Overload!!

OK, this has to be quick as I really need to get some sleep, but in case you’re wondering why you probably won’t see me out doing anything fun between now and, oh let’s say spring break, here’s my to-do list for the next 4.5 weeks:

Books to Read
1. Nana by Zola (in progress and probably will be finished tomorrow or Thursday
2. L’Éducation sentimentale by Flaubert (hoping to start and finish by this weekend
3. La Fille Elisa by Edmond de Goncourt (I need to actually FIND this book that Amazon doesn’t even have in order to finish it, preferably this weekend)
4. L’Exil selon Julia by Gisèle Pineau
5. Traversée de la Mangrove by Maryse Condé
6. Le Cœur découvert by Michel Tremblay (in progress and hopefully will be done by Sunday night)
7. La Duchesse et le roturier by Michel Tremblay
8. Les Cahiers rouges by Michel Tremblay (one or two chapters read, but a lot to go)
9. Les Belles Sœurs by Michel Tremblay (a play I’ve already read, but need to re-read and analyze
10. La Nuit des princes charmants by Michel Tremblay (again, I’ve read it, but I need to go through and actually analyze it
11. Éloge de la créoleté by Jean Barnabe (needs to be read and analyzed for a presentation next week)
12. Le ravissement de Lol V. Stein by Marguerite Duras (for another exposé)

All of the Tremblay stuff my thesis director wants me to have read for our next meeting. That’s either SOOOOOO not happening or we’re meeting in June. Whichever.

Papers to write:
1. 7-8 pages of my thesis by FRIDAY?! SAY WHAT?! (5 or so done)
2. 3-5 pages on whatever crap topic we have for Antilles for March 24th
3. 10-12 page research paper May 6th for Représentations du féminin

Oral Presentations to write and give:
1. 20 minutes on Éloge de la créolté March 17th
2. 20 minutes on vies de prostituées, les compagnes de Nana et “Nana, est-elle crédible?” (the life of prostitues, Nana’s female companions, and “Is Nana believable/reliable?” for April 1st
3. 25-30 minutes on some aspect of Le ravissement de Lol V. Stein for just before vacation

Is this a manageable amount of work? No, not for the faint of heart. Will I get it done? Hell, why not give it my all? I mean, if I have all this shit done by vacation, I’m REALLY going to enjoy the time off, assuming I’m not in ICU recovering from exhaustion. Would it be so wrong to just buy a ticket back to the US and find a job instead of facing this Herculean task? Le ugh.

Add to this teaching and the fact that I also have translation homework to do and classes to actually attend, and you can see why I’ve locked myself in cafés or in my apartment until further notice. Three French lit classes and a thesis at the same time? Not my brightest move. FML.

Tags: assignments, France, Grad School, Middlebury, spring semester 2010, work