I am telling myself that reading Time Magazine from cover to cover was a form of catharsis rather than procrastination. Besides, it was dark. I may have to prolong work into the evening hours when the sun is still shining, but by 10 p.m. it is getting dark, and only a very dedicated individual would continue ruminating on the fraternal social contract and the implications of Levi-Strauss’s and Derrida’s concepts of incest and fraternity for the early nineteenth century novel when it’s dark outside.

It’s really quite incredible how much I have learned about foreign relations and international politics since I started working on this dissertation. Perhaps I have grounded myself in something that seems to really matter in the grand scheme of things in order to convince myself that the time my brain spends ticking over eighteenth and nineteenth century literature is worthwhile, or at least not a waste.

Speaking of things that really matter--I’ve gone from Time Magazine to Disney music, certainly appropriate to wind down the evening.