'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown...

Listening to Frou Frou again; I love that song.

I had not intended to write today, but I need something to break up the monotony of this research paper. I don't think I have ever loathed a paper like I detest this one, but it will be over and done with tonight and tomorrow I leave for Dallas! Flickerstick, what?! There is a light at the end of this tunnel!

I hope that all of you have had a good week. I mean, how could you not? Bush is President once again!!! That's right W. I had the North Face all packed up, ready to book it to Vancouver if Kerry had won, but thankfully I was able to stay put. Transferring my credits to a Canadian university sure would have been a hassle. As the semester winds down, the work load increases, so I hope that none of you are super stressed. Emily, hang in there...kick the nervous system and all the other exams in the junk!

The research paper I am currently working on is entitled: From the Center of the Universe to the Bottom of the Totem Pole: Hurston'’s Shift from Mythic to Picaresque in Dust Tracks on a Road. Doesn't that sound like a blast? Well, it is! No, not really...but I do enjoy Hurston's writing, so at least some of my research was pleasurable. There is one passage in particular that I like, so I thought I would post it. I have Zora Neale Hurston on the brain. I like typing this on my blog because MLA format is not needed. This freedom is great! I encourage everyone to buck the system at least once today. Do it!

"When I began to make up stories I cannot say. Just from one fancy to another, adding more and more detail until they seemed real. People seldom see themselves changing. It is like going out in the morning, or in the springtime to pick flowers. You pick and you wander till suddenly you find that the light is gone and the flowers are withered in your hand. Then, you say that you must turn back home. But you have wandered into a place and the gates are closed. There is no more sharp sunlight. Grey meadows are all about you where blooms only asphodel. You look back through the immutable gates to where the sun still shines on the flowered fields with nostalgic longing, but God pointed men's toes in one direction. One is surprised by the passage of time and the distance traveled, but one may not go back."

I love that. Hurston's language is incredible, full of detail and poetic phrasing. You should check her out. She also wrote a book entitled "Their Eyes Were Watching God". I hear it is incredible. I am reading it over the Christmas break.

Well, I suppose I should continue working on this never-ending paper. I am thinking of rewarding myself upon completion with a milkshake. Mmm... yes, I believe I will do that. A chocolate malt from Shakes! Makes me want to finish right now! 11 pages down, 4 to go.