sunday, 30 november 2003

overheard: "i'm orally fixated. my uncle tells me that all the time" -amy

first sunday in advent, eh? ps, i can start playing my christmas music now. HURRAH. i'm sure marie is even more excited. rick: not so much. where did thanksgiving weekend go? i really need to do thanksgiving properly next year. mmmm. stuffing. OH. so this party last night. i met a charming woman named jess, who lived at the house. and hosted the alternaparty on the stairs. which is to say the gilbert and sullivan society had taken over the downstairs. don't ask. but yes, they're not a particularly attractive society. you didn't hear that from me. well, everything was fine until george came along. george is one of jess's housemates. with charms equal to jess's, but more in that rabid squirrel in a rage sort of way. she kicked chris. she moved our stair party into the kitchen. she was generally unpleasant. and that's all i have to say about that. also, despite my best efforts, i was half-productive yesterday. and why is it so sunny? blech.

saturday, 29 november 2003

overheard: "quick. i'm sucking" -nick. in the toilet.

drunken madness at the jcr guest dinner last night. but fun drunken madness. i got yelled at for texting in hall. but i was all gussied up, so it didn't matter too awfully much. it's a rainy saturday. which means pyjamas and reading in bed for me. hurrah. congrats to dr porterfield on the new addition to his family. exciting times. i had a dream the other night that fan lake had become really built up as camp reed tried to become more 'profitable.' and then it became toronto. but back to camp reed: it had become a grooming ground for intolerable children, indoctrinating them to believe that only people who went to top tier universities had any claim to intelligence. bah. last night i had a wierd dream, too, but i can't recall it now. back to being lazy.

friday, 28 november 2003

overheard: "is this turkey?" -sean, at dinner last night

no. it wasn't turkey. but speaking of turkey, the turkey bowl was a huge success. adam declared (humbly) that laura and i were the MVPs. he really ought to have added himeself. we were an unstoppable force of coolness. we opened beers on a nail in a tree. we were just that cool. the university parks are very pretty. i'll have to go wander there sometime. a bit far away, though. highlight of the day: snapple and lots of spark quizzes with jack to get me out of a funk.

thursday, 27 november 2003

overheard: "is it a date?" -randerson

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! well well well, how jealous am i of katie and allison d and allison l and mandahouse and amelia and brandon. and, well, everyone having a proper holiday. we're having the annual rhoscho turkey bowl this afternoon. it's mar very cold, i tell you. but i think i'm up for it. i really want to write this badass historiography chapter. maybe that's what this weekend is for. mmmmmm. writing. in other news? i wish i had family bread for brunch this morning. and my life is boring. oh. kathleen (indiana, not washington) came to dinner at chch last night. that was wonderful. i hadn't seen her since halloween.

wednesday, 26 november 2003

overheard: "and so i ran away" -lindsey, recalling her interaction yesterday with the ever-so-popular warden of rho.ho.

right. um. today is a reading day. i have to get away from this computer. it eats my time. on that note, i'll post more tomorrow. safe travels to everyone bustling about for the holiday weekend. i miss you all.

tuesday, 25 november 2003

overheard: "joe: loves to pull out"

ooooh. a month until christmas. what does it mean that i haven't even started thinking about christmas shopping yet. oh. yeah. i remember. my second stipend check hasn't arrived yet. ha. i should start thinking about that stuff. i have no idea what work i'm going to do today. maybe start figuring out what contemporary printed sources i can use for that chapter? sounds like...um...fun? aight. brakfeast.

monday, 24 november 2003

overheard: "i actually need to poop myself" -jack

"why," you may be asking yourself, "isn't anthony at the bod already?" it being 10.30 on a monday morning and all. well, you see, i didn't go to the gym before breakfast today, so i went after breakfast. and now i've just returned. remind me to tell you about bgb sometime. really. pie for dinner last night. that was lovely. and i began sorting the cards for my first little part of my big bad thesis. catholic mass in the chch cathedral tonight. hurrah. ok. i should shower.

sunday, 23 november 2003

overheards: "keep your knees together" -mom
"people of oxford, take heed: a scarf does not an outfit make" -wadham toilet stall

painfully productive saturday. today it's rainy. just got back from brunch. the chances of me leaving my room betwen now and dinner: slim to none. chances of me knitting and/or napping: quite high. sundays rule. oxford rules. i was grumpy last night. not now, though. oh. they picked the new rhodents last night. no hoyas, sadly. but two stanford kids, two BC kids (bc's first rhodes scholars ever). and one woman from the UW. so that's exciting. ok. back to avoiding work.

saturday, 22 november 2003

overheard: "i think my printer is gay" -an oldie from ian.

hmm. yesterday blah blah. indian food for dinner. blah blah. oh! fun invasion of privacy book. that was great. so great. christmas gift for everyone. ever. talked to brandon on the phone for quite a bit yesterevening. tonight: black tie gcr guest dinner. with kathleen. i'll take pictures. hot. um. that's all for now. i need to call mr anderson and mr williams this weekend. oh. HURRAH. my dad's little medical thing went well yesterday. yay. aight. later.

friday, 21 november 2003

overheard: "i'm going to tell you two stories. i hope you like them, but they're both about dead babies" -merton college front quad

sorry about the lack of an update yesterday. i have no excuse for it. sorry. i've decided poststructural theory is like a tongue ring...if you're good at what you do in the first place, it can help you out with a few new tricks. if you were awful beforehand, it's just going to make it more awkward for the person on the other end. and that's what i have to say about that. i'm reaching sorta a crisis point in my work...i've made it through the bulk of my reading for my historiography. which means i have to start thinking about my actual reasearch, instead of just criticising what other people have done. so, yeah. kinda worried about that.

wednesday, 19 november 2003

quote of the day: "It cannot be rational under our laws, and indeed it is not permitted, to penalize children by depriving them of State benefits because the State disapproves of their parents' sexual orientation." -mass. supreme court

yes, so. that's great. i'm damn thrilled about that decision. the problem, of course, being that now every 'christian' this side of salvation will jump on the marriage is between one man and one woman bandwagon. and then i'll have to move to canada. bush, i predict, will speak out in favor of a marriage amendment to the federal constitution. now, whatever your feelings on gay marriage, the very idea of writing discrimination into the constitution is purely and objectively abhorrent. ARGH. ok. that's enough from me for right now. i'm headed to the gym. where i saw a girl from USD lifting yesterday and locking her knees while doing that squat thing. and all i could think was "ack. that's so bad for you." eek. scary day.

tuesday, 18 november 2003

overheard: "we'd have so much fun together, except not in bed" -joe. hearsay.

so yeah. days have started to get soft edges and slip into one another. i had a moderately productive day yesterday. nothing too crazy. and i avoided getting yelled at for not wearing a tie to dinner by keeping my scarf arround my neck until after i got through the line. whoo. remember the garbage goat? yeah, me too. remember the garbage goat haiku? i can't wait for christmas. oh. state rhodes socials this evening. good luck, kids.

monday, 17 november 2003

overheard: "oh, that is me! i thought it was a palm tree." -an old favorite from mom

mondays are for working. i need to start getting up earlier. i wish bench presses didn't give me a splitting headache. how much do i like breakfast? so much. i had two brunches and two dinners yesterday. it was almost like i was home again. aw. give me a month, and i will be. hurrah.

sunday, 16 november 2003

overheard: "straight is just gay minus a beer" -jack

woke up in a mood this morning. but then had (dense) pancakes and my standard breakfast. and now i'm a bit better. gonna walk to iffley village, i think. in an effort to continually avoid work. saw dr archer at the gym yesterday. that's a very town of george experience. must...work. that's what weekdays are for, perhaps. england are headed to the rugby world cup finals, so that's fun. and a week from today we'll learn who the new rhodents are. VERY fun. poor kids. maybe my family will call me tonight. that would be nice. hint hint.

saturday, 15 november 2003

overheard: "i can only feel it in my left butt cheek" -brian

yeah. aight. talked to katie marie last night for a long while that was, as always, great. had a good meeting with archer. only got two more book recs from him, compared to the normal 15. so i'm pretty pumped. the talk thing was...mad. freudian, too. i got a nice email yesterday suggesting i offer chch a new website. admittedly, there's is pretty lame. 1996 will do that to you. today: the bod? and brunch, of course. hopefully a little working out, as well, but i managed to hurt my left baby toe last night. don't know how that happened.

friday, 14 november 2003

overheard: "i'm never sober" -jack

so. jazz drinks last night: a success. i had to sneak away, though, because chris kept insisting i join some folks going to the bridge. and i was in no state to be going out. so i came home and passed...out. yeah. but this morning i woke up in a splendid mood. i'm meeting with dr archer at 16.45 and then we're going to a lecture together entitled, "boys will be boys: the childhoods of charles the first and oliver cromwell." try telling me early modern history isn't fun. i think it's going to be a chill weekend. i really have no motivation to do anything other than study. but we'll see. i'm so easily distracted, after all.

thursday, 13 november 2003

overheard: "we've decided to phase you out." -joe

yeah. don't know why i didn't update yesterday. maybe because tuesday was oppressively boring. two high points of tuesday: we've decided to organize a rhodent game of assassins. and sue meng came to chch dinner. oh. and tuesday at the turf. last night we had a hoya night at the turf. good times. familiar faces. there are a large number of gtown folks at this lil school o' mine. so yeah. ummm. core seminar today. you know what that means: digestives and tea. mmmmm. yatta. oh. this is funny. kudos to sean for sending me that link. ok. enough from me. i'm a lazy waste of space who didn't work out at all yesterday. blah on me. OH. major ps... remember nam, of georgetown fame? a hot tipper called me from dc last night (i know!) to tell me that he is now as gay as the day is long. as ian-julian said yesterevening, "well, i guess he's not in ROTC anymore."

tuesday, 11 november 2003

overheard: "i would love law school if i could always be studying naked" -shannon, of course

remembrance day. they say only 26 of the british men who fought in the first world war are still alive. and that last year it was 42. an era is passing. i spent a lot of time at the bod yesterday. doing some good reading. downloading some good articles. life is good. i have to get to the gym. i like breakfast. i need to find someone to life with next year. didn't i have this crisis during my first year at georgetown, too? argh. i hate this. i just want a single study bedroom in college. that's it. none of this sharing. or being far away. is it so difficult, really? aight. gonna jet. have a good one.

monday, 10 november 2003

overheard: "you should just meet a twelve-year-old" -jennifer

yesterday was a hangover day. i wasn't hung over, but whatever. london was fun. the people who control access to the british library are mean. i ate thai food twice. i spent way too much money. so this week is thrifty week. or something. brunch yesterday was overrun with non chch'ers. i queued for 30 minutes. not ok. and dinner was horrendous. so hopefully today will be more gastronomically satisfying. today: to the gym and back to the bod. and working on stow. and maybe getting through another book or two. oh. and jack hid in my closet the other day and jumped out at my, trying to give me a heart attack. before i realized who it was, i had punched him in the face and kicked him in the crotch. i stand by my behavior.

saturday, 8 november 2003

overheard: "tell your mom i can't make out with her" -jack

going to london for the day. hurrah. i forgot to mention that thursday they watered tom quad, and thursday night fog rose off the quad in a very beautiful way. very oxford. i enjoyed that. i'm late, and i got denied taters at dinner last night, so brunch here i come.

friday, 7 november 2003

overheard: "what does god want with a dad cat?" -the dean

free wine at dinner last night. you know i was all over that. went to the old tom pub afterwards, because the bear was full like whoa. ran into heidi and john on the walk up. that was nice. today i am determined to be more productive than i was yesterday, even if that means, ummmm, i don't know. going to the bod? but i do that every day. going to the bod and working in earnest? ok. perhaps. i couldn't engage with my seminar last night, and i had to leave early to make it to chch's corporate communion, which was fun. i don't know if i've ever been to a prot communion service. so hurrah for new experiences. today: the gym, the lunch, the bod, the tea, the supervision, the dinner, the...reading? tomorrow: a londra!

thursday, 6 november 2003

overheard: "i could be a crack whore" -juliet

in my dream last night, i was hanging out with my new baby cousins (there are so many of them, you know), and the one who was 20 days old was carrying on quite and engaging conversation about how unsophisticated the 1-day-old (who doesn't actually exist was). and i thought, "wow. you're 20 time older than his is. and i'm 400 times older than you." and then in another part of a dream a bengal tiger was eating apples, and i was afraid they'd make it ill. everyone pray for my former office mate laurie, who is having a big tumor removed next tuesaday. yeah. scary. it's pie day. hurrah. i need to go pick up my dry cleaning. it's also corporate communion tonight, and i have my seminar. and i want to swing by the train station to pick up a young persons' rail card. why is life so darn busy? oh. wait. it's not. i tried to call beckers, yesterday, but failed. it was wierd. no voicemail, even. but i succeeded in talking to ms lowell for almost an hour. and that was just lovely. ok. i need to go take a shower, &c. fireworks scary me. i think jvc ruined that for me for life, anyway. OH. new pictures posted yesterday in the uk gallery, including one from coming up dinner.

wednesday, 5 november 2003

guy fawkes
overheard: "at least you have all yourt teeth" -sean, though he doesn't remember saying it to gretchen while she was sick after coming up dinner

got a great email from my mom this morning. had a great dream last night: my dad was visiting england, and we had pizza. and we went to get me a haircut. then we went over the border into toronto (must have been a big bridge). and went to this big scary castle-ish building that was clearly run by the jesuits. i thought it was an island, but it turned out to be right on a downtown street that the queen was parading down. she stopped to tell me that she like nelson mandela's shoes, and that sometimes she wishes she got to wear hip shoes. then we all went to pizza again. i'm detecting a pizza theme. maybe i should make a little trip to the all you can eat lunch at pizza hut. i went to the turf last night. that was a lot of fun. i wish i saw more of them more often. goodness gracious! i almost forgot the most important part of yesterday: i got cookies from my mom. and ingratiated myself to the porters by giving them some. and i got to play with real old books. one of them was acquired by the bodleian in 1782. i love being an historian.

tuesday, 4 november 2003

overheard: "tell her to quit talking or i'll take her clothes off" -robin

it's an 8 book day. not for reals, but i have to at least look at 8. and eat lunch. i'm hongry. i missed breakfast. i'm all over the bod lower res this afternoon. what else? i'm a tad homesick. not that i don't love it here. it's just like that ani difranco quote, though: strangers are exciting. their mystery never ends. but there's nothing like looking at your own history in the faces of your friends. so that's where i am, i suppose. i have the blessed liberties to sustain me. hurrah hurrah for history. it's my life. methinks i may go to london saturday and wander around by myself. it's seeming very appealing.

monday, 3 november 2003

overheard: "of course he's a virgin. he believes in god" -amy

i had a dream last night in which marianna (a fellow rhodent) got pregnant and asked my parents to look after her baby so she could move to japan to play pool. yeah. and then my parents decided they'd move to LA, and i was none to happy about this little idea. but i went to see the house they were buying and decided that it was okay, cuz the house was so damn cool. engaged in a little examen last night. i wish i were better about doing that. i miss my family. talked to becky for a bit last night. that was very very nice. went to the bear (a pub here founded in 1242). and had a bitter and a lager. apparently i'm a northern man, cuz i liked the bitter better. oh, beer taste test.

sunday, 2 november 2003

overheard: "i couldn't even get it in my mouth and it was just boring" -jack

devi and i were going to head to london today, but decided against it at the last minute. went to latin mass (matin lass) this morning. good homily. used a communion rail. how queer. in completely unrelated news, i had a very good green drink at freud last night. and a bad pizza. but not at freud. anyway. it's AMAZING out today. so pretty. i need to go work out. went to the port meadow yesterday. hmmm. what else? oh. friday night i climbed over a wall in a tux. how often will i do that in my life, really?

saturday, 1 november 2003

overheard: "do you know what a drag queen is?" -rhodes scholar to rhodes trustee
"she's german. (drops to whisper) don't mention the war." -some woman at the coming up dinner

happy all saints day. the coming up dinner was, in fact, crazy fun. i got a great picture of the warden plowing his way through a picture i was clearly taking of other folks. very typical. i'd put it up on my website but my graphics software is on the fritz, so y'all will just have to wait. ok. i'm off to the gym to run off last night's wine. cheers.