Dissertation. Re-Creation.

Tomorrow morning I have a meeting with Debbie about my dissertation. What I have right now are a bunch of ideas and no real cohesiveness to any of them. What I need by the beginning of next semester is a completed proposal. Sometimes I wish I could be a genie and simply wave my hand over my computer and produce not only a completed proposal, but also a completed dissertation. At least I love my topic, and I am not just writing about something to complete a class or to appease someone else. I really care about desires (hunger, spiritual, sexual) and how they play out in novels by African American women, particularly about how they play out within the confines of slavery. After tomorrow, I think my ideas will take on an even more settled, focused tenor. Hopefully, coming off of the conference and meeting to talk frankly and thoughtfully with my director will make my ideas gel in a way that enable me to get them down on paper and to do it quickly.

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I can never get over how simply being in someone else’s presence can alter the constitution of our souls. For good or for ill. It’s usually so much easier for me to be pulled down than it is for me to be lifted up. It’s a much more difficult job to lighten my mood, to strengthen my soul, but there are a few people in my life who are able to pick me up with relative ease. Without those friends in my life, it would be much more difficult. And, their visits always come when I most need them. I feel renewed, rejuvenated, and reinvigorated. I am humbled to be blessed with such friends, whose collective presence fills me up with grace and hope. Thanks.

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Exercise: walked 1 mile with dogs; ran two miles; rode to Tillotson SBUX and to RB

Food: banana, juice, grande caramel macchiato, Clif bar, apple, two slices of pizza, two breadsticks, salad with ranch dressing