Nerdly decadence

After stopping at D's school for his eardrops, I went to my office very briefly, then on to meet with G. The militant extremism paper is nearly ready to submit, which is exciting. Next, to the library for more books on narrative construction of self, then back to Straub Hall, where I found that the huge couches in the graduate lounge are luscious and decadent. Much more pleasurable than going up two flights of stairs to the couch in my own office. I was very happy, and very conscious of it, while beginning Dan McAdams' The Redemptive Self: Stories Americans Live By.

Then came class, which was fun, because M. was talking about her area of expertise: children's imaginary companions. Fascinating stuff; entertaining video clips. They've even done studies with adult fiction writers, who sometimes experience the "illusion of independent agency," as they call it, with their characters. This is when the personalities of the characters are so strong that the authors in some ways experience them as real people.