See you in Leeds!

The Leeds International Medieval Congress, or IMC, is one of the largest medieval studies conferences in the world, welcoming close to 3,000 medievalists to the city of Leeds for four intensive days of scholarship, networking, and conversation. The announcement of paper acceptances for 2025 includes a cute digital postcard. The full program is forthcoming early next year.

#IMC2025 Postcard

From 2025, the UK has introduced an electronic travel authorization, which costs £10 and lasts two years. For many it will be a new addition to the substantial costs of attending a multi-day international conference. If you are in a position to contribute, consider donating to the IMC Bursary Fund. The fund offers full or partial coverage of registration fees, food, and accommodation to students, independent scholars, pensioners, unwaged scholars, and delegates from outside Western Europe.

Each year, I look forward to the IMC as an opportunity to learn from some of the latest work in the field and meet up with colleagues and friends old and new. Hope to see you there!

Revisiting My Goals for 2024

Can you believe that there are only 37 days left in 2024? Five weeks and two days! The year has gone unbelievably quickly. However you've stumbled upon this blog, gentle reader, I hope it has been a good year for you; and if not, I hope that there are brighter days ahead.

At the start of the year, I wrote about my goals for the year. With the year almost gone, here is how I'm doing...

13 September 2024, Utrecht

In academia...

• I have achieved my SMALL goal, which was to attend conference panels on a subject new to me, and to speak with people afterwards.
  
• I have achieved my MEDIUM goal by giving my first-ever joint talk.
• My LARGE goal: to say thank you, congratulations, can I help, and yes, whenever possible, is ongoing.

 

In blogging...

• I have written a blog post about things to do in Utrecht--it can be found here.
• I have not yet achieved my medium goal to finish posts on three books I read in 2022 and 2023, nor have I (yet) written about a history book I finished in 2024.
  
• So far in 2024, I have published twenty-five posts counting this one, which leaves me twenty-seven posts short. Not as far as I was hoping to get but still a solid effort.

In crafting...

• My ten-stitch blanket remains unfinished--for now. I may just make or just miss this one.
  
• My two UFOs (unfinished objects) remain unfinished.
  
• I have not sewn fabric boxes for my flat.

28 September, 2024, Nijkerk

In living in the Netherlands...

• I have not written to Sinterklaas but there is still time.
  
• I have a Netherlands Museum pass and have used it at Kastel der Haar, the Museum Catharijneconvent, and the University Museum. It expires in March 2025, so I hope to make more use of it before then.
  
• Officially, I have a certificate that says I have A2 level spoken Dutch; actually, my Dutch is shakily A1 at best. I can say most numbers, discuss hobbies on a very basic level, understand and decline a question about whether I would like a receipt, and offer daily greetings (still working on the holidays). Dutch idioms remain a work in progress. My most recent new word is maanzaad: poppyseed!
  

 

In publishing...

• I have not yet written for one of the public-facing digital periodicals I admire (JSTOR Daily, PDR, etc) and may not get around to it before the end of the year. I worked Piecework into a grant proposal I wrote over the summer and have so many ideas for pieces about textiles and textile history I would like to write in the future.
  
• My book chapters are in the hands of their respective volume editors.
  
• I have made progress on my article goals but getting them to submission remains a work in progress. Still, I am doing my best to reach my end-of-year goals.

In reading...

• I have not yet read any of the stories shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing, although have read the anthology Africa 39: New Writing from Africa South of the Sahara, which features the work of a number of past winners of the prize.
  
• I need to get back to reading Our Beloved Kin; I can finish it in 2024 if I focus on doing so.
  
• Paradoxically, I am very likely to end 2024 having read fewer books than in any previous year since I began blogging about books, but reading more thoughtfully and deliberately has been a joy. So far, I've read two epistolary novels (both absolute, as the kids say, bangers); eight works of historical fiction; and books translated into English from Danish, Dutch, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, and Russian. If I manage to finish books I am currently reading or planning to reading, this list will include Hindi and French before the year is out. The books in translation reading challenge has been my absolute favourite (thank you, Jen!) and I cannot wait to share my thoughts on what I read.

17 November, 2024 Utrecht. A tiny fragment of rainbow.

In running...

Disappointingly, I have not and will not meet any of my running goals. BUT, I am signed up for the 2025 Utrecht Marathon, so I am hoping that having a goal to work towards will motivate me to run and put spring back in my step.

In teaching...

• Attending a workshop or engaging in professional development should have been a medium rather than a small goal, but I have made good progress towards earning my University Teaching Qualification.
  
• I achieved my medium goal! My colleague observed my teaching in May, and it was a very helpful experience.
  
• While I still have some marking to do for a few exams resits, my large goal of meeting deadlines, getting materials ready in good time, and building a classroom community, have been successful. I didn't quite manage to write the reflective log every week, but I have plenty of material to draw on in writing the two-page reflection needed to complete my UTQ.

 

In writing...

• I kept very poor notes on my writing progress--I believe I participated in the Mini 1000 writing challenge (my small goal); and I successfully participated in 1000 Words of Summer (my medium goal).
  
• My plans to participate in National Novel Writing Month collided with a busy season of job applications and conference travel. The draft novel I was hoping to finish this month has progressed a mere 761 words in November. BUT it stands at 51,328 words as of today and I now know how it begins and ends. Progress: not always linear!