Advice From Your Graduate Director
Erin O'Connor, over at Critical Mass, is today again discussing the fate of English Lit Ph.D's -- scroll down after the letter from a disaffected student, for more links to earlier discussions of the matter. The situation is likely to get worse, I'm afraid, as for some reason (I can't understand this myself), when the economy's bad, humans flock to graduate schools. Here's my advice: DON'T go work on a Ph.D. in English because you can't get a job. It's not a good way of marking time, especially if you're also borrowing money to get through. (If you're already one of our students -- you know who you are -- we admitted very few of you. We're training you broadly in lit, deeply in theory, well in teaching. Our placement rate is very high. But if you ever decide to bail out, no shame, no blame. This from your Graduate Director.)
As for knitting, a much cheerier subject, here's the Mosaic and Mirror scarf (I don't think it's a shawl, not really), reconstructed after the Horrible Debacle:
I'm planning on wearing it to the opera; we go on Sunday afternoons (not a staying-out-late sort of couple), and I get to dress up but not go formal. This works well for me. But I may need an entire new outfit to go under the Mosaic and Mirror scarf. Perhaps something in black velvet.
I've been thinking about the projects I'd like to do next fall, when the new knitting season starts. I figure that if I make five sweaters per season, I can decimate my stash in just four years! Yes! And if I don't die before then, then my darling Julie won't have to figure out what to do with it all! Ebay, Julie, that's the ticket.
Kaffe Fassett's "Heraldic Dogs" -- I think I might do that next season. And one of the Fair Isles, certainly -- maybe "Queen Anne's Lace." And that lacy "Margaret Tudor" with all the buttons.
But first, the things on the needles now.
It's raining. I heard recently that in May we had three days without rain. June appears to be going along in the same fashion. Not good for bees, who need to get out of the hive and throw out the garbage, besides (of course) finding nice sunny flowers full of nectar. The humans are getting weary, too.
Might as well go to work.
As for knitting, a much cheerier subject, here's the Mosaic and Mirror scarf (I don't think it's a shawl, not really), reconstructed after the Horrible Debacle:
I'm planning on wearing it to the opera; we go on Sunday afternoons (not a staying-out-late sort of couple), and I get to dress up but not go formal. This works well for me. But I may need an entire new outfit to go under the Mosaic and Mirror scarf. Perhaps something in black velvet.
I've been thinking about the projects I'd like to do next fall, when the new knitting season starts. I figure that if I make five sweaters per season, I can decimate my stash in just four years! Yes! And if I don't die before then, then my darling Julie won't have to figure out what to do with it all! Ebay, Julie, that's the ticket.
Kaffe Fassett's "Heraldic Dogs" -- I think I might do that next season. And one of the Fair Isles, certainly -- maybe "Queen Anne's Lace." And that lacy "Margaret Tudor" with all the buttons.
But first, the things on the needles now.
It's raining. I heard recently that in May we had three days without rain. June appears to be going along in the same fashion. Not good for bees, who need to get out of the hive and throw out the garbage, besides (of course) finding nice sunny flowers full of nectar. The humans are getting weary, too.
Might as well go to work.
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