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

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

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.

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

'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.

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.

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.

A day in the life.

Just so you can all laugh at me.

Woke up today at 7, turned the alarm clock off and slept till 9. Woke up in a panic and made it down IN TIME to meet the other englishians at the great gate for our lecture at 10. I was quite impressed with myself. Lectures were brilliant, as usual. We did Freud today in the Intro to 20th and 21st Century Lit Theory lecture, and the concept of England and Englishness in our Renaissance theme one. Then I head back for lunch in college.

The Plan was to work till 430, and then go punting (google it) with a bunch of the englishians. So we work, yes, then make our way to The Backs, where the punts are. Only to find that they've CLOSED it, because it LOOKED like it was going to rain. Pfft. So I go off to Deborah's room (I should really get down to uploading pictures, shouldn't I), and read till dinner. Which was...some fish thing. It being Friday.

And THEN I go back to my room to work again (I know, exhilarating.) till 9ish, when I go down to the college bar for a nice light drink. Light. Had 2. Was nice. And THEN fiona and I get convinced by these three silly boys, one from Trinity, one from Kings and one from Queens (these are all colleges in Cambridge, yes.) to go night punting. NIGHT PUNTING. So we did.

Which was fine, till silly boy from Trinity decides he wanted to punt. And only tells us after he's swapped with original punter (boy from Kings) that he's never done it before. So, naturally, at some point before Clares' bridge, he loses the punt pole. And we have to paddle with our HANDS to find it. Bear in mind, darlings, that it's FREEZING. And pitch black. Our HANDS. In unknown waters. We found it, amazingly enough. But were also very wet, because at some point the punt had tilted, and, again quite naturally, water had come in. So all our jeans were SOAKED. As you can imagine, it was cold. And wet. Did I mention cold?

Survived, though. And am now in my room, after a nice WARM bath, swaddled with a sweater and socks and a nice WARM mug of milk. I think I shall sleep early tonight. Going running tomorrow at 730 with Fiona. Should be fun.

The LAST time I went running here (day before yesterday) was NOT so fun, because stupid me agreed to go with jon and jon (yes, yes. pictures.). They tried to KILL me. Well no. Jon didn't. The other Jon did. Never again.

So yes. Sleep calls. My bed's looking deliciously WARM. And Vidhi's coming tomorrow, whoop! Halloween party tomorrow night as well. What should I go as...hmm.

Lord, how should I pray?

Our Father, Who art in Heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done
on Earth, as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and
Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those
who trespass against us.

Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

Amen.

Someone please teach him proper spelling.

"In thee obseruation of quantitees of syllables, soom happlye wyl bee so stieflie tyed too thee ordinaunces of thee Latins, as what shal seeme too swarue from theyre maximes, they wyl not stick too skore vp for errours."

Help.

Bloody Greeks.

Granted, this is Marlowe's take on the story. I'm much amused,and thus quite disturbed at myself.

Dido: Live, false Aeneas! Truest Dido dies;
Sic, sic juvat ire sub umbras. (So, so, it is my choice to go beneath the shades_

Throws herself into the flames.

Anna: O, help, Iarbas! Dido in these flames
Hath burnt herself! Ay me, unhappy me!

Iarbas: Cursed Iarbas, die to expiate
The grief that tires upon thine inward soul! -
Dido, I come to thee. - Ay me, Aeneas!

Kills himself.

Anna: What can my tears or cries prevail me now?
Dido is dead!
Iarbas slain, Iarbas my dear love!
O sweet Iarbas, Anna's sole delight!
What fatal Destiny envies me thus,
To see my sweet Iarbas slay himself?
But Anna now shall honour thee in death,
And mix her blood with thine. This shall I do,
That gods and men may pity this my death,
And rue our ends, senseless of life or breath:
Now, sweet Iarbas, stay! I come to thee.

Kills herself.

And the idiot Aeneas who caused this whole suicide orgy sails away to become the founder of Rome. Bah.

Hello, friend.

Greetings from Trinity College, Cambridge. To those I promised to write to but havn't yet, I WILL, soon. I've only just about settled down and am slowly getting into the rhythm of things. (Things being wake up, bathe, make breakfast, convince self to go out of warm room, do whatever, lunch, try as much as possible to go back to warm room in between doing things that must be done, figuring out how to do dinner if hall is closed and, for the last couple of nights, go for fresher social stuff. Which is as detailed as I'm going to be about my after-dinner activities. No, I havn't touched alcohol, and no, that hasn't caused any detriment to my social life. Am quite pleasantly surprised really.)

Let's start from the very beginning shall we? (A very good place to start. When you read you begin with etc.) Arrived in Cambridge Tuesday morning...slept most of the flight, and much of the coach ride too. Stayed in a b&b in milton for 2 nights, and moved in on thursday. My room's tiny, but it's cosy. It's kind of like a small rectangular box. My bed's on the length, and it just about reaches the door, which is centimeters from the end of the lenght, and my bed's just right for me. Anyone taller than 1.65m would probably have cold toes in the morning. Either that or a cramp in their back. So that's an illustration of the length. It's got white sheets, with a maroon duvet. Looks kinda like my bed at home, so I was comfortable there almost immediately. Next to my bed is a little table with a lamp on it, and next to THAT is a bookcase, which slowly but surely will be filled with books I'm discovering :) So that covers the breadth. Parallel to my bed is my writing desk, and a nice tub chair...kinda like a sofa, but for one person. There's a smaller desk next to it, that's where I usually put the mac when I'm working on it, cuz it's next to the window and I get some nice sunlight. So from where I'm sitting: behind me's the wardrobe, and next to that's a cupboard containing a sink, and shelves where I've put detergent and stuff. Oh and between the cupboard and wardrobe is a fridge and a couple of shelves. I now have expired milk and stale bread in each, respectively. Must remember to eat/drink things before they go bad.

There are 6 people on my corridor, 3 on each side...3 girls and 3 boys, but I hardly ever see one of the girls. It's pretty cool, we've had corridor dinners (one of which was side-splittingly disastrous) and stuff. It's been social after social since I arrived, so I do know quite a few people by name, and quite a few more by face. International freshers' week was brilliant, and it's probably the reason why I'm as comfortable here as I am. And whoever said the British weren't friendly probably never attended a uni freshers' week, cuz everyone's trying to make friends (being alone and feeling lost gives one great incentive to do so) and as such are almost unfailingly friendly. Almost. Of course, it helps when there's alcohol around, and it's usually pretty amusing, but even when sober...

Okay, so where things to do with the reason why I'm here (which is to study, yes) are concerned, I met my director of studies, also known as a DOS today. And lectures start friday, whoopeee. No I'm serious. After a week of fresher social stuff, it's stabilizing to actually have real work to do. And real work I do have, since I need to read the Iliad by Monday. Woot. Oh and analyse some pc stuff too. Yay lit.

Signed up for a thousand and one societies, but will probably end up just going for the Amateur Dramatic Club and Fisher Society, which is the Catholic society here. In fact auditions for plays start this sat, so things are happening pretty fast.

Still need to read Paradise Lost. Eek.

Alright, this part is for those of you who came to send me off at the airport on Monday. You guys have no idea how much it meant to me. Everytime I'm minutely down, I look at the pictures we took and cheer up. So for your viewing pleasure:









Gosh I've put on weight, havn't I. Oh well. Have lost some since I arrived. Must be all the walking I'm doing...Cambridge is a lot bigger than it sounds. For example. last night after a party at the Soul Tree Club we decided to walk a friend back to Newnham College despite warnings of its distance, because our adrenaline-pumped selves didn't think far would be QUITE that far. Feet havn't quite forgiven me yet. And my body clock hates me. Regardless of the time I actually fall asleep, it WILL wake me up at 7am. Sharp. And there's only so much lying in bed hoping to fall back asleep one can do before one gives up and rolls out of bed to bathe. Sigh.

I'm doing great you guys, so don't worry. I have rough days (sorry zid), but in general, it's a brilliant experience. And I'll live. And learn.



With love, from Cambridge.

Bop-shoo-bop-ba-bop-bop-shoo-wop

Marking is oooooooover. Yes I know it's my fault it took so long. But over it is, and that's the point. On my itunes radio search I found a Beatles radio station

And it's making me very happy :)

Right. So today I will clear up my study room, and actually officially pack my bags. (So that I can reclaim my paternally confiscated nano and books. I can't believe he did that. Pfft.)

Things I still need to do: Get my matriculation outfit, buy supply of stationary, transfer songs to my ipod, get photos of people I want photos of (which is harder than it sounds when you have camera-phobic bozos as people you want photos of), get all the letters and certificates and receipts I should get cleared cleared. And more. Which as of now I can't remember. Woot.

Heeeyyyy Juuuuuude

Post #200

"Welcome to unteenagedom". So says Alicia of the "argh noooo it's Val nooo go away" fame. Kinda miss 4/7, now that I think about it, heh.

Anyway. Aaron you FORGOT. I'm hurt, distraught, destroyed,miffed, shattered, etc.

Here's how my marking stands: I've finished ALL comprehensions, AQs and journal entries. I've only got 2 classes of essays left to mark. I'm very proud of myself. I still want that snow patrol cd.

I've only got 10 days left. That's not much time now,is it? Here's how I've spent my week. On monday I spent a beautiful beautiful day with tootsie. We explored arab street! And discovered this quaint little punk record store (haha quaint little punk). And had a flaming platter in Manhatten Fish Market, which I'll be bringing you to nessa. Argh why is there no end key on the mac. It's quite impossible to describe days out with toot. Things just happen and we're just there and it's just perfect. Haha yes babe actually we do sound like a couple when talking about this huh haha. I loooooooove you.


Tuesday I had lunch with aaron. Yes aaron, the ingrate who has ONCE AGAIN forgotten my birthday. How hard is it to remember you tell me? (Yes, you yazid.) I like Essential Brew. Everybody, if at a loss for new,reasonable place to eat in Holland V, go to Essential Brew. Oh and their cheesecakes are to DIE for. The clown has me hooked on Terry Pratchett. Bad timing, seeing as I've yet to start on any book in my reading list. Hoho ohh I'm screwed.

Then it was meeting family friends tuesday night, my godpa on wednesday, Mime wednesday night and Forbidden City as a treat for my birthday.

FORBIDDEN CITY.
BLOODY AWESOME.

Cute actors too hehe I'm keeping the programme.

Today? Today was spent marking what I hadn't finished marking intermittently on buses and trains in the last 2 weeks, and meeting Uncle Philip and Aunty Jenny, who've a daughter studying hospitality in Switzerland. I think it calmed my mum down a little. I hope. After that...marking again. Gonna have to leave to meet Hafiz and Dhana soon though.

Edit at 11.34pm: Hafiz and Dhana and Ivan and Alex and Royston and Yazid. Much fun :)

Eek chasing cars thankyoushanethankyoushane

You know, I havn't quite dealt with the fact that I'm leaving yet. I mean, I've been meeting people everyday, and will be till the day I leave. The time in between I'm marking (yes I know my fault I'm slow sighhh.) and running mini errands. I havn't packed, havn't compiled an address book. Havn't written notes I wanted to write, havn't bought books I need to buy. Don't have a matriculation outfit, havn't planned what I want to bring for my room. Havn't taken pictures, don't have many pictures. Havn't opened my nano or imported songs into my mac. Don't have accomodation for the first day I'm there since Trinity'll only be ready on the 27th. (That's a valid panicNOW point right there.) I'm not prepared. Mentally or physically or emotionally. There's this dull throbbing fear, in combat with a bright clear 'don't WORRY you'll be FINE'. Which is beginning to sound brightly, clearly brittle. My brain hasn't quite come to terms with the fact that, aside from the seniors and fellow freshers I've met at various cumsa things in the last couple of weeks, and that's not many and I'm bad at names/faces (most people are bad at names OR faces. I'm bad at BOTH.) I'll know no one there. Which is fine, really. I don't usually have too hard a time making friends. But. It's still scary. Scare stories of unfriendly british kids don't help either. OHwell I suppose it's not much good worrying. Life rockz et al.

Right. That's about it then. Not vaguely poetic, this second centurial post. But then I'm not feeling vaguely poetic, just blog-ish. I shall go now. Toodeloo.






She's a must to avoid, a complete impossibility. ~The Herman's Hermits

hsajfkhldsafhjklalhrwerewajdsfjadksvnjvjadsfa;jfiwejrlasjdflkjvlafmslkafjlkjag;lkfjaelwjrkljvcmv,andksfjal;kdfjlk;jeklwaejalk;djvcknz
jkl;adjsfkl;jdkl;fjl;kaejfl;kdjkl;dslfksdmkladsm;lkjasdgkl;fj;lskdfjkls;afj;lakdskjfakl;dj
sdkafhjkladshfkalsdjfl;afakal;jal;jekl;jfklds;mvlkmvlkamds;lfkdsj;lffkl;jals;dfjkl;adjsfl;kasdjf
fsadjkfsadkfjl;kadsjfl;kadfjlkd;ajfl;asdfjlds


"The temptation to swear has never been so great. Amazing isn't it. Cut me off from online, virtual existence, and I wanna curse msn to extinction. Which would be cutting off my nose to spite my face, because then I'll never get back on msn. Bloody fish head curry mutton drain sweeper foooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooosh. I know I'm plagiarizing, za. Sorry. But desperate times call for desperate measures. Growl."
(Me, September last year)


Ditto.



argh.

Zippedeedoodahhhh

(no, shane, i did not.)

am blogging on my pretty new white macbook, yippeeee.

A couple of things irk me about it though. The lack of 'home' and 'end' keys, for one, and the glaring absence of the 'delete' key. My tendency to constantly rephrase things I type makes it very annoying to have to rely on the paltry arrow keys to move around in my document.

Tried safari for a couple of days, and decided I still prefer Firefox. Tabs are addictive.

I need to find those mac stickies. Or is someone pulling my leg again?

Time flies, doesn't it. It's the 9th tomorrow, and I'm spending most of it at Sentosa. Am struggling to finish marking the kids' scripts in time. I really do feel bad, I know how annoying it is to have done essays and not get them back quickly. No excuses, will finish it. *nods. (And that snow patrol cd bribe is working too, heh.)

I realised that I spent most of my life just experiencing, and am only now able to synthesize and make sense of 'life', in the general sense of the word. I remember reading a poem sometime last year that expressed it perfectly. Something about a girl and water...I think it was Plath. Or maybe not. Gahhhh it's bugging me.

Not really in a blogging mood...going to go finish off a class of essays now. whoop. sigh.

Free Fallin'

She’s a good girl,loves her mamma, loves je -sus, and america

too.
She’s a good girl, crazy ‘bout elvis, loves horses,
and her boyfriend too.
And it's a long day, livin’ in
reseda, there’s a freeway, runnin’ thru the yard
And i’m a
bad boy, ‘cause i don’t even miss her, i’m a bad boy, for
breaking her heart
And i'm free, free falling.
Yeah
i'm free, free falling.
And all the vampires
walkin' through the valley move west down ventura
Boulevard.
And all the bad boys are standin' in the
shadows, and the good girls
Are home with broken hearts.

I wanna glide down over mulholland i wanna write her
name in the sky.
I'm gonna free fall out into
nothin', gonna leave this world for a while.

19 days to go Val.

September's Child

September's skies are sapphire hue;
Blue gentians star the woods at morn
Near crystal pools in woodland aisles -
In this bright month a Queen was born.

No silver fanfare filled the air
As angel wings flashed round the child;
No crown was placed upon her head,
But at her halo, Heaven smiled.

October's trees wear rosaries
Of gold and scarlet, green and brown,
And as the west wind fingers them
The Ave-leaves drift slowly down.

May raises high her blossom-shrines
Where bird-choirs sing their wood-notes wild,
But both these months pay homage to
A blue-gowned Queen - September's child.

Sr. Maryanna
Robert, Cyril. Mary Immaculate: God's Mother and Mine. Poughkeepsie, NY: Marist Press, 1946.

So September's here, and along with it a myriad of emotions. Keep me, dear Mother, in your care.

You see, the problem with choice, in my case, is that I'm not very good at choosing. I feel bad for inanimate objects.

So here are my options.

Mark all essays first.
Mark all compres first.
Mark one batch of essays alternated with one batch of compres.

And then there's which batch should I start with. Seeing as I must MUST return it to the kids by (eek.) tomorrow.