a very very quick update

While I am sure my witty banter and exemplary commentary on life, the universe, and everything Davis is the highlight of your day and the sustenance of your being, I regret to inform you that this will be a very, very short update typed while I await the printing of my next batch of reading. Was that grammatical? I should do c-structure, f-structure and a-structure...structures to make sure of it.

I read articles. I translate Greek sentences about groaning, grain-growing farmers. I interpret. I take notes. I sleep. I repeat.

I am a first-year PhD student accustomed to the semester system now taking more than a full course load in the quarter system. Enough said.

It was a lovely break...

I am typing this on Monday morning sans coffee (mistake) as a brief update on my weekend before I get ready for my first full schoolweek as a doctoral student.

Highlights:

Read, did Greek homework, read some more, printed articles to read some more, watched season 1 of Castle, played a Star Wars miniature game, went to church, and read some more.

Current mood: chipper (sans coffee, so whatever chipper without the aid of a caffeine drip looks like...)

Current book(s): The Hobbit, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Second Language Acquisition Theories, Athenaze, An Introduction to Lexical Functional Grammar (you know you wish your reading list were as cool as mine)

Details:

On Friday I power-studied through my cold (which is worse this morning than it has been this weekend :-/) and read for a good four hours. I did my first translation exercise for Greek class, which consisted of having a glossary and notes to aide me. I have some vocab to memorize so I'll be making a list and/or flash cards so I don't make the same mistake I did with French- learn the pronunciation but not the vocab and grammar. The good news about Greek syntax is that it is word-order-by-cubism. All of the parts of speech have their own morphemes realized as suffixes which attach to the appropriate stems to form meaning. Greek is very precise, except when it comes to word order. Viola, word-order-by-cubism. Fun! I like my syntax professor. He's funny and made a little fun of Chomsky's transformational grammar. Now that I am printing the 83-page chapter to read IN ADDITION to the chapter in the book this week, I am thinking I like him a lot less. :-/

On Saturday I had a much-awaited and well-earned day of cuddling with Blake talking and watching Castle, a fantastic cop show about a mystery writer who gets wrapped up in cop work when a murderer uses his plotlines to create death scenes. If you don't know, I collect several different mystery authors' works. Blake thought I would like the show and he was right. We also (per his rule that you must leave the house every day for at least a little while) went shopping- he bought frozen pizza and waffles and I bought nail polish remover. I don't know why that strikes me as funny, but it does. He took me to his favourite hot dog place, where an order of french fries is nothing less than an entire tray piled with salty potato goodness. Naturally, I had a salad for dinner last night. Yesterday afternoon before church Blake taught me how to play a game with Star Wars miniatures. He beat me, but just barely. Methinks it will be difficult to find a game at which I can beat him, but nonetheless it's fun to play. We also read the first several chapters of Voyage of the Dawn Treader. It was SO nice to just relax for a couple days, but I doubt my schedule will permit many more study-free weekends, so I am committed to having at least one weekend day for myself on which I do not have to study or do homework. Feel free to hold me to that. Next weekend I will be back in LA, so do not expect to hear much from me this week as I will be loading all preparatory studying for next week into these weeknights.

My First Day

For those of you who don't know, I did get hired to work as an interpreter at UC Davis, and I currently have seven hours a week of classes. I started work today as well as school.

Highlights:

There was a "walkout" demonstration against the budget cuts and furloughs today, so many classes were shorter than usual, or class time was spent discussing the current economic climate. I had two classes today- Greek and Second Language Acquisition (SLA). I enjoyed both, and already have homework. I didn't end up actually working at all today, but am still receiving three hours of pay. I am coming down with a cold.

Current mood: tired

Details:

I took the bus to school today since I was planning on being on campus for awhile and, due to the proximity of the buildings, didn't need to ride my bike across campus. It is free for students (read: part of our tuition fees go toward bus service) and quite convenient. I was a minute late to my first class to interpret because I couldn't find the room. I have decided that monkeys suffering from ADHD and near-sightedness designed the buildings at Davis with paper bags and banana peels, which were then translated into bricks and ramps. If you take the wrong staircase you will end up in a Twilight-zonesque hallway from which all logically ordered room numbers hide. It is lassiez-faire engineering. The first floor could be the basement or the second floor, and occasionally it is a floor reserved for staircases that go up or down one flight and then force you to exit the building. Other than that, the layout makes perfect sense.

My first class lasted only 15 minutes, which my team interpreted, so we went back to the office. I have asked Dave (my boss at the CMB) for a lab-issued laptop so I can work remotely while on campus during my breaks. If he issues one I'll be able to work in the interpreter's office. I went to Greek class, held in one of the smallest university classrooms I have ever seen. The professor regaled us with how elite we are for selecting classical Greek as a course, and we took our swollen egos off to practice writing the Greek alphabet like very elite... first-graders. I got my student ID during the break between Greek and SLA, then ate lunch and wrote very pretty Greek letters. In SLA we discussed the syllabus (there will be a lot of reading) and I got approval for my topic for the final paper: English language acquisition in native Deaf signers. Good luck to me finding ten sources on the subject...

I took the bus home and am nursing the beginning stages of a cold, so this weekend will be low-key. I have reading to do for Tuesday, and will undoubtedly have more tomorrow.

Bilbo's Birthday

I have not updated this recently on account of having been VERY BUSY, so I am adding two new posts today: Bilbo's birthday, and my first day at UCD.

Highlights:

Dinner was good- I made a brisket braised in stout gravy with mushrooms and carrots, mashed potatoes and garlic rolls. I made a chocolate stout layer cake for dessert. Blake's buddies were nice. We watched Star Wars.

Current mood: tired

Details: I made the brisket on Monday at my house and then finished cooking it on Tuesday in Blake's kitchen. His sister and I cleaned up and she helped me find the cookware I needed to finish preparing the food. People started arriving around 7:30. I already know Matt, one of his best friends, and Matt's fiance Rachel. I met Lee, Dave, Stu, Kei, Hung (Kei's boyfriend) and Fox. I spent a good part of the evening talking with Rachel about family and wedding plans etc, etc, but did see part of Star Wars (Episodes 4 and 5) with the guys. No one was able to explain why we were watching Star Wars on Bilbo's birthday (not that I have a problem with Star Wars), but Blake said Bilbo would have appreciated it. I have heard since that all of Blake's friends approve of me, especially Matt and Rachel. I'm looking forward to spending more time with them.

Here are my impressions of Blake's friends:

Matt is funny, and possibly the most outgoing of the bunch next to Stu. Rachel is an excellent foil for him, and is a lot like me. She is creative, and has a knack for feeling out people's personalities. I met her last week Sunday- Blake and I went out to dinner with Matt and Rachel after church, and I was glad that Tuesday nights' conversation added to my good opinion of her, and hers of me. Dave is a classic computer geek. If he could speak in binary, I think he would (and who knows? He probably can...) Blake is a nerd, which I love, but he isn't a computer geek. Quite the opposite, actually, with a great deal more social savvy. Lee is Blake's flatmate, so I am surprised I hadn't met him yet. He evidently spends a lot of time with his girlfriend who recently had gall bladder surgery. He thanked me for cleaning the kitchen and said he'd never seen it that clean before. Bachelor. Shocker. Stu is funny. He kept bugging me to socialize with everyone while I was doing the dishes- they've never met a woman of the Joseph bloodline. The kitchen will be left clean! Anyway, at one point he came to stand next to me and said "You're so tiny!". I think I got a similar reaction from Blake when he first met me because 4'11" looks taller on paper than in real life, I suppose. Stu is perhaps the least natural-nerd of the bunch- he seems to be nerd-by-osmosis. Kei and Fox would fit in well in LA- thin, blonde, and confident that those two things will satisfy all other character qualifications. That is likely not a fair assessment, since I didn't spend as much time with them as with the others. Rachel is more than a cut above both, and according to Blake it is more important that I get along with her than with them. Hung, Kei's boyfriend, seemed nice but not quite nerd enough to roll with the crowd. In all, it is an interesting mix of people brought together by various interests, but the sheer force of their personalities holds them together.

A Bus, A Brisket, A Butt-kicking, A Bible

This was a very full, but very rewarding day.

Highlights:

I took the Davis city bus for the first time, I interviewed at UCD and I think it went well, I made an awesome brisket in preparation for Bilbo's birthday party tomorrow, I worked out with folks from Crossings (church), and went to Bible study.

Current mood: Exhausted

Details:

I am tired, so the details will be short and sweet. The E line Unitrans bus picks up a couple blocks from my house and drops off on campus, so I've decided to make use of that resource sometimes. I successfully took a bus to my interview today. I met with the director of the student disabilities center and two staff interpreters. I bombed the voicing part of the assessment, but I think it's okay otherwise. I'm fairly certain I'll be hired to interpret for them.

I spent most of the rest of the day preparing the food for Bilbo's 165th birthday taking place on the morrow. I baked two layers of chocolate stout cake and a very tender, very yummy brisket over mushrooms and carrots that is chilling as I type this in the fridge. I was able to accomplish all this and still make the workout and Bible study groups at church. Sara kicked our butts with her exercise regime. It's unreal that she is having a baby in six weeks. Absolutely unreal. I lasted about 45 seconds in the final wall sit. At Bible study we discussed parts of Luke 19 and 20, and ended up talking about the parable of the vineyard tenants. We discussed possible interpretations of the parable and how we as tenants or as the vineyard now need to give back to the owner (God) when and what He asks. Not easy to do...

Special Announcements:

Special Announcements:

My employment went through the system for the CMB, and my fees for school are now all paid!

I have an interview with UC Davis tomorrow at the center for students with disabilities (or whatever they call it) to interpret classes for the university- this work would be in addition to my stipend.

I will be driving from Davis to LA on the weekend of October 2. Any other travel schedule wouldn't be cost effective.

Lovely weekends...

I love weekends. Even though I have not been working this week, I still feel that weekend days are different from work-free weekdays in some enigmatic manner.

Highlights: Spent a day with Blake, was introduced to an amazing used bookstore, met his mom, watched Lord of the Rings, and relaxed!

Current book(s): same

Current mood: thoughtful

Details:

After getting to know Blake for three months on the phone, it is nice to finally spend some proper time with him. I met his mom yesterday. She's a firecracker. Blake has told me many times I remind him of her "in all the non-creepy ways", so it was nice to meet her. We had lunch together at The Cricket and Company- I was told their biscuits and sausage gravy are to die for- I'm not dead, but my arteries may be slightly more clogged than they were. We discussed the merits or lack thereof of a variety of books, and she was knitting wool socks the entire time. My kind of woman. Blake has a garden in his front yard and he grows tomatoes, peaches, lemons, and cotton among other things. Yes. Cotton. His mom picks it, seeds it, spins it, and makes things with it.

After lunch Blake showed me around Sacramento a bit, which included his taking me to a used bookstore larger than some chain retail bookstores. I bought four books. They have the publication of Shakespeare's plays that I like, so I will be returning with a list of the plays I still need to fill out my collection.

Last night we watched The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers with his sister. She's a character. She'll be helping me with food preparations for Bilbo's birthday party on Tuesday, and has strict orders from Blake not to put any ranch dressing or sour cream in the mashed potatoes. :o)

And mom, I know it's Bilbo's birthday because "Bilbo and Frodo happened to have the same birthday, September 22nd." (The Fellowship of the Ring, pg 42 in my copy)

L'Shana Tovah

I decided to establish this blog as a way of updating every interested party at once of the highlights of my life in Davis. That way I don't fill everyone's inboxes with the minutiae of my days. Each blog will have highlights followed by details, so if you are a nuts-and-bolts type you can easily see the important stuff.

Highlights:

Sundown tonight is Rosh Hashana, and I just finished baking 10 mini loaves of honey cake. If you want your house to smell awesome, I suggest you do the same. It is possible that, as time goes on, I will post recipes here I deem worthy of sharing.

My room is set up, I have all my paperwork done with the CMB (Center for Mind Brain) where I begin working October 1, and school starts next week Thursday. My house is not as clean as my Jewish blood deems necessary to welcome the new year, and therefore I will be doing more cleaning and less blogging today.

Current book(s): The Hobbit, Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Current mood: peaceful

Details:

I have never seen so many bugs inside one house all at one time. I have been killing spiders and knocking down webs left and right. I think God has brought me to this place to force me to come face-to-face with my fear of arachnids. My roommate is not as detailed in her idea of cleaning as me, so I have decided my mitzvah for the year is to thoroughly clean the house to make it easier to maintain at my standards. My cousin Ira gave me a broom as part of a housewarming gift, and I have been using it with a vengeance. I think I may have scared Emily with my zeal, but in time she will learn to embrace the clean. My landlord, Steve, is really nice. I have already put up a rack for my pots and pans over the stove, and have put up some of my artwork, which I never got around to doing when I was living in Santa Clarita.

It is not going to be too difficult to stick to my budget. I have an interview at UCD to be an interpreter this school year- that means a few extra fixed hours and a little more money. Sara, one of the most awesome women ever, buys produce in bulk from this place called the Fruit Stand and brings it to Crossings (my church service) on Sunday nights. We all load up and pay almost nothing for produce. There is also a fig tree in the front yard. I need to find some use for them (I don't like eating figs by themselves) so if you have any recipes for figs I'd appreciate them.