The Reinvention of Brandon, Part II

Apparently, the Reinvention of Brandon also includes a metric fuck-ton of reading.

This is fine, of course, to a certain extent. I like reading, I like books -- I'm a graduate student in an English department, so that should go without saying. What I did not expect, however, was the sheer amount of time I'd be devoting to my studies this semester, which is more than slightly troubling.

Most of the day yesterday, for example, was spent doing these things:

1. Reading the first two chapters of my teaching textbook (Technology and the Future), and creating lesson plans for the week: 70 minutes or so
2. Reading through all of the handouts I need to know the material on for all three of my classes: 45-60 minutes or so
3. Reading Moll Flanders from the beginning, and getting to around halfway through the book, breaks included: four hours or so.

As my Asian/Middle Eastern Lit class is taking two weeks or more to cover the novel we're currently reading in there, an even-less-interesting book than Moll Flanders called Sugar Street, I'm holding off on reading any more of it until around Tuesday/Wednesday or so, if then. I do, unfortunately, have to get through Moll Flanders before class on Wednesday, and that in itself is going to be enough of a challenge if it doesn't pick up soon. Out of the 100+ pages I've read, about 70 of those have been along the lines of "Well, I lived here. Then I moved there. Then I married and had kids. Then that ended, so I moved to this new place and got married again. I worked doing this, this, and this. Also, I'm a whore."

Etc. You get the idea, I'm sure.

I don't dislike the book -- it does have its merits -- though I do dislike the character of Moll Flanders, who seems to be...well, for lack of better terms, a self-centered, gold-digging sociopath through much of the novel. While reading through many sections I have actually found myself saying aloud things like, "Wow, you're such a bitch!" and "Way to be a horrible mother!"

I'm sure those of you in that class with me, or those of you who have previously read the book, would agree. I considered live-blogging my reading of the novel -- because it would be fun -- but decided against it as it would take me ten times as long to finish it, and I just want to get it done so that I can take care of the rest of my tasks this weekend. If I come across a shorter book for one of my classes later in the semester and find myself with an afternoon or two of free time, then perhaps I'll do it at some point in the future.

Today, "The Trashing" continues. I've got several big bags to gather up and dump into the trash can, as well as a stack of broken-down leftover moving boxes to take to the curb. Tomorrow I will be making my customary "errand day" as per the usual on Mondays, where I'll be making another trip to the post office, gas station, and Walmart to get the stuff I need taken care of, preferably as early as possible. If the weather's nice, I may try to get the bags of clothes to a donation center as well just to get them out of the house, but that's rather low on my priority list at the moment. The rest of my day today, though, will be spent -- you guessed it -- finishing Moll Flanders.

Whatever possessed me to take two high-workload lit classes in the same semester is beyond me. Please, find me and smack me if I ever say that I'm planning to do this again.

I got the electric bill in the mail for August, and it's $136. Yeah, that's about what I expected, really. It's a good chunk of money to be sure, but with the air conditioner running it can't really be helped. Right now it's 97 outside, and is supposed to be between 95-102 every day for the next week again. Again, I have the feeling that the Monte Carlo isn't going to like driving in it. Yeah, those cooler, autumn-like September temperatures can start rolling in any day now, really they can.

Due to my cynicism, however, I believe that said weather is waiting until I cut my hair next week, and then the temperatures will drop like a stone so that my skull will freeze.

On that note, I'm off to take care of my stuff for the day, sweat through another tank-top, and drink copious amounts of cold water and Kool-Aid Lemonade just to stay hydrated and cool while doing so.