So I'm back at school. Totally loving it and everything I'm studying - all of my readings are really engaging and I've discovered the wonderful world of animal studies; I can't express how amazing it feels to know that I'm on the "right path" again after the last two years felt like one massive train derailment. (Heavy metaphors, whew!) Just wishing I had more time to get everything done, and I admit that I'm still feeling pretty imposter-ish because I'm so new to the field. However, I am doing my best to remember that this knowledge will all come with time... . I'm TAing again too, which is really sweet. I really missed teaching! My class is super too, great students overall. I feel really blessed right now, even if I also feel overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of responsibility I have.
I've been spending a lot of time on facebook as well, which is both good and unfortunate. I appreciate its interactivity ov
er the blog format, but it's also time-sucking (hence the lack of blogging) because two of my classes have facebook groups that I am obligated to contribute to online. While this can be tedious, and I really don't want to type any more than I have to thanks to my increasingly carpal-tunnel-syndromed wrists, it's turned out to be a really neat way to continue discussions beyond the classroom. Its main advantage is the multi-media aspect of linking discussion posts to videos, articles, and upcoming events that connect our often theoretical discussions to more tangible matters.Beyond reading and facebooking, I've been trying to maintain some semblance o
f balance in my life, which is proving to be difficult. Seeing the bf on weekends; going out for pints with friends; gymming 4 days a week, and trying to make sure Mr. Mowgli gets enough attention so he doesn't bite my elbows when I'm trying to type (like right now, lol). I've also committed to actually celebrating all of the major Pagan holidays with a ritual, however brief it might be, to stay connected to that part of myself, and my wider conception of Nature in general.This weekend I crashed the Nature Matters conference in downtown Toronto to hear some really interesting papers from current animal studies scholars. As I said, lots to learn. I also went to Joanna's (one of the other new PhDs) Halloween party - it was sweet! No pictures, though... I know, falling behind already. :P Living in Toronto is great, just because there's so much to do! And I
do have to admit that the subway is an amazing thing (even if it still takes me 1 - 1.5 hrs to get to school...!). I went to a few neat events this summer, including: the National Ballet of Canada's production of Don Quiote; A Midsummer Night's Dream in High Park with Kate, Heather, and John (photo 1); canoeing in Bracebridge; hiking in Algonquin Park (photo 2); attending Pagan Pride Day in Hamilton (photo 3 - yes, I cut off my hair and have partially regretted it...); and, of course, getting to know which local pubs have the best selection of microbrewed beer with Leigh, my fave drinking buddy. It will be interesting to see how life changes once my coursework is finished in December, and when winter finally arrives... hoping I will have a bit more time to devote to this space too! Once I start my comprehensive exams I will be blogging about my thoughts on the readings as well. It is definitely shaping up to be an interesting year!
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