November 21, 2007

I'm too sleep deprived to think up a clever title for a post. When in such a state, isn't it nice to rely on dates as titles!

The word on the Geopolitics of South and Central Asia class from my supervisor is that she is checking into the possibility of my taking it. I trust she'll do her best as she does understand we all have interests outside work. Plus, I work a crappy schedule. Being able to flex time to do things that interest me helps to keep me motivated to continue working this schedule.

I have had tendinitis in my thumb the last couple of days and have had to take a break from knitting. While I find that frustrating, I have been able to read. I've had mediocre experiences with reading all year due, in part, to feeling uninspired by books. I've loved to read all my life, but this year I felt oversaturated by book information from reading forums to publisher's hype to book reviews to reading lists - everything started to look the same and I just needed a break. I think I'm recovering. Right now I'm reading Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu by Laurence Bergreen. I haven't read a biography in awhile and have read little about exploring. Since Marco Polo traveled the Silk Road and many of the countries I'll hopefully be studying next quarter are on the Silk Road, I thought this would be a fitting book to read pre class. I've spent some time this morning reading about the Silk Road itself and came across the inevitable research temptations. I don't travel well, but I can dream!

I've also returned to book lists. I love to collect them. I think next year's reading list will encompass many books from the Conde Nast Traveler list here

I have no pictures to show today, but as you can see throughout this post, I have learned how to link. I got sock yarn for my knitting pal, but I can't show it. My other swaps have been completed and it's time to plan for the Loopy Ewe swap. I do enjoy these swaps. I've had good beginner's luck so far! Here's the Coffee Swap blog to get an idea of what a swap can be like.