(no subject)

I am having a lovely time at Paradise Lost, which is generally what I expect. So that's nice, but no surprise. The lectures are good, the critiques are good, hanging out with people is excellent. I'm currently hiding in my hotel room while other people are out at dinner, but that's because a few convention meltdowns taught me that I need to manage this introvert thing, and it's often better to bow out while I'm still cheery and recharge before taking on more social stuff.

Got terribly drunk last night, and I don't think I'll be doing that again. It was quite a lot of fun until the nausea kicked in, at which point it was not. So. Maybe more careful drinking in the future. It was a valuable learning experience!

I am kinda worried about Pixel, but presumably the roommate would've called if anything came up. And I'll see her tomorrow--well, them, and the cats, who will be pissy but fine judging by past similar events--so that's all good.

Had a long and complicated dream last night that got to a point where I was standing outside in the snow, trying to find a Christmas decoration to buy that didn't have the US flag on it somewhere. Finally located a brass sparrow with a key in its mouth, and when I fit that key into its back and twisted, it spun back around playing a lovely wistful tune like a music box. And then I had to beat up forty dudes who showed up to mug the seller, and he was very happy that I'd saved him, but really, I mostly remember that brass sparrow and its music. Perhaps I'll use it somewhere.

I am feeling deeply encouraged about writing and submissions right now, and quietly discouraged about academics. I mean--not about academics as in classes. I love those, hard as they are. But I'm getting so tired of the part where it transforms from Me Paying Money into Me Being Paid being some distant, distant goal, deeply uncertain, and ever more uncertain as classics departments around the country get gutted because this rabidly anti-intellectual country will only grudgingly acknowledge the value of non-MBA degrees if they're in STEM fields.

Forgive me. I am feeling bitter, and discouraged. I love academics; I love classics; I believe passionately in the value of such things. But when I start thinking that writing genre fiction would be a more lucrative and financially reliable use of my time in the long run than taking classes... Well. It gets to me.

Anyway. Back to socializing soon. There was a lovely cheese session right before dinner, and I'm still full of dairy goodness.