Declarative Statements

Last week I thought I had somehow managed to lose this statement necklace from F21 that I got a year or so back (which, FYI, I wear a lot to various academic cocktail events because it makes me feel fancy). Turns out my cat had jumped onto my dresser and stolen it (the ends are lengths of ribbon that make it very attractive to cat bandits). I would be angry but he’s far too cute to stay mad at. Plus I’m just glad it’s back in my life.

dress: Target / cardigan: Gap / necklace: F21 / boots: Thom Browne / leggings: American Apparel

As you all know, yesterday was my big presentation. In front of an audience of 25 or so other British historians (so people who have a pretty good grasp of the stuff I was talking about and who were fully capable of asking tricky and complex questions) I presented a 50 minute paper and fielded questions for another 45 minutes. It was a rather grueling experience but I could not have been happier with the way it went. I was told that I delivered the paper clearly and articulately, and that it was really interesting. I also handled the questions really deftly, including the hard ones (and the hard ones were pretty hard, like "what's the broader significance of this rhetoric of honor in terms of the transition to the eighteenth century?") - I came up with an answer for every single one and stayed relaxed and colloquial, yet authoritative and assertive, throughout. In short, it could not have gone better and I am both relieved and happy.