I got hit by a bus!

Driving down the winding, steep roads of US322 in Central PA is a little scary.  The traffic is fast, the drivers are erratic, and there is an exceptionally high number of buses, trucks, etc.  So, when I'm driving either to State College to visit my momma or back home after a visit, I try to be extra careful...particularly when I'm passing people.  Today was no different.  I was driving along and went to pass a bus.  Apparently, the bus driver was under the impression that he didn't have to stay in his lane.  He kept meandering into mine.  Because the drop-off is so steep, the usual metal guardrails are not enough.  On this stretch of road, there are concrete dividers.  So, I'm stuck between a bus and a hard place.  At first, he was correcting his swerving in time to miss me, but the next thing I know...I realized he was going to hit me.  So, I slammed on my brakes, but it was too late.  The back of his bus clipped the front passenger side of my car.  I figured once we got down off the mountain, he would pull over.  He didn't.  So, I pulled up alongside him and laid on the horn.  Then got in front of him and pulled over.  He kept going.  I got back on the road behind him and flashed my lights.  He finally pulled over, got off the bus, and said, "I didn't hit you."  I was more than a little stunned.  The right headlight dangling by nothing but the wire connections, the massive dent in the front side panel of my car, and the scraped paint were pretty good indication that he hit me.  He still denied it.  Then tried to tell me we didn't need to call the police.  Then was visibly annoyed when I ignored him and called them anyway.  He almost left twice, because he didn't have time to wait around for the police to show up.  I secretly hoped he would leave, because at least then he'd get in trouble for leaving the scene of an accident.  Just about the time he decided that he'd waited long enough, the flashing light of the squad car appeared.  Because there were no witnesses to the event, the insurance companies will duke it out over who pays.  The police officer assured me that I had nothing to worry about...blah...blah...blah.  When I called my insurance company to report the accident, I made sure I told the operator that he denied he did it and that I was going to be really annoyed if he didn't have to pay for the damage.  I'm so thankful that no one was injured.  If I hadn't slammed on my breaks, it would have been much worse.  So, thanks Dad for beating into me the skills of defensive driving.  Today, they might have saved my life.

It's already the middle of April

So, I stopped blogging for a long time.  I got side-tracked with work, and a general feeling that I didn't really have anything that I felt like sharing.  But, I'm back now.  Why I chose the end of my busiest semester thus far is beyond me.  Anyway, here I am.

I started using Google Reader back in January, and I love it.  It makes following all my blogs so much easier.  I've found some new ones that I really like--mostly on style/fashion and literature.  I was having lunch with some girlfriends last weekend, and we came to the topic of graduate school.  They were all curious to know what exactly I do on a daily basis and were generally shocked to find out that between the classes I'm taking and teaching, I read close to a couple thousand pages in a week.  I went home and thought about it...was I really exaggerating?  This didn't seem possible.  So, I sat down and figured out on average how many pages I'm reading per class in a week, and sure enough, I ended up with about 2000 pages.  It varies by week, and this does include suggested reading...not just the required reading.  But, one thing you learn in graduate school is that suggested reading is more than just suggested.  You, also, learn how to prioritize what you read very carefully and what you read somewhat carefully, and what you speed read/skim.  For me that's been the most difficult thing to learn.  I'm pretty Type-A and more than a little bit of a perfectionist, so I want to read it all and take notes on what I've read and have a chance to read through those notes again before class.  This was possible as an undergrad.  This is NOT possible as a graduate student.  Having to adapt my study habits has been very difficult.  Most weeks I don't read everything as carefully as I would have liked, and I feel like I'm not doing what I *should* be doing.  But, reading these other lit blogs written by graduate students and faculty members has helped me to realize that I'm definitely not along.  In fact, I'm actually in the same boat as most people.  So, why do I feel like I'm the only one?