Once upon a time...

I need this everywhere in my life...



Taken from DowntotheLastBullet(via Jram15mgnl).

You know, I love you. I appreciate all of you, those who I talk to, those who I don't talk to as much, those who are here for fic, those who are here for art, those in fandom, those not in fandom, those I have met, and those I have yet to meet. We may not agree, and we may not like the same things, but I respect you. My hope is that if I have ever said something that someone, anyone, disagrees with or that I made a comment that clashed with your opinions, that everyone understand that what I say is never meant to be directed at the person; it's meant to be a criticism of a show about fictional vampires and monster hunters. I've got people on this f-list that fell out of fandom a long time ago, and I care about them just as much as people still in fandom (and I thank them all for keeping me on their f-lists even though I mostly post fandom stuff). I thank everyone who puts up with the fact that I'm slower than frozen molasses when it comes to posting... everything. I've got people of every shipping preference possible, and as much in-fighting goes on on message boards, my f-list is relatively harmonious, given that we all seem to be inter-friended. Maybe I'm one of the lucky ones.

ETA: I just realized I had not checked my friend requests in forever, so I've got to add some people who have added me, so I'm going to leave this an open post...

Thank you, angearia and petzipellepingo, for the LJ hearts! :D

Whee! I got the highest grade in my class on my history research paper that I've been working on all semester. I got a 98! The professor, I was told vigorously by other students in the department, does not give A's, but apparently did in my case! Yay! Also, the professor has asked me to submit a proposal to present the paper at the south-eastern conference of a national historical convention. I'm very excited!

I've got one other final on Monday, and then I have a final test and another final paper due on Thursday, and then I am done for this semester! What a wild time!

I also really, really, really want to be a Rhodes Scholar while I'm getting my PhD... but I don't think I qualify because I'm too old (I don't think you can be over 24 years old, and I'm quite recently 26).

And! I found out what class I'll be teaching as part of my assistanceship with the History Department. I got assigned a section of an American History survey. Out of the three GTAs, I'm the only female, but the actual professors and departmental heads are mostly women, so I don't feel out of place. The professor I'm assigned to be teaching for is interested in my arts background, and she wants each GTA to create one lecture on a topic of their choosing during the semester. I'd love to do the influence of comic books in modern culture (from a "Buy War Bonds!" perspective).

So, to all my teacher/professor friends, any advice for a first time GTA teaching a general education requirement course?

On My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic today, they showed a baby pony. Now, we've seen little ponies before, and they're cute, but nothing can defeat the adorableness of wee teeny baby pony!



OMG! *death by cute* I'm going to be drawing this thing all night.

( One more screencap... )

I went for a meeting with my professor about my biggest, most important research paper of the year. She was very supportive and said that it was an extremely strong first draft. She encouraged me to present the final draft to one of the regional history conferences (a stepping stone to getting published nationally). Also, I found out that I'll be teaching a U.S. history course next semester. U.S. history is not one of my strengths, but I can polish up during the winter break. :D

I also had a physical the other day, and (besides being overweight) I am very healthy! No signs of diabetes, normal glucose levels, very good blood pressure (despite all the stress), no thyroid problems, and normal levels of "bad" cholesterol. The only thing I need to work on is getting my levels of good cholesterol up.

I'm trying to become a better cook in my spare time. I took homemade cupcakes (my Halloween ones) to one of my classes, and everyone thought they were delicious (one fellow said, "You shouldn't go into history. You should open a bakery!"), and that made me feel pretty good. Tonight's dinner is poulet étouffée sur un lit de riz (chicken étouffée on a bed of rice).

Just found out that two of my former professors are going to write letters of recommendation for me! Yes! Now I only need one more! *squees*

James makes his own fun while at Sydney Botanical Gardens.

( I added some of the photos in case you can't view Facebook. )

I won a free t-shirt from Buzzy Multimedia! Yay! :D

I got Runner-Up in the Best Original Character category at the Sunnydale Memorial Fanfic Awards for my historical Slayer short Madness Within Reason.



Thanks to those who nominated and voted! :D