What a Weekend! : D

Took the weekend off from reading to spend w/ the family.   : )
Saturday afternoon, I got my acceptance letter in the mail!   WOOOOOT!   I am so relieved and so grateful. : )
I am sure that there is supposed to be some kind of welcome packet that comes as well so I am stalking the mailman for that, as I cannot login to register for class w/o all that information.   Hubby is happy for me, but I know its gonna be a huge sacrifice for us all, especially on him because he'll have to manage the kids for a few hours each night while I am at class.  I think I will have to use this month to get that integrated into the kids' schedule so that by the time I am gone, it will be second nature for everyone.  
It's almost 12:30pm, where is that mailman?  Its not 100 degrees anymore so there is no reason not to be out and about already.  Geez, doesn't he know my life is in that pouch of his?  lol.
Also, my little girl is walking now.  She just up and decided to.  Its so cute bc its like a straight leg arms out zombie stroll.  haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.  I'm just bursting w/ Mummy pride! : )
So truly a good weekend for me.  And the booklist for my classes are up so I can stop reading Chekov and start reading Aristotle.  Happy happy joy joy.

#10 - The Shades, a Phantasy

By Korlenko.

This one was very unlike the others I've read so far.  It doesn't deal with Russian life at all.  Its about the last days of Socrates' life and his journey in the Underworld.   Of course this is all a dream of his follower, Ctesippus, but its thought-provoking nonetheless. 
Parts of it remind me of the Book of Job in the Old Testament.  Where he questions God and gets an answer of epic proportions.   And it also reminds of the saying "If you meet Buddha in the road, kill him" (I could be paraphrasing).  
Socrates has the cajones to be dead and in front of the Olympians and still question their morality and divinity.  He sees Truth as his ultimate goal, judge and deity.   He doesn't let the magnificence of Zeus and his lightning and his rage veer him away from what he feels to be the righteous path.  And by standing firm, he essentially unmakes the Olympians (or at least sends them away) and his glorified in the Truth, personified by the coming of the dawn. His fellow shade, Elpidias, is still willing to cling to what he is comfortable with.  I wonder how many of us form our beliefs based on habit rather than the truth we feel within us?  Ah... deep thoughts....
I am sure someone out there can analyze this more sensibly than I, but its almost 4am and I haven't slept yet and my nose is running.  I'm going to bed now.  I'll resume in a few hours.

#9 - How a Muzhik Fed Two Officials

By Saltykov.


I won't lie. I had to look up muzhik.

Mujik or muzhik refers to a Russian peasant, usually from pre-1917 Imperial Russia. The term connotes a certain degree of poverty, as most mujiks were serfs before the 1861 agricultural reforms. After that date, serfs were given parcels of land to work, and became free peasants. [thx Wikipedia]

The actual story was quite funny.  Its poking fun at pompous bureaucrats and their narrow-minded focus on their area of work and inability to see beyond it, even for their own survival.  No one seems to realize that without their offices and pensions and fancy titles, on the island they were on equal footing with the peasant.  Actually, lesser footing as he could fend for himself and they could not.   I guess they are so entrenched in their roles that it doesn't even come up.  I guess its like being caged so long that even when the door is opened, you don't try to escape. 

At least no one died in this one. : )

#8 - God Sees the Truth, But Waits

By Tolstoy.  Wow, someone dies again.  Man, this is getting depressing. 
It's a lot like "The Shawshank Redemption" in that the guy is innocent but convicted, no one believes his innocence, the murderer is found and someone tries to dig a tunnel out.  Unfortunately, there was no happy escape for the innocent man, Ivan, at least not physically.  After making peace with the real killer, he was mentally free of his shackles and all the anger associated with losing his family, livelihood and freedom.  Maybe that was enough for him, but I would be more inclined to choke the guy after 20+ years of misery!

I really need to sleep..........................

#7 - The Christmas Tree and the Wedding

This one is by Dostoyevsky (did I spell that right?  I hope so!).  I rather liked it.  For once, no one died! : )

#6 - The District Doctor

The Russian short stories continue.  This one (by Turgenev) was too short and honestly, for me it was just okay.  Maybe I'm just sucking at reading between the lines.

Why does it seem like most Russian short stories end in death for one of the main characters?  Hmmm....

My head still hurts though not as much but I now I also have a stuffy nose.  But I can't sleep so I may as well read.

Personal Day...

My head is aching so badly that it feels like its going to drop off at any moment.  So I am taking a personal day off from reading and writing until I feel better.  Ciao for now.  : )

#5 - The Cloak

Just finished another Russian short story, this time by Gogol.  I liked this one alot too.  It wasn't funny, like "Queen of Spades", but it had a somewhat similar plot.
I felt some of Akaky's frustration as I've spent alot of time being ignored and made fun of in school.  I've had moments when my clothes were not up to the latest fashion or my shoes were a little worn.  I was geeky and a bit pudgy and awkward.  I haven't outgrown any of those traits, but I think geeks are a little more trendy these days, right?  Now I proudly wear the thick dorky glasses that I would have run away from 15 years ago.  : )    I know the struggle to save up for something special and then have that thing broken or stolen or worse, to have no one notice.  It sucks to feel invisible or simply there to amuse the masses.   I like that he had his happy ending, to a degree, although I would have kept haunting the 'prominent personage' long after stealing his coat.  haha.
Should I read another Russian story or move on to something else?  Hmmmmm.....

#4 - Queen of Spades

This is a short story by Pushkin, in case you didn't know.  Read it a few hours after "Candide" because I needed some light reading before bedtime.

I loved this one.  Short, funny, karmic, awesome.  I am going to make a part of Hermann's quote my new Hotmail signature... "I am not in the position to sacrifice the necessary in the hope of winning the superfluous."  I'll have to remember that the next time I see the Powerball jackpot rising.  Haha.  


I think I'll do a few more Russian short stories today... thank goodness for Project Gutenberg so that I can get all these classics in ebook format and for free since they are in the public domain. 

#3 - Candide

To be candid (pun intended), I wasn't as thrilled about "Candide" as I thought I would be.  Overall its not a bad... as a whole its really good... but it just went on such a long and convoluted ride that by the end I was exhausted and a bit bewildered.  Maybe I am just too dumb to appreciate the subtleties of satire.  I know people LOVE it.  But for me, I just kinda liked it. 

To relax my weary brain, I'm going to do some Russian short stories.  : )

#2 - The Call of the Wild

When Hubby looked over my shoulder at what I was reading, he scoffed at me.  He couldn't believe I never read "The Call of the Wild" before.  Apparently he read it when he was 12 or 13.   Anyway, I still have one up on him as he's never gotten through the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, except on film which isn't nearly the same thing.
I thought I would be desperately bored reading this book as I was watching Benji movies as a kid.  Boy, was I wrong.  I was caught up in the story from beginning to end.  I LOVE authors that take care to give us rich details.  I could see poor Buck huddled in the snow trying to stay warm, battling fatigue, hunger and Spitz' ire. 

I am not sure what book to choose next.  I think I will tackle "Candide".   We'll see how that goes. : )

What's next?

I was supposed to choose another book right after "A Doll's House" but I got sidetracked by mom-stuff and fatigue.  I'll have to choose something today and if I am lucky, I can have an early night and do some reading. 

Drum roll please........................

"The Call of the Wild" by Jack London.

I'll post later on how it goes.  : )

#1 - A Doll's House

I am surprised that I haven't read this play before now.  I read Hedda Gabler in undergrad Lit. class and enjoyed it immensely.  I picked "A Doll's House" it first because it's short and I didn't want to become discouraged by choosing a long novel and getting bogged down.  Even though it's short, it's thought-provoking and hours after reading it, I am still mulling it over.  For me, growing up in a small town was very much like being in the Victorian era sometimes.  People conformed to the norms outwardly and inwardly worked desperately to keep their secrets hidden.  I must say that I was shocked that Nora left.  I expected her to kill herself or just stay with Torvald in her doll-like existence.  It's awesome that she stood up for herself and was brave enough in that era to demand the kind of life and marriage that was due her. 
Anyway, this isn't a book report so I'm not going into an in-depth analysis...
Book 1 completed... on to the next one...

Reading Frenzy

In order to get myself back in the mindset of a writer and a student, I need to do some reading.  But not just any old reading... I need to get into the classics.  I've hundreds of books in my lifetime but over the last few years its been mostly romance, chick-lit, fantasy (HP, etc.) and magazine articles.  So I am going to spend the next 30 days reading books that will wake up my stagnant brain.  Books that are the foundation of great literature and will undoubtedly be topics of discussion in grad school.  Wish me luck. : )

The Waiting/Worrying Game Begins...

The last part of my grad application packet went out today... the final recommendation letter.   My actual application has been there a while now but it wouldn't be processed until the letter arrived so I've been on my recommender's back, trying to get it out in a timely manner.  Now that's done, she can go back to a normal pest-free life again.  : D

I am glad that it's finished but now I will be freaking out over the quality of my personal statement, the sample pieces, the references.  I did my best but these days I get rejected for jobs on a daily basis, so I no longer feel confident about anything.  : (

Hubby says it will be fine and I will try to believe him.  I tell myself that I'm awesome and that I will treat myself to an ice cream cake and a new cell phone if... no... WHEN the acceptance letter comes.  For now, I will be stalking the mailman and obsessively checking my email for something good.