Saturday, November 25, 2006

Jump!

Because I have a 1055 page book to read by Monday and an essay to write on it by Tuesday, an audition to go for in an hour and the last show of Prometheus Bound in 7, I've decided now's the best time to put up (the good) photos of my first term. I'm hoping the coming week will produce much more, but for now:



Kay, Bhav and I before going to Soul Tree


Neha and I

Jon and I before the Great Court Run



Me, Debs and 2nd year Englishians, Matriculation Night



Darshan setting fireworks off outside our window on Diwali




Vidhi (yes she crashed), me and Nils on Halloween

Jan and I, Halloween. He had a cloak! And therefore was Legolas from LOTR.



Prometheus Bound...



After the show, 2nd night. That's jon on the right. He, Nils and Jan bully me all the time, sigh.


Right, that's all for now folks. This time next week I'll be in Heathrow, waiting for the flight home. See you soooooooooon :p


Friday, November 17, 2006

Content.

When really, I should be fretting over an essay. But all's good.

I've somehow managed to schedule myself a stupendously busy last two weeks...rehearsals every night till Monday, the play runs from Tuesday to Saturday, Advent Carol Service (which I'm serving in - I get to wear a server's robe woohoo!) on Sunday, Christmas Dinner on Monday, performing Handel's Messiah with the Trinity Singers on Wednesday, Fisher House Christmas Dinner on Thursday, PACK BAGS on Friday, leave Saturday morning, reach home Sunday.

The term's really flown by...but I feel like I've done a lot too, which is always a nice feeling.

What I meant to blog about was the fact that it's raining. Again. In fact, it hasn't stopped since I woke up (8.30. Too Early.) and doesn't look like it's stopping anytime soon. It is the purrrfect weather for curling up with a mug of chocolate and reading FOR FUN. Not that reading anything isn't fun. Just something that doesn't require me to think every two sentences would be nice for a change. But nooo. Due to my crazy weekend, I need to start on my essay TODAY. The madness.

I think I'll take a shower first though. And make me the hot chocolate anyway. And maybe treat myself to some double chocolate fudge. Woot.

He for God only, she for God in him

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Things I've figured out thus far.

1. I'm still not really a clubbing person. In fact, I'm not a clubbing person at all.
2. I enjoy alcohol. And getting a bit high. I still don't ever want to get smashed.
3. No amount of rationalisation is going to make a fling make sense to me.
4. I'm not really very good at being alone. But that doesn't mean I won't not go clubbing since everyone else is/jump into a relationship which doesn't even feel like a real friendship.
5. People not being clear with motives, not making up their minds about things and acting differently at different times, in different places and with different people are not worth my time. Or emotions.
6. The nicest seeming guys sometimes turn out to be the biggest bastards.
7. If someone says he will do some thing and then doesn't, chances are he's going to repeat it again. Stop giving second chances.
8. I really, really like lit. I could read forever.
9. Homesickness never actually goes away.
10. Sticking to your principles is a lot harder when you're the only one who holds them. And never as fulfilling as they say it'll be. But in retrospect, (I hope), worth it.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Enthralled.

What I love about this course is the actual amount of reading I'm able to do. And in DOING that reading, the absolutely fascinating things I'm able to discover. Today, it's St. Augustine's Confessions:

"But how can the future be diminished or absorbed when it does not yet exist? And how can the past increase when it no longer exists? It can only be that the mind, which regulates this process, performs three functions, those of expectation, attention, and memory. The future, which it expects, passes through the present, to which it attends, into the past, which it remembers. No one would deny that the future does not yet exist or that the past no longer exists. Yet in the mind there is both expectation of the future and remembrance of the past. Again, no one would deny that the present has no duration, since it exists only for the instant of its passage. Yet the mind's attention persists, and through it that which is to be passes towards the state in which it is to be no more. So it is not future time that is long, but a long future is a longexpectation of the future; and past time is not long, because it does not exist, but a long past is a long remembrance of the past."

Confessions, Chapter XI, Bk 28

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

'appenings.

<ting>: so i heard best friend. am proud. really

gave me a thrill of joy more than any amount of cider, jd and coke, cognac or southern whiskey with lemon and lime ever could.

I love you toot :)
2 minutes ago, I was 900 words through a 1500 word essay, and on a roll. Why then, you ask, are you blogging? WELL. It's because I have a sudden craving for fish and chips (which I have yet to have in jolly ol' England, surprise surprise). But not just any fish and chips. Nooo. My cravings are wont to avoid craving for anything remotely attainable. I want fish and chips from Swensons. An American restaurant no one here has heard of. And not any Swensons, either. I want, quite desperately, fish and chips from the Swensons in Changi Airport.

It's rather inconvenient. And muchly distracting.

Phooey.

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Of ice IN my blood

I love how one day we're all in t shirts with sweaters hung carelessly round our shoulders, and the next (literally, 24 hours later) everyone's wrapped up in triple layers, hands in gloves, necks muffled in (pretty pretty trinity) scarves and EAR MUFFS. Which I don't own, but are attractive anyway. Come to think of it, I don't own a trinity scarf either. 30 pounds is almost 90 sing dollars, damnit.

But it really IS getting colder, and to quote a nice, sweet comforting 2nd year: it doesnt get warm again till ohhh...APRIL. *sob. I hope it snows, just because if I have to endure this cold, I should get at least THAT much of a reward, shouldn't I? Am contemplating bringing out my red winter jacket, but it's RED, see, and immensely bulky. We'll see tomorrow. At some point life is going to have to take precedence over style. Before I turn blue would be a good point. And for those of you who think it can't be THAT cold, we get winds from SIBERIA. SIBERIA. S.I.B.E.R.I.A. I jest not.

Cold, let me tell you, is not conducive to productivity. Mainly because when one realises it is cold outside, one realises one would rather stay inside. And if outside is just outside one's covers, one then realises that one would much definitely prefer to be WITHIN one's covers, and promptly turns the alarm clock off, rolls over and goes back to sleep. One overslept by 3 hours today, which is a record, even for one. Even upon recognising that one had 20 minutes to be ready for lecture, it took one amazing amounts of will power to get OUT of bed, in full knowledge that one's toes were going to freeze (which they did). I've never looked forward to hot showers so much. And yes, daddy, if you're reading this, I said SHOWERS. There's nothing like being very very cold to persuade one that a very very warm shower would be a very very good idea. We've taken to hogging the showers, which is quite amusing really. And even when I HAVE gotten myself out of bed, and am curled up relatively warmly dressed in my tub chair (which is becoming quite the favourite position), my FINGERS are cold and I'm reduced to sitting on them till I get up enough will power (again) to make myself hot chocolate and warm my fingers thus. Which, naturally, makes it quite impossible to do other stuff with them. Other things being reading books, typing essays, and writing plans. Not good.

What IS good though, are my plans for the weekend. I've weasled myself out of an early morning run with Fiona (it's waaay too cold to run, I'm sorry. I'll stick to pilates in thermals, track pants and a sweater.), but have promised to go for breakfast for her in hall, which is really good. Cooked, HOT breakfast. I have cereal, otherwise. After which I'm gonna do work till 11, at which point I'm heading over to the chaplain's place to help set up her daughter's doll house. It's so PRETTY, and it's got everything...even cutlery and tiny flowers and stuff. Then MORE work, and then rag raids at 2. Then back to work until 7, when I'm meeting a whole bunch of people at Great Gate and we're going to the Midsummer Commons to watch the Guy Fawkes fireworks whoopeeee. And if we're lucky we might just be able to crash the free dinner the Christian Union is giving. Free food's always welcome. Sunday it's choir practice at 930, and Mass with the Papal Nuncio at 1115, after which it's work again till after dinner. THEN I'm going for a concert by the Dante Quartet, which promises to be a brilliant evening with pretty brilliant company. Whoop.

Right. Then it's monday, at which point I would (under normal circumstances) be having a full blown essay crisis. I've had 3, for 3 essays, and I don't intend for it to happen again because it is NOT FUN. Therefore, I will now take my leave, and attempt to finish reading the Duchess of Malfi AND The Spanish Tragedy tonight. Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeee :p

Oh and zid? I do NOT have an accent. Pfft.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Of ices and blood

Just got back from doing front of house for the anti-racist play of the year, In the Blood. It was...alright. Not too impressive...KC does a better job, really, but I'm just spoilt I think :p Basically it's about this woman who has 5 children with 5 different men, and ends up killing her favourite in a fit of anger and desperation. Uplifting stuff.

I'm sitting here enjoying my first ice cream since I GOT here (hazlenut toffee, free from the foh stint) and wondering how I'm gonna get through this week. Not that it's that much busier than the rest...just that now the more standard things are more or less settled in, lots of non-standard things are popping up. Like concerts and poetry readings, plays and dance classes (which I'm as yet undecided about), dinners and punting, wine and truffles, jd and coke.

Heh.

So it's just about midterm, and I still feel like I just got here, but also that I've been here forever. The cruel thing about having really short terms is that we end up being here only 6 months a year, and that's hardly enough. Yet that also means I get 6 months back home (working, tis true, but I'll be home), or at least 6 months not studying.

And now for five people who've elbowed their way into my stream of consciousness. Vidhi darling, I would honestly have died this weekend without you. Toot, happy birthday and I'm so sorry the card isn't there yet. Ajyt, you've no idea how nice it was to hear your voice over the line. And I miss you too mr. 'uh. hah. yeah. there i said it.' Shane please don't kill anyone, even if they ARE being pussies, and Nessa baby i looove you.

Tis all rather truncated, as is this post, but things are beginning to fall into place.

"Consider the position of sex in Jacobean comedy." Joy oh joy.