All About Work
My part-time job just got parter. Why? Because I work too efficiently. (That may sound like tooting my own horn, until you realize that what I'm really good at is mostly data entry.) I was hired to work four hours a day, but I've been finishing all the work they have for me in 2-3. Yesterday the woman I report to asked if I'd stay home on Tuesdays and Thursdays in order to give her more time to find things to keep me busy on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. So, my reward for being able to finish twenty hours worth of work in fifteen is the loss of five hours' pay.
I could call the temp agency and ask them to find me another assignment, but there are some benefits to staying where I am. Most significantly, I don't have a wardrobe full of business attire, and this company allows its employees to wear jeans to work. Because the temp agency doesn't know these things in advance, I could end up in an assignment for which I'd have to buy new clothes. Leaving aside the fact that I hate shopping, I'm also trying (successfully!) to lose some weight, and I can't see spending money on things that won't fit in a few months.
There's also a chance that this company will be able to keep me on a few hours a week after classes start in September--money I could use while I'm waiting for my financial aid to come through, which generally doesn't happen until mid-to-late October.
Speaking of which, I only have room for one prose seminar in my fall course schedule, and I'm having trouble deciding between James Joyce and Henry James. Any advice?
[For those of you not up to speed on the background, I'm a thirty year-old undergraduate. I worked after high school, because I needed to support myself--but I kept right on learning independently, and when the opportunity presented itself I went back to school. I have three undergraduate semesters left, after which I'm seriously considering a full-time MFA program. Going back to school later in life hasn't been easy, and I'd like to reward myself with a couple years' immersion in writing.]
Comments
It's extremely cool that you went back to school -- I have a ton of respect for anyone who can do that. It was hard enough starting grad school in my thirties; being an undergrad when you're already an "adult" takes a lot of belief in yourself. Go, you!
That said, take the Joyce. You can read James on your own later on a lot more easily than you can Joyce. I took an entire semester seminar on Ulysses, and was so grateful to have read it, but don't think I could ever have made it through without guidance. Plus, Joyce is just amazing. Infuriating at times, but amazing.
Posted by: Anne | August 11, 2005 10:27 PM
Take the seminar on Henry James! I think you can read Dubliners and Portrait on your own easily. I'd definitely recommend the Joyce seminar in the future, don't get me wrong. Henry James is my favorite of all fiction writers. His sensibility is astounding, as is his mastery of point of view.
Posted by: pamela | August 12, 2005 03:04 PM
Thanks, Anne! And how extremely cool will it be when *you* do that MFA you've been talking about! :-)
Pamela, thanks for stopping by with your advice. I appreciate it.
Posted by: Ginger | August 13, 2005 11:16 AM