And yet, I want to be a perpetual student.

This afternoon I was driving home and passed Cardinal Stritch. It was small. It was pretty. There was a parking lot. That you parked in, and then walked into the buildings. It was like Concordia, but with the Blessed Mother. I had walked three blocks one-way to one of two bookstores only to discover that all my books were actually more expensive there than on Amazon. And then I seriously considered transferring.

So, the whole perpetual student thing. I know, I know, you thought I was over this. The general law school vs. history thing hasn't shown up here a lot, and that's really been my only issue for over a year. In terms of a solid academic trajectory, barring major flubs like failing the GRE, I'm pretty much set.

But today I was reading a fantastic book by the guy who wrote My Life with the Saints, about his work as theological advisor to an off-Broadway troupe doing a play about Judas. Even discounting my glee as I paged through the photo insert and realized that the guy playing Satan was TOTALLY THE CAPTAIN ON LAW AND ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT AND DO YOU REALLY KNOW GOREN???, I loved it really. And it made me feel smart, because in the "For Further Reading" section, he recommends John Meier's A Marginal Jew for the "truly ambitious". AND I'VE TOTALLY READ THAT. *self-satisfied squee*

That's right. I'm truly ambitious. So while I'm not going to be completely irresponsible and abandon the history Ph.D thing (which is still what I want to do for a career), I think I'm going to go for a doctorate in theology or religious studies too. Maybe concurrently or possibly right afterwards (really, once you've defended one thesis, what's the big deal about the second?), but I think I definitely want to supplement my background in "secular" history (history is very rarely secular, particularly before 1700) with graduate studies in theology.

And not just so I can meet Law and Order cast members.