Potpourri No. 35

Contents: four single-sized servings of life, individually wrapped…

They’re Coming!
Melanie’s parents fly into Jacksonville in a couple of hours and will then wend their way via wental rental car to our apartment here in Tally. They’ll be staying in town for a week. We’re all looking forward to the visit. Eddie and Peter are especially excited, which is fun. For the first time, my in-laws will not be staying with us. Our family has gotten too big (all those trips to Donut Kingdom!) and there isn’t room here. They’ll be staying in a nearby hotel, which is also quite exciting for Eddie and Peter, who can hardly wait to go roam the halls.

A Requisite Mention of School
My TA gig is much easier-going this semester than last, which brings me great joy. I like the instructor, too, who graduated from my program last May. I feel like she’s more on my level than a “normal” professor, which is kind of nice. On the other hand, talking to her can be a bit overwhelming. She applied to 60 job openings in the fall, none of which led anywhere. From what I understand, applying to 60 job openings when you’re coming out of a philosophy Ph.D. program is taking it easy. I’ve heard of people applying to well over 100 job openings and receiving maybe a handful of interviews. I’m practically giving myself a heart attack just writing about it. Do they have medical alert bracelets for Ph.D. candidates entering the job market? I think I’ll need one.

Turning into a Pod Person
For several months now, I’ve been an avid listener to a variety of podcasts. For those who don’t know, podcasts are something like pre-recorded radio programs that can be downloaded and/or listened to via the Internet. They usually involve interviews or group discussions, although you could record yourself blabbing about anything and upload it as a “podcast.” (While I haven’t researched it, I’m fairly certain the term “podcast” derives from the words “broadcast” and “iPod.”) Nowadays, when I go on walks or even when I commute, I almost always listen to podcasts. The podcasts I listen to are all Mormon-themed. Some of these podcasts have been exceptionally good, and I feel that I have profited immensely from listening to them. Today, I listened to the most recent podcast of the Mormon Stories Book Club. They discussed the book A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck. Having greatly enjoyed the book myself, I looked up the podcast webpage to see what follow-up discussions to the podcast might be taking place. In doing so, I discovered that a link to my review of A Short Stay in Hell was included on the Mormon Stories Book Club site. I realize it’s not a big deal, overall, but it was still somewhat surreal to see my own blog cited. I assume they put links to any reviews of the book they could find, so I’m not pretending my review was included due to its brilliance. Still, it’s there. You can click here to see what I’m talking about.

Speaking of Books…
I like to compile lists of quotations from the books that I read. I typically type them into a Word document and save them, which means I hardly ever look back at them. If I remember correctly, many years ago I suggested on this very blog that I would share my favorite quotations from time to time. That never really happened, but I’m thinking I should try it again. I’m slightly more likely to revisit these quotations if I put them on my blog rather than into a Word document. Also, I like the idea of others enjoying the quotations and perhaps being inspired to read some of the same books that I am. So, watch for more quotations in the future. If you like them, say so.

The end!