered my Scottish home, into museums and other important places, reminding myself through artefacts what it was all about.

I ended up here.

A tourist spot now, but once it was alive, active, used for the purpose it was built for. Because it’s not about the objects. It’s about the people.

TMT 2007

Tags: art vs. academia,festival,life,reenactment
Categories: Academia, Arts
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Oh man, am I looking forward to April! The semester ends this week, which means in April I will be free from classes, from marking, from extra reading. It means I can actually spend most of my days doing research! I am ridiculously excited about this, and plan on spending several good days in libraries, reading to my heart’s (and brain’s) content, faffing about doing some free-writing, producing another chapter, and getting PROPER sleep while doing it all! Yes!

Other fabulous reasons that I’m excited for April include that that my weekly country dance time will be full-on social dancing instead of classes. It’s also Script Frenzy, NaNoWriMo’s sister project, which I am going to partake in very casually. I have a goal, though, and I’m hoping to fulfill it. But the emphasis is on casual. I need a month of chillness, and will not guilt myself if I don’t finish.

Also, near the end of April / beginning of May, some of my bellydance sisters are getting together for what we’re calling a mini-hafla: a close group of folks and uber-supportive ultra-chill environment where people can have a wee boogie, try out new solos, or give their first try at an improv or choreo.

April also means that I’m not too far from heading home for summer. It won’t be a proper holiday, as I need to do research, reading, and writing while I’m home. Plus, I plan on picking up my dance sword (SQUEE!!) and practicing on my parents’ lawn. And making my mum my yoga-buddy, as she’s recently discovered yoga and quite likes it!

However, what does April really mean? It means reprioritizing. I have far too much going on in my life, and though some responsibilities will be over (forever—thank goodness!), there’s ones waiting for me in September, when the new academic year begins. Certain things I simply CAN’T give up, like my academics (duh), my teaching (duh times 2), other academic duties (they need doing and I need the experience), and bellydance (one of the few things that’s keeping me sane—and anyway, I’m fully addicted at this point). Other things won’t be given up because they’re not time-sucks. For example, knitting/crochet/drawing all fill up empty bits of time instead of taking it over, as long as I don’t commit to any large projects with deadlines—and at this point, I refuse to. I’ll finish my mum’s nativity, and after that it’s slow going only. But there’s other things that I’m committed to that are time-sucks and that I’m just not feeling that passionate about, and haven’t been feeling it for a while. So, I’ll be sorting through life-bits in April—putting the better and different parts of things on “shuffle”, as it were—and figuring out where importance truly lies.

Summer’s for reprioritizing. In summer, we shall see. By autumn, we shall know.

Tags: academic,bellydance,folk dance,life,NaNoWriMo,Script Frenzy
Categories: Academia, Arts
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