Long time no write!
My bad. Turns out grad school is indeed quite a busy place to be, and I got really, really sick last week (flu). But I haven't had any therapeutic writing spree in much too long, so here's a round up of last week's events:
1. HallowQueen. Dear Kalamazoo College: Imagine Crystal Ball, but with graduate students who have more money to spend on costumes. HallowQueen was Oxford's graduate bop (translation: school-sponsored event with a house party feel) for the weekend, which involved everyone cross-dressing. And man, did those male Master's and PhD students strut their stuff. Heels, wigs, tights, dresses; elaborate makeup. Jaw-dropping. I even saw a dead ringer for Amy Winehouse.
I also have this theory that you give a man a dress and heels and he will protest and protect his manhood... until he takes a drink or two and then immediately reverts to their alter-ego personality which usually embodies a strutting, bitchy, lewd dancing woman. I've never seen so many sashaying male hips and booty shaking I wouldn't want my mom to see. Watching the dance floor was one of the most entertaining? disturbing? oddly engrossing? things I've seen in awhile.
Not what I was expecting from a fairly traditionalist university. Nice work Oxford males. My favorite image was the guy in makeup and short-shorts skateboarding away into the night through the ancient Gothic buildings of Oxford. Poetic.
2. Internship! I started working at Nominet Trust last week. Nominet manages all of the domain names in the U.K., and Nominet Trust gives huge grants to Internet-related projects that increase Internet access, safety, and engagement for at-risk youth (among other populations). Bright side: wealth of information! Enthusiastic people! Downside: Not reaaally sure what I'm exactly doing yet. Working on that.
3. Rowing: We rowed all 8 people at once today! At 6 a.m. in the morning. Whooof that's early. We have a regatta in 3 weeks already which is terrifying. I have learned how to feather the blade (turn the blade flat when it's out of the water) but we're still rocking the boat all over when we row, which serves as good entertainment for the well-refined rowers who are out at the same time as us. Luckily there are other similarly struggling novices.
sidenote I find that when I have to wake up that early in the morning, I start dreaming that I didn't wake up in time and then something awful happened... and then my alarm will go off and I'll be unsure whether dream or real world is true. This morning I woke up in the middle of a dream that involved me missing rowing and then a zombie attack. Huh? I had to spend a couple of minutes sorting my life out.
4. Just so you know I do them schools: We had an 8-hour essay on Sunday. Got the writing prompt at 9, and then had to hand it in at 5. We had to critique a research paper in learning and technology. I hate to admit this, but although it was stressful and hectic I really enjoyed it. It was a strange time frame to have to produce a polished work in, but it was good to practice quick critical thinking and outlining points, which I'm sure is applicable in the real world.
In other news, I think I will start attempting to say "keen" more often. It's a big thing here. I did catch myself using "mate" the other day. Oh gosh. My brother is going to mock the crap out of me.
Frisbee mixed regionals this weekend! The notion of this is keeping me alive through my crazy-hectic week (for some reason my program doubled the number of classes this week... who does that). Cheerio!
Lisa
P.S. Hermione sighting update (because, let's be serious, that's all anyone's interested in really): My roommate saw her again at a lecture at the Oxford Union, but suspects she was with her boyfriend. Other sightings have been at restaurants and walking around. Lots of debate about whether she'd give out her phone number to a potential flirty male.
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