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Archive for April, 2005

Wow it’s late

Thursday, April 28th, 2005

I just made four repeat trips to the Quincy printer in the basement computer room, because each time I got back to my room I discovered major omissions or mistakes in my plots and had to reprint corrected versions.


That’s the problem with leaving problem sets to the last minute, even fairly trivial ones.


At least the walking will go some way towards offsetting the *huge* dinner I had tonight after the Dins gig at Colby’s high school on Rhode Island (Providence looks like a beautiful city, as far as I can tell, even in the rain and fog).

Tuesday (or is it Thursday?), feels like last Wednesday.

Tuesday, April 26th, 2005

Over the weekend I saw the cobbled-together “The Lives and Many Deaths of Mr Plumb” (endearingly enthusiastic) at the Loeb Ex, the ART’s production of Edward Bond’s “Olly’s Prison” (inpenetrably dramatic) at the very nice Zero Arrow Street space, and a student production of Sam Shepard’s “Seduced” (disturing and intense) in a decrepit hovel in the bowels of Adams.  I also watched “Secretary” (accessible avant garde) and “Closer” (conspicuously based on Patrick Marber’s play).


I still feel like I haven’t quite shaken the need for a fiction/theatre/art/vacation fix, but that will have to wait till after May, I guess.


I *must* pull myself together for these final weeks – three grade-breaking papers and a midterm left… along with a crop of problem sets, field trips and a lab report.  Then it will be time to press on through the final four exams.  It’s exhausting to even think about it all.

the last rays of Thursday

Thursday, April 21st, 2005

I guess I had to mention this at some point – the weather in Cambridge has been absolutely glorious for days now.  Endless sunshine, balmy breezes, blue skies.  *contented smile*  Even if I did specifically sign up for the gray skies, bare trees and sharp air, it’s still nice to see Spring come up in a blaze of tulips, daffodils and hyacinths.



I just got done giving the longest information tour *ever*.  I really must learn to make these go a lot quicker.



This weekend will be my big arts weekend.  I’m planning on seeing three productions, at least.  Plus we’ll be in the studio doing some more recording.

New York in the Spring… London in the Summer

Sunday, April 17th, 2005

New York was beautiful.  Worth the 6 hour commute, definitely, especially considering the nice French woman I met on the bus.


Great company, excellent food (from random mushroom pizza at 3am to foie gras at lunch), nice accommodations, gorgeous weather.  What’s not to like?  I want to go back to the fabric stores with an OFA grant…  woah.


I can’t quite believe it’s the middle of April already.  Just three weeks of classes left.  That’s scary.



In other news, I got accepted as an R&D intern at the London headquarters of The Society for Environmental Exploration/Frontier.  I’m quite pleased, and pleasantly surprised.  So all my friends in London – where should I find housing for ten weeks?  Does anyone have an extra bedroom lying empty from June to August?

Vive le weekend!

Saturday, April 9th, 2005

Thank you God.

 

I made it through the unbelievable 36 hours. 

 

Opening scene: 2.30pm, Lamont Library.  The day’s been packed already, including missing classes to meet with Prof Altman.  I come out of HSA-12 section (during which I receive an awful midterm grade that could well have already sunk my performance in this class), and hit the ground running.  I race through Lamont, Widener and Cabot libraries getting the necessary books.  Over the next 3.5hours, I desperately write very long emails to AfA, Judith and Prof Bishop.

 

6pm: Hors d’oeuvres at Quincy, dinner at Winthrop.

6.30pm: Dress

6.45: Dins call.  We sing at the Quincy faculty dinner, which was fun

 

8pm-10.30pm: I work on the project proposal and budget.

10.30pm: Visit Adams to chat with Bryan, Lindsay and Alli.  Veggie Planet pizzas and Herrell’s ice cream!

11pm: HUCEP

12midnight-2.15am: I finish up the proposal, send it to Doug for proof-reading and start on the BS55 problem set

2.15am-2.55am: I finish up the pset

3am: Sign out from HUCEP with Margen and Alfinio

3.15am-3.30am: polishing up BS55 pset when the fire alarm goes off (??!)

3.30am-4am: Chat with various half-asleep Old Quincy residents in the rain, I have a slice of club wheat bread and a small cup of coffee

4am-6am: Ec 10 pset.  Ryan wakes up. I hop into the shower while he checks our Ec10 pset answers against each other.

6.50am-10am: Power nap

 

10.30am: I head to class having dressed and sent off another half dozen emails.

11am-12noon: I re-proof-read and edit my proposal, print everything out, send more emails, and write my Hist 1856 response paper.  I get a starbucks fairtrade blend latte – my only nutrition for the day.

12noon-4pm: Ec10 section followed by Hist 1856 followed by BS 55 section.  I stay amazingly awake.

4pm-5pm: I finish photocopying all the HCRP materials and walk to the SEO to turn the application in…  along with over six hundred other applicants.  (So hopeless.)  I head to CVS and buy lots of stuff on sale.  Mostly candy.

5pm: I pick up a bowl of pasta from the dining hall.

5.30pm-7.30pm: Nap

7.30-8pm: Wake up and dress for creative black tie opening of Carousel starring Evan as the lead.

8pm-11pm: Carousel at the Loeb mainstage and post-opening reception.

11pm-12midnight: I tidy my room.

Pictures

Thursday, April 7th, 2005

Taken a couple of days before the Fall semester ended.  I can’t recall if this was my last exam – I’m studying for my introductory earth science class, which I disliked, but which ended up giving me an unexpectedly satisfying grade. 

Neil took this picture, and the figure next to me is Ryan.  Note the huge snowdrifts right outside the window.  This was a winter of heavy snowstorms.

Studying in the Spindell Room (23 Jan 2005)

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A photo taken in January, just as the semester was ending and I was busy studying for final exams.


My camera’s battery died just before I tried to take this picture, but I managed to coax it to take this one shot of the picture-perfect cove on our second day on the island.

Bermuda boats in a cove (27 Mar 2005)

 

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I was so happy that my camera managed to take this one shot of this cove before the battery gave out completely.  Isn’t Bermuda beautiful?


Taken from my deck chair on the hotel’s private beach.  The Fairmont Southampton was simply quite stunning.

Bermuda private beach (1 Apr 2005)

 

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The hotel had a private beach, of course.  What more could you want?


Horseshoe Beach is the public beach right next to the hotel’s private beach.  Very lovely indeed.

Bermuda Horseshoe Beach (2 Apr 2005)

 

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Then again the public beach right next door wasn’t too shabby either.


Jenny took this picture of me in one of the "secret coves" off to the side of Horseshoe Bay.  Those rocks were actually really sharp.

Bermuda, Din on the Rocks (2 Apr 2005)

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Yup. 


 


I want Spring Break back.


 

The Censored Book Meme

Tuesday, April 5th, 2005

I’m still reacting to and recovering from Bermuda.  I’ll tell you more about it when I get a chance, which seems increasingly unlikely since school and work has already revved into high gear.

In the meantime:

All these are great books that have been subject to censorship.

1) Put in bold the ones you’ve read completely.
2) Put in italics the ones you’ve read excerpts or abridged versions of or which you recall having started to read and never finished.

#1 The Bible
#2 Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain)
#3 Don Quixote (Miguel de Cervantes)
#4 The Koran
#5 Arabian Nights
#6 Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain)
#7 Gulliver’s Travels (Jonathan Swift)

#8 Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer)
#9 Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne)
#10 Leaves of Grass (Walt Whitman)
#11 Prince (Niccol