ahh, the oft-neglected index.

for some unknown reason, i've found myself in the position of having to index two things at once, my previous indexing experience being precisely nothing. one is a cookbook, which should be pretty straightforward (recipes, subrecipes, ingredients, some techniques -- easy, right?), but the other is our departmental press's anthology for its tenth anniversary celebrations. i've been indexing for two nights straight, and i'm only on page 23. of 381.

i've discovered this since i first started: indexing is hard. deciding what to include, what not to include, how to define subheadings, etc.? non-trivial.

i've always had a great appreciation for good indexes -- and cursed poor ones, of course. i'm growing increasingly apprehensive that the one i'm currently constructing will be one of the latter.

***

my sweetie and i convocated yesterday. heard the president of the university give one of the most hypocritical speeches ever. everything she said, i interpreted ironically, and i was constantly wishing i'd brought a bucket of peanuts to throw at her.

but i've neatly wrapped up that chapter of my life. in addition to donning the ridiculous gown with its ridiculous hood and ridiculous mortarboard, i met up with my old supervisor and finished the training him to use the template i'd made for the redesigned departmental newsletter. now i can invoice him and put that behind me as well.

people say 'congratulations' when i tell them i've convocated, but i don't feel proud of the accomplishment at all. it's a degree i wish i'd never pursued.

books are so much nicer than lasers.

my parents arrive tomorrow morning for a week's stay chez moi. that means that tonight, i'll have to:

1) clean the bathroom hard core
2) clean the kitchen hard core
3) vacuum
4) take out the recycling
5) gather up my clothes, currently randomly strewn about the apartment
6) find something to hang over the photo of a flattened mouse that will horrify my mother -- and not in a good way
7) find a good place to keep the bone carvings of two asians having sex that will horrify my mother -- and not in a good way

tomorrow morning, i should probably get some food or something, too. i have no idea how i'll entertain my parents while they're here.

i am editing a book for the very first time.

it's a springer chemistry book about molecular orbitals and shit. it's an interesting learning experience, going through this massive manuscript. i'm getting paid 3 euros a page, and because the pages are way less dense than the papers i was editing, it's supposedly a net gain for me.

too bad this is the most boring book ever written. ever.

also, all of the authors are japanese, and their english ranges from poor to shit-poor.

i've asked my freelancing supervisor to give me next week off. my parents are going to be in town, i'll have my convocation, and i just don't want to have to come home from work and edit for three hours each night that week. it means the second half of the manuscript's going to be delayed by a week, but i don't think the world will suffer too much if this collection of papers about the DV-X(alpha) method isn't made immediately available.

***

i'd promised to write a thing or two about my internship. it's pretty good so far; i'm doing a lot of filing and photocopying, but it's pretty much what i'd expected. at least i'm still learning stuff. i've been going through the slush pile of unsolicited submissions and have come up with a system to make the process more efficient. i submitted a proposal to my supervisor about the project; if it works out, it may be a substantial part of my internship report.

otherwise, i've been doing a lot of proofreading. my supervisor's given me two proposals to review, both of which i rejected 'cause the writing was just too bad.

i might be indexing a cookbook in a couple of weeks, but this upcoming week, i'm actually covering the front desk for the receptionist. i'm terrified i'll answer the phone "dumbass and mcintyre" or hang up on someone when i transfer their call.

i can't believe i've already been working there for three weeks.

***

finally started my herb garden last week. i have basil, sage and rosemary growing, and my oregano and chive seeds are finally starting to germinate.

yum.

saw sloan last night. i'd never seen them live before...they were fun, but i was actually pretty impressed with the opener, magenta lane, a punky chick band from toronto.

***

allegedly, if you start exercising, at some point, you will find yourself more energized rather than tired. i sure hope that's going to kick in soon. i've been biking to work for the past two weeks and i'm still exhausted.

i've got stuff to write about, but i'm too incoherent at this point -- more later.

welcome back, family guy...welcome back.