Most of you who will actually read this, know that I am working on my master's thesis. By "working on it" I mean sort of starting. My committee chair, Jeremy Grimshaw, let me know that picking a topic is the hardest part right up until you hit editing. He encouraged me to "swim" in the literature out there and find something that has been under studied and study it.
During my "swim" I found an original opera manuscript in the vaults at BYU that dates back to the early 1800's. No one can read it since the alphabet used has not been seen much since the mid 1800's. The parts are also in disarray and the full score is missing. I have studied paleography and could transliterate and translate the document as well as lining up the parts to create a full, usable score of an opera that hasn't been performed in over a century. I was so excited about my find! Unfortunately, the head of the department thought it was more appropriate for a dissertation than a thesis. After more swimming I settled on:
During my "swim" I found an original opera manuscript in the vaults at BYU that dates back to the early 1800's. No one can read it since the alphabet used has not been seen much since the mid 1800's. The parts are also in disarray and the full score is missing. I have studied paleography and could transliterate and translate the document as well as lining up the parts to create a full, usable score of an opera that hasn't been performed in over a century. I was so excited about my find! Unfortunately, the head of the department thought it was more appropriate for a dissertation than a thesis. After more swimming I settled on:
A Melting Pot of Style: Stylistic
eclecticism in Richard Strauss’ Ariadne
auf Naxos.
When it comes
to Ariadne auf Naxos (a comic opera) everyone has something to say. When
scholars mention it, even just in passing, they either call it a neoclassical
opera or refute those who do. Few do any more than label it and move on, and
none show how they reached their conclusion. I am super excited to become a Strauss expert during the next year while I address an issue that has been under-studied in my field. Nerdy? YOU BET! I am thirteen pages in and only have 70-90 more!
For finals all I had to do was submit my prospectus for approval. The mayhem kicked in here:
1500 pages of grading for my reading pleasure! This is the first group turned in
...about 1000 pages.
I pulled an all-nighter Monday night with Kevin to help him with a beastly paper that had a super strange prompt. Tuesday, Evelyn started acting sick. Wednesday, I realized she must be teething (drooling, crying, gnawing on everything, and loving the cold teether). So Thursday and Friday we lived on the couch snuggling and my grading took a hiatus. She is so precious. I love our snuggle time, but will be glad when she isn't hurting anymore!
Other highlights of the week:
At 5 months and 1 week Evelyn figured how to sit up...mostly, and now refuses to lay down. One word. Adorable.
She was so excited to be sitting up that she kept grinning at students
we passed on campus, and cried when I buckled her in reclining.
By Friday she was sitting almost vertical, but yesterday she developed a
serious lean that usually ends with her on her face :)
We made it through the week with hard work and impeccable nutrition.
Cold cereal made up 2 meals a day, and a crock pot supper the other.
Not ideal...but it sure made life easier!
Finally the weekend arrived. We finished Kevin's grad school application and got a chance to relax. We are SO excited for the break!
Kevin and Evelyn taking a much needed siesta.
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