did you forget me? i have not forsaken you.

Dear readers, it's been a long time since rock'n'roll here on quixotic wordsmith. I did not die. School did not eat me (just my brain), Phillip did not murder me in my sleep on a psychotic rampage, I was not runover by a road-raged NJ driver. Basically, the last month of any semester you can count on not seeing or hearing from me unless you either a) live with me or b) frequent the Rutgers Art History buildings. While I was finished by the 8th, I have been happily busy hosting guests, travelling myself, and generally trying my best to do nothing. So, my beloved audience, let's refresh you on what I've been up to.

School went really well. I was really pleased with my grades after busting my tail feathers. I was really pleased with one of my papers, and feel that while I still have a long ways to go in my career as a scholar, I have been progressing at an ambitious pace. Hopefully I can take what I have learned this past year and use this summer to give my writing and research skills a glamorous makeover. I am ecstatic to have moved beyond being a first year! Freshmeat no more. Jenevieve, Kat and I have formed the graduate party that is in charge of welcoming and orienting the newbies in the fall. I am also on a planning committee for a feminism in the visual arts symposium that will be occuring in October; another student and I are in charge of finding speakers for one of the panels. It's a very exciting opportunity, and possibly a really fabulous chance to increase my scholarly network. I, along with Brükirante and Hilary, have also agreed to be a co-editor for the Rutgers Art Review, a journal of graduate writing in art history that casts its net both nationally and internationally (although mostly continental US). We are still not entirely sure what exactly that entails, but we have sent out our call for papers. My potential advisor is returning from sabatical in the fall (yay! anchorless no more!) And I may be interning at the New York Public Library this summer, working with their photography collection.

In work-related news, my last official day at the White House | Black Market of Menlo Park Mall will be next Sunday. It has been fun, and I love my girls there, but I am utterly exhausted from this past year, and now that I have moved to only being a slide curator at the VRC, I don't need the hours like I did before. I told the Store Manager to keep me on standby. So, I am working 2-3 days most weeks in the old VRC this summer. I have graduated from being the web assistant completely and will only be doing slide curator duties (which is a little of everything). Poor Kat will be taking the mantle from me on that. I hope to do some work for Barbara, the lady I freelance for, this summer also.

In July, we will be moving somewhere in between Phillip's work and future school up North (oh, PKS got into business school!) and Rutgers. We are still looking into possible locations. More later. This will also require a second car. This past year, we have saved tremendously on gas, insurance, etc. by driving only my car. During the week, Phillip drives the car to work and I walk or take the bus partway to school. We are going to buy a Yaris from my brother's Toyota dealership.

Phillip's work review is today, and it should go really well. He does not have an onsite manager, and he is the senior member of the marketing team at Humana, reporting directly to the regional manger. Turnover and redistribution has worked in his favor, giving him a lot of responsibility, and this should bode very well for us. We're hoping for a fatty raise. Humana will pay a certain amount of his schooling, so he will be working full time and going to school on nights and weekends. So, we won't see each other for awhile, but at least it won't be just me constantly leaving him anymore!

I'm kind of tired now, and so I'll end it at that. More on travels, family, good times after the jump.