scotland calling....

as i've finished wrestling with my bedsheets (it's tuesday, new sheet day, and making up my bed has got to be the most difficult thing ever, as it is boxed in on 2.5 sides....), i figured i might as well do a wee bit of blogging before it's time to start my work. it's the 2nd-to-last week of term and there's an awful lot going on, but i'm trying to take it one step at a time. sigh. where to start? narrative, i s'pose, would be the best bet...

i was invited to my narrative tutor's home last friday for class and lunch, along with a few of my classmates, so i took the bus up to headington (supposedly older than oxford itself; there's a church not too far from nigel's house that dates to saxon times). i had, literally, a 40 minute nap, because my work took forever to do (up all night in the lecture hall drinking inordinate amounts of tea to keep my body happy)... but nigel liked my concept and my idea. i took the original novel synopsis i had given him and completely reworked it. my heroine now, though still named simone elliot, is someone vastly different. at 29, she is a fashion designer about to enter "the big time" -- she's been chosen to show at the NYC fall fashion show at bryant park, which seems to be the culmination of years and years of hard work. the story opens at a swanky soiree being thrown for simone by her PR agency; as simone enters the venue, however, she is accosted by her best friend, the wife of the agency's president, and informed that there is a man at this party that she absolutely must meet. of course, the man in question is someone simone knows from the past, a man whose scathing criticisms of her work were so horrible that she almost considered leaving the field altogether. simone, however, agrees to meet this man, neil huntington, to appease her friend, and, of course, sparks fly and sexual tension ensues. said tension grows when simone learns that neil is to be working at the PR agency as the new VP; tension doubles when she discovers that he's to be her new contact, so to speak. what simone doesn't know, however, is that neil's horrendous behaviour six years before was heavily influenced by events in his personal life (a cheating wife who he had loved and adored). the overarching theme will have something to do with the idea of second chances in love, of taking a risk when you've been hurt before, etc, and will be set in the fantastic, beautiful, wonderful city of san francisco. if everything goes my way, this will be my love song for san francisco, the city of my birth and place where my heart truly does lie (even if it is super cliche to say).

anyway, nigel liked the idea, and so my assignment for friday is to write him 2 chapters + a synopsis, along with a cover letter to be given to his agent. egads! and so this week i am writing, writing, writing in earnest; i don't even want to think about all the other things that need to be done (an 'exemplary piece of research' on aquinas? mwah. or my extended research project for austen? jeez....).

in other news, i decided yesterday that it would be a good idea to get started on grad school research. i've had this list of schools put together for months now, and i've finally narrowed down my research field: i want to explore the modern-day wedding industry in terms of consumption and commodification, but also in terms of the social construction of femininity, masculinity and heterosexualiy, and the representation of gender/sexuality/race/ethnicity in the media. i sent off letters of enquiry to 10 different grad programs: ucsb, uc santa cruz (both the soc and history of consciousness programs), u of pennslyvania, u of maryland (home of pat hill collins!!!!), city university of new york, university of london, university of cambridge, oxford, and the university of edinburgh. got back a form response from cambridge and a short email from ucsb indicating that they have strengths in gender and sexuality studies, but so far the most interesting email is from edinburgh, who "strongly encourages me" to apply as i have a very interesting research topic and a number of the faculty share my interests. so... that's definitely 'yay'-worthy, i think. so we'll see what comes of it. i'm hoping to perhaps take a trip to edinburgh next month to poke around, maybe meet some of the faculty members, etc. in the meantime, i've got to figure out what i'm doing 9th week. val and i are thinking about paris, which could be grand. otherwise.... it's 1. time for lunch and work. more to come...

aaaaaah! 6th week already....

...where did the time go?! goodness. i have only 2 weeks left of tutorials after this, and then another week of seminar, and that frightening aquinas paper is looming up on me. i feel like this experience is dwindling away so quickly, but i hope that after classes end i can have more time to really enjoy myself. it's like i spend so much of my time studying, writing, reading, stressing that i hardly feel justified in going out and having a good time. but some really fantastic things have happened, though. i'm super getting into this wine thing; it was definitely worth the money i've invested into it. i don't know... it's like i've found something new that i enjoy, something new that i can be passionate about. and the fantastic thing is that it's not even about "getting drunk;" it's about the experience, about indulging and learning about this whole world and the like. there's a science involved in growing the right grape, in processing it the right way. i mean, just thinking about the effects of barrels (oak? steel?) and the effect they have on the taste, or on the way that grapes have been harvested, or the way in which it's bottled. the type of cork, the colour of the bottle, the temperature at which the beverage is served.... all terribly important and terribly fascinating. chorus, too, is definitely something i'm glad to have gotten involved in. today was my third rehearsal, and i finally felt like my voice was really coming out the way it should. of course, it helps that i'm way more familiar with the music and the notes than i have been over the past few weeks, but tonight was an especially good rehearsal. the girl sitting next to me even turned to me and was like, 'wow, you've got a really cool voice!' something that i haven't heard in a really, really long time. it's interesting. i don't want these things to die when i get back home. the first thing i'm doing is signing up for USF chorus when i get back; i don't care about the time constraints or the involvement. i need to sing. i will literally waste away and die without my music. i've already gotten far more rusty than i ever imagined. and, of course, i want wine to stay in my life. there's this whole silly age barrier that i have to contend with when i return, but there will only be about 8 months to go before i can legally take part in the wine scene. sigh. wine and cheese parties. wine tastings. wine bars. wine classes. buying my own wine... 'twill be heaven. salsa, too, i'm grateful for. i didn't go yesterday because i was feeling really domestic. the thought of putting on clothes and going outside just left me with a bad taste in my mouth, so i ended up skipping class. we'll see if i go next week; depends on how much work i've gotten done. but, strangely, even if i don't end up doing any more classes this term, i know that this is something else that i love and enjoy, something that i will want to continue when i get home.

i suppose this is like a reflection piece, which is appropriate, seeing as our time here is almost half-way through (i think. math has never been my strong point). but it's strange, being on my own, living in a foreign city, making my own choices of what to do and where to go and who to see and how to spend my time. i really am responsible for my own well-being. there is no one here to tell me to go to class, or to study, or to write, or whatever. all of that is my own decision. i'm just pleased that i'm managing to stick to a morning routine of going for my walk, coming home, cleaning up, and getting started with things. this thursday, as i may have mentioned before, is wine tasting, which means that i need to have things pretty much done by 6:30 or so that night. friday morning will find me at nigel frith's house in headington for my narrative tutorial, followed by lunch, and then i'll head back here for my austen tutorial. i'm really excited. the book of choice for the week is austen's final work, persuasion, and is a really, really interesting piece. the paper hasn't been written yet, but i thankfully have a few ideas. i really should do something fun on friday night, maybe something that involves going out... but we'll see. saturday and sunday are devoted to aquinas, as my class tomorrow has been rescheduled for next monday, meaning that i'm going to have 2 aquinas sessions in one week (gahhhhhh!). i've also got to narrow down a topic for that paper, so i'm going to be (gasp!) actually doing so research. hah, val calls it my "quality time with quiny," as i will most likely hole up with my tea and laptop and huddle in bed to get things done. but saturday night should be lovely, as i bought tickets to see the oxford philharmonia do bernstein's 'suites from west side story,' copland's 'fanfare for a common man,' and gershwin's 'rhapsody in blue' -- all of the preeminent american jewish composers of the 20th century, amusingly enough. if that all goes well, then i'll also sign up for the next concert on 6th march, which are works by berlioz and rachmaninov. yay! anyway, off to work a bit more on this slightly tepid idea i have for a novel. here's hoping that i can turn it into something exciting and fun....

....they say it's yer birthday....

and what a lovely, lovely birthday it was. i am now (at last) beyond the realm of teen-dom and on my way to adulthood (though, as julia asked last night at dinner, 'adulthood? wait... when is that supposed to start again? 30? 35?'). but my weekend was lovely. sunday was a quiet one -- went for another walk, accompanied by laura this time, stopped by saintsbury's to get some last minute things for dinner (crackers and brie for a pre-meal snack, along with some yummy italian salad dressing and butter for the bread), made a borders detour and bought the latest issue of uk vogue, and then went back home where i more or less chilled out before it was time to start cooking. val, laura and i got started first, cleaning down the (absolutely filthy) kitchen and making it sparkly clean and bright. boiled water for pasta, was joined by luke, put out the brie and crackers, popped open a bottle of chardonnay semillon (rosemount. my new favourite), seasoned my salmon steaks and put them in the oven.... was joined by andre and julia, along with claire, and later amelia, who made an amazing, amazing salad... had a bit of a crisis over not having enough pasta sauce, but was rescued by claire, who had some extra stuff stashed away.... then, at last, everything was ready and we went to the (newly-cleaned) dining room to chow down. it really was like a lovely dinner party, complete with good wine and people that i really enjoy and care about. of course, since there were a good number of history nerds present, conversation turned to the "epic awesome-ness" of gladiator and gladiatorial fights, and the superiority of swordfights and duels to our current justice system. sigh. the night was topped off with a completely sinful chocolate cake, picked by laura as a surprise, and everyone sang me happy birthday. yay!!!! our wines also really hit the spot. val, laura and i made a trip over magdelen bridge on saturday (not as far as it sounds; about 10-15 minutes on foot) and took advantage of the threshers 'buy any 2 wines and get the 3rd free' deal and came back with: cave du turckheim alsace riesling, rosemount 2004 chardonnay semillon, and a chilean rose that was really awesome. after the food and the cake were finally finished, everyone pitched in to do the dishes (except for me. i was forbidden from dishes washing, probably because i insisted upon cooking myself), and then we retired for an early night. so, yay! thanks to everyone for all the cards and emails and well wishes.... 'twas quite appreciated. now, i must turn my attention to --- erggg -- work. more soon!

val and me.

mmm.... food. my salmon steaks, along with the garlic bread i made and amelia's salad, in progress...

(l to r) luke, me, and amelia

sigh. the amazing, amazing cake laura bought. those truffles were absolutely KILLER.

and the cake. all gone. or, as queen would say, 'all dead, all dead.'

spring isn't here (yet), but...

...cherry blossoms are blooming! it all started thursday, when i ventured down high street towards the botanical gardens and saw that -- lo! -- the cherry blossom tree next door to university church is completely in bloom! deep pink flowers are pretty much covering the tree, and it makes me really happy. so imagine my disbelief when i wandered into the botanical gardens and found a small patch of beautiful purple irises blooming, and when i walked past st edward's school this morning and saw daffodils.... and then saw a few yellow tulips... and more cherry blossoms all along woodstock road. spring is coming! it's overcast today, but the clouds are high and it's bright. can't wait till i can rock my california sunglasses down the street without looking like an utter vampire.

in terms of birthday news, did a wee bit of shopping this morning -- a 30 pound blouse on sale for 3 quid (mwah-hah-hah-hah. i truly am the queen of bargain shopping) and a couple pairs of super big earrings for a pound each. then i went out, bought myself a copy of persuasion, as every copy at the local library was sold out, and went out for "cream tea" (tea + scones) over at the mitre, which is one of the oldest restaurants in oxford, dating back to the fifteenth century. the tea was good, as were the scones, and the devonshire cream + strawberry jam were fantastic, and i got through a good four or five chapters of persuasion before i finally called it quits. so, now i'm back in the room, though i am feeling restless, so i might possibly go out for another walk (this time in flats, as i just ran around in my really pretty but really high heels, and i think my feet could use a break), maybe back to the botanical gardnes or to christ church meadow, or something pretty like that. and then tonight tom and i are headed back to the old law library at magdelen college for wine tasting classes, part two. i hear we're going to be tasting a variety of about 7 or 8 wines, and talking a lot about technical matters: corking, barrelling, etc. tomorrow shall be a 'working in earnest' day, for val and i have decided to go to london on monday, as i need a change of scenery and we can both use a bit of a distraction from life. tomorrow is also my birthday (!!!), and so the alcove, along with a few designated friends, will be cooking dinner and such. huzzah! fun times, coming up. in terms of london, we'll probably take off somewhere in the morning, possibly dragging along luke as our guide, and we shall find our way to westminster abbey, possibly the houses of parliament, and (if time allows), to do a bit of wine tasting at vinopolis. whoo! should prove to be a fun-filled day. however, in order to justify the fun times, i have to get some work done. so i am off once more, heading to the gardens or to the meadows, to read and write and contemplate life.....

valentine's day! yay!

so, the fantastic thing about valentine's day is that it marks the final countdown to my birthday -- four days! it might seem kind of silly to be almost twenty and still counting down, but birthdays are a big deal in my family. got a card from my nana and poppi on monday, which is all pretty and hanging on my bulletin board, and to my surprise, my mom called yesterday to say that she's mailing off my birthday present, which will be late; apparently she didn't want to get to my empty pigeonhole and be sad to find it empty. but i wasn't even expecting a package; just a card and my wee shopping spree, but now this is doubly exciting. i went and bought my birthday groceries today: pasta, white sauce, salmon steaks, spinach and veggies. it's been decided that the birthday festivities will kick off friday night with a trip to a pub for some cocktails, and will conclude on sunday with dinner and a movie, and i'm really, really excited, because our kitchen cooking parties are always awesome. pictures, of course, will follow. as of now, i am taking a break from my break (lol), as i was writing when val announced that she was off to the post office, and as i have been meaning to get there for a month (ooops...), i thought i should go along. thankfully, i ran into a display of the trashy romance novels i need to buy for class (you know. market research and that kind of thing)..... yeah. they are, if nothing less, trashy. take, for example, the first: the businessman's bride. that's under the mills and boon 'romance' imprint, which means that it's a lot more... chaste. or something like that. love scenes are consumated behind closed doors, etc. and then i also purchased the greek's virgin (!!!!!!!!!!), which is under the 'modern romance' imprint, which means that it is to take place in an 'international and glamorous' locale. both, of course, feature the much needed alpha male character and.... yeah. i really don't know what i'll do with this, but the plan is that i shall do as much as possible with my austen essay today and take tomorrow to camp out in a cute cafe (i'm thinking queen's cafe on high street; it's really pretty and i've always, always wanted to go in....), read said trashy novels, and start my analysis. and who knows? maybe my muse will be so enraged at the inferiority of quality that 'twill prompt me to write a few scenes of my own. we'll see. anyway, i suppose that is the week to come. today will find me doing more with emma, as well as muddling through an hour and a half of aquinas. perhaps i'll dine in, that way i can throw on PJs and do some hardcore work. aaaaand... right. tomorrow is devoted to writing, friday to getting through class and then celebrating with cocktails, saturday to recovering (lol. no hangovers this weekend. that is my stipulation) and wine class, and then sunday to dinner and a movie. yay!!!! anyway, with that said, i am off.

here comes the sun...

or, at least, it was here, for a couple of hours, at least. woke up this morning when i heard the roommate stumbling out to the shower; looked at the clock and saw that it was 7:45. like... what?! i haven't seen 7:45 in, uh, a few weeks, actually. but i got up and peeked out of the curtain and -- lo! -- there was sun! and blue skies! seeing as i got caught in the rain yesterday, this was a very exciting thing, and so i was dressed (before val, too; amazing) in record time, and ran off to breakfast, and then ran off for my walk. i rocked the big sunglasses and everything; quite, quite exciting. unfortunately, the fog began to roll in and the day became slightly overcast and grey, but it's okay, as i got my dose of sun and blue skies. there's nothing like strolling down woodstock, cars streaming past, sun shining, and big and rich blaring on the headphones. sigh. after that, i came back, changed my bed linens, and got dressed and actually looked cute for once -- my new black trousers and my black puffed-sleeve turtleneck, all accessorized with my pretty jewelry and such. dunno why i'm making such a big deal of it, but maybe because i feel like i am dressing the way, well, i would back home, which makes me really, really happy. and as it is my birthday week, i feel as though it is absolutely necessary and essential that i make myself cute everyday. and so after i dressed and such, i ventured out to cafe nero on high street and worked on my emma essay over a cup of chai, which, though over-loaded with too much milk, was pretty darn good. and so now i am back in my room, attempting to work, though i think a nap is in order, as i got myself up really early and exerted myself a lot. sigh. but today is going well, though it is the day before valentine's day, but i shall ignore that. tomorrow i plan (in addition to going to seminar) to go out, buy myself roses and chocolate, and maybe making a good dinner. something involving spinach and baby shrimp or something. anyway, i am off for a nap; sunshine, however, was far too fantastic to pass up sharing. chorus is tonight, so i need to (attempt) to do some work so i don't feel like the past two days were an entire waste of time....

a wee break before work....

so, it's nine o'clock and i am at last sitting down to dinner. work seems to be somewhere on the horizon at last. today was a full day for me. for the third day in a row, i roused myself from the indolent stupour i seem to have settled into over the past two or three weeks and went for a walk. headed down cornmarket, which turns into st giles and then at last into woodstock road. initially i went on satuday in search of a yoga spot i found online... it's about a half hour away, which seems a little far for yoga, but it's a good stretch for my legs, particularly since i am used to devoting a couple of hours a week to walking. so, i tried the route again yesterday and actually ventured down banbury road (runs parallel to woodstock), just because it was so beautiful and picturesque with the cottage-like brick homes and all the pretty trees... and, of course, "just one more block" turned into another, and another, and another... which was lovely yesterday, as the sun was shining and out and bright and totally getting into my eyes, as i have forsaken sunglasses like all the other oxonians have... but today, unfortunately, i had just turned around (after walking 45 minutes outside of city centre, where i live) and the rain began. poured, actually. got quite wet. but the music on the ipod was so good that it really didn't matter. so, i got back at last, completely soaking wet and the like, and promptly changed clothes to go... birthday shopping! my nails have finally been done (got them done yesterday. now they're all dramatic and inky black), and so today i went to debenham's (think bloomingdales) and browsed around for 2 hours. tried on zillions of clothes, it seems, but there were still left overs from the big 70% off sale, and they're moving in all the new stock, so i got some good deals: a cute white, cap sleeved shirt --- 6.90 down from 25, super-cute wide leg black trousers, 10 down from 45, and a pretty black tank-thing, 5 down from 30.... oh, and a pair of footless turqouise tights (??? i don't even know. they were on sale) for 1.50. yeah.... all in all, a very good day. then i rushed home to eat, and then tried to do a bit of work before breaking for tea and then going to colloquium... and then it was a quick minute to switch stuff, grab an umbrella, use the potty and run down to st hugh's for salsa class, which was awesome, though i did dance with this one guy who was so tall and broad-shouldered that i was literally staring at chest no matter how hard i tried to crane my neck upwards (i was sans 4 inch heels, so that made a big difference).... but it was enjoyable, even if i did make a zillion mistakes. whoops. but it's only my second class... and yeah. which brings us to now. got home, showered, made dinner (tomato soup and a pseudo-grilled cheese. nothing like ed used to make. sigh....), and here i am.

ah, but i do have to share about wine class! so, tom (who goes to CMRS too) and i went over together saturday evening, sort of like, what are we going to possibly do for three hours? boy, were we surprised... there are about 2 dozen in the class, and as soon as we were all seated and the like, we started off with a bit of perrier jouet champagne (2 thumbs way, way up), and then went into the first round of wine, which were 3 chardonnays. we were given 1) a chart in which we could make notes on each wine, the nose, palate, and appearance of each; 2) a wee bit of a cheat sheet which breaks down different categories for appearance, nose, palate, etc; and 3) a really handy circular chart with the different categories of smell/flavour (fruity; nutty; earthy; and so on), further broken down into different types of things. so, fruity is broken down into blackcurrent, raspberry, strawberry, and so forth. really, really handy when sticking your nose into the wine glass, inhaling, and trying to figure out what the heck is in there. anyway, we went through the chardonnays. the first was a super cheap one that wasn't too horrible; the second a mid-price (6-12 quid) australian; the third an "old-world" french chablis (around 12 quid or so), which led to a discussion of "new world" vs "old world" wines. "new world" wines are fuller, both in body and taste, and are good as stand-alone wines, as they can possibly overpower the food. the 'old world' wines have a tendency to be a bit more "austere," as our instructor put it, but pair quite nicely with a dish. ah, and a word on our instructor, ed fitzgerald, who was president of the wine society back when he was a student at oxford, and has gone on to judge at international wine festivals. really awesome guy; funny, laid-back, informative, really knows his stuff. anyway, after that, it was on to the reds: the first was an absolutely horrible cheap cab. sav.; the second another example of australian made wine -- very full-bodied, etc.; the third was an amazing 10 yr old bordeaux, which, however, was nothing when compared to the final drink of the night, which was a 1981 claret -- fully matured, at the peak of its life-span, and absolutely fantastic. anyway, i have one more class left this coming saturday, and then i think for the final 3 weeks of term, i'll do the Bacchus tastings as well. there's a nice Australian shiraz night coming up that i'm really excited for.... and yeah. all in all, i think that's my life for the moment. i am counting down with eager anticipation for my birthday, and i can hardly wait. i think we're all going to go out for dinner or something... we shall see...

my super-cute white blouse.

my black sleeveless top.

my black wide-leg trousers.

a snowy day in oxford-town....

a snap-shot of some of the st peter's buildings, covered in snow....
bicycles!

yay! the first snow has come to oxford ("first," for the bit of snowy drizzle we received a few weeks ago doesn't count). here are just some fun photos, because this town is even prettier under a bit of snow.... for a few more, check this out: http://usfca.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024234&l=22038&id=7100419

1 month down...

and so here i am, over a month into the program. it's 4th week, which means that my tutorials are already half way over, and i'm almost at the half-way mark with seminars. soon i'll have to turn my attention to my flipping huge seminar paper that i will have to write on aquinas (worth 80% of my grade. whaaaaat?!) and my final projects for my tutorials, but i prefer not to think about that right now. i'm taking a break from my austen paper that doesn't seem to want to cooperate with me (on mansfield park, to be exact, which isn't a horrible book, but isn't nearly as fun as pride and prejudice. no colin firth scowling and brooding as mr darcy to look at, for one), so i thought i would update, as updates are sorely needed. now, then. what have i done for the past month? let's think....

1. made friends.

my roommate, val, and i get along really well. sometimes too well, if our midnight giggle fests while attempting to study/take notes/write papers is any indication. but we can give each other space when necessary, put up with one another's mood swings, go out for a pint and chill, gab about boys, and ferociously bitch about all the people in our house that we don't like (um.... everyone except for the people who live in our alcove and the handful who are on the "good" list, which fluctuates from day-to-day, depending on mood, etc. once again, we are rather moody). this has given our room the name "the bitchy room," but we are quite proud of that fact. we have also somehow been adopted by the boys in room 26, paul and luke, fondly known as the apostles, who come down frequently throughout the day. paul offers one word requests. por ejemplo: "tea?" (with hopeful smile) or "dinner?" (again, hopeful smiles). luke offers effusive invitations: "so, me and some of the guys are headed down to one of the pubs for a pint.... wanna come?" luke also offers lovely bedtime wishes. "so, me and some of the guys are headed down to the one of the pubs for a pint. thought i'd let you know. sweet dreams!" (they're such nice boys). they also come down to chill and ignore work for a few, though val and i suspect that they come just to watch the insane zoo-like spectacle that the two of us provide as we giggle and bitch our way through life. ah, yes. lovely.

the alcove is also quite a cozy one. six of us live here altogether: val and i in room six; laura and amelia in room five; and julia and claire in room four. somehow we all manage to get along. julia's boyfriend, andre, is an honourary member of the alcove, as he is down here quite a bit. but we've started neat little traditions of picking a movie to watch friday nights and undertaking a fun recipe saturday afternoons (kitchen parties are very, very awesome). last week laura and i put together pasta (noodles made by laura; smashing sauce made by moi -- sauteed mushrooms and spinach along with a mushroom tomato sauce) and yummy foccaccia (with melted butter and garlic sauce on top! made by me!), which went along with a delicious salad made by amelia. fantastic. i'm hearing rumours in favour of mexican this coming weekend, which could be really, really exciting...

2. figured out oxford streets...

i think i've finally gotten this "street" thing down. oxford, unlike american cities, isn't based on any type of rational grid, nor does it have blocks. instead, there are little chunks of streets that sort of blend into the next. hence, one can walk down cornmarket, cross the street and be on magdelen, and then cross the street again and be on st giles, and, if feeling intrepid, cross the street again and be on woodstock road (which stretches a long, long way). i have, with the aid of my handy map (which i am never without), discovered the university parks, at last found my way (alone. and sober.) to the eagle and child, as well as the catholic church, found the oxford university sports centre, located the music faculty library, found the social sciences building on manor road (the first modern building i've been in the entire month. crazy!), and discovered: merton college, oriel college, st hugh's college, st antony's college, and st edmund's hall. i've at last figured out where the "really cute cafe" is (on high street, cross street queen's) and where "that ice cream shop" is (st aldates, just past christ church; or, for the other ice cream shop, little clarendon, just past the eagle and child). i've also figured out how to find saintsbury's local, quite necessary if i'm craving something to eat/drink and the closer saintsbury's is closed (i.e. if it's after 8 p.m. mon-sat, as everything bloody closes early in this town). in short, i feel as though i can finally command oxford streets, which is really, really useful, as i walk virtually everywhere.

3. gotten involved in stuff (left vague for a reason)

where do i start? this week, actually, is my first actually getting out of st michael's and doing things besides my work. monday i finally went to the social sciences building to get myself acquainted with the sociology department and sit in on a seminar entitled, "division of domestic labour and women's human capital," which was really interesting, just to see what the "oxford style" is. the sociology program here, which is solely a graduate program, is based on middle-range theory with a huge emphasis on empirical study. the prospectus points out how sociology has gotten a reputation for being mostly theoretical (which is a fair assessment), and so the oxford program seeks to take theory and apply it. i meet a really nice grad student named kathleen who volunteered to sit down with me next week over coffee and tell me more about the program, which is a super awesome thing. i'm sort of falling in love with this town, and i know it's going to be very, very hard to leave, and coming back for grad school, well.... that'd just be awesome. but i have to figure out if what i want to study will fit in here, and if i want to do empirical studies... sigh. a lot to think on for right now.

monday night i went to my first salsa class and it was awesome. (there were also cute boys who smelled good! ooooooh!) it was the 4th class that most people had gone to, so i had a bit of make up work to do, but i worked really hard (and had some good partners who were quite patient with my ignorance) and by the end felt like i had mastered, well, something. the music was good, all sensuous and latin, and once i got into it, it was fantastic. i can't wait for next week's lesson... hopefully i'll start to meet some guys and have a wee bit of fun.

yesterday wasn't so hot -- i was in bed with a tummyache most of the day -- but i got myself together to go to my first university chorus rehearsal. university chorus is non-auditioning and everyone is welcome, which is fantastic, seeing how rusty i am. we're doing two pieces by faure: the requium and the cantique de jean racine. it's interesting, bouncing back and forth between latin and french. but i met a few more grad students there who are really nice (also canadian, which is fun, because i love canada), and i think i know who to sit next to next week. always useful...

4. gotten into this school thing... sorta...

so, last week was the first week where wednesday rolled around and i had already finished almost my entire austen essay and half of my narrative work. this week, not so much. between taking monday to do fun extracurricular stuff and being sick almost all of tuesday, i'm kinda behind. okay, a lot behind. and that makes me really nervous because i'm just not in the mood for pulling an all-nighter.... but i'm hoping that i can get myself back on track. as it is, i am doing more work than i've ever done, it seems, in my life. i have a book and an essay to write a week; a short story a week; and any other exercises that my narrative tutor, frith, sees fit to give me. frith finds my work, with revisions and a bit of effort, publishable. that still astounds me. the difficulty i'm facing right now, though, is coming up with the proper plotline for what i have planned... there is an idea for a novel that i've been kicking around, but... there's something missing. still. i think that's why i've been boycotting work all week. my muse won't talk to me, so i won't talk to it -- not the most productive nor the most mature decision, but the one that seemed to be the best at the time. now i have to finish my austen essay so i can sit and ponder this novel dilemma, and hopefully not be up till 6 a.m. friday morning...

...

i still can't believe an entire month has gone on. i feel like i fit in to this landscape, though. the city of dreaming spires, with the river lazily cutting through and the cobblestone streets and the trees and the lawns and the quaint shops and the stone buildings... all the students running around, books in hand... sitting in coffee shops and debating politics and philosophy and theology.... and, at night, staggering around after a bit of fun at the pub... i love it all. i don't want it to end. but, we'll see. there are a few grad school programs that i'm looking at, and maybe in a year or so....

anyway, i'm off to see if i can bend this essay to my will, and then onward to philosophy in a couple of hours. silly aquinas. we're talking about the soul today. goodness knows where that will take us, as i have been 1) dismembered (figuratively) in an attempt to prove something philosophical (can't remember what), as well as 2) spray-painted gold in order to demonstrate "the action" and "the effect" (or something like that), and goodness knows what else. that class is hilarious. then it's back to the room for more work, a break for dinner and more work.... and if i make it to saturday, my first wine-tasting class. sigh. lots and lots going on. well, then.... off i go...