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UD is...
"Salty." (Scott McLemee)
"Unvarnished." (Phi Beta Cons)
"Splendidly splenetic." (Culture Industry)
"Except for University Diaries, most academic blogs are tedious."
(Rate Your Students)
"I think of Soltan as the Maureen Dowd of the blogosphere,
except that Maureen Dowd is kind of a wrecking ball of a writer,
and Soltan isn't. For the life of me, I can't figure out her
politics, but she's pretty fabulous, so who gives a damn?"
(Tenured Radical)

Saturday, May 15, 2004

RAW TERROR

UD is off to attend two ceremonies at her university today in order to receive this year's award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising, about which she is both proud and puzzled. Who the hell thought she advised him/her well enough to tap out an enthusiastic letter to the awards committee?

Beyond puzzled and proud, UD is a tad nervous, because she does not do ceremonial occasions well. She has suffered from post-traumatic disorder ever since barely making it through her own wedding seventeen years ago. She fears that in his little intro about her before giving her the award, the dean will quote from The Letter or say something embarrassing and she will begin to giggle or weep or pee.

She is considering running over to Borders a few hours before the ceremony and reading John McCain's new book, Why Courage Matters: The Way to a Braver Life to butch up a bit before the big moment.