blah.

I'm not feeling so hot these days, and I'm not sure why. I don't understand why I am so tired and lethargic, why I have a headache every afternoon, and why I can't focus on anything. All I want to do is be in my bed watching tv on the internet, which of course makes it worse. I am supposed to be writing a thesis right now, but I can't focus enough to read any of the articles and books that I have, and when I try I feel completely overwhelmed. I feel like I've forgotten how to write.

I'll stop complaining, but that is just how I'm feeling right now.

So I'm trying to write a chapter on how religious elements are used in horror films and in zombie films specifically so I've been trying to do this research on the topic and I've come to the realization that there are a lot of horror films out there that I have yet to see. I'm usually pretty selective with my horror intake, but it's got to the point where I don't watch any anymore, and I am literally craving it. Not only that, but I feel like I am at a disadvantage when discussing them if I haven't even seen most of what I'm reading about. What kind of horror scholar am I? It really comes down to the fact I need to watch these movies because I need to be familiar with the topic I've chosen to write my thesis about. And it's especially tricky because no one will watch them with me, and I would prefer to watch them with people because that is part of the horror experience, I think.

But I guess I just need to get down to business and watch them, whether anyone will join me or not. I bought Land of the Dead yesterday, so I suppose I'll start with that one. I'm going to my mom's next week for a few days and so I think I'll have her rent me some movies and I'll have a horror marathon. Maybe she'll watch some of them with me.

OK, so I'm going to read a chapter about Land of the Dead before I watch it so that I feel like I really am doing research.

nouns of assemblage

I was applying barcodes to books today at work to keep myself busy between projects, and I came across this little gem, Schott's Original Miscellany. The first thing I opened up to was Nouns of Assemblage, which are my favorite kind of nouns. Here are some things I learned:
a malapertness of peddlers
a spring of teals (I don't even know what to picture in my mind with this. what are teals?)
a gang of elk
a murmuration of starlings
a suit of sails
a wilderness of monkeys (my favorite)
a clutch of eggs
a field of runners
a chattering of choughs (of what?)
a cete of badgers
a bench of bishops
a murder of crows
a barren of mules
a rag of colts
a walk of snipe (what is a snipe anyway? I thought they weren't real...)
an exaltation of larks
a muster of peacocks
a desert of lapwing
a drift of swine
a stud of mares (haha)
a parliament of rooks and owls :)
a glozing of taverners
a covey of ptarmigan (of what??)
a business of ferrets
a drunkship of cobblers (I wonder who picked this noun)
a nye of pheasants
a fall of woodcock
a sege of herons
a herd of curlews

I will be purchasing this book posthaste and sharing its wonders with all those who don't care. I can't wait.

oh my hell.

So, you know how I like animals and want to own a farm. Well, I just have to say that nothing, and I want to make myself absolutely clear, NOTHING makes me happier than this picture. Nothing. I mean, look at it. The puppy is sleeping, as happy as can be. The hen is as protective as ever. If you touch her puppy she will kill you. And the chick is so confused. It's all I ever wanted.

the last three weeks, in case you were wondering.

The last time I blogged was on my birthday, three weeks ago. It's not surprising since this month has been one of the busiest months of my life, and even now that school is done I can't really stop. Still have papers to grade, still have to work, have to get my life back into some kind of order and jump on my thesis work. I thought that I'd give a rundown of all the things I've done this month.

My birthday was on Friday the 3rd and I had a nice dinner with a lot of friends, went to gallery stroll and had cake at my house with more friends. My little sister came down and visited me for the weekend and I got to see people I hadn't seen in a long time. Very awesome.

I left for New Orleans on Tuesday April 7, so I had to get my Great War paper done before then since it would be due the day after I got home, and I managed to do it! I took the bus to Salt Lake, my sister took me to the airport. I ended up taking the same plane as 3 professors from BYU, which ended up being really fun. I sat next to one who was sitting next to a lady that worked for the FBI, and she was extremely interesting to listen to. I also sat next to an old man from New Orleans who had a disgusting burn on his hand that made me sick. He kept buying those little bottles of wine, and after the third he started talking to me. He told me all the things he thought I should do in the city, all the places I should go to eat and the things I should see. The drunk old man's information was very useful to me later, I found.

The night we got into New Orleans I went out to dinner with my professors at a place called Daisy Duke's. It was ok food. I got a seafood omelet and had my first experience with crawfish. LOVED it. I also had grits, which didnt taste like anything to me. (I would try them at another place where they were soooo much better, not runny, and super delicious and buttery). It was weird and fun to hang out with three older married professors. It was a good way to start out the week since I would be hanging out with other professors and I got used to it, I felt very comfortable and could hold my own in a conversation, which definitely came in handy later.

On Wednesday I presented my paper and it went really well. I got some good feedback from the people there and felt pretty good about it. Then Dr. Sederholm, Dr. Perry and I went to the House of Blues and bought tickets to see the Vivian Girls for that night. Then I went to some panels and then went out to dinner with Dr. Sederholm (whom I began to call Carl, which was weird to me) and his friends. I felt really weird at first and almost didn't go, but eventually felt comfortable and had some really interesting conversations. It was a good night. Afterwards we went to the Vivian Girls show and it was pretty awesome.

On Thursday I hung out with my roommate and a guy who was there to present from BYU. It was fun, we just walked around and looked at stuff, went to the French Market and bought some bracelets. Then I ate a beignet. And my life has never been the same since. I went out again Thursday with the same group and had some great conversations yet again. And then I ate a crawfish etouffe and my life has never been the same since. I ate that three more times before I left on Sunday. I had never even heard of this stuff before. Amazing. After Carl's panel we took him to get beignets and then walked around and down Bourbon Street, which is always fun. I think he enjoyed himself, so I'm glad he hung out with us.

On Friday we went on a "Ghost Tour" of the French Quarter, which was boring. But I got to go into a bar that was once a brothel and was allegedly haunted by a dead prostitute. So, well worth the 20 bucks, yeah? I did get to learn a little bit of history, which actually did make it worth going, since I'm a geek for local histories.

I was supposed to come home Saturday, but I decided to extend my flight until Sunday so that I could go to more panels on Saturday and see a little more of the city. I ended up spending the morning in a cemetery, but I think I should have gone on the street car to see the big old houses outside the city, but alas, I went to the most awesome cemetery in the country instead. I'm happy for my decision. I also ended up going to four more panels and talking to a lot more awesome people.

This was definitely one of my favorite trips, especially because I got most of it funded. I still need to bring in receipts and get it all straightened out, but I'll get the hotel and registration paid for at least. I also think it was really good for me as far as figuring out what I want to do with my life. I want to go to conferences and talk to amazing people, and share the work I do and buy the most current books and be involved in that world. And I think going to this conference proved to myself that I can hold my own, that I can contribute. It's made me want to work harder to do all those things I want to do.

Coming home was hard. I had to get up at 3 in the morning to get to my shuttle at 4, the flight was at 6 and I had a 2 hour layover in Atlanta. When I got back I had to take the bus to Provo which was another 2 hours. I didn't get home until 4 that afternoon, and on just 2 hours of sleep. Very not fun. Then I had finals week: a paper due on Tuesday, a final and projects due on Saturday and another paper and a presentation on Saturday. Plus I had to work 20 hours before Saturday. It was a hard week, but I made it through. I couldn't believe how tired I was. By Sunday I had no energy left whatsoever, and this week has been me just taking it easy, enjoying the nice weather, working a bit and spending time with friends. It's been a nice little recovery period.

Now it's back to work.

Animals

I love animals, simply for the sheer fact that I am astonished by life. I don't love animals because I wish I could live like them, or because they are always cute, or even because they like me (they generally don't and never have, and I don't know why). I love them because they are alive, in spite of the fact that they are sometimes dumb, annoying, scary, ugly, boring, or what; in spite of the fact that I got chased by a goose today, that the ducks think they can chase me now, that a bird pooped on my head yesterday morning. I still love them. There is a force inside of them giving them life, and I am in awe of it. Today I was tempted to pick up the worms that had found their way onto the sidewalks and save their little tiny lives. I honestly feel guilty that I didn't. This strange affinity for animals that has grown so much in the last year or so is a big factor in me deciding to not eat meat as much. I don't think I'll ever be a vegetarian, but I am definitely more aware now of the life that was taken so that I could live, and I try to stay aware of that.



I don't think I could ever even kill a spider again. In fact, I think that's where this affinity all started. Like most people I was freaked out by spiders but I was always the one to kill the gross things, without hesitation. A friend of mine once picked up a spider and brought it outside. I asked why he didn't kill it and he said that he likes spider, that they are solitary and mind their own business, "Just like me", he said, and they didn't deserve to die. It hit me then that he was right. They don't deserve to die. I couldnt squelch that life force out of them and for little to no real reason. This was also the friend that helped me save a giant ugly dragon fly and a tiny baby bird when he certainly didn't have to. I had always loved animals before but he made me realize that I should love them whether they give anything to me in return or not. He taught me a valuable lesson, I should probably thank him.

And so I really cannot wait for the day when I can have all kinds of creatures under my care, which is one reason why I want to have a farm, so there can be lots of room for lots of different animals.