in britannia

I've been having a huge dry roasted peanut craving recently. I was at Costco looking longingly at a 5 lb tub of Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts, but figured that it would take forever to eat them all. So of course I went to the regular-sized grocery store and bought a 1 lb jar, which I promptly ate in less than a day. In fact, I was just shaking the last few peanuts out of the jar. Unfortunately, that also involved me inhaling some of the dry roasting spice powder up my nose, which was, shall we say, slightly unpleasant.

So the new year is upon us, and it looks to be another banner year for something. I'm not sure what, but it will be for something. I'm doing absolutely nothing for new year's, which is the way I like it. As I see it, new year's is a completely useless holiday. Nothing changes, except the calendar. If I could convince people to go outside and drink stupidly every time I flipped the month over on a calendar, I'd be rich. Or drunk. Or quite possibly both.

It has truly been an enjoyable year though. I had a wonderful time with my P. school kids and, while I do miss them a lot, I also enjoy Oxford a great deal. And I think that my time at Oxford can only get better.

So have a blessed holiday tonight and a wonderful new year!

So I used to think that I didn't have time for certain things. This remains true: I don't have time to read War and Peace, I don't have time to play Nintendo all day. I am running out of time to go to my friend's wedding, and it's difficult for me to see how I'll be able to go. Which is sad, because I really want to. Darnit...

And now there's this. Not only am I trying to pack more into a day, but the days are, in fact, getting shorter. Not the daylight, which is getting longer and longer thanks to our having passed the winter solstice. But the days themselves, the period of rotation around our axis, is shorter. Seriously. Here is the story from the Chicago Tribune. Since it is available by subscription (free subscription, but nevertheless), I will also reproduce it for you here.

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Aftermath of the earthquake: Shorter days

Published December 28, 2004

Incredibly, the magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck off Sumatra on Sunday morning caused a vertical displacement of so much material that the rotation period of the Earth has been permanently altered. By a tiny but measurable amount, the Earth is now rotating more quickly on its axis, and the 24-hour day is now one ten-thousandth second shorter.That's the result of calculations based on preliminary data made by Oak Park astronomer Dr. Leslie M. Golden. It's analogous to the increase in rotational speed that a twirling ice skater experiences when he or she draws in their arms. It is estimated that during the Sumatran quake, a block of material roughly 600 miles in length and 100 miles in width fell 30 feet closer to the Earth's axis of rotation. The planet has responded by rotating more rapidly, albeit ever so slightly, and our 24-hour days are now one ten-thousandth second shorter.

Reprinted entirely without permission.

My family and I went to brunch yesterday at a much beloved institution: the Ritz-Carlton Dining Room in Boston. It's heartbreaking, but they're closing in less than one week. They closed once before, in 2001, but after public outcry, it was revived. Now, however, they are closing for good.

It's sad, since that was where my Mom took her parents and siblings for her parents' 40th wedding anniversary. It has since become a place where my family likes to celebrate all manner of happy occasion. I first went there on my 16th birthday, which just so happened because my birthday fell on a Sunday. It was amazing - cobalt blue water goblets and chandeliers, gilded window dressings and such food! I loved it. And each time we went back, which wasn't often, I'd revel in that same feeling. It's gorgeous, and it's wildly extravagant, but it's an experience.

So while we enjoyed each other's company and in the luxury, it was tough to know that it'll never happen again. Ever. At least, not in Boston. And that's really sad.

For the record, here's what we ate:
tuna nigiri sushi, assorted maki, raw oysters, shrimp cocktail, rock crab claws, caviar on toast points, truffle fingerling potato salad, brie, cheddar, gouda, and a random blue cheese, caesar salad, smoked salmon, salmon roulade stuffed with spinach, forest pate en croute, beef tenderloin in truffle sauce, honey glazed ham, pan seared lamb chops with fingerling potatoes, oven roasted chicken breast with winter vegetables, seared scallops in a lemon butter cream sauce. I'm not a fan of buffet breakfast food, but it was certainly there. Desserts were pretty good: I had a pear soup with floating meringue island, and decent raspberry custard pastry square. There was also bread pudding, bananas foster, ice cream, and all manner of baked confections. Delicious. I'm definitely going to pay for it at the gym.

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On a different note entirely, I love reading the essay questions for the University of Chicago. Last year's application essay was "How do you feel about Wednesday?" This years, which can be found here, are hilarious. I love question number one, which is reproduced here in its entirety:

Have you ever walked through the aisles of a warehouse store like Costco or Sam’s Club and wondered who would buy a jar of mustard a foot and a half tall? We’ve bought it, but it didn’t stop us from wondering about other things, like absurd eating contests, impulse buys, excess, unimagined uses for mustard, storage, preservatives, notions of bigness . . . and dozens of other ideas both silly and serious. Write an essay somehow inspired by super-huge mustard.

My mind flies immediately to Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin, which is the home of the Mustard Museum. Founder Barry Levinson started the mseum after the Red Sox lost the Series in 1987. I don't know if he'll continue to collect and display in the future, now that the Red Sox have won. Super-huge mustard... Mmm... :)

In their book, The Research Manual: Design and Statistics for Applied Linguistics, Evelyn Hatch and Annne Lazaraton state that “The world has two answers to [academic scholarly conclusions] – either ‘I don’t believe it’ or ‘Oh, I knew that already.’” To which I respond, oh, I knew that already.

But I did. That's why I'm the one quoting it.

But in the realm of academic scholarly conclusions, a critical breakthrough was made in the field of beverage conservation. After British retail giantMarks & Spencer commissioned a study from the School of Science and Environment at Coventry University, researchers were hard at work determining the optimal conditions and subsequent methods for opening a bottle of champagne (or, one must assume, a similarly bubbly non-French-produced sparkling wine). The bottle must be suitably chilled, not only for the pleasure of drinking a cold, crisp sparkling wine, but also to reduce the pressure, since Gay-Lussac's Law states that for a fixed amount of gas at a fixed volume, the pressure is proportional to the temperature. So the bottle must be chilled. Well, duh... So there's a new law in town: Smith's Law, named after Coventry University wine studies lecturer, Dr. Steve Smith. P (pressure) = T (temperature) / 4.5 + 1. But while Smith's Law is an equation, it is written up as a "technique" in today's Daily Telegraph, and it even comes with a handy infographic, in case you don't have time to read the entire article.

This reminds me of the 1999 document produced by the British Standards Institute on the method for brewing the perfect cup of tea. That was a 5000 word behemoth of an instruction manual.

Interestingly, the police in London have instructed officers to stop using the words "black" and "asian" to describe people of those ethnic backgrounds. Instead, both are now to be lumped under "VME" or Visible Minority Ethnics. This is ridiculous. I am particularly amused by the alternative, or the Invisible Minority Ethnics.

It's Christmas! Nothing like a Federal Holiday to take your mind off of what needs to be done. It was shaping up to be a white Christmas here in Lincoln - good snowfall plus decent cold had it all but locked up. And then, it all started to go, as the English say, pear-shaped. Rain washed away a lot of the snow, the warmer weather and sun dried it all out, and I swear, our back lawn is still showing signs of green. That said, it's a marvelous Christmas morning, filled with coffee and pastries and absolutely nothing. And the loot? Oh yes, the loot was good.

As I said before, I'm more proud of the gifts I've given this year than I have been in a very long time. I am particularly amused by my abilities to get it all done well before (OK, two days before) Christmas day - practically a record for me. To give you a sense of how bad I usually am at getting stuff done on time, I'm the one who was at the P. school at 6:30 am on the morning that grades were due when Señor V. came in and said, "you're here early." I replied that I certainly was, and he remarked that the shirt I was wearing looked awfully familiar. "Indeed," I replied, and shortly thereafter drove home to take a shower and then to drive back to work in time for morning classes. So two whole days? That's massive.

But enough about me: check ou what I got. :)
A sweater, two CD (one from Lincoln College, Oxford, and one from Trinity College, Cambridge), a USB memory stick, Endnote (yay academic software), Red Sox stuff, and the West Wing season 3 on DVD. Also food, scented candles, and shirts. Very travel-friendly, which is key.

I gave my brother Andrew Giant Microbes, Matthew got a Florence Foster Jenkins CD, and Dad got the Pessimist's Mug, to name a few things. The real coup was stuff for Mom who, with the rest of the family, came to visit Oxford at Thanksgiving last month. She's always had a thing for Christmas tree ornaments, and had searched far and wide for an Oxford one. I found one on my last day there, but didn't feel OK carrying it back to the US. So I had a friend mail it to me, and it arrived in time. She was thrilled. Also, having grown up in Hong Kong, Mom grew up with the Anglican carol tunes during the holidays. And in the US, the tunes are changed - some subtly, others not so much. So when she went to the Advent Carols Service at Keble College, she heard some of the tunes from her youth, and many of them came back to her. We found the Oxford Book of Carols, and I managed to buy a copy for her. The look on her face when playing through the carols from her youth was priceless - I wonder if anything from my childhood would evoke such strong memories in a few decades. Perhaps my old Nassoons CDs from Princeton? Doubtful. Visiting my old high school? Very doubtful.

I do wonder - we form emotional connections with the strangest things... The Body Shop's sun-ripened raspberry lotion reminds me of one of my best friends from Tanglewood more than ten years ago. It still does.

Oh, and before I sign off, Crystal Palace doesn't have a chance in the world.

Merry Christmas, all. To those around the world, my friends in England, old classmates in Asia, and everyone I know in New Jersey and around the US - may you have a safe and happy holiday, a blessed Christmas, and a wonderful New Year. And to my bestest friend in the whole wide world, meow. :)

It's always nice to hear that you have readers. This blog is quickly reaching the end of its seventh month, and it has served as a wonderful way to keep in touch with some of the people I do really care about. And every so often, I get a message posted in response, telling me if that someone out there is reading. Which is nice. It doesn't happen very often, which is fine - more often than not, this blog is my escape from doing work, and it really doesn't matter whether anyone's out there. I just had a nice conversation with one of my best friends from Princeton, who is in law school now. He mentioned that he knew I was back stateside because he read it on my blog. And I'd actually forgotten that I told him about it at all. A nice surprise, indeed. It's wonderful, really, to have an opportunity to reconnect with all of the people I used to talk with all the time. Holidays are fun for things like that - P. school people, Princeton people, relatives, high school people (well, the few that I can stand), and it's great to hear from them again. That is truly one of very few redeeming quality about this otherwise exceedingly commercialized holiday.

Of course, I buy into the commercialized part off the holiday as well. This year, I spent a lot of time and money on gifts that, while nice, might not be as useful as rational thought would expect. I'd love to detail what they are, but as my famiily has also taken to reading my blog, I think I'd better hold off until they open their gifts.

Ooh. One other lovely thing about the holidays, of course, is the food. This is an example. From NPR yesterday. It's HILARIOUS.

mmm... frozen thing...

The UPS guy just came, and I am now officially done with my Christmas shopping! It's a nice feeling, being as I am usually one of the last people to do anything. It's a possibility that this is part of the new Oxford-me. Somehow, I doubt it, but there's a lingering doubt that Oxford does, indeed, change people for the better.

Speaking of Oxford, I had lunch and tea with my good high school friend Edith yesterday. She's an Oxford graduate who is now working as a barrister in London. I totally used to crush on her when we were younger; something about the accent, probably. But we are quite good friends, though I haven't seen her in over two years. She seems to be doing quite well; still looks stylish and stunning, and she's enjoying life as a lawyer. It was really nice to see her again and to catch up with her. We're definitely going to have to meet up sometime in England.

I read with horror about the woman who had her kitten cloned for $50,000. As the New York Times story pointed out, and rightly so, that woman could have helped a lot of stray cats with that $50K rather than spending it all on one kitten.

Also in the New York Times today, a story about test-taking and the psychology involved. This might explain why I used to blank out on tests in high school so much: a lot of what I did was very short-term memory intensive, instead of actually learning material cold. So, as the story says, the best way to avoid having this is by actually studying such that the information is moved out of short-term working memory and into more long-term basic memory. This is difficult, but it certainly reaps benefits down the line. But then again, "down the line" is so long to have to wait: procrastination pays off now.

Six pops concerts down, one more to go. So yeah, I sing with the Boston Pops. I just opened their new CD, and I can honestly say that I am appalled that people pay money for this. I guess it's not bad - the cheesy holiday tunes which are ubiquitous this time of year. Which, I think, is why I detest it so much. I am, for the record, really really really sick of Christmas music.

Interestingly, the Boston Pops had to self-produce this album, which means that we kinda need to recoup the cash. Evidently, they got dropped by their record label last year and had to put up the money to issue the CD by themselves. So go to Amazon and check out our CD. And buy it.

I was reminded of my teaching career at the P. school by this story today. Not that it takes a whole lot to get me thinking about my fantastic students and colleagues again. That news story, on the other hand, is just really funny. No, we did not have a limit to how muuch kids could spend to show their appreciation and gratitude for their teachers. And no, I didn't think it was a problem. Of course, I loved some of the gifts I got - gifts certificates in the realm of $25 to $50, candy from Godiva and pens from Cross and the odd Tiffany. This is the first time in three years I'm not just picking up random gifts from people. So if you're out there, you're a former student (or just a reader who is just happening by), and you want to buy me something, do. :)

Oh my goodness - it's snowing! It's wonderful to see my little town of Lincoln being lightly dusted with the white stuff. OK, so it snowed here while I was in England. In November. And it snowed a little last week, but that was overnight. Now I'm actuallly seeing the snow come down from the sky, and unlike the last time I saw it happen, I'm not sitting in a crew shell wearing a T-shirt outside. So yeah, this is nice. First real sticky snowfall of the year - if this were Princeton, circa 1972 - 1998, a big group of people would be running around naked in Rockefeller Quad.

I'm taking a small break out of trimming our Christmas tree. This is the time I've done this in, oh, about eight years. I've simply never been home early enough to trim the tree. The lights are up, the baubles and such will follow soon thereafter, and then I need to start wrapping loot for my family. Here's the problem, though. I've ordered a heck of a lot of stuff from online retailers, who are making me very anxious by not delivering their goods on time. Or at least, not early enough for me. So while I continue to gussy up this tree such that it no longer looks like a real tree, keep your fingers crossed for me, in hopes that the UPS guy will come with presents. :)

So things change... I went to Wilson Farm today to buy a Christmas Tree with my parents. I haven't actually been tree shopping since High School, eight years ago. And I haven't been to Wilson Farm in about that long too. When I was growing up, we'd go to Wilson Farm for produce: it was a local business, fresh vegetables, organic foodstuffs, the whole deal. It was also truly before its time - now, it's a huge endeavor, with pate, cheese, organic meat, prepared food, and the best (and unfortunately priciest) organics around. Forget Harvard Square and the People's Republic of Cambridge; Wilson Farm is the epicenter of blue-state Massachusetts. And I miss it.

Speaking of politics and change, I saw the West Wing season six for the first time on Wednesday. Ew. Not that I don't still care about the characters on the show, but I can't imagine a new press secretary, a new personal assistant to POTUS, and certainly not a new Donna. What a waste.

I've got almost all of the holiday shopping done, which is nice. And I got my Mac fixed! The hinge on the screen was quite sticky and was actually damaging the top plate. So thankfully, it's OK now. OK, that's it for me. I'm exhausted.

I've come to the conclusion that I drink a lot of coffee. I mean, not as much as some of the coffee fiends out there, and certainly not as much as this guy, but still a lot.

I went to Tisch library at Tufts yesterday to get a jump on this paper I'm supposed to be "thinking about" over the break. Honestly - there was no security. Not a member of the Tufts student body? No problem! Want to bring in donuts? Come on in! Dangerous chemicals in your bag? Hey, it's not like we're checking anyway! And they're open 24-hours a day! If Oxford worked like this, I'd have no problems doing my work at odd hours. And a plus over Princeton: parking is ample and free. What a concept. It's also nice to roam stacks and to pick random books off of the shelf. You can sort of do that at the Sackler Library at Oxford, and to a much more limited degree at Keble Library, but nothing as extensive as a major research institution. I miss it.

Speaking of Oxford's libraries, good for Google! They'll be scanning (how, they're not sure) the entirety of the Stanford and U of Michigan libraries, and supplementing those with bits of Harvard, Oxford, and New York Public Libraries. I am excited, but also a bit apprehensive. It certainly will be nice to be able to read books from home, but then there's the question of possibly directing people to a location online to buy a book if it's not available (or yet out of copyright): how will retailers bid for the 'right' to sell or advertise a book on Google? And does that make it a less unbiased site? Finally, how will copyright laws react to this? Heady times indeed...

Had a wonderful dinner last night with Diana and caught up on quite a lot. It's good to reconnect with old friends - I have so many great stories from Oxford. Anyone who fancies a story, just email me and I'll pick a nice juicy one. :)

Ooh! Finally, had a nice surprise on Monday. E.S. from the P. school was up in Boston, sitting in on my choral rehearsal. Her father is a composer, and we're doing one of his works, A Christmas Carol, with the Boston Pops this year. So he was up at the hall to oversee the first orchestra rehearsal, and he brought his daughter. It was good to see her. A bit out of context, to be certain, but good all the same.

In reference to a few other things...

CONGRATULATIONS! to A.F., who got into Wharton on Friday.
CONGRATULATIONS! to the P. school quiz bowl teams, who came in 1st, 2nd, and 16th at the quiz bowl tournament on Saturday. First AND Second. That's outstanding. Great effort on the 16th too. It's not an easy tournament.
Good luck to R.B., who is also applying early to Yale.

And good luck to everyone else who is applying early to Yale. And other places.

Finally, GO EVERTON. Everton surpassed Arsenal in the league table today, having beaten their cross-town archrivals Liverpool. Arsenal, on the other hand, drew with Chelsea at 2-2. Thus, Everton are not second in the league table. My friend Cait is an Arsenal fan. Poor Cait. Delightfully, Liverpool are 7th, and are 12 points behind the Toffees, who are only 4 points behind first place Chelsea. Lee is rooting for Aston Villa, who are 6th, and one of my former students, A. S. is rooting for Crystal Palace, who are 4th. FROM THE BOTTOM. Hah.

Back home for the holidays. It's been an incredible homecoming. Dad made a prime rib roast yesterday, which was outstanding. And I'm back to sleeping in a normal sized bed! None of this British single-bed nonsense, and certainly not the couch or aero bed i was sleeping on at my brother's.

Church was interesting today. Without getting into the theology of it all, the sermon was an affirmation of the doctrine of virgin birth. But, oddly enough, the Christmas carol "Hark, The Herald Angels Sing" contains a line "offspring of the virgin's womb." Or at least, it did. Today's version was "offspring of the Holy One." While this is, indeed, theologically correct, it fails to affirm the doctrine of virgin birth. At best, it was just silly, at worst, it was an attempt to water down a doctrinal point so as not to offend people. Similarly, we recited the Apostles' Creed, but without the line "He descended into Hell". I have no idea why.

Anyway, had my rehearsals with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus this afternoon: fun fun fun. I am told that I'm not a very sunny person; this comes across even more when I am forced to be sunny and fun during Christmastime. If anyone wants to know how darn 'happy' we're supposed to be, check out any recording of the Boston Pops Christmas special, or find it on PBS or A&E. It's disturbingly cheerful.

So I went to the P. school for their annual winter concert: nice job everyone!
While looking through a journal today in the library, I found a nice article. Five pages in The Classical Review. I'm not kidding.

Vol. 89, No. 1: P. G. Naiditch: On Pronouncing The Names Of Certain British Classical Scholars (Oct. – Nov. 1993)

That has got to be one of the dumbest classics articles I've ever seen.

So my brother's roommate decided to hold a party today. Interesting. Andrew told them to be out by midnight. Very interesting. They're still here, it's 1 am, and they're halfway through a movie. Interesting.

If by interesting, I mean really really annoying and inconsiderate.

If only I weren't jet-lagged and exhausted. Then I might be upset and go downstairs and yell at them.

The following post was written offline and added later with a revised timestamp.

Went to visit the P. school yesterday. Unbelievable. For those of you who do not know, I taught at the P. school for three fantastic years. I knew that I missed the routine of going to school at the same time every day, the security of being in control of academic conversation, and the camaraderie of friends, colleagues, and students, but I had no idea that I missed it this much. And, from what I saw, I was missed as well.

Students came out of the woodwork to say hello: kids I didn’t even feel particularly close to greeted me with warmth and affection. And the students I was close to? They were overwhelming. I cannot name them by name, of course, but by descriptions, I hope that they will all know themselves. My former advisor group was especially kind, pulling me into their meeting and introducing me to their new advisor (and new Latin teacher). The students in the middle-school area crowded around me, same in the lunchroom. Students came to pull me away from conversations, saying that they had been let out of class to come fetch me. M.S. came to get me for Mrs. K., who had been my mentor two years ago, and whose guidance and kind friendship enriched my understanding of why it is that we teach. A.B. pulled me away from my lunch to get me to Mr. H.’s class. I understand he got extra credit for that one.

A very kind warm thank you and good luck to C.S. and E.S. who said hello to me in the hall, and who are waiting to hear from Yale (sucks!) University in the next couple of days. I wish them the best of luck. Even if it is Yale… The librarians were, of course, wonderful, as was the science department, with whom I used to go play cards every now and again. I understand I was only one week too late to get together for one such session. Not that, as a student, I have the money to spend anymore. I missed seeing Dr. A and Mr. P., as they were both out sick yesterday. I do miss them very much; they are wonderful. Mr. P. being a graduate of Oxford University, I especially wanted to touch base with him. However, Ms. L. and Mrs. D., also alumnae of study-abroad programs in Oxford, were happy to compare notes. Nice conversations about the Red Sox with Mr. B., Mr. G., and new Middle School head Mr. C., and conversations about the beating the Yankees with Mr. T., Ms. T., and Herr. L. And a special thank you to Mr. S., the guru of the P. school, whose calm and insightful conversations were instrumental in maintaining my grip on reality those three years. Finally, a warm thank you to the Language department, which remains populated with some of the most incredible people in education today. I love them all: they are phenomenal.

Of course, it’s the students who really shine, and who make each day fun. A.A. leads off my list of people who make each day fun, but only because I can’t imagine a day where she’s not in some sort of trouble. M.W., E.C., and M.Z. came by to say hello: those wonderful little counterculturals… D.K., who still corresponds with me, has really grown a lot! He’s going to go far. I wish that M.C. keeps up with his juggling, and that the whole men’s acappella group continues to blow people away. It was nice to see three superstar women of the 9th grade, J.D., O.D., and E.A., whose brilliance and poise and leadership embody the abilities of female students at the P. school. Kudos to A.S. and C.P. for continuing with Latin, and for all those who didn’t, too bad. I had a nice conversation with C.L. and L.J., who told me that my tests last year were a lot harder than the ones they’re facing this year. But instead of complaining (as they were often wont to do last year), they thanked me, noting that now they feel so much better prepared for Latin. I wish the best for the Quiz Bowl team, which is going up against some of the best schools in New Jersey this Saturday. I think they’re going to be terrific.

Can you tell? I miss these kids and teachers so much. Bless them all: I’ll be seeing them tonight at their annual winter concert. I can’t wait.

Meanwhile, I’m at Princeton now, and it’s a lot of fun too: I’m sitting in Firestone Library doing some research on this monster essay I’ve been set for the holiday. And I’m actually enjoying myself. Such fun!

The following post was written offline and added later with a revised timestamp

Heh. On my way into the plane, I passed by a few people with some conspicuous sporting logos on their shirts. Needless to say, I smugly said to myself that no only were these people backing losing teams were, in fact, also failures as people.

Number one:
Cambridge University Rugby. Oh, so sorry. I think we won that game yesterday. In fact, I know we did. 18 – 11. With a Keble College member taking man of the match. So HAH.

Number two:
New York Yankees American League East Champions 2004. Right. And how did that one end? Four words for you. World Champion Red Sox. That’s right. Nothing but net for the Red Sox.

Number three:
Manchester United. Nothing more need be said. This guy sucks.

On my way to Newark now. I was told that I could not just check my luggage to Newark only, but instead had to check all the way to Boston. This was disturbing, as I’d like to go to New Brunswick and visit my brother, and to Princeton, and to the P. school. And I’d really been looking forward to going. Still, my bags are checked straight through to Boston, but I have to go through customs in Newark. What I do afterwards is my own decision, and I think it will be to leave the airport and get myself to New Brunswick.

I haven’t blogged anything substantial in the last few weeks. I’ve been really busy. The term ended on a high note: I participated in three fantastic concerts (well, two, and the third was a good concert, but the music was kind of off), and a recording session. The one race we were allowed to race ended up in total humiliation for our opponent. My papers have been going well (though it is clear that I still have quite a lot of work to do in getting my writing up to the standards of Oxford University and graduate school in general. I sang in a wonderful recital at Keble College, and made my pilgrimage to the Apple Store and Westminster Abbey. My parents and brothers visited for a wonderful couple of days and I enjoyed showing them around this place which I love, this palce which I now call home, this place that has so much history and meaning that it crushes you to think about it for too long.

My friends are taking triumphs of their own: Ted got the grant money he was looking for, Liz was in a recording session with her orchestra and is on the Keble Women’s Football Team, which is set to win the league cup next term. The Women’s Boat Club came in second and fourth in the Christ Church regatta, and Derek was offensive player of the game in his American Football game (Oxford and Oxford Brookes University team up together for an all-Oxford football team). Dan was in a fantastic production of The Pirates Of Penzance, Cait is organizing a conference in Archaeology for Trinity Term 2005, Simon and Basak are still going strong, and Jenny has had huge success getting more people in the MCR to recycle.

Speaking of the new MCR, I don’t have any photos yet, but it’s gorgeous. We moved the dishes, lockers, and computers, and a few couches. Everything else is brand new and has been functioning beautifully. Even the dishwasher, which had been causing us (well, me) a lot of trouble. Why me? Because I am now the MCR kitchen manager.

I’ve met lifelong friends at Keble College and in Oxford University as a whole, I’ve gotten so much out of life at Oxford that I can’t imagine how this year could have turned out any better. Yes, I really do miss the safety and security of teaching life: there were no major crises, every day was about the same, and I always had colleagues whose council I trusted and whose expertise really meant that I had nothing to worry about at all. Oxford isn’t like that: it’s hectic, it’s busy, it’s a lot of the unknown. It’s difficult to get by, sometimes I get sad, sometimes I get lonely, sometimes it’s tough to motivate yourself out of bed. But the discipline which comes from working in the real world (something that many of my colleagues here did not do) provides a basis for self-motivation. I miss my students; I thank those who write to tell me how they’re doing or to inquire after me. I love chatting with them online. If you’re reading this and wondering if you should, in fact, IM me, please do. I’d love to hear what you’re up to.

So I'm packing my bags today to come home. Oxford's Michaelmas Term 2004 has officially ended and I am leaving tomorrow. Well, actually, it ended on Friday. MT04 by the numbers:
7 papers.
60 sources checked out of the library.
5 articles downloaded.
7 Magdala rehearsals.
3 Magdala evensong services.
1 Magdala recording session.
32 Queen's Choir rehearsals.
24 Queen's Choir evensong services.
15 Dinners at Queen's College.
10 Dinners at Keble College.
1 Trip to London.
8 Sinfonietta rehearsals.
7 University Orchestra rehearsals.
4 concerts: Sinfonietta, OUO, Queen's Choir, Keble Music Society Recital.
18 early morning rowing sessions.
4 circuit training sessions.
1 actual rowing race.
3 times for doing laundry.
18 laundry tablets used.
20+ kebabs eaten.
and yet, 15+ pounds lost. :)

it has been an excellent, excellent term. I'll be swinging by the P. school on Thursday; Princeton as well. I can't wait.

Blogging from the Apple Store in the UK. This is amazing.

I really wish that I had been here when the store opened, but my rowing captain scheduled a practice for exactly that morning. Still, I'm glad a pilgrimage could be arranged. :)

Went to the British Museum this morning. Excellent place to be. As for work, I'm done with Oxford for the term and am heading home on Wednesday. Loved my first term, photos will be up in a bit.

Made a recording today with Magdala: we were supposed to do recordings of some early American music, but it turned out to be unfeasable due to the pieces being total garbage. So instead, we laid down three tracks of music we just sang this term. I've had my last Magdala evensong services of Michaelmas Term 2004, as well as my last Queen's evensong service of the term. I'm singing the carols service tomorrow, but that's it.

In other news, happy birthday to Ted, my Keble MCR Welcomer, whose friendship, camaraderie, and conversation have really made my Oxford experience richer and more oustanding. Ted is currently getting wasted in the brand spanking new Keble MCR.

And speaking of the new MCR, wow. So we moved out of what was essentially a bomb shelter type of basement. Some people took to calling the MCR the "Hobbit hole", but Hobbit holes are warm and inviting, and this one was just dark and ick. The new facility is gorgeous: it's above ground, it's sunny, and one of the rooms has beautiful oak-paneled walls and a nice hardwood floor. We now have a pool table, we're getting a wide-screen LCD TV, we have a dishwasher. Today we got some posh leather couches. Truly, we have a nice place to hang out. Unfortunately, there is great responsibility that comes with this space, and it's difficult to think of what might happen if we mess up even a bit.

One of the problems might be noise complaints: this is entirely possible, especially when you consider that Abhijit is one of our MCR members. I like Abhijit a lot, but he's crazy. I mean, completely certifiable. How he is a licenced MD who can practice in the US is beyond me. He listens to booty-shaking rap, hip-hop, and bollywood on the TV, and we think he has a hearing problem because he's always got the sound up way too high. I was in the MCR watching a beautiful performance of Bach's St. John Passion one morning and he came in and said "I can't believe you're listening to this crap. Why do we have to listen to this garbage? Hey, this is really boring, man." He continued to berate me about my choice of TV station until he realized that I wasn't going to budge. Kind of ruined the bach experience for me that day.