I just got my two-page "focus paper" on Melville back from Peter Schmidt, who called my paragraphs "quick on their feet" and my comparison to John Barth "very valid." This makes me feel better about the longer paper I have to write for him by Friday. I have to read the book now, to prepare for that. I only have about fifty pages left. It is such a great book, I'm definitely going to be re-reading it for the rest of my life.

More about yesterday: we woke up with a start (in Ester's words) and got to class on time. I read George Eliot's "Brother and Sister" over lunch, which is a wonderful poem and made me think about Martha. I might send a copy of it to her. It's odd because it seems very purely sweet and nostalgic, but there are subtle intimations of how the inequality of the relationship has upset the writer which I find quite disturbing. The funny thing about that class (VicPoets) is that we only discuss maybe a tenth of what we read for the week, and the discussion is tailored to what people want to talk about, so everyone can participate in at least part of the discussion, depending on which poems they read. I held forth for a while on the Eliot, and a few other things I had read. It's a very friendly class. Good for auditing.

Afterwards I worked on another of our ridiculous French assignments (playing with an awful painting program to create a picture to describe), and went to African, which was one of the better classes we've had yet. I called my mom, had some of Joel's delicious pesto risotto and tofu-tomato dish, and went to a hilarious, marginally productive SAC meeting. It feels like a waste of time to go to those meetings when I have so much work to do, but they are a lot of fun (now that Gabe and Dave are the directors), and it is important work. I stopped by Paces afterwards, which was quiet enough that I could actually do some work. Elena is the short-order cook on Mondays, so I got some help from her on the syntax homework while she was making Andréses and bruschette and burning herself with the french-fry grease. I wrote an essay for syntax (time-consuming but fun) and the massive update below, and left the library at one minute to closing. Rebecca and I cleaned the kitchen to Grandaddy, saw a mouse, and read on my loveseat to AmAnSet until nearly three.

The other part of the Fall break plans (the first weekend; we leave for ICELAND on Tuesday) are shaping up as well. Rob seems enthusiastic about the Wanakena idea, so at the very least he and the four barnies (sans bunnies) will go, and Ben may decide to come as well, which would mean an added vehicle. Were the ICELAND thing not to pan out (but it will), I have been invited to go sailing with Rob and to Vienna to visit Nori, and I could always go to NY or DC or Paris or here, or even home.

stop being so selfish. put it in your pelvis.