Some basics: my first semester I studied Locke’s Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Kant’s moral philosophy, and took a field seminar in Comparative Politics. My grades were great, and I learned a lot. Second semester, I studied Aristotle’s Politics, Rousseau’s Emile, and took a course on Muslim immigration in Europe. Grades not so great, but not terrible. Grades aren’t supposed to matter here. It’s true that they don’t matter in the sense that you don’t focus all of your work toward merely getting a good grade; you have to think more broadly about learning and shaping yourself for future expectations. But grades do matter in the sense that they are valuable feedback on how you’re progressing. My grades right now are telling me: you’re getting it, but not blowing us away. That is pretty much consistent with how I feel I am doing.

I know I was curious when I was just beginning to think about grad school what it would be like: I’d heard all sorts of stories from people, like that they had only four hours of free time a week, etc. The following goes for me personally; your mileage may vary.

I haven’t found that I’m working 12 hours a day nonstop all semester, but definitely there are times when there aren’t enough hours in the day to get all the work done. But generally, there is time to spend a few hours taking the subway somewhere where you can relax and do a little reading or writing. You can get errands and chores done, etc. But this is all relevant to my situation only, given the structure of my program and my abilities. I know now why I couldn’t get straight answers out of current graduate students about what I could expect: it differs so much from student to student and program to program. Even at my school, the philosophy students have to start teaching courses their second year, which keeps them much busier than us polsci students. And the amount of time required for the assistantship varies from assignment to assignment and throughout the semester. If pressed, I’d say that the easiest possible day for me would be about four hours to get just standard reading assignments done; assuming there is a) no class that day, which would take up another 2+ hours, b) no heavy work required for the assistantship at that time, c) no outside lectures or talks to attend, and d) no papers or presentations coming up. And if you’re lucky enough to only have four hours of schoolwork for an entire day, that’s the day you have to be getting other things out of the way, like the dishes and the laundry. If there’s class, you still have four hours of reading, plus two or three hours of class. If there’s also a paper due soon: reading, class, then another four or more hours of writing. You can see how much the work can vary from day to day.

I’ve found that time and effort are necessary but not sufficient for success. During the final weeks of the semester, I spent literally every available hour I had on my term papers, and two of them came up short anyhow, in no small part because of luck: all the roads I went down in my research went nowhere, until time finally ran out and I had to churn out some superficial text. Hopefully in the future I can tune my heuristics better and not be dragged down so many lengthy and wasteful dead ends.

The first year was hard, but satisfying. It didn’t turn out exactly as I’d hoped, of course. I think that getting the not-so-good grades means I’m finally being pushed to my limits, which is good, because that’s the only way to truly improve. My background puts me at disadvantages that mean I have to work extra hard to stay afloat in this totally new environment. Hopefully as I get rolling on my second year I’ll have things under better control.

So, maybe since I’ve not written much about … anything … you would like to hear about my graduate school experience? No, you’d just like to hear about the hammock some more?

Well, as it sways gently in the breeze, dappled by warm, glowing sunshine, a big, sweaty mojito rests, waiting on a table at arm’s length.

By Flickr user emzee

PSYCH! To recap, I’m working toward a MFA in Writing for Children. The program is pretty heavy in critical theory as well, so for both the fall and spring semesters, I took a writing course AND a criticism course. In the fall, I took Criticism of Literature for Children, which was basically a history of literary criticism, plus we read a lot of young adult books (and some graphic novels, picture books and middle grade books as well) which we applied the critical theories to. Not only was there 40+ pages of heavy-duty criticism every week, plus the novel, but I also had to write a paper every week. And the prof was a TOUGH grader, so writing those papers every week was like squeezing blood from a stone. My writing class was less intense, but equally fulfilling. I read so many great books and learned sooo much about writing, the chapters I wrote from week to week indicated a lot of progress, and I even got to try my hand at writing a graphic novel script and picture book text. Just learning the depth behind writing a picture book gave me newfound appreciation for them. Did you know that picture book writers (if they are not the illustrators) do not get to choose the illustrator for the book, and seldom have any input as to how the images will look? I didn’t know that either, and it STILL blows my mind. Just like graphic novels, it’s stunning to see image and picture come together for such a rich, involving reading experience.

Me, every week. From Flickr user LSE Library

For the spring semester, I took a course in Contemporary Realistic Fiction (basically just realistic young adult novels from the last 10 years or so). Over the winter break, I got to read 23 novels in 30ish days to prepare for this class. As you might imagine, I don’t really remember my winter vacation with much clarity. But, for the spring, I read about 60 books for this one class alone. For my final paper I read an additional 5. The class was sort of overwhelmingly helpful for my own writing, every week I was reading several novels in the genre I write, and I really got to see how often the same stuff crops up in novels all the time, as well as seeing things I thought were original going into my novel show up in at least three different books. But I also got to read a lot of criticism, which I actually enjoy, and it makes me consider pursuing a PhD in Comparative Literature, because I really love this stuff, and I seem to have an endless amount of enthusiasm for a lot of forms of literature (novels, graphic novels, picture books, fairy tales) from all over the world (Scandinavia, France, Germany, Canada, the US), and picking it apart.

Anyway, in addition to the fiction class, I took Writing II, which was much more intense than Writing I. I had to crank out a new chapter for my novel every other week, in addition to reading (very long) novels, teaching a lesson in class, and reading/providing feedback for my classmates every week. I also got to write a long paper in the end for that as well, but that paper was quite helpful. But, it was really the stuff that frustrated me the most about the class that helped me out the most in the end. A huge reason for my entering this program in the first place was that I wanted to write, but I just spit out these incomprehensible drafts during NaNoWriMo, and then never finished them. And I wanted to write for young adults for maximum impact, despite the very little amount of YA I had actually read before my entrance into the program. And it took this whole year of starting over, from scratch, learning from the people who are doing it now and doing it well, and cranking out excruciating first chapter versions one after the other, and getting contradictory feedback from my well-intentioned classmates week in and week out to realize that there was an immense amount of good in doing things the way I did it before, but I needed some craft help to help me to compose the novel better from the beginning, and to go through the gauntlet of feedback to anticipate what I might want to polish during the editing process. But on the other hand, spitting out a draft whole NaNoWriMo style and listening to my own vision instead of agonizing over every detail and whether people will like this or be offended by that should really come later, and not cloud the writing process, because I just get stuck and don’t move forward.

So, in essence, the worst thing this year was the best thing. Yay!

That is why my mascot for the 2009-2010 academic year is … the STOAT.

The stoat, as you can see, is adorable. It is tiny and cute and runs around and stuff. Lyra’s daemon Pantalaimon from Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy turns upon occasion into a stoat. And this is how I first heard of this animal. So you see, it is fitting in a children’s literature sense. Also because I like cute things. But, the stoat is also a carnivore. They like eggs and cats. The stoat, like my school year, is the worst best thing.

So that is graduate school, thus far. Next year, I am doing an independent study to write a picture book text about a new obsession, a whole class on picture books (which sounds like a doozy) and each semester, I do this thing called a mentorship. I get paired with an editor or established author who works with me on a novel manuscript (so two different novels, one different one each semester) until it’s all polished and awesome and I can get it ready to submit for publication.

But other things that are new, during this, my first year of graduate school, and my first year living in Boston:

• I went vegan.
• I am getting much better about crossing streets like a New Englander (that is, crossing when it’s good enough, rather than waiting for a light).
• I am finding all kinds of great coffee shops, restaurants and book stores in the city.
• And yes, New Englanders can be kind of…terse…but I’m getting used to that, too.

It’s hard to put it into words without it sounding more harsh than it is. What I think the main difference is between West Coasterners from New Englanders is consideration. Like, I worked retail when I lived in Boise, too. And lets say I’m checking someone out at the register, and it’s wrapping up: I’m handing them the receipt and the bag, but the customer is still trying to collect all their stuff and get outta there. In Boise, if the next customer in line walked up and started putting their stuff down on the counter before the first person was finished, arguments broke out. It only happened once, maybe twice in my four years of retail, but when it did, it got ugly. The first person would totally call out the second person for being rude and not waiting their turn. And this is from polite, old lady Boise types. So, it was a REAL breach of etiquette, excusable only if the second person needs to pay so they can run back out to their car and take their wife, who is in labor, to the hospital.

Not so in Boston. If a person is waiting for someone to get out of the store, they walk up to the counter and set their stuff down immediately. Almost every single time. So, in Boise, that behavior would be called rude, but maybe a better term would be… inconsiderate? You’re not considering that the person in front of you just needs ten seconds to collect their things and leave, and then you’ll get your turn? But then, nobody seems to mind since it is the norm here. Likewise on the subway, nobody gets in straight orderly lines here, you just push onto the train, and nobody gets mad if you push in front of them to get on the train, because that’s just the norm. So in context, perhaps New Englanders are not rude, but out of context, for someone not quite accustomed to the behaviors, the general milieu can come off as pushy. Oh, and Boston drivers should have to pay a fee to honk their horns. Because they are WAY too fond of that.

So, a year in Boston, a year in graduate school. Intense times that are teaching me a lot about myself. And now all that stretches before me is endless amounts of time for fun…

NOT!

But I digress…

Grayson and I spent New Year’s on a double-date with a friend from work and her gentleman caller. We went to First Night which is a whole day and night of events, parades, music, dancing, performance and free museum entry all over the city to celebrate New Year’s. I worked most of the day, so we had to FOCUS when I got off. We passed a big parade by the library:

and then went out to eat. I had a Vegan BLT (the “B” was made of tempeh, which was my first time having it. It was really tasty.) and white sangria. Grayson had a Brie sammich with apples, pears, honey mustard, tomatoes and He’Brew, a really dark, tasty beer, that we hadn’t seen since the Co-op in Boise. We also bummed vegan nachos off our dining companions. It was my first experience with Vegan cheese, and it was tasty!

After that, we milled around downtown and made it to the waterfront, where we were lucky enough to score tickets to go on a harbor cruise at 11:30, to see the fireworks go off over the harbor. We killed some time scoring free coffee and warming back up. Then we stood around on the boat for an hour losing all sensation in our toes.

Here’s a view of the skyline as the boat pulled away:

Then, the fireworks:

It was pretty cool. And by cool I mean cold, but also fireworky.

Grayson and Natasha, New Year's 2010

Grayson isn’t much the resolution type, but I do have a resolution this year. I’m taking the literal definition of resolution rather than setting a goal for myself (goals have an end, a resolution is something you resolve to do indefinitely) and I’m trying to form a routine. I’ve always been very resistant to routines and habits, and aside from getting up and getting on the internet, there’s nothing I consistently do everyday. So, in order to do things that I know I should but I’ve always avoided (take vitamins, write and floss every day) I’m establishing a routine. 6 days in and I’m 6 for 0! Woohoo!

We heard sketchy details about this plan the night before, and woke up early to make it out to the JFK Library as soon as it opened, thinking the viewing would already have started. We found out after we got there about the plans for the procession, and that the body would not be at the library for another 8 hours. We decided to tour the museum while we were there. It was a fascinating visit, documenting John F. Kennedy’s life, including his elections to Senate and Presidency, the Cuban Missile Crisis, formation of the Peace Corps, the beginnings of the space program, and finally his assassination. Although Ted Kennedy’s body was not in the museum, we visited the room where it would be taken, and signed the memorial book.

Having learned about the funeral procession, we set out for downtown so we would be able to see it drive by. We still aren’t familiar with much of the city, so Boston Common near the Statehouse was the only part of the route we were familiar with. We sat around in Boston Common for a few hours, reading and passing time. We managed to get a decent spot on Park St east of the Common, and sat around for a few more hours, as the motorcade was apparently held up by an accident outside of town.

Finally, the funeral procession went by. I wasn’t sure what would happen – usually when such a large crowd gathers, it is for a celebration. I thought that for such a solemn occasion surely cheering would be out of order. However, as it turned out, cheering and applause were a fitting gesture. As we saw the weeping Kennedy family driving by, doing their best to wave to the crowd, nothing seemed more appropriate from a grateful public.

This Barnes & Noble is listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest bookstore in the world, calculated by floorspace. Other bookstores carry more unique titles (World’s Biggest Bookstore in Toronto) or have more books on their shelves (Powell’s in Portland). None of that stopped this from being a totally awesome book geek experience:

We got pretty unlucky with the next few sites. Ground Zero has lay dormant for years, due to political bickering about what should ultimately be put there. By the time we managed to get there, however, someone pushed something through, so the entire site is covered by construction. It’s good that something is finally being done there. For now, there isn’t much to see:

Also, the Statue of Liberty had been closed to visitors since 2006 (although you can still go out to the island), but was reopened on July 4th, the day after we left. It turns out that only 250 or so people a day will be allowed to climb the statue until it is closed again for renovation. We didn’t have enough time or money to take a trip out to the island, so here is our best effort at zoom photography with a point-and-shoot camera:

After that, we found the New York Stock Exchange:

Security was pretty tight outside:

Not pictured: one of those heavily-armed cops text messaging.

After that, there was barely time left to catch the bus “home” (where is “home” anymore, anyway?)

I hope this was all reasonably interesting!

First up, the New York Public Library. This isn’t a traditional library – you haven’t been able to check books out of this one for awhile now. There are some computers for internet access but it is mostly a museum. We saw some really old copies of the Declaration of Independence there (a few of the first printed in New York, and some handwritten).

Next up, the headquarters of a little paper known as the New York Times. Sorry about the poor photo quality:

After that, Times Square, including the MTV Studios, Radio City Music Hall, and more. It’s a shame we couldn’t be here at night, as the effect of all those electronic billboards and lights must be amazing.

Next up, the Rockefeller Center. John D. Rockefeller, the richest person in history, has been left quite a name for himself in this lavish, humanistic center:

The quote in the background, if you cannot read it, says “Wisdom and Knowledge Shall Be The Stability Of Thy Times.” The center is decorated with several sculptures inspired by ancient mythology. This statue is of Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods and gave it to man, thus giving them technology and superiority over nature. It is a very fitting symbol in a monument to human achievement.  I found it very impressive.

Next, we found the actual Tiffany’s store featured in the film Breakfast At Tiffany’s. We didn’t try to go in and have something engraved. I wonder if people still do that?

Also, a quick glance of the Apple Store. The store is located on prime real estate, but instead of building an economically sensible skyscraper like its neighbors, Apple built a small glass box at ground level and put the rest of the store underground. This must frustrate the real estate community to no end.

After that, we headed rain-soaked into Central Park to find this sculpture dedicated to Alice in Wonderland. It was built by a husband to honor his wife. I’ve been informed that the ball is in my court now:

After this we still somehow had the energy to tour the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Here among many, many other great exhibits were those famous paintings of George Washington and other founders, and Jacques-Louis David’s The Death of Socrates.

Finally, we had some dinner. Does anyone remember the Soup Nazi episode of Seinfeld? That was based on a real guy named Al Yeganeh, who ran a soup kitchen with a similar atmosphere and product quality. Later on this guy made a chain, called “The Original Soup Man.” The store has a video montage of media references to Yeganeh playing on repeat as well as reprints of newspaper articles referring to the episode as well as his original store. The food was OK – apparently Yeganeh sold his stock in the company and left the US, and the soup is now manufactured elsewhere and shipped to the franchises and reheated there. The original store is now closed. You might skip this one even if you’re a Seinfeld fan.

Here is a gratuitous shot of the Chrysler Building!

That’s it for today, stay tuned for the final day of our NYC adventure…

We rode the Lucky Star bus down to Koreatown in Manhattan. We went south through Connecticut, passing through the Bronx, and caught some wicked views of the skyline:

The skyline extends forever in both directions…you really have to see it to comprehend how large it is, especially compared to most other “big cities.”

From Koreatown it was a short hop on the subway (complete with infamous unintelligible announcements) to our hotel, the Ace. We’ve stayed with Ace now at three of their four locations (Seattle, Portland, NYC and still to go, Palm Springs). They’re a good chain that caters to the younger crowd. From our window, we had an unparalleled view of the Empire State building (need some office space?):

Speaking of the subway, we noticed a quote from Herodotus on the back of our subway ticket:

If you can’t read it, it says: “Very few things happen at the right time, and the rest do not happen at all; the conscientious historian will correct these defects.” Way to go NYC, keep learning alive!

It was fairly late when we got in, so we only had time to visit a single place, Strand Books, which is justly famous for being “18 miles of books.” This was during the controversy surrounding the Iranian elections, so we were able to see a protest in support of the challenger Mir-Hossein Mousavi:

Green is a sacred color in Islam, and was thus widely adopted in the worldwide protests surrounding the election.

We got back to our hotel at night – and got this shot of the Empire State Building lit up at night:

Apparently they light up the building with more and more colors as July 4th approaches, and it is fully red, white, and blue by the 4th. Here you see it as we did, merely red and white.

Click here for Day 2 or here for Day 3!

As you approach Harvard, you will be met with a wall that runs around most of the campus, interspersed with gates that brandish something reminiscent of the school seal. “Veritas” is Latin for “truth.”

Our first stop anywhere like this is always the Philosophy building:

I wish they’d had a building like that at BSU!

Somewhere on campus they have a statue of the school’s founder, John Harvard. Our guidebook had some distasteful information to the effect that one of the local student rituals is to urinate on this statue. Eh.

Moving on…

To all of Harvard’s ancient heritage and venerable buildings, MIT offers a striking contrast – daring modern architecture and technology. They have a bulding by Frank Gehry, who is noted for his bizarre and outlandish designs.

We were too close to the building to get a good photo that captures its whole style – but from this you can get a glimpse of its unusual aesthetic. We aren’t exactly sure what this building is used for.

The front of the MIT Architectural School features Ionic columns that simply dwarf the human form:

If you like, as you walk past the public museum on campus, you can be treated to a video exhibit with an outdoor controller. We saw parts of a video on genetic analysis:

That’s it for these campuses. Next up is New York City!

First, a relatively minor event, a visit to a BerryLine establishment, which was giving out free frozen yogurts all day (with TOPPINGS) as a grand opening celebration:

This happened to be very close to Fenway Park, which we saw from the outside:

Here’s a cool photo someone else took of Fenway Park, and Natasha messed with it to make it look like a miniature:

Not much to tell about here! Just wait, things get more exciting soon.

It was the first publicly supported municipal library in the United States, the first large library open to the public in the United States, and the first public library to allow people to borrow books and other materials and take them home to read and use.

The library was HUGE and STUNNING and COMPLETELY like something out of a movie. Here are some pictures:

Exterior

Interior door

Through a window onto a reading room, check the banker's lamps!

Lion of Knowledge!

After I was done with book-heaven, I wandered around Copley, where I saw the following sign, which was super crazy…I’m totally on the east coast now!

This way to NYC!

There were a lot of really cool, incredibly old buildings with stained glass and carved-wood facades that housed things like ATT, Dunkin’ Donuts and Anthropologie. It was a really paradoxical sort of neighborhood, and reminded me fondly of Europe, particularly Germany (specifically downtown/Marienplatz in München) for some reason. And then, among all the old, refurbished buildings, was the very modern, glass-and-concrete gargantuan Apple store:

Apple store

I know they’re big in many parts of the world, but this was 3 stories! The biggest I’ve ever seen!

I also wandered by an open-farmers market right on the corner of this busy city street, the herbs were sooo deliciously fragrant. There was also a Danish baker selling huge pastries and breads that smelled fresh out of the oven. It was a good thing I didn’t have any cash on hand, or I would have been in fresh-thyme-and-carb heaven!