the secret history of the english language

I kind of want to read this book, especially after noticing the tags attached to it on Amazon: utter crap, junk science, pseudo-science, crackpots, historical linguistics. Very intriguing.

job developments!

I'm still unemployed, but my position has been posted! And more things are allegedly being "submitted" on Monday so that I can be hired. Hooray?

Also, I hate calling professors. I've had to do it a lot lately and it completely stresses me out. It doesn't help that the program I'm hoping to start next summer just went through a seemingly unexpected change in leadership, so I keep getting shuffled back and forth between the old director and the new one when I have questions, as the new director doesn't know everything yet. And I really, really need to be able to pass the exam for aspiring language teachers which, apparently, is mostly passed by students who have spent a YEAR abroad, not four weeks. Anyone want to fly me to Germany before next summer?

My tomatoes are still green, but I am ready for fall. I miss long sleeves and apples. And hockey.

Last night I had a series of bad dreams alternating between being stuck in a car that was careening out of control and something else that made me feel awful which, for some reason, I absolutely cannot remember right now. I overslept and when I finally woke up, the blankets were twisted and strewn everywhere, so I know I did not sleep well. After that my entire day was seemingly shot. I forgot things all day long, every time I touched a computer it ceased to operate properly, and I had a feeling of general depression for most of the day. Then I took a two hour nap. Now I am wide awake. I suspect that this is some form of subtle spiritual oppression, because we just had house church and it's been going really well, and we were dreaming up good things for our neighborhood Sunday afternoon as well. I still feel weird though - just inexplicably sad.

I was on campus for most of the day today showing my brother around and attempting to print out a syllabus from Blackboard for this sociolinguistics class I'm taking. The syllabus is seven pages long! Every assignment for the first six weeks is already spelled out, and there's a pretty severe attendance policy. So we'll see how this goes. I'm also taking German Civilization 1780-1918, which I was told is taught in German but the text is in English, so I'm not sure what that means. But I'm excited for it.

Hopefully I'll have a job soon.

I am jobless.

And I don't like it very much.

readings

I decided I needed some great literature in my life again, so I started reading Mrs. Dalloway, which I love. Before that, though, I finished another Soviet prisoner's survival story called In God's Underground by Richard Wurmbrand, which was basically a horror story about what Soviet-occupied Romania was like in the 1950's for Wurmbrand, an unauthorized preacher who refused to quit telling people about Jesus. He had some incredible things to say about God's life-giving presence while enduring brutal, inhumane, horrifying conditions. He was arrested for his activities with the Church, which were considered anti-party, and the courage he and his wife had in the face of political tyranny was incredible. He was in and out of prison for more than a dozen years (I can't remember the exact number) and was subjected to medieval torture, brainwashing, solitary confinement, and horrendous physical conditions - very little food, little or no medical care while he had tuberculosis, etc. - and still he survived with his faith intact; so much so that his friends smuggled him overseas where he published his story and continued to preach. I had to give the book back to my mom because it's in her Amazon inventory to sell, but I would definitely read it again if I could find it. I've been reading a lot of historical accounts like this lately, but one of the reasons I love literature is that it's all historical; it just sometimes takes a little digging to find the history.

And in my present, nonliterary, actual life, I'm very excited about our camping/wedding weekend in eastern Ohio, the foothills of the Appalachians, after my job ends. We'll finally get to break in all our brand new camping gear!