Hello guys,

This my first post in quite a long while, if you don't count the nonsense post that Hammad and I just made and erased. It was good to read the latest posts -- good luck to you Yamanda! You'll start hearing back soon, right?

I am still at Georgetown, now in the second half of my second year. There is an oh-no-scary Qualifying Review in a month and a half where I could (potentially, at least) get kicked out of the program, so I have to get professors to write letters of recommendation saying yes, I should stay in, and yes, I might have the stamina to finish a dissertation.

Hammad is here in the soulless condo canyon that is Virginia square. The median age is 302. Everyone rides around on rascal scooters and has small poodle mixes. So we have been going out to amuse ourselves. We saw inauguration from a great distance. {check my facebook} WE have visited the local ice rink but have not skated there. At some point, hopefully I will end up skating there possibly with Julia and Duchess in tow. And hopefully that modelicious-looking guy we saw will be there again.

Other news is that I can't type anything and have to use a speech recognition program called Dragon. I have to say "Press Control Sierra" any time I want to save a word document. My roommate can hear everything I do on the computer. This is all because I have weird wrist pains which no doctor can diagnose, much less cure. Clearly this doesn't inhibit my ability, however, to post on group blogs. YAY

OK well I hope to read and post more often. Until then bye bye!

A complaint letter to Borders - 1/21/09

My letter:

The last time I visited a Borders store in person, I noticed that most of the novels written by African American women had been relegated to the 'African American' section. I assume that the company made this change for ease of browsing, but as an avid reader and a Black woman, I assure you that when I want to find a book by, say, Alice Walker or Zora Neale Hurston, their Blackness is not their most salient feature to me. These authors write beautifully about the human experience, not some strange subset of it to be ghettoized.

It would be more appropriate if Borders included in the 'African American' section those works of non-fiction that are specifically about race identification. African American fiction should be included in the 'fiction' section of the store. It is not the responsibility of Borders to determine the literary canon for the American public.

As a customer, I would like to see these changes made.

Thank you for your time,
Manda

The reply:

hank you for contacting Borders Customer Care with your concerns about the categorization of this title.

The majority of titles purchased for our stores are actually classified by the publishers. If a publisher sends our buyers a catalog that defines a book as a certain subject, the buyers generally follow those guidelines. If the description of the book does not seem to match the subject, the buyer may request a copy of the book and review it. A judgment may then be made based on what is currently in the suggested section and where other titles by the same author may be shelved. In addition, authors may notify us that their book is shelved incorrectly and the buyers will adjust the placement of the title.

I hope that this information is helpful. Thank you for taking an interest in our stores and sending us your feedback.

Sincerely,

Kia

Borders Customer Care
http://www.bordersstores.com

I think this is bull, but whatever...

How can I make winter break last forever?

I cannot believe I only have a week of winter break left. It has been the most relaxing, most needed break ever. I hung out with my nephews in New Orleans. I slept. I read Twilight, which was so fun. I read a bunch of magazines. I watched every season of Weeds and rented a bunch of movies. I don't want it to end. But it will. And I will be going back to class starting January 12th. On the plus side, my professors for next semester are supposed to be pretty awesome, and I have one less unit in my schedule. I imagine that won't make much of a difference, but I still welcome it. I also do not currently have a job lined up, so that should be interesting. I am making less than hoped for progress with the sleep apnea, so it may be best to not have a job. The CPAP machine is helpful, but I can't sleep with it on, so that is problematic. I have another appointment with my sleep specialist on Monday, so hopefully we can figure out a plan. I also need to figure out what I will be doing this summer.

As for New Years resolutions, I kind of hate them. So much pressure and I usually crumble. I did try to put in place some post-Thanksgiving resolutions that will carry over and aren't going too badly. I am trying to eat dinner at a reasonable hour because last semester I was eating after class and 8:30 dinners make me cranky. I am also using my Wii Fit and going to the gym in my building more often because I really have no excuse not to. Oh, and I am trying to win back my soul from Starbucks, so I only want to buy beverages from them once a week at the most. So far, going pretty well. I make coffee at home, and Duchess bought me a coffee bean grinder so it is all fresh and delicious every morning. Success.

Wish me luck for the next five months. I miss you all.