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Seeking Infinite Jest: My Road to the PhD

A Live Chronicle of My Application Process Applying for Doctoral Programs in Literature

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Breathe In, Breathe Out…

Seeking Infinite Jest: My Road to the PhD ·

2024/09/22

I recently got a new job at a local bar. After defending my dissertation and graduating from my doctoral program, I spent months looking for work but learned the hard way how precarious it is to find employment when you have a PhD. Employees take a look at your resumé and wonder how someone with … Continue reading Breathe In, Breathe Out…

Jobs and Cats (Or, How to Navigate the Academic Job...

Seeking Infinite Jest: My Road to the PhD ·

2024/07/17

Cats are natural companions for writers, not only because they’re relatively independent and undemanding of one’s attention—though there is that—but also because they tend to strike us as kindred spirits. Observers. Introverts. Always practicing their craft—only instead of wordsmithing, a cat’s craft happens to be hunting, and instead of word counts and margin scribbles, the … Continue reading Jobs and Cats (Or, How to Navigate the Academic Job Market)

#bottleshopthoughts (Or, Last Call Part 2)

Seeking Infinite Jest: My Road to the PhD ·

2024/04/30

(to read Last Call Part 1, click here) I’m sitting at my favorite neighborhood bar, two days before my dissertation defense. This place came to me exactly when I needed it, about a week after I started my PhD program at OSU. Even the bar stool I sat at is still here, empty, but not … Continue reading #bottleshopthoughts (Or, Last Call Part 2)

What Seeking Infinite Jest Means Part IV: My...

Seeking Infinite Jest: My Road to the PhD ·

2023/09/22

(read What Seeking Infinite Jest Means Part 1 here, Part 2 here, and Part 3 here) Introduction: (click here to listen to “Notion” by The Rare Occasions) The words you are reading are those of someone in the middle of writing a dissertation. It’s an image that is so ephemeral, conjuring up so many different … Continue reading What Seeking Infinite Jest Means Part IV: My Unofficial 5th Chapter

Starfish Semester

Seeking Infinite Jest: My Road to the PhD ·

2022/12/20

(click the player above to hear “Chicago” by Sufjan Stevens) It’s Monday, about 2:30 in the afternoon, and I am lying on my bed, arms and legs spread out, like a starfish resting on a rock at the bottom of the ocean. I say this every semester, but I can’t emphasize this enough…this was one … Continue reading Starfish Semester

What I Think About When I Think About Haruki...

Seeking Infinite Jest: My Road to the PhD ·

2022/09/16

One of the strangest feelings academia produces is waking up, looking at a blank page, and beginning to write page one of two hundred. I’m not even sure how to describe it- intimidating? flummoxing? disheveling? discombobulating? A lot of “dis-” words come to mind. I’m in my fifth and final year of my doctoral program, … Continue reading What I Think About When I Think About Haruki Murakami’s “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running”

Lying Flat in the Park

Seeking Infinite Jest: My Road to the PhD ·

2022/05/26

Lying Flat in the Park (A One Act Play) [Lying Flat (tangping; 躺平) is a social movement happening now in response to China’s post-industrial period. The movement grows out of youth protest against a brutal work culture, often referred to 9-9-6, from 9am to 9pm, 6 days a week, by not participating in it. By … Continue reading Lying Flat in the Park

I PASSED MY EXAMS!!! (Part 3 of 3)

Seeking Infinite Jest: My Road to the PhD ·

2021/09/20

In this three-part series of posts, I shared my experiences studying for candidacy exams. There was a point where I seriously thought this was never going to happen, stuck in a timeless space where goals and deadlines had no meaning. It was that last month where I started to feel grounded, like a survivalist mode … Continue reading I PASSED MY EXAMS!!! (Part 3 of 3)

My Medical Narrative: Part 2 of 3

Seeking Infinite Jest: My Road to the PhD ·

2021/09/09

In my last post, I talked about studying for exams and what it’s like to study medical humanities. As much as I enjoy reading the books on my list, it’s really easy to feel disconnected from the text when you are not suffering from the illness or trauma the author is writing about. The more … Continue reading My Medical Narrative: Part 2 of 3

Studying for Candidacy Exams During a Pandemic (Or,...

Seeking Infinite Jest: My Road to the PhD ·

2021/08/10

I just finished my third year of my doctoral program at Ohio State. There’s so much to write about, like teaching online during a whole year of quarantining, studying for candidacy exams, and moving into the phase of dissertation writing and the academic job market search. I’ve also been meaning to write about my academic … Continue reading Studying for Candidacy Exams During a Pandemic (Or, Why I Love the Show Community): Part 1 of 3

First Day of Spring Semester, 1/11/21

Seeking Infinite Jest: My Road to the PhD ·

2021/01/11

Today is exactly the halfway mark of my program. It's mind blowing, feeling like the time between the start of my program now feels both tiny and gigantic.

Drinksgiving 2020

Seeking Infinite Jest: My Road to the PhD ·

2021/01/01

Years ago, when I was working on my undergrad degree, I learned about Drinksgiving. I worked at a local bar on the weekends, a place made up of mostly locals and regulars. I’ve been to plenty of bars, but working at one, and being an aspiring writer, you observe things really quickly and very astutely. … Continue reading Drinksgiving 2020

What Seeking Infinite Jest Means Part III: Writing In...

Seeking Infinite Jest: My Road to the PhD ·

2020/06/23

(to read WSIJM Part I, click here, and for Part II, click here) It’s a cold morning, with the sun hidden behind clouds, the way I prefer it. I can feel the tiniest droplets on my face as I walk down Olentangy trail. There’s a tin taste in the air, the scent of thousands of … Continue reading What Seeking Infinite Jest Means Part III: Writing In a Time of Uncertainty

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