It is, once again, tipping it down outside. This is getting a bit much - even for the north of England. I'm hoping this isn't a new trend: June as a 'rainy season'. I've been trying to wait out the heaviest rain to walk up to campus, but it doesn't seem to be working. I think even our house-cats are feeling the weather as they are more sluggish than usual.
Those of you who follow British politics will know that Gordon Brown gets the keys to no. 10 this week. I'm not sure what difference it will make - or how long Brown will last as PM. This article from MacLean's magazine, however, is not right - or rather it is too far right. Yes, the stats are correct I'm sure - but it amounts to a tacit support of David Cameron's Conservatives. It's a bit uncanny how much this feels like the situation Canada was in when Martin's Liberals were booted out - the scandal, the country described as going to the dogs in the popular press, the suddden about-face in politics and BANG we've got stephen-bloody-harper. I fear the same thing will happen here.
The one problem we don't have in this house is leaks - a fact I'm very glad of in this weather...
Monday, June 25, 2007
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Those days...
Set the wrong alarm and missed my morning run - I feel especially stupid about that as it was a route that I suggested. And I have this nagging fear that the Fleet will simply think I've dogged out. THEN as I was leaping out of bed to get to my mobile, I stepped on my glasses, which Laila had knocked, with my bedtime-novel, to the floor. Luckily they are titanium - a matter of little force applied and they are mostly back in shape. I really should get new glasses. Will have to fill out new low-income application to NHS - will get to that today...
It's Open Day at the school today so the campus is absolutely rammed full of pre-university aged people (the worst kind - even below university students); my sacred library space trespassed continuously with boorish, messy, unfeeling candidates and their parents. Yes, I am being unfair. The campus has been so lovely this summer: quiet, peaceful, serene, -- academic. Suddenly, I'm reminded that I have to share it for 9 months of the year...!
London was fabulous - we managed to see 'most everything we wanted and much besides. And we saw this production of Othello at the Globe Theatre, met up with an old friend, and generally amused ourselves being tourists. Now it is really the grind - nearly July and only three months until I hand in The Thesis. Have switched external readers as the professor my supervisor initially picked wasn't available - but have found someone at last willing to read my little dissertation. I'm deliberately not thinking much past 30 September...
AND good news to make up for dreadful morning: it's a birthday-BBQ tonight! I'm hoping that the weather will hold up. It has been raining off and on for a week here in Yorkshire. There is some watery sunlight now - I'm willing it strength to see through the next bank of clouds. Our garden is blossoming like Eden, though I think I've learned something: fruit/veg plus loads and loads of rain makes for big swollen fruit/veg - but it's not sweet. The raspberries on our plot are gigantic this year, but when I picked a bowlful for pudding tonight, they were watery and sour. I've checked my books and apparently sunlight changes the starches to sugars... Simple chemistry I suppose - if they had explained chemistry with food in high-school, I'd have done much better I think. But see the bounty of our garden!
Friday, June 15, 2007
two of every animal
it's been raining for about three days in West Yorkshire. there's nothing so depressing as slipping on a pair of jeans that are still a bit damp from walking home the day before.
the news is telling me that some unfortunate souls in the next town over have seen their cars float out of their driveways. i'm thinking about building a raft, but the closest thing i have to lumber are all these bloody books i need to read...not that i wouldn't be secretly pleased to see it all at the bottom of a lake (which might actually be where it belongs).
that said, there's no better place to be on a rainy day than the library. so off i go. to the library. like, now.
the news is telling me that some unfortunate souls in the next town over have seen their cars float out of their driveways. i'm thinking about building a raft, but the closest thing i have to lumber are all these bloody books i need to read...not that i wouldn't be secretly pleased to see it all at the bottom of a lake (which might actually be where it belongs).
that said, there's no better place to be on a rainy day than the library. so off i go. to the library. like, now.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
grrargh.
...and it's October again...possibly even November. The temperature outside has taken a nosedive since the weekend - I'm going into the city to work today wearing a sweater, jeans, my boots and likely a jacket. Shocking behaviour for June, methinks.
Yes I am going into work. Because I thought it would be a good idea. No, I don't think it's a good idea anymore. Yes, I have to. No I don't plan on doing it anymore until my thesis is done. I'm nearly finished my marking for the year which is good - I have the weekend off work to spend, well, working on my revised chapter for my supervisor. The library is lovely and empty these days. I love it in the summer - especially cause its climate-controlled... unlike my other office, my house, work... Of course, climate control is bad - all that energy...
Anyway, here is a picture of Nas and me, taken in classic kaleyandnas style, on my 30th birthday...
Yes I am going into work. Because I thought it would be a good idea. No, I don't think it's a good idea anymore. Yes, I have to. No I don't plan on doing it anymore until my thesis is done. I'm nearly finished my marking for the year which is good - I have the weekend off work to spend, well, working on my revised chapter for my supervisor. The library is lovely and empty these days. I love it in the summer - especially cause its climate-controlled... unlike my other office, my house, work... Of course, climate control is bad - all that energy...
Anyway, here is a picture of Nas and me, taken in classic kaleyandnas style, on my 30th birthday...
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Bored colour meme
I am so very bored at the library today...and I've already done some surfing on the MLA and found a bunch of new articles for The Thesis. So I feel that I have done some productive work - I also 'shelved' for an hour...
So I went to ForestPirate's site and found some cool memes that I remembered reading there in times past. Here is one on colour and colour associations:
~~~~~~~~~~~~RED~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Closest red thing to you?
Fire extinguisher on the wall in front of the customer services desk where I'm sitting
2. Have you ever cheated in a relationship?
No.
3. Last thing to make you angry?
Hmm...likely the news. Actually I'm sure it was the news - BBC24. I'm trying to remember exactly what it was though...oh, perhaps the new exhibit at the White Cube Gallery in London of a diamond-encrusted, platinum cast human skull - with original teeth... Oh wait, it was the archbishop in Scotland and his speech about abortion. Wow - I've obviously repressed that one as it angered me so much.
4. Are you a fan of romance?
In my life: yes; in movies: only if it is done suberbly well - and I mean better than Amelie or A Very Long Engagement (known in our household as 'A Very Long Movie'); in novels: yes, they are a big part of The Thesis.
5. Have you ever been in love?
Yup
~~~~~~~~~~~~GREEN~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Closest green thing to you?
Computer mouse-pad.
2. Do you care about the environment?
Yes.
I LOVE being outdoors: garden, jogging, camping, picnic and frisbee-ing, kubb-ing, hammock-ing...
5. Are you Irish?
Is this question for statistical purposes? And, BTW, the national colour of Ireland is blue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~PURPLE~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Last purple thing you saw?
Graduate joining form for the library.
2. Like being treated to expensive things?
Hmm...not really. Is time 'expensive'? I like being treated to an afternoon off - but that should ideally involve napping on the couch, going to the garden - maybe just maybe having a coffee and cake outing.
3. Favorite type of chocolate?
Green & Black's; Montezuma's chocolate-with-espresso. Type of chocolate? 70% dark?
4. Ever met anyone in royalty?
No. Outmoded and embarassing structure perpetuating oppressive traditions and social structures. They shouldn't let me near them.
5. Are you lonely?
Right now? No. Ever? Yes; but sometimes I like it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~YELLOW~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Closest yellow thing to you?
Reserve notices for the library.
2. Favorite holiday?
Christmas. I know - pretty standard.
3. Are you a coward?
I'm getting the feeling that these questions are deliberately too open to consider carefully. Generally, yes: I hate pain, losing, and not knowing. Specifically, no: I am married, I have moved halfway around the world to persue my interests. In many instances, yes: I cannot watch images of cruelty anymore, I will not let my cats wander for fear that someone will hurt them, I sometimes think obsessively about future pain.
4. Do you want children?
Um...I'm just going to leave this one alone.
5. What makes you feel warm and safe?
Many things: my bed, my house, my cats, Nasser, tea and biscuits, York, the library...
~~~~~~~~~~~~BLUE~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Closest blue thing to you?
'Loan request' forms.
2. Are you good at calming people down?
I have no idea. Sometimes I suppose. I'm better at letting people calm themselves down.
3. Do you like the sea?
I like the idea of the sea. I've not spent much time around the real thing. Though I would like to. One of my favourite tragic characters, King Haggard in Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn, says of the sea that it is the only thing at which he can look at for long because it is never the same.
4. What was the last thing to make you cry?
The Thesis.
5. Can you sleep easily?
Yes. Because of crazy work/research schedules, home and sleep have become almost entirely synonymous.
~~~~~~~~~~~~PINK~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Closest pink thing to you?
Highlighter. How boring. Across the room there is a lovely vase full of beautiful flowers.
2. Do you like sweet things?
Yes. But I like rich food better than sweet and plain better than fancy.
3. Do you like punk music?
Another thinker...I like the idea of punk. I like the freshness and paradoxes of original punk, especially in the UK.
4. What is your favorite flower?
Right now - anything that comes up in our garden: sweet williams, poppies, anenomies, sweet peas...I like courgette flowers (pretty and edible!).
5. Does someone have a crush on you?
Don't know & don't really care.
~~~~~~~~~~~~ORANGE~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Closest orange thing to you?
The cover of a book called American Empire.
2. Do you like to burn things?
In a campfire or fireplace - yes.
3. Dress up for Halloween?
Yup.
4. Do you prefer the single life or the security of a relationship?
Crazily happily married
5. What would your superpower be?
That is a great question. Flight? Anti-ignorance brain waves? Superpowers require superpeople and I fear I am not so just or so strong as to not use them to project my own desires on the world.
~~~~~~~~~~~~WHITE~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Closest white thing to you?
Paper.
2. How do you imagine your wedding?
I don't. I remember my wedding - and it was gorgeous.
3. Do you like to play in the snow?
Yes. But I haven't played in the snow for ages...we don't really get much snow here.
4. Are you afraid of going to the doctor or dentist?
Generally, yes. My blood pressure goes up as soon as I walk into an examination room. The dentist elicits the same response but that is pavlovian as every time I've gone, I've had to get a root canal or some such nonsense.
5. Do you have Attention Deficit Disorder?
um...no.
~~~~~~~~~~~~BLACK~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Closest black thing to you?
The PC in front of me.
2. Ever enjoy hurting people?
No. Though I do like slap-stick comedy for the tragi-comic value of it.
3. Are you sophisticated or silly?
Both but generally I get the situation wrong.
4. Would you like to go to space?
Yes - definitely - but it's kind of like my wanting to live at the bottom of the ocean: I don't want to do it in a giant ship strapped into all kinds of machines and protective armour. Every environment that is not our own must be entered as though we were back in the womb - the image that makes 2001: A Space Oddessey such a brilliant film. I want to inhabit space - be in space the way I am here on earth.
5. Do you have a lot of secrets?
If I did, I've forgotten them.
So I went to ForestPirate's site and found some cool memes that I remembered reading there in times past. Here is one on colour and colour associations:
~~~~~~~~~~~~RED~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Closest red thing to you?
Fire extinguisher on the wall in front of the customer services desk where I'm sitting
2. Have you ever cheated in a relationship?
No.
3. Last thing to make you angry?
Hmm...likely the news. Actually I'm sure it was the news - BBC24. I'm trying to remember exactly what it was though...oh, perhaps the new exhibit at the White Cube Gallery in London of a diamond-encrusted, platinum cast human skull - with original teeth... Oh wait, it was the archbishop in Scotland and his speech about abortion. Wow - I've obviously repressed that one as it angered me so much.
4. Are you a fan of romance?
In my life: yes; in movies: only if it is done suberbly well - and I mean better than Amelie or A Very Long Engagement (known in our household as 'A Very Long Movie'); in novels: yes, they are a big part of The Thesis.
5. Have you ever been in love?
Yup
~~~~~~~~~~~~GREEN~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Closest green thing to you?
Computer mouse-pad.
2. Do you care about the environment?
Yes.
3. Are you jealous of anyone right now?
Nope. I'm absurdly satisfied and content. Of course, it is Saturday - my job allows me time to do things like this, the sun is shining, and our friend is making us dinner tonight.
4. Do you like being outdoors?I LOVE being outdoors: garden, jogging, camping, picnic and frisbee-ing, kubb-ing, hammock-ing...
5. Are you Irish?
Is this question for statistical purposes? And, BTW, the national colour of Ireland is blue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~PURPLE~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Last purple thing you saw?
Graduate joining form for the library.
2. Like being treated to expensive things?
Hmm...not really. Is time 'expensive'? I like being treated to an afternoon off - but that should ideally involve napping on the couch, going to the garden - maybe just maybe having a coffee and cake outing.
3. Favorite type of chocolate?
Green & Black's; Montezuma's chocolate-with-espresso. Type of chocolate? 70% dark?
4. Ever met anyone in royalty?
No. Outmoded and embarassing structure perpetuating oppressive traditions and social structures. They shouldn't let me near them.
5. Are you lonely?
Right now? No. Ever? Yes; but sometimes I like it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~YELLOW~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Closest yellow thing to you?
Reserve notices for the library.
2. Favorite holiday?
Christmas. I know - pretty standard.
3. Are you a coward?
I'm getting the feeling that these questions are deliberately too open to consider carefully. Generally, yes: I hate pain, losing, and not knowing. Specifically, no: I am married, I have moved halfway around the world to persue my interests. In many instances, yes: I cannot watch images of cruelty anymore, I will not let my cats wander for fear that someone will hurt them, I sometimes think obsessively about future pain.
4. Do you want children?
Um...I'm just going to leave this one alone.
5. What makes you feel warm and safe?
Many things: my bed, my house, my cats, Nasser, tea and biscuits, York, the library...
~~~~~~~~~~~~BLUE~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Closest blue thing to you?
'Loan request' forms.
2. Are you good at calming people down?
I have no idea. Sometimes I suppose. I'm better at letting people calm themselves down.
3. Do you like the sea?
I like the idea of the sea. I've not spent much time around the real thing. Though I would like to. One of my favourite tragic characters, King Haggard in Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn, says of the sea that it is the only thing at which he can look at for long because it is never the same.
4. What was the last thing to make you cry?
The Thesis.
5. Can you sleep easily?
Yes. Because of crazy work/research schedules, home and sleep have become almost entirely synonymous.
~~~~~~~~~~~~PINK~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Closest pink thing to you?
Highlighter. How boring. Across the room there is a lovely vase full of beautiful flowers.
2. Do you like sweet things?
Yes. But I like rich food better than sweet and plain better than fancy.
3. Do you like punk music?
Another thinker...I like the idea of punk. I like the freshness and paradoxes of original punk, especially in the UK.
4. What is your favorite flower?
Right now - anything that comes up in our garden: sweet williams, poppies, anenomies, sweet peas...I like courgette flowers (pretty and edible!).
5. Does someone have a crush on you?
Don't know & don't really care.
~~~~~~~~~~~~ORANGE~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Closest orange thing to you?
The cover of a book called American Empire.
2. Do you like to burn things?
In a campfire or fireplace - yes.
3. Dress up for Halloween?
Yup.
4. Do you prefer the single life or the security of a relationship?
Crazily happily married
5. What would your superpower be?
That is a great question. Flight? Anti-ignorance brain waves? Superpowers require superpeople and I fear I am not so just or so strong as to not use them to project my own desires on the world.
~~~~~~~~~~~~WHITE~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Closest white thing to you?
Paper.
2. How do you imagine your wedding?
I don't. I remember my wedding - and it was gorgeous.
3. Do you like to play in the snow?
Yes. But I haven't played in the snow for ages...we don't really get much snow here.
4. Are you afraid of going to the doctor or dentist?
Generally, yes. My blood pressure goes up as soon as I walk into an examination room. The dentist elicits the same response but that is pavlovian as every time I've gone, I've had to get a root canal or some such nonsense.
5. Do you have Attention Deficit Disorder?
um...no.
~~~~~~~~~~~~BLACK~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Closest black thing to you?
The PC in front of me.
2. Ever enjoy hurting people?
No. Though I do like slap-stick comedy for the tragi-comic value of it.
3. Are you sophisticated or silly?
Both but generally I get the situation wrong.
4. Would you like to go to space?
Yes - definitely - but it's kind of like my wanting to live at the bottom of the ocean: I don't want to do it in a giant ship strapped into all kinds of machines and protective armour. Every environment that is not our own must be entered as though we were back in the womb - the image that makes 2001: A Space Oddessey such a brilliant film. I want to inhabit space - be in space the way I am here on earth.
5. Do you have a lot of secrets?
If I did, I've forgotten them.
Friday, June 01, 2007
June june june!
And it really is, as the song says, 'busting out all over' - and quite suddenly too. Two days ago I thought about turning the heat on (I went and got a jumper instead); today I'm sweltering in a skirt and t-shirt. Of course, all those days when I went into the city on purpose to buy sandals and didn't cause the weather was so awful...now I'm still wearing my black boots. A wee bit hot for the toesies.
But the library is finally quiet. Exams have passed; students have left only scrap paper, litter, and a lingering almost subliminal scent of anxiety - of course, that could be coming from the PhD studies in the basement (including mine!).
Librarians take note: behind me, my co-workers tonight are discussing graphic novels and fantasy...
But the library is finally quiet. Exams have passed; students have left only scrap paper, litter, and a lingering almost subliminal scent of anxiety - of course, that could be coming from the PhD studies in the basement (including mine!).
Librarians take note: behind me, my co-workers tonight are discussing graphic novels and fantasy...
