Occasional Notes

I realised, as I went to update, that I have been seriously negligent in explaining certain aspects of my life.

What I was going to say was: I'm in a hotel in Dorchester that unexpectedly has internet! Fortunately I have brought my laptop along due to my later plans for October half-term break. Oriana is learning to knit behind me and we're watching NCIS on tv. Fun!

Then I realised that A) I have never mentioned what my October half-term break plans are and, B) I have never explained ORIANA.

So. To begin with, the October half-term plans. Oriana and I have rented a car and are driving through southern England until about Tuesday morning. She picked me up at home this morning and we have wound our way down and west from London. We stopped at Fishbourne, a Roman palace. I took tons of pictures and bought a couple of resources to use when I start teaching the Romans next Monday.

We then drove on, quite intentionally going by way of exceptionally minor highways rather than the major routes in order to see more of England than the London city parts we've seen so far. The high point? The village of Cocking, which includes the Spread Eagle Hotel.

Oh, my.

We are going to continue on, wrapping around the south bits and looping up into Cornwall before cutting across and up to Cambridge for Tuesday morning. Oriana is then going to continue on while I stay in Cambridge and attempt to talk my way in to see the (*cue choirs of angels*) Stead papers. I'm heading back home by train Thursday night so that I can go into the school on Friday and sort out my classroom before I start teaching on Monday.

As for the explination of Oriana... Well, perhaps the short form, as I haven't got volumes to spare here. Oriana and I met when we were 11 years old. We met in a multi-school enrichment program in grade 4, then I switched elementary schools halfway through grade 5 and ended up in her class and we became good friends, which carried on until I moved provinces at the end of grade 9. We kept in contact but didn't see each other terribly often until we ended up in the same B.Ed. program this past year. We then independently decided to apply for positions in England through the same agency. I got my job at the end of June. Three days before school started in September, she was offered a position at the same school.

So. Here we are. In a hotel room in Dorchester. I am checking my email, she is learning to knit. It is now CSI on tv.

Happy birthday, ink_stain!

Sadly, I have no birthday facemash picture for you (yet).

In the meantime, I am pleased that you were born.

*tosses confetti*

Going to Toronto to visit lies_d and attend the Great Canadian Geekfest. Much fun will be had. Whee!

eta: Oh, hell, I meant to do laundry today. Ah, well.

Thesis Progress Update:

Introduction: Historiography
Chapter 1: Stead's Editorial Theory
Chapter 2: General Gordon
Chapter 3: Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon
Conclusion: Titanic

Total word count at this point: 44,384
Final draft due in to thesis supervisor: tomorrow
Final draft due in to the department: a week tomorrow
Cups of coffee purchased and consumed today: six
Number of those cups that contained decaf: one

Number of annoying cats on my lap, licking my elbow, resting the full of their not-inconsiderable weight on my forearm, stepping on my ovaries, and otherwise making it both painful and difficult to type: 1

In other news, I really need to try to stop thinking about the Tour de France now and go back to thinking about Stead. The Tour's over. It's time for me move on.

lazlet and the_oscar_cat, I want you both to know that I blame you two entirely for my current difficulties with concentration.

...how many days until the next Tour, exactly? And what does one do to fill the time in between?

Last night I dreamed I moved into Apsley House. lazlet and blythely came over while I was unpacking and trying to figure out where to put my things so that they wouldn't disrupt the careful museum displays. We had coffee at the table around which the Waterloo Banquets were held.

I was rather disappointed to wake up in my very own apartment, nice though it is.

And I am a huge geek.

In other news, GAH, morning, coffee, face, nnnasgkn.

I lost my keys at the university yesterday.

Which makes life exciting.

I met up with lmondegreen and fajrdrako for an evening of Smallville and me ranting at great length about General Gordon (just because the chapter went in doesn't mean, apparently, that I'm ready to let it go), and salad and chicken. Fantastic night. Except for the keys thing.

So, anyway, mcee decided to enjoy her social life at a most inconvenient moment, and wasn't home to give me my spare set of keys, which I gave her after the last time I got locked out. Fortunately, lmondegreen loves me and took me in so that I didn't have to sleep on the street. Instead I got to sleep in lmondegreen's lovely library, surrounded by books.

Now I am back at the university and hope to find my keys. I also hope that my bike, which I rode in yesterday, didn't get stolen after I had to leave it here overnight. Not being able to unlock it without my keys, you see.

Life is a series of small adventures. I hope my keys are where I think they are. Sooner or later the cats are going to want to be fed again, after all.