Ursula

. . . I'm posting as myself. Questions from rivendellrose follow. As always, comment if you want five of your own.

1. How did you decide to go into math as your primary focus?

One answer is here, in a previous interview. Earlier influences were Halmos' Finite-Dimensional Vector Spaces, which I worked through with a professor at Reed in the spring and early summer of my junior year of high school, and The Thread, which is about a math professor who travels the world looking for people named Pafnuty. I don't think I was terribly impressed by The Thread the first time I read it, but it grew on me slowly.

I should note that I don't think of myself as especially mathematically talented-- I think of myself as a generally smart person with a bit more patience for mathematics than many other smart people. This made me slow to make up my mind about math, and it means that when I angst about grad school I angst about whether I care enough, rather than whether I'm smart enough. One of the conclusions from the latest round of philosophizing is that the clarity and inevitability of Finite-Dimensional Vector Spaces and its ilk are achieved by art (formal linear algebra isn't always beautiful? who knew?), and that one of the things I want to do when I grow up is write math texts.

2. What's your favorite (or just plain wackiest) memory from the SCA?

The strangest memory is Border Raids in Kentucky, on a gorgeous site among rolling hills. I sat by myself watching the fighting. Behind me, a woman in a lovely green cotehardie and a lot of eyeshadow argued with the man next to her about which of them was the most authentic hillbilly.

My favorite SCA memories are sitting around the campfire listening to my friends singing (yes, hanksan, that includes "If all the young lassies were little white rabbits . . .")

3. I don't think I've ever heard you talk much about music - what singers/bands/groups do you like best?

Er, yes, uh, notice that I didn't say "sitting around the campfire singing myself." If you asked me this question at a party, I'd tell you that I've always had a soft spot for "Lithium", and then name some subset of the Velvet Underground, the Beatles, the Magnetic Fields, Belle & Sebastian, and the Bats. Lately, though, I've been more curious about stuff in the blues/bluegrass/folk/early country range.

4. What knitting project have you been the most proud of to date?

I'm proud whenever I finish something at an insanely fine gauge-- the Egyptian socks I made for glasseye long ago seemed impressive to me then, and the relic pouch for alaric and thechemgoddess still feels like a major accomplishment. In terms of design, my favorite project is a pair of black merino gloves I made for my sister, with cuffs of angora I'd found on sale, one blue-gray, one blue-purple. Those gloves are lost, alas, but gwacie should have a similar hat.

5. Which of Ursula K. LeGuin's books is your favorite, and why?

I like Tehanu and The Dispossessed and any number of short stories (you could probably map my childhood by determining which parts of Compass Rose I understood on any given reading). I might pick "Another Story" from Fisherman of the Inland Sea.

Train station: a small boy tugged his black sweatshirt over his head, tufts of black hair sticking out the top, pulled it down briefly to peek, pushed it up again. He ran off, arms airplaning, after his father, who snatched him from the edge of the tracks. His sister emitted an unhappy noise, closer to a train whistle than real crying. The mother bundled her into her arms, and carried her ten feet to the adored older brother.

Botanical gardens: vast crowds of people, a traffic-jam on the scenic bridge to watch the turtles. Cherry-trees bulged with flowers. franzeska and I decreed the crowds authentic, and watched for fans: two Gothic Lolitas, who made me pine for a Cavalier shirt with real lace, a trio with cat ears, schoolgirl pleated skirts, and tails.

[Same game.]

The following entries have not yet been guessed:

http://ursule.livejournal.com/72598.html
http://ursule.livejournal.com/72100.html (locked)

reasie asked for a list of people still to guess. Here's the list of people not-yet-done or not-yet-guessed:

jere7my, yagowe, braidsofdeath, ornerie, cija, hanksan, house_elf, dymaxion, kid_prufrock, dreamriver

My sister has another survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=349231975996

Please take it, if you have a minute! This one doesn't require specific citizenship, so you can participate if you were feeling left out last time . . .

I'm visiting aelfgyfu and hanksan! And persuading them to give me wireless and tea. Old friends are the best!

Also, I read Time of the Ghost again. So of course I had to play "Which sister are you?" I'm Cart, of course. She's the oldest and the bookish one. OK, and she beats up her sisters a lot. Plus, she is the origin of the following brilliant quote:

( Cart's philosophy of life )

Which Melford sister are you? Has anyone else read this book?

( Fenella has the best poem ever! )

This is the problem with creative writing in school, I think.

[Same game.]

The following entries have not yet been guessed by their intended recipients:

http://ursule.livejournal.com/68049.html
http://ursule.livejournal.com/68530.html
http://ursule.livejournal.com/69837.html

This morning I slept as long as I wanted, then made coffee and brunch: whole-wheat pasta with eggplant, mushrooms, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes from my mother's garden, and myzithra cheese. Later I might make bread!

Saturday morning I got up early -- though not quite early enough to be on time -- to teach my class at An Tir Heraldic Symposium. Juliana of sue_n_julia was one of my two students, and we chatted happily for two hours. Then I found sablebadger, hanksan, and glasseye in the common room. hanksan gave me the pennon he made for me. It's gorgeous! It's made of red and black silk, with tails to flutter in the wind. I just need to find a pole to display it, though maybe in the meantime I should hang it on my apartment wall?

I took classes, too: online conflict-checking, and Countess Elisabeth's Graphical Heraldry class. She had some lovely slides, including a Scandinavian cushion with a heraldic unicorn motif and an illuminated manuscript with tree roots crawling all over the margins. Then there was feast, including a lovely artichoke pie with dates and raisins, though they weren't as careful about feeding the vegetarians first as they should have been -- not that I'm vegetarian myself, but I felt bad for glasseye. Z. didn't get to eat dinner with us young folk, which made me sad -- Countess Elisabeth dragged her away -- but aelfgyfu, hanksan, glasseye, and I discussed summer plans, and it was great to talk to sablebadger, whom I haven't seen since September!

[Same game.]

So we gamed last night. Just Nicole and me. DOOM! But we are not dead yet :-P I am still working on my handout for Kingdom Heraldic Symposium. It is up to eight pages now. I still need to translate lots of eunuch names and type up a bunch more lists. Anyone want to take my class? It is at 9am tomorrow and I am sure a Mamluk eunuch persona is exactly what you need... There is lots of space because Z took all my students :-P Seriously though I wish I could take her class and draw heraldic beasties.

[Same game.]

I'm working on breathing deeply and moving my awareness beyond my own insecurities.

I need to practice confidence about my work with experts. I am guilty because I feel out of the rhythm. But I know I am happier when my life is full.

My handout for Heraldic Symposium is both joy and distraction. I can't believe I downloaded two fonts!

The cats are asleep in the sun, and life is good.

[Same game.]

I have been sleeping too much lately.
Maybe you think I always sleep too much.
But I dreamed about sneaking into the US with a disguise of a wheelchair and two front teeth removed. At least I live in a Republic.

[Same game.]