Lunatic Fringe

I can't sleep, too excited. Just getting myself worked up (see above). Stupid Internet.

Things

This computer's on it's last legs. Also, this is a long one, so read it all.

Well, that's me done with class for the year. My sentiments? Although I'm happy I did this, academics, on the whole, haven't been enjoyable here. In the words of J. Tweedy, "Half of it's you, half is me." I could have stepped up, made larger efforts, etc., while at the same time school was just hard. I don't want to shirk responsibilities, but man... sometimes when you're in over your head, swim and struggle as you might, those damn waves... You get the metaphor. Lately I've been in better touch with fellow students abroad, and it's been reassuring. Nobody really liked the actual school part of the experience (which isn't over, by the way), be they scientists or historians or whatever. I think we're all proud, though. Sitting here catching my breath, as it were, I feel more than a bit triumphant. Nobody said this would be easy; now I've lived it and take a strange pride in knowing, exactly, what they mean. Understanding that broad statement's sympathetic intentions, in a way only an insider can. I'll quit patting myself on the back now.

We had a party last night, a last-minute enterprise billed as the "Return of the 6/2 Party Addicts" (that's our flat/us). While it wasn't what anybody expected, if, in fact, they were brash enough to expect anything at all, I at least was pleasantly surprised. It was somewhere between mellow and merry, slightly bittersweet, as I mustered some abandon and enjoyed the company, mollifying the denouement. I guess. And also, James created a gigantic Jaffa Cake - where does he come up with these things? Unfortunately, he was the only one who didn't like it.

A week ago (!) today, I was in London. That city is huge! Obvious statement, yes, but huge in an oddly managable way. Impressive, not overwhelming. We saw sights: the palace and the changing of the guard, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, the Tower and corresponding Bridge, Big Ben, Leicester Square, Soho, and on and on.











From the London Eye, a 135-meter tall ferris-wheel-type structure, we could see to forever, and the city didn't even end there.





More importantly, we had good company (awww), meeting Emily and her friends made for maximum enjoyment.







Our hostel was an absolute dump, which really means it was fun, although we didn't spend much time there. We went out at night, it was St. Patrick's Day, there was a foam party at some nerd university (also fun) where I LOST my newest jumper (sweater), a brown half-zip from Express that I had quickly grown to love.

RIP, Brown Jumper, Dec. 27, 2005 - Mar. 17, 2006

On Sunday, we missed our flight home. I made the mistake of assuming the bus stop for the shuttle to the airport would be in the proximity of the shuttle stop going toward the city. Turns out it was a trek away, as we watched and desperately tried to flag down four buses while making our way toward the correct stop. Once we found it, the next bus was full and wouldn't let us on. We got to Luton after the flight had left and rebooked ourselves onto the next flight to Edinburgh, a good five-hour wait. Needless to say, we were in no hurry to get back to school.

In two days, at this time, Mom and Mel will be here! I am so excited... that's the only way I can put it. I... this will be... I can't wait.

Finally, beards are officially back in fashion. What have I said all along? I want one; apparently my genetics don't. But I'm getting there.

EDI-LTN

I'm going to London on Thursday night, and I don't care what you think. Markos is coming too, we'll meet Emily there. Planning this was a bitch, but now that all is said and done I can get excited. As Markos keeps reminding me, "LONDON, BABY." Indeed, baby.

Ch-ch-ch-check out Overheard in New York, winner of the 2006 Bloggies for Most Humorous Weblog. I have to admit, I am still a bit upset about my snub this year...

Samples:

Guy #1: Did you bring your cell phone charger today?
Guy #2: Oh yeah. Like, they be giving free electricity up in here, for real.

--Kings Criminal Court Building, Downtown Brooklyn

Girl #1: I was thinking about getting Slim-Fast, because I thought I needed it, but now I only drink water...Oh, and orange juice!
Girl #2: ...And lots of beer and liquor.
Girl #1: Oh yeah, and lots of beer and liquor.

--G train

Girl: Is the turkey club lunchmeat or carved turkey?
Waiter: Lunchmeat.
Girl: Great. I'll take it.
Waiter: You can eat it whenever...in the morning, lunch...
Girl: Never mind, just gimme a minute.

--Morning Star, 9th Avenue

See? Funny.

The Port of Leith

I haven't seen or read Trainspotting, but hearsay alone was cause for me to be wary of Leith, a dingy seaside town directly to the north with a contentious connection to Edinburgh. The port is not-quite-independent of the capital, although its proximity ensures that it will always be regarded as "the outskirts." Despite its reputation Leith has seen an increase in development, although it seems that the influx of luxury housing may only serve to further the worrying contrast between the rich and poor. When Markos and I went yesterday, the construction was evident and the place seemed soulless - not so much scary as depressing. Of course it didn't help that it was a grey, cold day, undecided on whether to rain or snow or just sit heavy.

The bus dropped us off at Ocean Terminal, a big indoor mall on the waterfront. We didn't have any plans for the day, so a tour of the Royal Yacht Brittania, moored in 1997, seemed a good place to start. It's a 412-foot beast that sailed over a million miles since being commissioned in 1954, carrying the Queen and princes and princesses over the years. Most interesting was the discrepancy between different areas of the ship. The top decks, where royalty and guests stayed and entertained, were of utmost elegance, full of shiny and priceless objects as well as a grand reception room. Like you would expect, with an air of importance and history similar to the most fascinating museum pieces. Just two decks below, however, the difference couldn't be any more pronounced. The crew's bunks were cramped and crowded (not a surprise), and littered with memorabilia from the very recent past (this was surprising). Lockers had stickers, bright neon artifacts of the late 80's, with sayings like "I partied in Cancun!" On shelves sat books such as a tattered Guinness Book of World Records, 1996. I'm not implying that it was tacky, that would be terribly ignorant. On the contrary, seeing the ship's undersides gave the experience a sense of depth and reality, making it a lot more enjoyable. Indeed, it's a small-scale parallel of the experience on the whole. Seeing Leith, the capital's unhandsome underbelly, felt satisfactorily grounding.

After the tour we walked along the seafront until everything began to look the same, and we caught a bus home.

Pictures:

Things I Like About My Life

I am not as stupid as you or I thought. Final grades have been posted for Sedimentology A, and despite failing the final exam I passed the class with a clean 42. Congratulations, donations are very welcome.

Things I Like About Buses

Drivers here are often courteous toward bus drivers, flashing their brights and letting them merge into crowded lanes. Bus drivers wave to each other when they pass.

Bus drivers often get as close as they can to hitting objects (signs, trees, curbs and people), and it sometimes seems intentional. Only rarely do they actually hit these things.

Through bus windows, even moreso than through other automobile windows, sunlight is magnified and cold air kept out. This is nice in the mornings, and makes me wonderfully drowsy in the afternoon.

Title TK

Ohhh this is not good, I got the only computer left in the lab and the broken spacebar is frustratingly, embarrassingly loud. MaybeI'lltypelikethis.Maybenot.

First: Scotland's university lecturers are staging a strike! Lectures are canceled!
...but apparently mine don't find it to be a worthwhile cause, as I still have class all day.

I didn't see Crash, the best motion picture of 2005, but Scott Foundas' review made me laugh: "... the best movie of the year for people who like to say, 'A lot of my best friends are black.' "

Also, Zach I. "Tino" has become a contributor at b + a, joining the fray with an extremely topical essay on sideaches. Best sentence ever: "I don't know what your Diaphragm is." Go read it, leave a comment on how his thoroughly researched advice has helped cease your own abdominal pains.

Soon, Danny D's highly anticipated treatise on Destroyer's Rubies will appear, and just like that we've become an empire.

This weekend came and went, fast as ever, perhaps faster, and I've got little to show for it besides a clean room and cleaner clothes. It doesn't feel like I wasted my time though, I just watched it fly past. Like a rug pulled out from beneath my feet so fast I stayed still, helpless but awed. I have to find a way, in my increasing ambivalence, to focus on school before it's gone. It makes me sick to think about what's happening, what's about to happen. Knots in my stomach sick, for better or worse.

I can't believe I missed Johnny's 21st birthday.

Random observation: A lot of kids walk weird. Hmm... do I?

Goodbye, Kirby Puckett. I remember forging your signature on a baseball when I was a kid. I still have it.

Oh Yes Oh Yes

Well, children, welcome to March. Mars. Perhaps, if you look hard or through a lens, you can see it.

When I woke up, my room was illuminated like a summer afternoon. Appropriately, I looked forward to a sunny (perhaps even warm?) day. A shower's time later, I return to my room and actually look out the window - SNOWSNOWSNOW! And unlike the last snow, months ago, it was coming on strong.

I trekked the slippery slope to the bus stop, feeling wonderfully and strangely isolated amidst the whitewash. Cars came out of nothing, slowly, while people flickered present/absent on the other side of the street. Magic, magic, magic.

I stayed for the class that mattered, but ditched Oceanography for sledding in the hills. Now, I'd never really been sledding before, and it was only when I looked the crags in the face that I realized the potential for gnarliness, for lack of a better word. Sure enough, it was absolutely exhilarating:











On the way home, we used our remaining strength and our juvenile determination to build the biggest snowman ever. These little chipmunks also gave us a hand, after they reailzed what we were doing was pretty cool and dropped their snowballs:




There is probably a ton of snow in that man. No joke.

BRIAN x