Dr. Old Bill

Agonizing is right...but I'm hanging in there! One simple email or phone call and ALL of this agonizing is immediately eradicated. I did not get an official rejection email from U. of Chicago, so it probably shouldn't be crossed off all official-like in my signature...but I think the chances are very remote at this point. If that changes, I will be more than happy to eat crow and change it to an acceptance.

Just got my official rejection from Northwestern. Not surprised, as it has been an "implied" rejection for a few days. Still sucks, though it's oddly cathartic to delete that bookmark from my browser... Next!

Oh! I totally missed ToC saying that. Yes! I love The Monk too! The day I finished reading it, my wife posted this status update on Facebook:

Yes, I've read some Faulkner and enjoyed most of it, even though I'm generally not fond of Modernism. Actually, I gave an 80-minute presentation / discussion on "Barn Burning" last year that seemed to be very well-received. It may, in fact, be my favorite short story, period. I also read his novella "The Bear" recently, and enjoyed that too. I remember trying to read The Sound and the Fury about a decade ago, when my literary reading was an avocation, rather than a study...and I made it about thirty pages in before I stopped. I suspect that I'll give it another try at some point, and that when I do, I will appreciate it far more, knowing what I know now! I have a couple of collections of Faulkner's short stories, but as is always the case when I'm in my "busy" season, I regret not reading more stuff when I had the time. There's just so much good stuff out there. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to get through even a quarter of it.

Ah, The Devils of Loudun! What a great novel. So dense...but so good. Since I'm fully in the thick of a busy semester, all of my reading is for classes these days. I'll be reading As I Lay Dying and Two Gentlemen of Verona over the next couple of weeks. A very odd combination, to be sure...

Oh pshaw! You didn't need to do that! Yes, I've been eating healthy since the summer (low-carb / low-calorie), but it's been very tempting lately. I nearly gave in to the impulse to buy a pint of Ben & Jerry's on Saturday...but didn't, fortunately. Then today, one of my professors brought in three boxes of Duck Donuts. Anyone who has ever been to the Outer Banks in North Carolina knows the legend that is Duck Donuts. I refrained from partaking, but boy was it difficult. If I get an acceptance, I AM going to go out for a nice sushi dinner with my wife, however. But LyonessRampant's point is well-taken: let the sting of rejection stop at the emotional level. It's too easy to descend into despair and the dark things that come with it if you're not careful.

Note to self: upside of rejection = tight hugs from Katla.

Noooo... I don't think anyone will think of you that way. I know I won't, at least. You've been a fount of information here for several months, and you've become a fount of inspiration now (even though I usually avoid that overtone-laden word). And as I like to remind folks who start going down that path of blaming-the-acceptees, you can only choose ONE program. The rest will presumably open up to the waitlists. In other words, in most cases it's not like the offers you reject are slots that will disappear. It all works out.

Holy cow! Is that 4 for 4 now? At this point I wonder if you'll have a clean sweep! Congrats again, Hypervodka!!

Indeed! I don't think there's anything wrong with that. It's early, as many forum veterans justly remind us, but things are definitely in full swing. I'm always legitimately happy to see the good folks here at GC get acceptances as well. I don't think it's at all hypocritical to simultaneously want one of them to come my way soon too. (Someone needs to introduce a nail-biting emoji here).

Yeah, my current institution sends out five or six emails per day on average. I've finally unlinked my accounts, as every email notification makes me squirm a little. I check my spam folder religiously as well. Never have so many rich Nigerians had their emails viewed...

Way to go!!

It seems to have worked for you. I wish I had house gods.

AH!!!! Congratulations! I love L.A....and I'm sure you will too!

Congrats AsKingfishersCatchFire and Ramus!

Frustrating, to be sure...but it IS a good thing, and worthy of congratulations, I think. So congratulations!

I'm about willing to bathe in fresh goat's blood and sacrifice a few chickens if it will bring me some good news soon...

Kudos, Margery!! Regardless of any other acceptances you may receive, Northwestern is a very strong option. Congrats!

Of all the times to be a Leo...

Congrats on the PSU acceptance! The post you are referring to

Aww shucks. I actually think it's generally fairly rude and unwarranted to post one's own poems unsolicited...but I just figured this little villanelle was a little too apropos to pass up. Glad it was received in that spirit. It really sums up how I'm feeling right now (even though cell phones don't have dial tones...alas!).

Haha. Thanks folks. Sadly I do have a sizable number of published poems, but no honorary Ph.D. is forthcoming.

How often I have sat alone And waited for the phone to ring, But only heard the dial tone. Some nights the silence holds me prone In reverie, remembering How often I have sat alone. I've stared it down; my hopes have grown: I thought I'd hear the siren sing-- But only heard the dial tone. I've perched, a pauper on a throne Before the phone, my rightful king; How often I have sat alone. When once I left it on its own I rushed back at its summoning… But only heard the dial tone. Before its altar, I atone With reverential suffering: How often I have sat alone, But only heard the dial tone.

I've resigned myself to the mindset of "be prepared for notification at any time"...which obviously means my nerves are heightened 24/7. It's hard to read Modernist novels and Shakespeare plays with it hanging over my head. I just finished Death Comes For the Archbishop yesterday, and I swear I had to read every page twice because my mind invariably wandered the first time. By the way...does anyone else think they hear their phone ringing all the time these days? I've warned off all friends and family from calling me unless it's important. They've been good about that. Yet when I'm in the shower, or watching TV, or have a blender going or something, I swear I hear my phone ringing. And it never is.

If this week goes by without some good news (and I'm counting waitlisting as "good news"!): Of course, if I manage to get an acceptance this week: