Okay, so I'm the dragon. Big deal.

"You still get to be the hero." Rebecca, 26 || she/her || Classics PhD student

[queenotrera]

Hi Tumblr friends. It’s been a while. I know we don’t talk much!

A lot has happened. I went to London and started my PhD and wasn’t having a lot of fun, despite accomplishing something I’d dreamed about for years. It was a weird feeling. I still feel weird about it.

Then I got really sick and was rushed back to Canada and hospitalized. Most of October was spent dealing with that. I had a couple of procedures including getting my gallbladder out. I’m still recovering and under doctor’s orders to rest. I won’t be going back to London anytime soon.

Or at all, at least for my PhD. I missed a big funding deadline while in hospital that means I can’t really afford to continue - it was already a gamble. Coupled with my feelings of uncertainty and homesickness, it’s time for a change of plan. I love Classics and Academia but I’m also completely burnt out on them. 

I don’t know what’s next, aside from follow-up appointments and maybe some long-needed therapy for my anxiety and depression. It’s nice being home with my dog and my family and my things again, but I’m also battling the irrational feeling of being a failure that comes with changing your life path. It’s an uphill battle right now, but I know good things are on the other side. 

I hope you’re having a good day. I mean it.

[queenotrera]

I’m finally heading to London in a couple of weeks for my PhD! I know I’ve been MIA on Tumblr for a long time (blame that horrible Cleopatra post that went viral and ruined my feeds) but I still miss all my lovely Classics friends on here. So, Londoners (or those near enough!) hit me up! I wanna make friends for my new big city adventure!

[riverselkie-deactivated20190510]

i want to run away…but like in ghibli movie. like i take a block of cheese a loaf of bread and some apples and wander through the flower-specked mountains wrapped up in a shawl and i happen to wander into a moving castle and fall in love with a cute wizard

[samalsoblogs]

me (deep in the woods, dragging dufflebag of Kraft Singles™  and hopelessly lost): where’s totoro

[queenotrera]

like...I’m definitely not too good for any certain job, and I don’t believe I’m entitled to a certain kind of work based on my education. but there comes a point when I’m sitting here for weeks applying to jobs that say “high school diploma preferred but not required” when I have 2 masters degrees that I have to wonder what it was all for 

[thoodleoo]

every piece of greek and roman literature ever

My Lady Rejects Me And So I Lament Outside Her Doorstep, Victim to the Elements

A God Has Cursed Me So Now My Life Is a Tragedy Fit For the Theater

A God Has Blessed Me So Now My Life Is a Tragedy Fit For the Theater

Humble and Poor, I Write a Satire About the Cruelties of the Rich

A Servant Of the Muses Am I, Beholden To Write As They Wish

Ah But To Live In the Country, Surrounded By Goats

Man Goes On Journey, Returns Home Burdened By Weight Of Sexual Exploits

A Series Of Nature-Based Metaphors About Sex

I Sing the Praise Of Lord Such-and-Such, Hoping To Earn My Next Meal

Histories With Poorly-Masked Moral Lessons

Biographies With Poorly-Masked Moral Lessons

Thou Foolish Knave, Thy Mind Is Simple and Thy Heart Weak: A Philosophical Treatise

Through My Own Foolishness/Corruption/Sexiness I Have Been Transformed Into a Bird/Flower/Equally Sexy Cow

[otarsus]

Equal opportunity benefits can be far-reaching

https://twitter.com/sarahmei/status/818682610712866817

[bbcwhereareyou]

I’m not crying, you’re crying. 

Ok, I’m crying. 

[new-boot-goofin-deactivated2018]

Hey this woman is one of my coworkers! She’s pretty awesome.

[nevaehtyler]

This is important.

[lesbiangaara-deactivated2017052]

what color palette do you associate me with??

reply to this post and tell me?

[oracleofsecrets]

@ghiraheeheeheem Tuesday’s and the sweetest chill

[ghiraheeheeheem]

Hoh man, that’s 2 people who say Tuesdays that is interesting. And thank you!

@oracle-of-secrets for you I’d say Cool Sunsets and perhaps Blooming

[wearingmajorasmask-deactivated2]

@momoneko high fashion and @queenotrera cherry soda but you get into looks with anxiety

[queenotrera]

well ur not wrong

[dicaeopolis]

problems with being a classicist but also doing a lot of writing in english

english sentences that last six lines because phrases that are one word in latin are ten in english

constant “it is necessary that”, “it is possible that”, “it is permitted that”

using “in order that” ten times in one paragraph 

“on the one hand…on the other hand…”

with the ______ having been _______ed

[queenotrera]

I did an English MA after my Classics MA and the feedback I got back on my first thesis draft was “weird grammar, written like yoda?” and I realized it was all because of Latin so yes this is 100% real

[honeyed-oak]

Oh my Christ that’s amazing! Are they even allowed to write comments like that??

Also let’s not forget the overuse of ‘lest’ and ‘thus’…

[queenotrera]

Yup my supervisor wrote some pretty choice mean comments on my drafts. But we’re friends so it’s cool. He knows I can take criticism at least! All the English profs who read my writing said pretty much the same thing, which is a fun (not) neat (not) thing you learn when you become interdisciplinary, I guess!

He literally cut out “on the one hand...on the other hand” about fifteen times. :P

[dicaeopolis]

problems with being a classicist but also doing a lot of writing in english

english sentences that last six lines because phrases that are one word in latin are ten in english

constant “it is necessary that”, “it is possible that”, “it is permitted that”

using “in order that” ten times in one paragraph 

“on the one hand…on the other hand…”

with the ______ having been _______ed

[queenotrera]

I did an English MA after my Classics MA and the feedback I got back on my first thesis draft was “weird grammar, written like yoda?” and I realized it was all because of Latin so yes this is 100% real

[sans-bacon-deactivated20180901]

I nearly forgot that I have a tropical storm on my chest until everyone started gawking at it in ortho lab

[sun-lxght-deactivated20201229]

Do your mans tiddy hairs look this good?

[kaesaaurelia]

If you can, stop what you’re doing and do a google image search for “how cashews grow” right now.

Like.  What is this bullshit???

[humming-fly]

WHAT THE FUCK

[spookyceeblathers]

fun fact about cashews actually!! they’re technically the seeds of the cashew apple you see above them there as opposed to being a nut and they’re incredibly poisonous (they’ve got the same sort of acid that is found in poison ivy) if you eat them raw which is why stores always carry them roasted and unshelled 

for scale of how big these suckers actually are too here’s one in my adult hand

[theitalianscribe]

Are cashew apples edible?

[spookyceeblathers]

yes! if you eat them at the right time they can be very sweet and juicy but for the most part they seem to be relatively bitter and acidic so it’s sort of an acquired taste but they have incredibly fragile skins so they don’t ship very well which is probably why you won’t see them outside of places like central america 

[spookyceeblathers]

[spookyceeblathers]

#fun fact! in tamil we have a word ‘முந்திரிகோட்டை’  #which is an insult (translated it basically just ‘cashew seed’)  #but it’s a mild insult here bc it means your brain is outside your head lol (i.e. you’re stupid)  #eat the hell 

can we talk about how fantastic this is please 

[elanorpam]

this is wild because I knew cashew juice before i knew cashew nuts?

Cashew juice is pretty much a staple here in brazil, i didn’t even knew they came from the same plant/fruit for the longest time. Just… lol? They even sell concentrates, cashew juice concentrates are a dime a dozen, or at least were before the crisis, idek anymore

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

Fun additional fact: “raw” cashews aren’t raw. Nobody sells raw cashews because there’s a chance of killing someone. They’re steamed to destroy any accidentally left over toxins.

[kaesaaurelia]

I like how this turned into a hilarious and informative post despite me knowing basically nothing about cashews except how weird they look when they’re growing.

[queenotrera]

Hi Tumblr friends, I’m going to be in Victoria BC next month (January) for work but have a couple of days to explore. Looking for advice on things to do/see/photograph, or if any of you live there, maybe a tour guide? Just reply or inbox me!!

xoxo

[whoismitski-deactivated20190304]

[thisbodyprison]

2017 is the year of unapologetic rage and rebirth

[memorian]

Little kids recreating “Honor to Us All”. It is the cutest thing you’ll see today! THEY DO THE GRANDMA!

[feministfangirl]

if you need a pick me up today, this will do it. these kids are so good! i have never seen such great acting from children hahaha even with the language barrier, their tone and expressions were so on point there’s no missing their feelings!

[pastweeks-deactivated20200512]

omg the girl playing the old lady is soooo good

[happynewfears-deactivated201701]

IM GAGGING

[queenotrera]

when I make a bedsheet ghost costume I always use a fitted sheet because I like the cinched bottom look for my Ghost Aesthetic™