A Complete 180?

I may be ready to do a complete 180 on my dissertation topic. This frightens me.I mean, think of all the time I spent abroad! All the contacts I made! It's times like these when I think about one of my favorite lessons from undergraduate: the idea of "sunk-costs." This elegant theory dictated my decisions on more mundane topics, such as whether to finish a boring book that I was close to completing (I'd put it down), but I had never applied it to larger questions in life. And now here I am, after 3 months in Europe and countless hours in the archives. The truth is, I had a meeting with a professor today regarding a paper we wanted to write, which was on a topic that I was going to make my dissertation. I was loathe to begin working on it; the idea left me cold. Conversely, last night I had typed furiously an idea I had about a topic. I was so excited! I went around book store to book store, scouring the shelves for books on my new topic, filled with a kind of fervor and excitement that I hadn't experienced in ages. The truth is that if I were to change my topic, it may be a substantial investment to return to where I am now. We're talking about possibly acquiring new language skills (or jettissoning any idea of having language skills at all). I am very scared. Liz, did you go through multiple research topics? Does anyone have any advice?

While I was staring at you with calm affection, you were searching out my imperfections.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people point out a stain on your shirt. Yes, I know it's there. What do you want me to do about it? I'm no Girl Scout! I don't have a backpack full of extra shirts that I could don. Plus, I JUST got this stain today. I was drinking coffee in my noble attempt not to fall asleep right on top of this keyboard. I don't think people SHOULDN'T point things out. For instance, let me know if I have spinach between my teeth. I'd thank you and discretely fish it out. There are two differences between these two scenarios. The first is in the ease of remedy: how quickly can I fix the situation? Chances are it is a lot easier to get rid of the spinach than it is to get rid of the stain. A fly is easier to zip than a tear is easier to sew. Second, how likely is it that the person is aware of the "problem"? I may not know that I have food in my teeth, but I probably realized that I got coffee on my shirt when I, uh, spilled the coffee. So, I would peg comments about a not-easily remedied and obvious snafus as rude and unneccessary. That is all.

What Ever Happened

I'm sitting in my office when I should really be in the chemistry building, enduring my last five minutes of French. Sigh. I am definitely changing that class to an audit. The amount of homework in it is insane; I cannot keep up with that as well as my RA work and work for my prospectus. This weekend I met D's parents and it went very, very well. Yay! I was so nervous! They were both very nice and we got along nicely. Is it so wrong that I think that Dan's mom and I are a lot alike? It makes me wonder if men look for women who are like their mother. Supposedly women look for people like their fathers, but I've never heard anything implying that the relationship is symmetrical. Anyway, a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

Isabel My Belle

Not much to write today; it has been a fairly crappy day. Isabel broke her arm (paw?) and she is having surgery right now. I was with her at the vet's and then at the animal hospital. Frankly, I was a mess. I cried more than she did, the poor dear! I stayed up until 3:30 am working on the Jean Monnet paper. I am still not finished. I hate federalism. Please keep Izzy in your thoughts. She is a real trooper, but some moral support couldn't hurt. The picture above was taken last night. She stayed up with me to offer me encouragement. She's just like that.

While the boy plays the guitar, the girls will sing.

I'm working in my delicious new office, which I've been told smells. My office has a window and dammit if I don't love it. I don't smell the presumed odor, which makes me wonder: maybe it's me? Gulp. It's Saturday and today Michigan could possibly redeem itself by defeating Oregon. We are going to the game. Erin is in from DC and I will meet up with her prior to kick-off. Then I will join the rest of the poli-sci crew to watch the game. I hope to God that there aren't any annoying undergrads next to me (I'm looking at you transfers from NY). Last year I was thisclose to throwing one down the stands and onto the field. I hate to say it but it's true: Michigan undergrads are the country's worst. It's a veritable douchebag convention. In other news, Dan is very excited about the game, given that he used to play football for the Ducks. I asked him if Joey Harrington knew his name and he gave me a very annoyed look and said, "Yes, Bisous. He held the ball for me." Those football teams are awfully big. That's all I was thinking. Last night Dan and I went to Derek's for a welcome back party. It was pretty fun, minus Dan pleading for a dog after we saw Ronin. No! No dogs! On Friday I should have this bloody Jean Monnet paper finished. I'm trying to update Lijphart's consensual versus majoritarian scores. Why the hell hasn't anyone done this FOR ME? Geez. Okay, back to work. Have a lovely Saturday.