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Feb. 28th, 2008 02:51 pmMy most important act so far today is laying 2/3 of my temporary carpet. I couldn't do it until my class had voted on what subjects they wanted to cover. (I'm so punny today - I bet my class is quaking in fear.)
It's paper carpet, of course, with bright food history and recipe books. Just looking at my lounge room floor would make anyone hungry. Just thinking about it helps satisfy intellectual hunger. I worked out something that a bit of me knew today, an aspect concerning the adoption of new foods and how they transform from novel to a fundamental part of a cuisine. Maybe I should line my floor with books more often? I'd forgotten how integral staring at stacks of studies was to my research processes.
Just for the record, I didn't line my whole floor with books when I did my doctorate. There was always a narrow path from my bed to my desk and from my bed to the door. I re-read Bunyan at that time, just for the mentions of narrow paths and the dangers of forsaking them. It doesn't make any sense Jewishly, but it certainly made sense in terms of my study floor in my early twenties. Tripping over Raoul de Cambrai was potentially neck breaking when there was nothing but more books to fall upon.
Also for the record, I only did this book piling (I punned! Book piles and carpet piles!) when I needed to break new ground. I would borrow as much of the library as I could carry home as often as necessary to get all the books out I needed. That was my exercise for the day. Then I would sort and resort and think about their contents and lie on my bed or sit at the desk and read them and take notes and reline the floor in a different shape.
I won't be able to host meetings at my place for a few weeks, but it's so worth it just to be able to reshape my thinking. Besides, it's not sensible to host meetings until my immune system's closer to normal, just in case nice people bring food. (I can't go to crit group next week, either, since the host has pets and right now I get quite bad reactions to even the least-allergic cat or dog. I so miss those sections of my life.)
So all is good. Despite not getting to see many friends. And of everything that's good, my lounge room floor is particularly good.
It's paper carpet, of course, with bright food history and recipe books. Just looking at my lounge room floor would make anyone hungry. Just thinking about it helps satisfy intellectual hunger. I worked out something that a bit of me knew today, an aspect concerning the adoption of new foods and how they transform from novel to a fundamental part of a cuisine. Maybe I should line my floor with books more often? I'd forgotten how integral staring at stacks of studies was to my research processes.
Just for the record, I didn't line my whole floor with books when I did my doctorate. There was always a narrow path from my bed to my desk and from my bed to the door. I re-read Bunyan at that time, just for the mentions of narrow paths and the dangers of forsaking them. It doesn't make any sense Jewishly, but it certainly made sense in terms of my study floor in my early twenties. Tripping over Raoul de Cambrai was potentially neck breaking when there was nothing but more books to fall upon.
Also for the record, I only did this book piling (I punned! Book piles and carpet piles!) when I needed to break new ground. I would borrow as much of the library as I could carry home as often as necessary to get all the books out I needed. That was my exercise for the day. Then I would sort and resort and think about their contents and lie on my bed or sit at the desk and read them and take notes and reline the floor in a different shape.
I won't be able to host meetings at my place for a few weeks, but it's so worth it just to be able to reshape my thinking. Besides, it's not sensible to host meetings until my immune system's closer to normal, just in case nice people bring food. (I can't go to crit group next week, either, since the host has pets and right now I get quite bad reactions to even the least-allergic cat or dog. I so miss those sections of my life.)
So all is good. Despite not getting to see many friends. And of everything that's good, my lounge room floor is particularly good.