Once upon a time...

there was a girl with a blog who ran out of time and ideas so abruptly that she couldn't recover the habit even when the time returned (if not the ideas).

Whenever I was too much of a perfectionist to correspond with family, my grandmother would tell me, "It doesn't have to be long; you just have to write something." I haven't really learned that lesson yet; I'm more like Elizabeth Bennet, disinclined to speak unless I can say something that will astonish the whole room. I may blather inconsequentially for a few weeks and see if I can write myself back into a more or less interesting and expressive frame of mind.

On the schedule for this semester: I am teaching Greek 102, with the same 8 students as last semester in 101. I am taking two Latin classes, one a survey of Roman literature, one on Horace. Both of them are a trifle intimidating at the moment because they are my first Latin reading courses beyond the intermediate level.

I am also taking a history of the Christian Near East, from the third century until just before the Arab conquest. Since Greek is going to be my primary research language for the PhD in Early Christian Studies, thus giving me more of an eastern focus, I need some historical context. I also need my secondary research language to be eastern, rather than Latin, so I'm hoping to get ideas about whether to learn Syriac or Coptic next year. The Latin will then probably slip down to tertiary status once I finish the MA in classics.

But yet! My goal in life is to be someone who can make interesting and non-geeky conversation at parties. I'm not sure how Syriac helps that.

Freeze Yer Buns Challenge

I'm trying to get back on the environmental wagon... and Crunchy Chicken conveniently has a new challenge right along the lines of what I was already considering (with little anticipatory shivers). The idea is not to literally freeze your posterior regions but to set your thermostat at least a degree lower than you normally would. And I'm all in favor of lowering heating bills, which are not pretty in a drafty, gas-radiator-heated apartment. Last year I was cold all the time and still had high bills, so I figure if I'm going to be cold anyway I might as well keep the thermostat at 67 during the day and 62 at night.

It's just starting to dip into the 30s at night here, so I'm starting to look for Warm Solutions. The newest idea: whenever I'm cold sitting still (which I can be, even at 67 with layers of sweaters and socks; I was the child who wore sweatshirts in the summer until my mom told me to change because she was hot just looking at me), I get up and wash dishes or mop the floor or polish the table. Brooks already says, "Everything is so clean around here!"

Lower bills (we hope) and a cleaner house! Yay for environmental consciousness!

Hard to plan

I just encountered the following quote in someone's e-signature:

"Every morning I awake torn between a desire to save the world and an
inclination to savor it. This makes it hard to plan the day." - E.B. White

Does anyone else relate? (On optimistic days, anyway...) Now that the rainy fall weather is upon us, should we add the inclination to stay in bed with hot chocolate and mystery novels?

Drive-by Blogging

In the first four weeks of the semester, I gave three ten-minute research presentations(equivalent to a 5 or 6 page paper), took two Greek exams, and wrote and administered one. It felt like finals in September.

In the next four weeks, I took three more exams and went out of town to deliver a paper at my first academic conference. Now it's the middle of the semester and time to start working on final projects.

So I fell out of the blogging habit much sooner than I anticipated. But I have learned some interesting things:

1. There was no Homer.
2. Thucydides was really writing tragedy.
3. I still love Antigone.

In other news:
1. Jena is back!!
2. We are Orthodox catechumens, to be chrismated at Easter (if we die before then, we still get an Orthodox funeral).
3. Acorn squash stuffed with quinoa, walnuts, and parmesan cheese is the hot dish of the season in our household.

First Day, or Am I Grown Up Yet?

Today I taught my first class. I was sick to my stomach for an hour beforehand and talked fast all the way through, but it seems to have gone off reasonably well.

When I arrived, the classroom was still occupied by the previous class and several freshmen were waiting in the hall. "Are you here for Greek?" they asked.

"Yes," said I.

"Are you an upperclassman?"

Well... I suppose you could say that. "Actually I'm teaching it..."

"OH. Sorry!" And they got wide-eyed and vaguely apologetic.

I guess I do at least look older than 18.

After that I had my own three classes (Athenian Empire, Survey of Greek Literature, and Latin Prose Composition)with only 10 minutes between each. One professor gave me permission to bring lunch to class, but I forgot that everything I eat for lunches these days is crunchy and the noise embarrassed me too much to eat it until later.

Then, in a final spurt of goodness and discipline (not to mention getting up at 7 to have coffee with Brooks before his early class), I went to the gym on campus. I hope this will become a reasonable MWF schedule that will keep me healthy and academically on-track most of the semester. Tuesday and Thursday of course are nap days. One can't expect too much.

Goodbye summer!

Banishing Clutter (or What the Well-Dressed Woman is Wearing)

My vague anti-clutter feelings reached critical mass this weekend. All the stuff in our small apartment makes me feel claustrophobic even when the sun is shining, so I fear for my sanity when winter returns.

I sorted through the books, which were overflowing all the bookshelves onto the floor in three or four places. One box went to the used book store; three boxes went into the closet. I still like some of my modern history books, remnants of my B.A., but I can't see myself reading them for at least five years now that I've changed fields.

I recruited Jena to help with my wardrobe. Under her stern eye, four large grocery bags of clothes and shoes -- worn, ill-fitting, or unfashionable -- were dismissed from service. Perhaps one-third of what came out of the closet went back into it.

Brooks tackled the big closet under the stairs, and disposed of several boxes of knicknacks and old dishes. (Now I can see the entirety of the full-length mirror at the back of the closet!) The Goodwill delivery from both projects took up the whole back seat and floor of the car.

I felt rather weepy that night, despite how happy I was about all the stuff going away. I don't miss any of it; in fact, I'm still spotting things that need to go. But somehow it was still a wrench. Why is that?

Jena continued her role as personal wardrobe assistant by making up a list of all the things I needed to make the clothes I had left a)go with each other and b)look a bit more polished for teaching. By the next day, she had also located all the items online and within budget. All I had to do was approve and enter my credit card number. I did look askance at the green moccasins (I like green shoes but I've never really liked moccasins) but Jena said, "TRUST me. They're SO IN this year," and ordered herself a pair of lavender ones. Finally, she provided a list of more expensive winter items to acquire as I manage to save the money later. So I have a streamlined closet and a new wardrobe, with no shopping required! Everyone should have a Jena for these occasions. Too bad she can't write my Greek syllabus, too...

A Beginner's Guide to Prayer

I picked up this book early in the summer from our church library, looking for help in restructuring my habits in the midst of all the cerebral examinations of theology we've been doing (see Brooks' long posts). Despite being a Christian all my life, I am still a beginner when it comes to any kind of habit of prayer. Fr. Keiser of course writes from an Orthodox perspective, but I think much of his approach would be helpful to all Christians trying to establish a solid prayer life.

The reasons he gives for doing so are far from legalistic:

"Public worship and personal prayer are the twin support beams of the spiritual life for any believer. All our growing will take place within the framework they provide" (6).

"Why bother with the effort of a disciplined prayer life at all?...We pray as a response to love, and we pray in order to love" (8).

He encourages a mixture of written and spontaneous prayers, starting out with written:
"Nothing can color our image of God like the words that we use to communicate with Him....Using written prayers that have been tested against the teaching of the Church can help us keep to sound doctrine so that we do not end up worshiping ourselves" (27).

I appreciate written prayers, finding that they often say what I wanted to say without having fully realized how to express it. They also take away the excuse that I am feeling too uncreative and unexpressive to pray on any given occasion.

Fr. Keiser's advice about forming a personal rule of prayer is drawn from Scripture and the church fathers, with a healthy dose of practicality for the busy and easily-distracted realities of our lives and a common-sensical balance between emotions and discipline.

Written, spontaneous, and non-verbal prayer all contribute to the same end. The whole point, as with all the spiritual disciplines, is to grow in communion and likeness with God, which is genuine wholeness and the deepest authenticity.