Sometimes we all feel like a beautiful disaster, don't we? I know I do this week. My life is a bit of a mess at the moment, with The Deadline's steady approach... but through it all I feel like my life is beautiful. I have a chance to engage in discussion with great thinkers and to get support from Bristol's best. I'm sitting here, with the sun streaming onto my desk, drinking coffee and doing philosophy. It's crazy but beautiful.
This past weekend, Jonty and I strolled down to our friend Mike's house for a barbeque. With the amazing weather gracing us with its presence here in England, you have to appreciate it while it lasts. The food was delicious, especially our amaaazing potato salad, which was a big hit! (At least we think it was a big hit... but we ate most it it ourselves because we liked it so much!)
Over the course of the evening, we ate, chatted, roasted marshmallows by the fire, and played The Box Game.
The essence of The Box Game is this: A small box (cereal or soda can box) is placed on the floor. Players must pick up the box using only their teeth, without letting any part of their body but their feet touch the floor. At the end of each round, an inch or two is ripped off the top of the box, and the new round begins.
After many rounds and a major rip in my jeans (those puppies are hot pants now), the game got intense. The ending round was picking up that tiny square of cardstock that you can see in the bottom right corner of the last picture. And there were three winners! (I was not one of them--I lost out two rounds before.)
It was absolutely ridiculous but an amusing way to spend the evening.
<3
P.S. Yes that is me in the purple top, with short hair. I've cut it again, and I'm not feeling it, which is why I've been keeping it a secret! I guess the cat's out of the bag now.
Happy Random Tuesday! I bet reading this on my blog is funny, since every day is a random day around here :.) Feel free to hop on over to The Unmom to check out more randomness, and grab the button to random it up yourself!
* I'm in the library (yes, it's naughty for me to be blogging rather than essay-ing, but will you be the one to throw the first stone?), and the girl across the table from me is the fastest, smackiest gum chewer ever. She is chewing a mile a minute, smacking every chew. And then she'll stop chewing long enough for me to relax... and then she starts again. Gross. Have I mentioned that I hate hearing people chew? Ick. Keep it to yourself.
* So far in this post, I've invented two words: 'random' (used as a verb) and 'smackiest'. I have a tendency to (illegitimately) invent new words. My friend Brian and I invented quite an interesting word when I was in high school: 'nerkus'. The word 'nerkus' is a blend of 'nerd' and 'dorkus', and can also be shortened to 'nerk'. We (as with most of my friends) believe that being a nerd/dork is a good thing--it means you are true to yourself and don't care what people think, so 'nerkus' is an endearing term. Actually, my close group of high school gal pals also had a similar word: 'spec', short for 'specimen'... That's even more obscure than 'nerk' but basically means that you are unique. Wow, I'm cool. Update: I just realized The Unmom says, "random up," and it must have been sitting in my subconscious. So I guess I didn't make that one up; but I've made up lots of others!
* I got my Graze box today. It's a bit smaller than I expected, but I guess that makes sense, considering that it's meant to be for one day's grazing. But it's got some great stuff and is still worth the small amount I paid. My box has: fresh cut pineapple, the "apple strudel" mix (dehydrated apple, apricots, and cranberries), and the "tropical praline" mix (dark chocolate hazelnuts, dried mango, and green raisins). YUM! I'm munching on the apple strudel mix at the moment, and it's really good. (I know, it's rude to eat in the library. But Smack-tastic across from me is the only person around to hear, so I'm not all that worried about it.) If you're in the UK and watch to try Graze out, type in the code NKZ6TL7 at checkout and your first box is free :.)
* Check out this bizarre video a University of Bristol undergrad made of one of our professors giving Philosophy essay-writing advice a few years ago. It's a bit weird, but for those who know him (or have a strange sense of humor), it's pretty entertaining:
"I don't believe in a lot of things, but I do believe in duct tape." --Miles Straume, Lost
Today the final episode of Lost aired. It's the end of an era for so many viewers. I've gotten seriously attached to those characters, and I was sad to see them go. But I was left feeling pretty satisfied (though not every question was answered in my opinion), so I guess it's good-bye. I hope everyone who's been keeping up enjoyed the episode.
It does leave me thinking... now what? I don't watch much TV (telly, as they say here, heehee), but I do like to have one season going at any given time. Some choices are: The Wire, Mad Men, Community. Any other suggestions?
Have you guys ever seen History of the World, Part 1? This scene is another that makes my list of favorite movie scenes.
Today I slept in a bit and am now drinking coffee and trying to finish a draft of my last essay to send off to my supervisor tonight. Trying to stay motivated and positive... but so ready to be finished! The deadline for this essay got pushed back a week, and I'm intent on not taking the extension because I NEED A BREAK. I'm so close to the finish line... Anyway, I hope you guys are enjoying your Sundays a bit more than I am.
Hi there! Yesterday was a beautiful day here in southern England, & today looks like it's giving yesterday a run for its money. When the weather is sunny and warm like this in the UK, the entire country swarms with outdoor sports, washing cars, & barbeques. It's amazing to see the whole country react to the nice weather, but I guess we appreciate it more since it's less common than it is back home in Cali.
When Jonty and I went to see The Dangerous Summer a few weeks ago, I became mildly obsessed with the band that followed them: Anarbor. They have an upbeat vibe (a huge plus in my book!) and are slightly trashy in their lyrics at times (also a plus in my book when I'm feeling like a badass). Their music has a bit of an old school vibe and is perfect for evening barbeques, just add lots of friends and a couple of beers. And tonight, we're doing just that! I hope you enjoy your weekend too!
"Worrying is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere." --Van Wilder
1600 words down, 3400+ to go by the end of the weekend. (This is essay number 3.) I'm realllly trying not to worry too much about how bad it is or about getting the to word count. Instead, I'm trying to just work! This is my last essay, and I'm just mentally burnt out. The other two essays were my babies, and I cared for them and developed them as much as a could. And I continue to try to better them. But this one is like the third child: I've done this before, the excitement is a bit lost, and I feel that it will make it on its own.
Okay, I think that metaphor went a little bit too far. Essays can't take care of themselves, unfortunately. In fact, I should probably go back to writing...
I'm excited that the end of these essays are in sight. Then, I'll be working on my dissertation, which I think will be quite enjoyable. At least, for the first month or two of summer, the pressure won't be there too much. In the meantime, I'm really trying (and sometimes struggling) to enjoy and being engaged in writing these essays. After all, this is what I'm here for.
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