School, Venting about Airfares, and Knitting Inventory

TOPIC 1: I am delighted to report that I have four students in the Jewish liturgy class I am teaching this fall at my school. The four students are all Master's or Certificate students. A three-hour class is really tiring to lead, but I still find teaching exhilarating. Preparing for the class is helping me polish-up my neglected Hebrew skills, and I'm looking forward to exposing my students to traditional Jewish texts. Also, I got to study an apocryphal work, Ben Sira (sometimes called "The Alphabet of Ben Sira" or "Ecclesiasticus"), which was excluded from the Jewish canon but informed Jewish liturgy (including the Amidah). It's a really beautiful piece of wisdom literature and was considered minimally threatening by the Rabbinic Sages. In other words, it's pleasantly "edgy." :)

As for my own studies, I could not be happier with my two classes (ah... I remember when I was in seminary and took four or five classes at a time...). I'm taking one class in Sociology of Religion and another which discusses Faith Development theory and its relationship to personal narrative and identity. This is the first semester in which my classes all have a clear, direct relationship to my research. In particular, I'll be learning about theories of conversion and "de-conversion"--moving from one faith to another. The research on de-conversion, in particular, is really new and could form an important constituent of my eventual dissertation.

Most of all, though, the start of school lands me back among my doctoral student buddies.

TOPIC 2: Somebody needs to explain to me why I can fly for $78, roundtrip (before taxes and fees), to Las Vegas from LAX, but it costs well over $200 from every SF Bay Area airport. It just isn't right... it is possible to fly to the East Coast for less.

TOPIC 3:
1. Nearly done--Cowl-necked chartreuse sweater in Rowan Big Wool requiring attachment of sleeves. For me.
2. Still in progress--Assymetrical poncho in Koigu KPPPM. I bought the yarn for my 29th-b-day (April 2004). Reason for incomplete status--too boring to knit for long stretches of time. It will be beautiful, eventually. For me.
3. Still in progress--Baby blanket in "pieced" log cabin blocks and garter stitch. Similarly boring to work on, although I want to finish for my new nephew, P. To give some perspective, I started it for the 3-year-old nephew, A.
4. Just begun and progressing promisingly--A Knitty wavy scarf of Berroco Denim Silk, in "Mystic," tweedy purple. The yarn was bought very inexpensively (just over $5 a skein) on E-Bay. This is a fun project that is holding my attention.
5. & 6. Two other scarves that I have started and not completed. Both are kinda boring. Both are intended for my sister. Will probably end up sending one to my mother.
7. Not yet begun-Knitty's "chemo" hats (unfortunately named) in Knit Picks' "Shine" for my sister and me.
8. Not yet begun-A simple orange sweater for 3-yr-old nephew (A.) in Knit Picks' "Crayon."

Projects I am fantasizing about... (as the lovely S. would say... drool...)
A. Wool socks this winter for myself and my roommate (and maybe some other folks...).
B. A yarn wig for Halloween (or, rather, Beth's birthday).
C. Hush Hush slip from Sex and the Knitty.
D. Leg warmers from Joelle Hoverson's Last-Minute Knitted Gifts.
E. Another sweater for nephew A., from Shadow Knitting by Vivian Hoxbro. Also want to make sweaters for nephew P., brother D., and my sweetheart J.
F. Angelina Vintage Jacket and Heirloom Lace Cardigan from White Lies Designs, but in cotton and linen (respectively) instead of wool.
G. Some sort of adorable purse.
H. A fun tie for my brother-in-law.