Friday, July 07, 2006
(8:18 AM) | Adam Kotsko:
Friday Afternoon Confessional: Cashew Instigation
I confess that I finally got around to putting a current resume up on Monster on Wednesday, one that I think makes me a very attractive candidate for a soul-draining temporary data-entry position. I got a call the very next morning, but it was for a position in Lincolnshire, a north suburb, so I could not take it. Obviously this type of thing elicits a variety of conflicting feelings -- why didn't I put up a resume earlier? Have I, through no fault of my own, totally alienated this particular temp agency now that I've said no once? Why does fate have to torment me in this way? I confess that I'll get over it.I confess that I decided to include my graduate degrees (attained and in progress) on my Monster resume as a way of explaining why I'm seeking part-time work, but in the little "descriptor" field I emphasized the ways in which the degrees helped me to cultivate skills that make me an attractive disposable employee. We shall see whether this is a good strategy -- even if it's not, I do sincerely think that in grad school, one picks up skills suitable for other jobs along the way, even if they are somewhat vague skills ("thoroughness," "ability to synthesize large amounts of information," "ability to follow a template," etc.). I confess that I hope no one thinks I'm being sarcastic when I say that grad school has helped me to "take deadlines very seriously." I really do!
I confess that I go through periods -- such as the majority of this week -- when I wish I was working on anything but the 20th Century exam. I confess that of all the books I've read so far for 20th Century, Rudolph Otto's Idea of the Holy is the one I would most like to come back to -- but only because it strikes me as so profoundly wrong.
I confess that I'm glad we're getting a new refrigerator today, because that means that I won't have to worry every day that my milk went bad overnight and that I can actually buy frozen foods.
I confess that my perusal of a German phrasebook on buses and trains, together with my continued reading of Taubes, make me wish I had some means for learning how to speak the language -- sadly, I can't afford lessons at the Goethe institute. I confess that I did "somehow obtain" some Rosetta Stone software with German lessons on it, so maybe I could look into that. I confess that I need to do something "official," though, so that I can apply for a DAAD scholarship to study in Germany -- but I'm worried because the website says I have to be affiliated with a university, and I'm affliated with a lowly seminary. I confess that I need to take some time out and work back through the French Rosetta Stone.
I confess that if I want to attain genuine reading proficiency in Latin, I need to go through another grammar book. Does anyone know of something other than the Wheelock that I can use for this purpose? (Not a reference grammar -- something with exercises.) Also, since the thematic vocabulary books helped so much with French and German, does anyone know of similar products for Latin? (With vocabulary broken down into categories, plus sample sentences.)
I confess that I would like to find someone to cover the Tuesday Hatred for next week. Bitch PhD has said she'll do it in a pinch, but she does not want to commit to being the "assigned" person. This position is open to anyone with current posting powers or any other regular reader (i.e., someone who is familiar with the institution). This position will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis, but in the unlikely event that I get a flood of people wanting to do it, we could schedule future weeks.
UPDATE:
Tentative Hating Schedule:
7/11 -- Adam R.Get your August slot now, while supplies last!
7/18 -- Infinite Thought
7/25 -- Rob (Brey)
