Finishing

I mailed my end of semester materials today . . . a 25 page bibliography of everything I read during my program, a couple of evaluations, a couple of abstract/synopsis-y thingamajigs (yes, I am getting a degree that says I know how to use words), the title page of my creative thesis.

I've been putting all this off because I can't deal with my program ending, but it was time. Time to avoid express mail charges.

I answered all sorts of questions, like . . . in the title, "What Are You Laughing At?" is the word "at" being used as an adverb (meaning it gets capitalized according to MLA) or a preposition (meaning it stays low)? I think it's technically a preposition here, but it feels so important at the end there, all sharp and peppy, I couldn't bear to leave it lowercase. Maybe I won't graduate because of this, and then I won't have to worry about my program ending.

By Friday I have to email a PDF of a giant document that will be my "degree manuscript." I'm going to be doing lots of nitpicky editing over the next couple of days.

I am reading. I may stop posting what I'm reading once my program ends, but for old time's sake, I just finished Chris Crutcher's Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes and Sarah Zarr's Story of a Girl. I'm now working on Margo Lanagan's Tender Morsels. And I just checked out Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine. After two years of YA and kids' lit., adult nonfiction is some kind of exotic treat.

Mmm. Muckraking.