Course schedule

I think I have finally figured out my course schedule for the term.

• Mon
• Chinese
• Issues in Cultural Studies
• Tue
• Chinese
• Postwar Japanese Cinema
• Tales of the Heike
• Wed
• Chinese
• Classical Japanese
• Thu
• Chinese
• Postwar Japanese Cinema

I'll be auditing Chinese. Classical Japanese is not on the books, but I will be doing it as a sort of independent study with one other PhD student (as it stands now).

I'd still like to pick up either Japanese Pop Culture or Literary Theory. I'd have to take the former as an independent study (no graduate number) and the latter is full at the moment. In either case, I'd have to drop something because we're asked to take 4 credit units (classes) per term.

Did I mention that it's 4:45am? And that I've been up since 1:30, unable to sleep and yet now just too tired to really be productive anymore? It's been a long time since I've struggled with insomnia, but the overwhelming amount of stuff I've got on my docket must be getting to me.

The stress of being cooped up in the house will be changing for Noah, though, starting Monday 9/10. He will be entering Ardsley Day Care Center, which is about 2 miles from here. It's a good place for him, I think. It's big and very school-like, which will be a major change from the Beaumont Children's Center he loved so much in Portland. But I think that very contrast will be the best thing for him; hopefully he won't be tempted to compare the two, and he'll be able to enjoy Ardsley on its own terms. Because, really, the BCC was pretty much ideal for what it is. I can't imagine doing it any better.

The best thing about this new daycare center is (drum roll)—it's FREE!

No, really.

Noah qualified for the "Pre-K Counts" program, which will pay for his time in daycare because he's an "at-risk" poor kid. "At risk?" you scoff? Well, his primary language at home is not English, and we're impoverished by my decision to go back to school. So there.

With the money we're saving on that, we're considering putting Minami in daycare once or twice a week for half days as well. It's not as urgent, but it would be good for her to be more socialized. Somebody has to put the little tyrant in her place, and we clearly don't have the strength to do it... But seriously, she really needs her horizons expanded—her world is too small at this point.

Well, I'm going to try working a little more. If that doesn't work out (no pun), maybe I'll workout (bad pun). Or maybe I'll pretend that I'm sleeping until it really happens. Because, as Kurt Vonnegut said, "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be."