HeeJin Lee

Vancouver is really, really far from the East Coast! But glad to be here to see friends and colleagues.

선생님 발표를 너무 듣고 싶었는데 발표하실 때 제가 출국하는 일정이라 못 듣고 오게 생겼어요 ㅠㅠ 아쉽습니다!

무엇보다도 방수가 되는 신발이 중요한 거 같아요! 지난 주 몬트리올 눈 조금 온다는 거에 정말 아무 생각없이 갔다가 신발 망가뜨린 경험을 토대로 이번에는 (전혀 패셔너블하진 않지만 편한) duck boots를 신고 가려고요.

If I get one more email about Claude or whomever the fuck.

1. I wanna read my own shit.

2. I wanna write my own shit.

3. I wanna pay an editor to talk me through my own shit.

4. I don’t want that AI bullshit. If you don’t use it, you lose it. And I want to hold my brain as long as possible.

See you, neighbor, in Vancouver 😆

Also things I’m looking forward to, on the regular: Reading, listening to lots of Bach (something that I love doing but can’t when I have lots of writing I need to get done), and walking around the neighborhood.

Going to take a brief brain break, now that I’ve completed all of my presentations, and get ready to get back to my book!

Holding on dearly to every moment of joy from the last few days at ACLA—grateful for the generosity of the colleagues who agreed to participate in the seminar, and for those who made time to catch up over meals and drinks.

Mea culpa for forgetting to bring waterproof boots to Montreal—did not know that snow here would be so sticky and slushy! The shoes I have on now will need a visit to my favorite cobbler’s to get the salt and water stains out 😭

Life is inevitably chaotic, but we want it to be so in the way that we choose. Big hugs!

Exhausted and beyond embarrassingly late on deadline, but realizing how much I enjoy this process of writing—of trying to share my thoughts with others by articulating, as best I can, in language. This is the energy that gets me to start new papers! Now if I can only finish this one, soon…

Snowing at a good pace in Montréal today. When I said as much to the driver (b/c I’ve really had it with snow already, lol), he simply said, “it’s normal, we’re close to the North Pole.” Wish I could adapt his attitude!

Managed to pack, squeeze in 2 hrs of sleep, and drive through snow slowly accumulating on the roads. Flight still on time! Hoping to get some work done after checking bags in about 10 mins when the counters open.

Late even in packing my bags now. Will I be able to get work done AND sleep after this before I need to head out to the airport at an ungodly hour?! Only time will tell 😂😭💀

Important for everyone’s safety! Already hearing of several accidents or close calls.

저도 우선은 간다고 해놨어요! 그때 뵈어요 선생님 ㅎㅎ

Of course they didn’t clear the roads overnight 😂

But as a reward I did get myself some vintage silver and Bordallo Pinheiro crockery, set to be delivered today 😅😂😭

Nothing like being disappointed in a recent book by a scholar whose earlier works helped expand your thinking. He definitely needed more editors instead of the glowing endorsements disguised as forewords by famous acquaintances…

Working on the third and last of new papers I set myself to present within the span of a month, all not from the book 😅😂😭 Going to try to be gentler to myself next time!

Not to mention that the aesthetic of all such journals are one and the same—to me, rather dreary and drab, though expensive (several hundreds of dollars for a leather-bound cover, good quality paper notebook/inserts, etc.).

Spent the last night trying to look for analog planners for my research and fell down the rabbit hole of journaling/stationary content creators, but rather than making me happy, it made me profoundly sad—so much emphasis placed on buying so many journal “eco-systems” rather than actually writing.

Upcoming deadline be damned, I enjoyed the 60-degree weather and sunshine by taking a slow walk around my neighborhood. Bought a small pot of daffodils from a local flower shop, chatted with the owners about the arrival of tulips next week. Can’t wait for spring! (Though apparently snow tmrw?!)

Wore duck boots to the office to be sensible given the weather forecast, but now it’s sunny with no rain in sight. Grateful to have an extra pair of heels in the office for just these occasions, but hate that I have to wear the duck boots back home—

Floored by THE END OF AUGUST, which I’m reading for the first time for my own class, in the best way possible. Dare I say that it may be THE work that warms me up to diasporic literature!

If you're still with me

food here = reading
performance/racing = writing

If you want to write, you have to read, on the daily, like it's your job. It's gotta be good reading, and varied, and idea-dense

Love this, Ellen!

Spent the first day of LNY totally wiped out by a fever in bed—had to cancel all classes and meetings. Grateful for the humanity shown by my students, who sent kind messages. Hoping to return to normal soon, as I need to finish writing and get on that flight to Montréal next week!

두쫀쿠, 나도 드디어 먹어봤다! ㅋㅋㅋ

Third weekend in a row at the airport, with two more to go in the next month! Grateful to be able to travel and recharge, both professionally and personally.