Today its me against the paper

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I am currently hanging out in the "other libraray" on campus -- having learned he hard way that when you really want to study, the Main Library is not the place to go. Its full of undergrads who talk on their phones when they are in the study cubicles, chat with the friends they happen to see while looking through the stacks for a book to plagrise, and generally show as little respect as possible for anything beyond their own fabulous lives. :-)

So I am in Teviot Library, which is a little room tucked into the student union hall. The room seriously looks like it was frozen in the 1930's -- this description may mean nothing to anyone else, but its very 1930's country house -- lot of dark wood. I can imagine scores of students before me studying for finals in this room. Its warm, cozy, and stays open very late. Three attibutes which cannot be ascribed to the main library. I don't think Tevoit is a lending library anymore, but I'd like to get ahold of some of the volumes in here -- they are all very old and look like they have not been touched for a very long time.

SO today, on account of the fact that this place is open very late, I am waging war on one of my papers. Its a no holds barred battle: Me against the paper, only one of us makes it out alive. End of story. For the sake of my sanity, one of these things has GOT to get finished today. Even if it means staying here until 11 or 12 or 1AM -- I do not go home to my apartment until one of these things is done.

The truth is, I probably would have been done with one of these if I did not regularly participate in what is now being called the Thursday Night Leftover's Club -- I have no idea why Vince coined that phrase, but that is what we, as the School of History and Classics, are now calling our Thursday night "meeting" at the Blind Poet. Every Thursday I wake up and think that I probably shouldnt go, given the fact that I have so much to do...and every Thursday I go and realize that its probably the only thing separating me from going absolutely insane. It still astonishes me that, even out in the pub, all of us still "talk shop." So its not wholly unacademic -- right? Everyone also gives me gobs of encouragement when I say -- every week -- how I am pretty sure these papers are going to kill me.

Less than 4 weeks separates me and the end of the sememster, and in that span of time, I have to pull out 9000 words on three separate topics. Today, I am slaughtering my comparative book review of Gildea, Jackson, and Ousby. Tomorrow, I am attacking Switzerland. Even though its neutral. Which is a violation of the Hague Convention. Yes, I know...

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Photos

The Teviot Library
This is a shot of the lounge area in the Teviot library. It was taken on my camera phone, which means the pibure is't grea, but note the heater on the fireplac that probably dates to the 40's or the 50's. Very retro.

Two thirds of the Second World War Programme
Yup, there are only three of us. This is Brian and Me at the Blind Poet this past Thursday night.

Summer and Adam at the Blind Poet
Summer and Adam are both doing MSc by Research -- Summer is doing the American Revolution, and Adam is doing Lynching in the American South during the Teddy Roosevelt Administration

And here's another two thirds of the Program
Vince and Brian, Brian and Vince