I am now ready to be advised

Because I officially have my advisers! I am very excited, kind of because I said I would ask them this week and get it taken care of but didn't really believe I would actually do it. Look at me doing stuff I say I'm going to do.

Anyway, I spoke to my major adviser on Monday and she was totally gracious about accepting and actually even seemed pleased that I had asked. She is one of my current professors (in fact earlier in this blog I said that she was scary. Obviously I take that back wholeheartedly, she's actually a lovely person (and I'm not just saying that because I've hitched my star to hers for the next 4 years)) and she studies international norms and institutions with an emphasis on the censure of states when international norms are broken. Now for those of you paying careful attention you will notice the lack of the words "war" or "peace" in there. I've shifted my thinking a bit and I am still intending to study conflict, I'm just going to approach it on a smaller, less wholly international level. It's hard to explain and I don't have time right now anyway, but I'm excited about it.

I had to email my minor adviser because he's not teaching this semester. He wrote back this morning and said he, "has no problem with being my minor adviser." I know, it doesn't sound like he's delighted beyond measure, but since he has a reputation for being somewhat irascible and I half expected him to say no, I am delighted with his response.

Anyhoo, I'm a happy camper right now and feel like I've made really good choices.

Things and stuff

I just finished reading a book that was recommended to me by one of the few people whose reading recommendations I will always take (yes, I am a snob who carefully screens recommendations). I had time to finish the book because I have a terrible cold and so stayed home from church (and they of course sustained me in my new calling the one Sunday I miss. More about that later). The book is called The Elegance of the Hedgehog and it is a beautiful book. It's French, with all of the implications that come with that, and at times it got a bit pretentious for my taste (it's the disconnect between wanting something to be popular and yet obscure at the same time). The end made me cry and was one of those books that I want to fling across the room when I finish (I don't know, there's just something satisfying about throwing a book that has made you think and feel) but of course I had to restrain myself since I was actually reading it on my Kindle (best invention and gift ever).

I haven't written much lately and of course it's because previously exotic Indiana (heh) has become normal for me and I no longer think in terms of what I can share because it's all pretty normal. Also I've been busy. School is going quite well and I'm feeling like I have more of a grasp on what I eventually want to study. I'm going to Utah for Thanksgiving at the end of this week and before I leave I have decided that I have to have talked to my prospective advisers and asked if they will advise me (Purdue requires that you have a major and two minors and you have to choose an adviser in each area). I'm not looking forward to that partially because I hate asking people for things and partially because there is no one who is a really good fit for what I want to study. For my major I have decided to go with someone I think will be a good adviser rather than a perfect fit academic-wise. Cross your fingers that she says yes.

I also now have a calling. I am the Young Women's Personal Progress leader. This makes me laugh. I think it will be pretty delightful working with the young women, but I hated Personal Progress when I was a young woman and now I will be urging others to do what I only did very reluctantly. Such is life.

The weather here has been fairly good. Early in the week it was in the 70s and then dropped down into the 30s a couple of days later and it is now in the 50s. I think the weather is why I'm sick. My body has a hard time adjusting to rapid changes in temperature.

Speaking of being sick, I am ending this now because I have been sitting up too long.

Perspective

Grad student after finding out the printer in the grad lab isn't working and he will have to walk 50 feet down the hall to the undergrad lab:

"It's like we're living in a third world country!"

Uhhhh....