It's a Wonderful Semester

This is how I felt three weeks ago:

After an ill-advised over-an-hour-long run through the pouring down wet snow of Christmas Eve, I came down with a horrible sore throat on Christmas Day, which quickly developed into a stuffy nose, chills, coughing fits, and general awfulness. I can't remember the last time I was this sick this suddenly, but there it was. Every day from Christmas to New Year's involved me waking up multiple times in the night to cough, blow my nose, and soothe my inflamed sinuses, then I stayed indoors all day every day trying to keep warm and not lose my mind from boredom (thanks again to Matthew for the first seasons of "Once Upon a Time" and "Revenge" and to my in-laws for the life-saving Christmas present of a slanket and a blanket). I tried to read, but found it too exhausting (need I reiterate that this was no ordinary illness?). This sort of thing lasted all the way up until the first day of the semester, when I finally was able to go for several hours in a row without needing to cough-explode my chest or give myself a hardhanded YOU CAN DO THIS pep talk before each swallow.

Flash forward to the second day of the semester, when I felt like this:

This blissful transformation was due to the coincidence of the following happy events: 1) I am auditing and super-enjoying an American Southern history class that I finally mustered up the courage to take after waiting and hoping in vain for a teacher I was familiar with to teach the course. I was a little intimidated by my Mississippi Delta-accent professor with glasses, typewritten syllabi, no Learning Suite materials, and business attire, but after meeting with her in her office and making a few comments in class, I am delighted to say that she is lovely! She seemed to appreciate me introducing myself and has no problem with me being an outlier from the Humanities graduate student department. She also is friendly, funny, and calls on me quite often in class. And the material - good gracious, how I looooove learning about the South. It's definitely where my heart and head click together the most. 2) It turns out that the department did me a favor in canceling my class, as I got a second TA job at the last minute. I am now TA-ing for two Humanities 202 classes (for different teachers, both awesome people whom I've worked with before) and probably getting more pay for less work than either of my 101-teaching peers (TAKE THAT, SOMEBODY!). The overlap in 202 material from the classes is also quite enjoyable and informative, as I just might be teaching 202 in the future. I am so grateful to have the added income and experience for this semester and can't believe my luck, really. As for actual teaching, I only have to teach two 50-minute discussion sections on Fridays, which is SO much easier than having to prepare 3 hours worth of new material every week. Not only do I have a lot of free rein over what we do, but my students so far seem to enjoy and get into the material (not to mention TALK) a lot better than my 101 students. Maybe it's because we meet at 10 and 11 am rather than some ungodly hour like 5 pm. 3) I got better! Remember how I was sick? Well, I got better! Papers, reading, and exams seem like nothing compared to two bedridden weeks of misery. And I'm even feeling confident that I'll stay well throughout the entire semester since, you know, I'm immune. 4) My two best graduate student friends are in both of my classes, and we are thick as thieves. I'm really enjoying the extra time we spend together since they will both soon be graduating. It's nice to already have friends at the beginning of the semester. 5) Both of my classes are looking great. Only two papers to write for one of them, and no papers at all in the other (but a lot of report-style writings of books and films and whatnot)! In one class we're studying adaptations - wait for it - and with that, we'll be looking at Poe, Hitchcock, LOTR, Jane Austen, and Shakespeare. Yup, dream class. And with both my friends in my late-night class on the western genre, it's kind of a "movie night with my friends" type of class than a "we're REALLY going to be here for five hours?" type of class. 6) My intermediate volleyball class has been quite fun. We have a good mix of experienced students but no dominant, annoying personalities as of yet, and I've recognized some old friends as well as made some new ones already. And I like the teacher. And last week I went on a serving streak of about 7-8 points. Booyah!

In conclusion, after the horror of last semester's first-time teaching stress combined with reading exam nightmare, I am overwhelmed at how nice it feels to look forward to rather than dread each day at a time. At this point I can only suppose that this semester will be one of the best ones I can remember having (and definitely the best one if it ever warms up). Here's hopin'.

When the Covingtons are sick...

When Ruth is sick, Matthew cooks.
When Matthew is sick, Matthew cooks (or we have LEFTOVERS!!!).

When Ruth is sick, Matthew helps out with the dishes.
When Matthew is sick, Ruth does ALL the dishes (score for me).

When Ruth is sick (in the winter), Ruth sleeps on 3/4 of the bed with a heating pad and 80% of the blankets and pillows.
When Matthew is sick (in the winter), Ruth sleeps on 3/4 of the bed with a heating pad and 80% of the blankets and pillows.

When Ruth is sick, she laments over how much time and energy it takes to wash her hair.
When Matthew is sick, he laments over how much time and energy it takes to shave.

When Ruth is sick, she stops talking.
When Matthew is sick, he cannot stop talking.

When Ruth is sick, she sleeps all day and all night.
When Matthew is sick, he stays awake all day and all night.

When Ruth is sick, Matthew drives.
When Matthew is sick, Matthew drives.

When Ruth is sick, Matthew watches "Once Upon a Time" with her. He proves his love by rubbing her head and agreeing to sit through not one, but TWO hour-long episodes before bedtime. She also watches "Revenge" and "Downton Abbey" on her own because extraordinary sickness calls for an overdose of extraordinarily good TV shows.
When Matthew is sick, Ruth watches "Batman Beyond" and the early Batman TV animated cartoon series with him. They watch two 30-minute episodes before Matthew complains of too much movie-watching and wants to do another activity (Ruth interprets this unbelievable declaration as a testament to the alarming degree of his malady).

When Ruth is sick, going to visit the in-laws is out of the question. Going to Ruth's family to celebrate New Year's Day, however, is obviously okay.
When Matthew is sick, going to visit the in-laws is out of the question. Going to Matthew's family to celebrate his sister's birthday, however, is obviously okay.

And finally, when Ruth is sick, all journal and blog-writing activities cease.
But when Matthew is sick, Ruth gets bored and lonely and decides to write blog posts again.

When Ruth is sick, NO PICTURES will be taken.
When Matthew is sick, he looks like this:

Still adorable. How is it FAIR?

Media Inventory/Family Newsletter/New Year's Resolutions 2012

I really slacked off keeping track of what I watched and read in 2012. I guess I was busy or something. I have already resolved to do better with this in 2013, as my monthly media blog posts were always fun to write and to look back on. Fortunately, the little Shelfari thing on the side of my blog has a pretty good record of what I read in 2012, so here are some reviews:

Understanding Comics/Making Comics by Scott McCloud: Really interesting, visually appealing books that make you wish you could learn about EVERY subject through comics.

Batman: The Long Halloween: Pretty fun graphic novel. Quick, easy read. The pictures are hyper exaggerated and super colorful and I did feel a bit like a nerdy teenager, but I still enjoyed the story, characters, and format - especially after reading McCloud.

Carrie: I'm not really a Stephen King fan. I thought The Shining was such a drag. And there is a lot of over-the-top didactic stuff in Carrie that made me roll my eyes a bit. But I still enjoyed writing and thinking about Carrie in the context of some pretty big issues we discussed in one of my classes last semester on monsters. I even saw the movie, and wasn't nearly as freaked out as I had been led to expect I would be.

The Knife of Never Letting Go: I was really fascinated by this book through about 90% of it. And I do mean the I can't stop reading or even put down this book type of fascination. But for some reason, the end didn't quite have me dying to read the sequel the way it was supposed to. I tried to start the sequel and just couldn't get into it with the same amount of enthusiasm. This has happened before with The Maze Runner, and I'm still not sure why. Too much build up with too little pay off? Or maybe too much pay off? (Once the main question was answered, I wasn't as interested in finding out anything else.) Anyway, I enjoyed the concept and thought his style of writing was very unique (i.e. intriguing/odd/sometimes downright annoying). Give it a whirl if you're in a mood to be controversial.

Rosemary's Baby: Didn't much care for this one. I've heard it called a horror story and a satire, but it wasn't quite scary, and it wasn't quite funny. I also got a headache trying to figure out how to write about it (I eventually switched to writing about Carrie), so I currently am holding a grudge.

Delirium: I really was intrigued by the concept of this book (Love is a disease? Fascinating!), but found the characters and execution to be oh-so-tiresome. The story was quickly bogged down by the overkill development of the not that hard to grasp background, and fretful, wistful, time-wasting meandering through typical teenage mood swings, swooning, determination to rebel, etc. I eventually gave up and skimmed through the whole thing, decided the plot wasn't that impressive after all, and moved on.

The Fault in Our Stars: I've tried to read a few Jon Green novels before this one, and never really got attached to the characters or story. Until this one. From almost the first page I was immediately drawn in and was astonished at how quickly I came to relate and identify with the main character's attitude and situation. The simplicity and normalcy of the story somehow seemed epic and crucial. I would highly recommend this one, and I'm going to give his other books another go.

Ready Player One: Loved, loved, LOVED this one. Entertaining, exciting, intriguing, creative, and non-stop adrenaline the whole way through. Another one I had trouble putting down. And I don't even play video or computer games (which is what the whole book is about). Definitely recommend.

Flowers for Algernon: I loved this book - the story, the writing, the character, and the heart behind it all really got to me. It's heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time.

Lazy B: Nice, nostalgic read about Sandra Day's memoirs growing up on a ranch. Made me want to write and live my own childhood again.

The Meadow: I've read this before, but it's worth reading again. Poetic and thought-provoking. 

I Am the Messenger: Very interesting, creative work from the author of the Book Thief. It doesn't feel quite as epic or inspirational as The Book Thief, but still brings that element of truth combined with mystery, secrecy, and import. I am amazed at how well this author weaves together seemingly unconnected images and moments to create such unified and beautiful ideas.

Beyonders (1&2): Didn't enjoy either of these as much as Brandon Mull's Fablehaven or The Candy Shop War. The magic worlds, evil bad guys, and perilous situations all seemed a little too exaggerated to be taken seriously (kind of like the old boys-in-danger story scenarios that Daniel and I used to write when we were little).

The Night Circus: This one gets a picture because I loved it so much. It would be my favorite book I read this year if I hadn't also read Mistborn. Super intriguing plot and beautiful imagery and writing throughout.

Midnight in Austenland: I loved the first Austenland book, but this one seemed a little contrived to me. Too Lost-in-Austeny for my taste.

Warbreaker: This was my first attempt with Brandon Sanderson and it was a smashing success! I went from skeptic to convert after reading this book, an excellent, creative, in-depth examination of religious and social structures complete with complex, three-dimensional characters and epic confrontations between good and evil.

Mistborn Trilogy: Hands down my pick for the best books I've read this year and probably for many years. These are books you want to live, not just read, and not just once but over and over again. I fell in love with the characters, the concept, the plot, and the writing. Seriously, I can't say anything bad about these books (except that if you are like me, you will cry when you finish them because all you want to do is to keep reading them forever).

Elantris: Again, one of the best sci-fi fantasies I've read, though I still consider it the weakest of B. Sanderson's. Still, I'm astonished at how good he is even when he is not so good.

King Lear: A very tragic play, but touching, inspirational, and beautiful in its own way. A lot of the lines got under my skin for a long time, particularly Edmund's self-condemning speech about how we blame fate in vain for our actions.

The Crossing: The second book in Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy, and one I've been meaning to read for a long time. Very powerful, gritty, deep stuff.

Something Borrowed/Something Blue/Baby Proof: Probably the most frothy/indulgent books I read all year. A tad scandalous, but oh so juicy and gossipy, and I ended up caring more about the characters than I expected thanks to Emily Giffin's appealing, straight-from-the-heart style. It felt almost like reading a stranger's diary or blog, maybe while eating ice cream and giggling with your girlfriends. Definitely while eating ice cream.

The Hunger Games trilogy: It had been a while since I read these books, and I was surprised at how much I couldn't remember about the details of the plots. The first book is definitely my favorite - such a twisted, crazy, fascinating scenario, and with sympathetic, enjoyable characters as well! The second book is also quite good, though the novelty wears off a little. The third book is the worst. I tried to like it both times I read it, but both times I ended up just shaking my head in sorrow, disgust, and quizzical disbelief and amusement. It does has the greatest expectations placed upon it, so it's understandable why it isn't as good, but it's still disappointing.

As for movies, I really enjoyed seeing The Hobbit, The Avengers, and The Hunger Games this year, and am still looking forward to seeing the last Breaking Dawn (there, I admitted it), Les Miserables, and Skyfall. This semester I'm hoping to see a lot more International Cinema films. I'll be taking a Western films class too, so expect to see a lot of westerns over the next four months. Incidentally, some of my other resolutions for the year include writing my thesis, probably over spring and summer (my goal is to have at least a rough draft of every chapter by December!), taking a dance class (I want to do one before I graduate, and it's looking like that will happen a year from this semester), finishing up everything I need to graduate besides my thesis (Spanish 321, I'm looking at you), writing in my journal weekly (I took two weeks off due to being sick), swimming/exercising/playing volleyball more regularly, and finally, a few spiritual goals - daily prayer, scripture study, and weekly family home evening/date night with Matthew. This May will be our two-year anniversary - how fast it goes by! Hard to believe we're still in the same apartment we started out in, and even more that it feels like home.