It's bibliography and proposal time.... I don't even want to guess how many pages the biblio will ultimately be, but I'm finally getting down to the task. Hell, cataloguing the relevant stuff that I *own* will take up enough bloody time-- and enough pages. Why the hell did I decide to do a Ph.D. again? Anne, if you're reading this, are we psychotic or what? Seriously, kiddo, I want an answer. ;-)

Sigh.... And sometime in the next bit I ought to start putting together sample syllabi for courses I could (conceivably) teach. This is something they encourage idiot Ph.D. candidates to do in preparation for appointment interviews. I started working through a rough list of possible courses, and I think the last tally was around 30 courses. Mind you, some I probably wouldn't be allowed to teach except in the case of a major departmental deficiency (i.e., some things are technically outside of my specializations, even though I could teach the material very easily, and in some cases already have). It's been a running thing lurking in the deep, dark, terrifying recesses of my mind for a while-- the thought of course design-- but a recent speculation in a discussion with a former student has the thought moving more to the front burner, especially as I tend toward cleaning up my own loose ends. Designing courses, for me anyway, is a lot more fun than doing dissertation work, partly because it allows the freedom to organize matters in a much looser form, but also because I've found myself preferring the act of discussion more than the act of punditry; like a comedian, I've discovered I work better with an audience, so I don't tire of the sound of my own voice and so I can riff spontaneously rather than predictably or necessarily.

Yes, you read properly-- Dr J tires of the sound of his own voice, despite what this blog might imply. *smirk* Damn, I can just imagine the remarks I'll hear to that... *rolls eyes* Alas, to the biblio...