Killian's Blog/Website/Whatever

Since I started grad school, I sort of imagined I was doing something wrong. It was hard, but it wasn't as nightmarish as my peers described. Yeah, deadlines always got me antsy and angsty, but I met them, and I moved on. I improved with every packet--and by leaps and bounds with each passing term--but felt like I was getting to be pretty good! Surely, with how much I already have done, my thesis will be a snap! I will be praised endlessly by my advisor, but the praise will not be empty, it will be well-earned!  I actually said this to my advisor before the term started: "I want you to be tough. I can take it. I want to be great, so don't pull any punches." HA. Haha. Now that I am DOING MY THESIS, I realize that I am a big ol' fool. I feel the pain of every thesis student who has come before me. I feel the sting of my own words. I got my first packet back from my advisor. And the whole time I was reading the feedback, I was thinking: "Daaaaa...

recreational seaweed classification in Arch Cape, OR I've been back in the UK for about a week now. Actually, yeah, a full week. I'd say I'm over the jet lag, but I slept from about midnight to noon last night, so I won't say that. I'm working on my Masters thesis now. It will, hopefully, be a near-complete draft of my novel. I actually wrote 400 words today. That's a big deal, you know. I'm not a 1,000 word/day writer. I'd invite my close friends and family to question me about drug use if I ever go more than one day in a month wherein I write more than 1,000 words. I don't have much to talk about at present. Life is rough and tough and tiring and heavy, but I don't have it too bad. Being the middle of a particularly tough winter (though just grossly soggy here in Oxford, more than cold) in the states, I'd like to remind everyone that donating to charities is a really nice thing to do. And for those Xians in the house: Lent is comi...

Heading home to the ol' USA tomorrow. Really excited to eat a burrito that doesn't taste like poop. Really excited to see my beautiful homeland. My blood runs deep and damp and green and mountainous. Seaside, OR last January

I'm on season two, episode 19. No spoilers, in case you're as behind the TV time as I am. My notes on watching: 1. Season one was pretty boring. 2. Season two is...amazing? 3. I don't know why I like it. 4. Maybe it's the mystery tunes? The cheese? The puppydog-draw of Dale Cooper and his fellow law enforcers? 5. David Lynch is an endless cutie in his minor role. 6. It turns out that I love this show? I would not have said this through most of season one. But, um, I love it? 7. Now I get all the references they make in other TV I love (mostly cartoons: Adventure Time, Gravity Falls) 8. I love mysteries, and murder, and music with snapping. 9. So much cozy flannel, just like home. 10. I...don't understand my emotions. 11. What about the late 80's/early 90's made the FBI and the paranormal such attractive TV tropes? 12. I want to experience more David Lynch, but I am still positive that I never want to watch Inland Empire ever, ever aga...

Last weekend, we went to Dublin for the first time. It was a crazy, lovely, last-minute trip with some friends from the states. The weather was chilly but mostly sunny--we luuuuucked out. Dublin is a fun city, though I really want to go to the West Coast next time (I'm a West Coast lover, no matter which country I seem to be in. West Coast Best Coast, etc). I seem to be gravitating towards smaller towns these days. Cities have their perks, but they are all pretty similar. Dublin reminded me of a really US East Coast city, oddly enough. Like Philly with different weather. And I like Philly, and I like Dublin, but what I really like is a town with little houses. I also love water and sheep, but Dublin & Wicklow, fortunately, have those aplenty. Best parts of the trip: Trinity & the Book of Kells. I have waited my whole life to see them. The museums were also hilariously fun--particularly the Natural History Museum (we lovingly referred to it as the Dead Animal Zoo). Four fl...

The results of the Art/Lit survey I posted a while back, as promised! To view the summary of the analytics, click here ! We didn't get enough responses to be statistically relevant, but I still think it's useful data to think about when wondering how to market yourself and your work. Independent artists--and authors starting out--need to be aware of how to sell what they're making, and this will hopefully help with that. Enjoy the data! It's pretty fun to look at.

I've been dreaming about dogs. Dogs and dogs, and I want a dog so bad, a great big Scottish Deerhound, seven feet tall on its back legs. Maybe I could just turn into a wolf, and then my brain wouldn't feel so much like the Broomway with the tide coming in.