I'm such a girl!

Guess what I did today. Bet you can't guess!
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Have you guessed yet?
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I bought 2, yes 2, hundred dollars on makeup.
My little sister's amazing Christmas present to me was to go to MAC and get some makeup done by one of the girls there and 40 dollars of makeup. And then I bought 200 dollars more. I justify this by the fact that I don't really own any makeup, only a little bit. But I have been wearing the little bit I own quite a lot lately. And it's all good quality stuff that will last me a long time and it's much cheaper to buy it here than decide I want to get it and have to buy it in England.
Then we went to lunch.

All in all, I'm feeling much better, having had a great day with delly then this with my sis.

Not much of a confidence hunter, but somehow I think it's creeping back up on me anyways. Thanks everyone. I really really hope to see those of you I haven't seen soon.

Wow. Self-doubt sucks. Confidence is indeed a fickle, fickle friend.

PAR-TEE, PAR-TEE, PAR-TEE...

Joy!

I'm sick of being sick. So today I went to the doctor and got me some drugs. I am now the proud owner of some antibiotics, cough syrup with codeine, and nasal spray. Yummy. I hope they work, since not only have I still been coughing, but I pulled a miscle in my chest so that every time I cough/sneeze/laugh/twist or reach or move in the wrong way I get a nice stabbing pain. So hopefully I will be disease free before the week is out.

At present I'm also a bit mad at myself. I can never seem to get off my ass and get applications for things in with time to spare. I always leave it to the last minute. Honestly, for this one I have been putting it off in hopes that I would get some inspirational thought of exactly what I wanted to do my Phd on, and I did think I had until early next term. But now I find that, OOPS, if I want any chance at funding the application has to be in by Friday. Shoot monkeys. I think It's do able, if I spend a bunch of money on overnight style shipping, but still. I could have done this while I was still there and saved myself some trauma.

On a nicer note, I feel Christmassy now that I've worked a reflections shift. I was at the front end bonfire. So it was a chilly, but not freezing cold night, with not many problems (apart from a continually drippy nose) and a lovely fire to watch. I'm looking forward to being in Ruthy next shift, but I do enjoy the bonfires because they are just so simple and calming.

But seriously. I haven't actually seen many of you yet. How is that possible? Again, maybe a problem with me getting off my ass.

home again home again

Ah i's good to be back to stab city.
Apart from the day spent in planes trains and automobiles, the incessant coughing (which made me feel like a social parhia on the plane), and the fact that in my head it's 4 o'clock in the morning, it's good to be back.

contact will follow. But not now.

last chance

All right folks, seeing as I leave on Wednesday, I figure I should make a last call for anything anyone really would like to see brought home from Cambridge. Anyone? Anything? Well, not anything, but anything within reason.

much love and I can't wait to see everyone again.

Cambridge.

A place where people study hard, but play harder. Apparently. It's pretty rampant, but I guess I'm just not used to college dormitory life. It's not really that bad but it's fairly constant.

Last night was the 'mingle' entitled 'Fear and Loathing in Las Minglas'. That means an Elvis impersonator and many an undergrad in stockings and hot pants. They turned all of the room in one of the buildings on campus into different places to dance with pretty impressive decor. I danced a lot, didn't drink, but am still tired this morning since I got up at 7 to attend a Founders day mass at the chapel followed by an ale breakfast. Interesting tradition. What's more interesting is the dinner that we are having tonight.
It's restricted to last year undergrads and first year grads (who didn't go the previous year, you can only go once) and is completely free. It includes a 7, yes a 7, course meal including a different type of wine with each course. And it's black tie of course. Wow. I'm sure that Henry VI would be so very proud of our gourmandizing.

speaking of proud...

Look what I managed to do! This is a colour reconstruction of the pediment sculpture that I've been writing on for my first essay that I managed to make. I did it by hand first, but the details didn't come out as clean as I wanted, so I thought I'd try and do it on computer though the program they have here is one I never used before. It took me awhile to figure out how to get things started, and took a long time to do once I figured it out... but I did it! Yay! Small victories.

In honour of Crafty Bean...

... I will finally post a few photosof my world

This is my college. Isn't it pretty? This was a while ago, it's not as blue or green anymore on the whole.

This is our dining hall. We get dinner every night, but it's usually cafeteria style. When I refer to formals this is what I mean. Its basically a sit down served dinner that's supposed to be fancier than normal. Sorry the photo is so dark, it doesn't really show what the hall looks like very well.

Here is a Cambridge cow. This is the one I think Bonobo should write about. (everyone I tell about your story idea loves it... so I won't tell anyone else because they might steal it. You better get on writing that Bonobo.)

That's it. Not too shabby, eh? And only a week before I'm home.

At this present moment, I am revelling in my dorkiness.
I get to go draw pot sherds today! Yay! Pot sherds! It's all very exciting for me. This is my first class that is leading towards the project that I am doing in leu of a third essay. I think i've already mentioned that I'm very pleased.

There really is not much else to say. I mean, my first essay is almost done, it's still getting cleaned up but is essentially finished. Which is good because I'll get a bit of time to try and clarify my second essay topic and my thesis proposal. And party. Mustn't forget to make time to party. Although that time seems to make itself regardless of whether you have it or not.

I have camera consistency envy of crafty bean. I always feel silly for not having the photos to back up my tales... somehow I feel you all need proof and an acurate visual of what I mean.
For example, can you all picture the clown band (complete with tuba) that was outside my building yesterday? I doubt it. You can try to imagine the colourful costumes and the oddly painted faces and the image of clowns playing random instruments, but the fact that I missed the photo denies you the joy of seeing exactly what I mean. Well, maybe it is better this way. I still haven't posted a pic of the tea shop, for example, since I really don't think it is all that interesting of a shop and I would hate to deny you the excitement of picturing me living above a cute little tea house type place.

It is only a week and a bit until I get home anyways. Kind of strange to think that soon I will be transported back to the land of cold and ice where, though away from my school and the work environment, I will have to try and maintain a good work ethic and actually get a lot of research finished. I feel confident that I'll be able to do it, but I do know how fast days can get away from you if you aren't careful.

Well, I am determined to get a (semi-) final draft done by the end of today so to the library I must adjurn.

yup. Motivation has completely left the building.
There really is a lot for me to get done before I leave but I feel as if it will be accomplished. I want to have my essay completely finished and ready to and ready to hand in on the 1st so that I can spend the few days after that getting my next essay topics in order. But I don't know if that is too optimistic in my present state of mind. Plus this next week has plenty of stuff going on such as:

1) heading into Oxford tomorrow for a reunion with the folk from my Lefkandi dig this summer
2) not one but two formal halls (possibly three)
3) plenty of semester end drinks in faculty, kings, and the hostel I'm living in
4) I hope to go see Troy: the musical! that is playing next weekend
5) There's an advent service I'll be attending at the chapel sunday night

so hopefully i'll be destracted enough to work on finishing my essay, if that makes any sense.

I hear it's downright cold in e-town right now. At least you can all whine about it with reason, people here complain and it's not even below zero. It's chilly, sure, but not what I'd call cold just yet. And we seem to be getting more than enough days of crisp sunshiney blue skies. Sorry, didn't mean to rub it in... I miss snow, really I do.

The sharp pangs of homesickness have poked me a little. Not that I don't think about being home a lot, it's just that this morning feels like a day where I would much rather be home than here. It's funny how it comes at you from out of the blue. I have no particular reason for being homesick today, it just decided to run up and ambush me from behind. But at least I'm mostly over my sick sickness (the cough refuses to vanish completely, but it has greatly diminished).

Oh well, it's just two more weeks or so until I'm flying home. Really, that's almost to soon considering what I need to do in that time. These upcoming weeks also have lots of things to look forward to including a couple of formal dinners and general end of term cheer, but I am looking forward to getting back and being surrounded by those I love and adore. (ah, cheesy, but true).

I better get going, ancient greek calls

The tea shop I live above really is the tea shop I live above now since it opened today. Yay! no more infernal banging and a constant source of all things tea. I haven't actually had time to be in it yet, but it seems okay. Although, it's called "Ti" and is a little bit cheesy in it's invocation of the east (you'll see what I mean when I get photos) but it's not bad.

My disease is basically a cough now. A slightly dreadful and inhuman cough, but a cough only. My soccer team played this afternoon two people short, against a team in the first tier (we're in third) so needless to say I really got a workout this afternoon. And coupled with the cough that left me quite unable to breath at times, my body feels quite exhausted. But good. I feel good. And I feel ready to revise my essay yet again before I go to bed tonight in order to hand in a better-than-last-and-hopefully-almost-good-enough-to-hand-in rough draft in the morn.

And I really must look into that butler thing Chautauqua girl suggests...
plus the oil lights are really very handy you know, i suggest we import them into Canada so we can see the bears we're wrestling.

It's rainy and grey out there this morning. The kind of day where, when coupled with a cough and runny nose, you really just want to stay cuddles under your blankets with your head in the pillow ignoring the fact that you must go see your supervisor in an hour.

yup.

Nah, it's okay. I haven't really been able to complain about the weather here, it's been pretty nice, this is the first really grey day that I've woken up to. I mean, last night it was raining, or rather it had just stopped raining so the skies were clear and starry, but the ground was shiny and wet and the trees were orange and yellow and it looked really very beautiful. I guess I'm just being fussy because I'm still diseased.

Seriously, when I cough, I sound like I'm harbouring a demon of death in my chest. but I'm doing everything I can think of to get better and stay better, even without the coldFX the tudor Rose has offered to send me a couple of times (but yes at this point I'll be home around the same time it would arrive, and I think that I'll stock up then).

I'm sick...

... again. I'm not happy about this. I feel like I'm in kindergarden where everyone is a snot nosed little germ spreading machine.

It' s not that bad, just not that pleasant. At least I can still function. Although I couldn't very well when I got up this morning to drop off a draft of my essay, but then I went back to bed for another couple of hours and took some aspirin and cough syrup and I'm feeling much better.

Seriously though, I usually get sick once or twice a year, this has been twice in two months. That's not cool, not cool at all.

I went to the store and bought some antibacterial gel stuff because I want to take every precaution so that, like scarlette o'hara, I will never go sickly again!

gah.

its a penguin... with boots!

I had a good day. Not that I was overly productive or anything crazy like that, but I did have a meeting with some profs about my project in leu of a third essay and I am so very excited about it.

I am revelling in my dorkiness right now. Seriously, I have been on a high all day because I'm going to be able to draw pottery sherds. Not just any pottery sherds mind you, mycenaean late helladic IIIC and IIIB pottery sherds. You're jealous aren't you? don't try to deny it.
As if I wasn't excited enough about it there's also the chance that my supervisor for the project will let me come to Knossos for a week (using classics faculty money) to teach me how to draw pottery there. The site is actually run by one of the directors from Lefkandi which increases my chances of going greatly since I already know him and managed to make a really good impression on him this summer.
Yay!

So we'll see, but things are coming out roses right now.
I just had a good Greek class where I felt that I had actually learned something and wasn't completely useless, and I am looking forward to going to the pub for a veggie burger. My world is complete.

day of guy fawkes

Last night in honour of Guy Fawkes day there were fireworks. And not just fireworks, but an entire mini exhibition! Had I known I would have gone over there sooner and gone on some rides, but it was much to much to busy to bother with them after the fireworks. We did, as we immediately reverted to six year olds who are over stimulated by the lights and loud booms and all the people, succumb to that sugary temptation that is candy floss.
Is there anything better on this world than whipped, artificially flavoured and coloured, sugar in a bag? i severely doubt it.

I think we should have guy Fawkes day in canada too, just as an excuse to be pyrotechnically unstable for one day of the year. And the massive bonfire they had is my goal for next years staff parties...

I can't seem to get any images up for my profile pic. maybe it's just not the right time f day. The two below are failed attempts, but they might not have looked so good in the wee anyways.

So in the meantime, you'll all just have to imagine that there's a brilliant photo up.