http://www.pleonast.com/user/cori recent pleonast.com entries by user cori en-us http://www.pleonast.com/user/cori?l=5&entryID=589660 I don't have much in the way of an update, because all I've really done in the past month is study for comps. I've gotten to the point where I'm exhausted and don't even want to see another book for a while, but I still have two more to read by tomorrow. Thank goodness for Twayne's Notes--a poor, overworked grad student's best friend. In a nutshell (because more and more people are asking me what exactly I have to do), master's comps are easier than PhD comps because they're shorter, but worse because they cover things you don't care about. You also don't get to pick your list like you do for PhD. Basically, I've got three lists--American Literature to 1900, British Literature 1800-1900, and World Literature since 1900--and I'm required to know as much about the works as possible. Depending on which professor is examining me, I focus on different things. My American examiner is a Native specialist, so I'm focusing on colonization and slavery and how they're problematized by Ch... 2008-10-20 http://www.pleonast.com/user/cori?l=5&entryID=577461 This came from Tami. What is "tagging" about? Post eight random facts/habits about yourself. Choose eight others to "tag", and include the guidelines in your post. Let your "taggees" know that they've been tagged! Enjoy learning more about your cyber-sisters/brothers. :-) 1. I like to sleep--naps, sleeping in, you name it. I also have a really hard time getting up, so I have an alarm clock in my hallway. Having to walk halfway across my apartment forces me to stay out of bed. 2. Speaking of sleep, I have to sleep on my stomach. I've tried other ways (because I'm worried about getting wrinkles, I'll be honest) and I just lie there for hours. 3. When I sneeze, I always sneeze three times--twice in succession, and then one more for good measure. 4. I don't respond well to pain medication; it works, but it loosens me up in a slightly embarrassing way. Once in college, I got thrown off of a boat/inner tube and got pain meds at the hospital. I hi... 2008-09-19 http://www.pleonast.com/user/cori?l=5&entryID=572182 The comedy stylings of Violet Hall, everyone. I'm not sure about this kindergarten she's going to if she's got jokes now. She called to tell me happy birthday last night (so sweet, by the way) and asked me where 24 fell in the range of old. I told her you're only as old as you act, and considering some of my best friends are in elementary school, I'm pretty safe. :) Seriously, I had a great birthday. Thanks so much to all who sent birthday wishes, whether virtually or in person. I appreciate it! There's nothing like a constantly ringing phone to make you feel special. I was supposed to go to Savannah for my birthday, but the hurricanes made us nervous, so I'm going after comps. I'll deserve it more then anyway. So I came home this weekend instead, and so far it's been great! I'll get to see everyone, which is all I ever really want for my birthday anyway. Annessa and I hung out yesterday--for my birthday, she told me she'd go anywhere I wanted--and I showed her all of the... 2008-09-06 http://www.pleonast.com/user/cori?l=5&entryID=562503 I'm back in Auburn! I'm in my apartment, and I absolutely love it--it's huge compared to where I've been before! It's a nice complex, with lots of families, so I feel pretty safe. My dad gave me the OK to stay. :) I miss my family and friends, obviously, but I'm excited for this year and all the things I'm going to do and learn. Speaking of school, there have been a few red tape issues to get through, but I'm back in my office, my classes are scheduled, and I'm working on my syllabus. Cross your fingers that I get a TEC room so that I don't have to lug a TV cart all over the building. The only real problem I'm currently having is that they ordered the wrong edition of my book, so I've got to figure out what to do about that. My first week will be a little insane, so I can't say how reachable I'll be, but I do have to have five office hours, so that means I'll likely be on the internet from 12:30 to 3:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On the agenda for next week: --figure out how... 2008-08-13 http://www.pleonast.com/user/cori?l=5&entryID=552730 Just to add to the chorus, I loved The Dark Knight. It was all I wanted it to be--from start to finish, which includes the trailers. (Watchmen! Terminator: Salvation!) I want to see it again before I make any real pronouncements on it, but the entire time, I was thinking, "I can use this in class!" And, of course, Heath Ledger as the Joker was amazing. You completely forget about the actor playing him and just go along for the ride. We all said that we wished we'd seen more of the Joker! Of course, I geeked out a little bit, but no one made fun of me. (Feel free to do that here.) Small update: --I'm finally done at Terranova's. It's a great relief, but I'll miss some of them a lot. However, I picked a good time; all of my server people are jumping ship for school/better jobs. --I've got the girls most of this week, and then Friday-Monday. Christy and Doug are taking one last vacation before school. He really needs it. For those of you who don't know, Doug is one o... 2008-07-21 http://www.pleonast.com/user/cori?l=5&entryID=540092 ...things are pretty much the same. I'm looking for yet another job on top of the ones I already have to make ends meet. My mother is trying to pay me for doing things around the house, but I've explained to her that it's the same as just giving me money, which isn't going to work for me, so...it's back to looking again. My problem is that I'll only be here for six more weeks or so, then I'm off to school again. My ideal job would be to type at home, but that's hard to get into. I thought about typing papers for the students at UAH and Calhoun, but I'm not sure how the logistics on that would work. How would I get paid? Any and all help/input is always appreciated. So, what's been going on? Last Sunday night, services at Capshaw lasted approximately 20 minutes. Why? The power blew. It's been happening a lot around the area; the summer storms and dry lightning are getting a lot of the transformers. Christy and Doug's house flickers all the time. Anyway, it was a strange se... 2008-06-16 http://www.pleonast.com/user/cori?l=5&entryID=525965 It seems like no time at all since I came home, but at the same time it seems like I've been here forever. I'm sure that makes sense to no one but me, but at any rate, I'm ready to get back to school. Not much has been going on since I last updated, but two months seems a long time to go without writing something. So, the Mathis family update, bullet-style. My dad: --has bought himself a motorcycle. For those of you who are interested in that type of thing, the only thing I know about it is that the painted parts are red. The rest is shiny, and my dad thinks it will save on gas. He insists it has nothing to do with a midlife crisis. We'll see. As of now, we're all calling him Easy Rider and he and my mom are shopping for accessories. They're also watching Wild Hogs whenever it comes on. My mom: --is doing pretty much what she always does. She got an assistant librarian this year, and that's working out wonderfully. April's great, and my mom doesn't have quite as much on he... 2008-05-08 http://www.pleonast.com/user/cori?l=5&entryID=501240 I don't care that it was 40 degrees outside today--I fully support spring coming early this year. I like chilly weather, but I really miss my flip-flops. I spent years living in them, and for the few months I'm not stuck wearing sensible work shoes--however cute they may be--I'd like to luxuriate in my flip-flops and jeans. I'm especially excited about it because I spend most of my week with those awful restaurant Crocs on my feet. So, update...things have been pretty steady lately. There have been upsetting/irritating developments in and around my life, but for once I didn't cause them, so I'm dealing. I'm not a huge fan of my job (it creates most of the drama) but it pays the bills. Even better, I'm fully dedicated to finishing school and getting a real job, doing something I actually enjoy. And isn't that the whole point of jobs like mine? I'm working on finding the good--and there's lots of good. I spend two days a week or so keeping Violet during the day (and Ivy and Lil... 2008-03-06 http://www.pleonast.com/user/cori?l=5&entryID=491330 Well, everything is set up for me to go back to Auburn next year. I leased my apartment, talked to my director, and straightened things out with the graduate school. I even managed to talk to Joanne about being on my committee. Things are going pretty smoothly! I realized the other day that a lot of people still think I'm taking the terminal MA (which was a possibility floating around after my last surgery). I did say that I was only planning on staying in Auburn for another year, so maybe that's where it came from. Anyway, I am finishing my MA at Auburn, but I want to go somewhere else for my PhD. Don't get me wrong, I love my department--especially after all of this--but I need classes and faculty in my area, and Auburn just doesn't offer it now. There is a school in Tennessee, much closer to home, with nearly everything I need, so I'm looking at that. In other news, I have bronchitis. Eww. I coughed so much at work on Friday I had to go outside and sit down. I made good... 2008-02-11 http://www.pleonast.com/user/cori?l=5&entryID=481663 I've been told more than once to update, but I never feel like there's anything of note going on. The big thing lately is that I've changed jobs--I'm serving again, at Terranova's. It's better money than my old job, and at least I know I'll have guaranteed days to work. Substituting wasn't like that. Anyway, if you were ever around for my restaurant stories before, there are bigger and better ones on the way. It's a little pricier than the last place I worked, and there aren't wings on the menu. If there's one thing I've learned since I started doing this, it that the more money people have, the crazier they can act! The people I work with are interesting in their own ways, too. Now that I'm clearly not going anywhere, they're all asking me questions. My first day, I had to give 5 random facts about myself. Those little exercises always make you look crazy, but I guess I passed, so I thought I'd share. In no particular order: 1. Pink starburst are my favorite kind. It was... 2008-01-18