Isle of Nerd

In these grad school planning days, I've been talking with my thesis advisor to discern the best plan of action. Her advice has been go for the programs with the active, innovative 20th-century Brit lit gurus, then find a school you like from there. Well, I'm not actually sure that was her plan, but it is my plan now. She pointed me to IVWS, which despite my research last year, I hadn't joined. But then I did, and plans have rapidly come together to go to this year's annual conference in June.

In Glasgow.

It'll be a big, expensive thing, but I can't think of a better way to, in my preparations, get the net back up in the air (or spend my savings). In the best case scenario, I could have some great conversations, find a mentor, and get wonderful new research ideas. In the worst case scenario, I still get to go to Glasgow and the Isle of Skye. I am almost painfully excited.
In all of my research last year I avoided looking up pictures of the setting of To the Lighthouse because I wanted to see it as Woolf paints it. I had my own vision of her hills, shores, water, the house that lives and breathes and ages with its sometimes-residents. But last night, hanging out with my parents and talking about my trip, they showed me their pictures from their tour of Scotland last September.
I had avoided looking at these pictures or even talking to them about their trip because I was so overwrought with jealousy then. I was fresh off a year very, very hard at work on To the Lighthouse writing and research, and a heavy dose of writing about and acting in a great production of Macbeth as Lady M. (set, to those who don't know, in and around the east coast Highlands)
As soon as I saw the pictures (my dad, a little ant walking around the shore as my mom snapped the vista from the winding road; the view from Dunvegan castle where my mom sat and drank tea and felt like Mrs. R) I just involuntarily burst out crying. I was so happy to see how much it looks like I hoped it would, except stupid-beautiful and grander and more enchanting and colorful. I am just totally dumbfounded and blinded by it, and really looking forward to the next month of research before I go.
Ahh! I hope this all works out! So stoked.