Seventh Week-Term 1

Weekend:

Spent a beautiful weekend wondering around, being shuffled around, and touring my new home-base. I attended another movie night with a friend, as well. The movie is local Irish indie film, Once. You can find it on Netflix (at least for now). The story is bitter sweet and nothing I expected. The music is, wow. Here is my favourite song from the movie (youtube). Honestly, watching movies snuggled into a double layer of socks & sweats (aka: tracksuit) has got to be one of the BEST ways to spend a cold, grey afternoon.

Monday:

I walked out of my first lecture today. Nothing as obnoxious as slamming books and storming out, coat flying through the air. I simply didn't agree with the content of the Psychology lecture. At our mid-lecture break I chose to leave and do other things with my time. I came to find out later that I wasn't the only one who took issue with the content.

After the lecture, several postgrads met up for our second yoga session of the term. What a lovely time! Everyone is so receptive to the practice. To drive home my promise that the practice is 'office friendly', I wore a floor-length skirt throughout the entire session. My back felt so alive and relaxed afterward.

The evening brought on bell ringing and more bell ringing, followed by drinks and billiards with an eclectic group of people. Such a melodic ending to a sweet day.

Tuesday:

Met up with a friend on campus for tea for the first time since arriving. We sat on a worn leather couch, in front of a sun-warmed window, and sipped creamy tea. The tea house is called Curiositea. I hope to frequent this establishment more.

Wednesday:

An unexplainable power outage ended our Statistics lecture early. I can't say I was terribly bothered by this.

Thursday:

Received news today that the Liverpool Bell Ringing Extravaganza hit some road-bumps. The cost to attend sky-rocketed due to unforeseen last minute changes. As torn as I was about which decision to make, I chose to remain in Coventry for the weekend and vowed to join the bell ringers for their next extravaganza. I don't usually like to pass on these rare opportunities. Waiting for that proverbial "next time" or "later" is not the type of behaviour that feeds a fulfilling forward momentum. The creed of my brief time on this planet.

Little did she know...

"Little did he know that this simple, seemingly innocuous act would result in his imminent death... I've written papers on 'Little did he know.' I've taught classes on 'Little did he know.' I once gave an entire seminar based upon 'Little did he know.''Little did he know', That means there's something he doesn't know, which means there's something you don't know, did you know that?"

Friday:

Little did she know...

With the fall-through of my Bell Ringing Extravaganza weekend in Liverpool, it was decided that I have dinner with my local Rotary Club hosts, Terry & Carole, tonight. (The Rotary Club of Coventry, District 1060) I had a delicious home-cooked dinner of pasta & veggie/tomato sauce with a side of white wine and some sort of sponge cake with golden syrup, drowned in custard. Delicious. I was so hungry when I arrived that I must admit to eating everything they offered. Thank goodness it was just a two-course meal! Terry & Carole are extremely nice people and I'm so glad I finally got to met them. They offered some great advice for getting around and dining in the UK, as well as scheduling a day out for gift shopping and sight-seeing. They made me feel completely at ease and I only wish now that I had been able to stay longer.

[The rare] Saturday:

Little did she know...

Being unexpectedly home-based allowed me the opportunity to attend a friend's birthday party in Leamington Spa. It was a lovely affair, teaming with a world-wide taste of fun. Wine, liqueurs, limes, gin, people, and birthday cake circled all night. I couldn't stop thinking, however, that the addition of one more guitar, keyboard, or voice would have made the whole affair even better.

Delicious birthday cake on posh new dishes.

I see you.....

Good company. Good night :)

Fifth & Sixth Week-Term 1

FIFTH WEEK:

I vaguely remember a society meeting. Talking. Wondering the streets.

A blur.
Assessment #1 due.
Therefore, a blur.

Or perhaps more succinctly:

P → Q
P       
∴ Q

Through the haze and deluded details of the week, the little things became my daily markers of life.

• Getting accustomed to the English keyboards. In other words, trying to not hit the '#' key located next to the narrow 'Enter' key. 
• Dropping a pound coin into the locker key slot at the gym every time I want to go for a round on the treadmill.
• The strangely soft *smoosh* of fallen leaves.
• Tea. Black tea. And more tea.
• Adjusting my very narrow duvet about a thousand times a night.

Friday:
The postgrads blew off some steam the night after Halloween. We had our first assessment due Friday afternoon, so naturally no one went out Thursday evening (Halloween). Not an easy night to get pictures, but I did manage to snag one.

SIXTH WEEK

Monday:
At some point during the fifth week of lectures, I suggested a yoga session once a week for just us postgrads. The back pain and leg stiffness has increased at an exponential rate since lectures began. It was a small leap to assume my fellow classmates were experiencing the same thing. When I made the suggestion everyone flipped-the-eff-out. I don't believe I could have received a more excited reply if I had offered them cold, hard cash. Our first yoga session was today during our midday break. Good turn out. Good practice. More sessions were requested at the end. Yeah!

Movie night:The Fountain (Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz)
Exactly the amount of existentialism I expected. A really lovely experience, all the same. Check it out when you can.

Tuesday:
What happened to Tuesday? Rain happened to Tuesday. Beautiful rain.

Wednesday:
News was passed down today that there's a bell ringing extravaganza in Liverpool. Northern Universities Association of Change Ringers. Why would I not go?

Also, just as we started to get comfortable with our statistical software "R", we abandon it for a new one. Such is life.

Thursday:
I don't think I can accurately express my elation after today's events. If I questioned my actions before, I no longer have need to question them again. Picture it:

It's been a long day, nay, a long week. Seven disgruntled graduate students sit around a privately booked room, each tapping away at his/her own laptop. One student asks a poignant question about a linear expression. Another student hesitantly answers. A third student concurs and they all dive back into their own symbolic-based language systems. A student in the corner reads aloud her ideas on the most elegant expression for a regression model. Another agrees. The tapping continues. A tall student shares his thoughts on post hoc testing. Another student disagrees. A heated debate ensues. They agree to both testing formats. The tapping plays on....


Assessment #2 complete.

Fourth Week-Term 1

I don't care if Monday's black:

Still enjoying the residuals from Sunday's Hermitage visit. As strange as it feels to jump on an unmarked bus with a bunch of people I don't know, sharing a massive language barrier, with no idea of our direction or time table, t here's still something delicious about it.

The fear that leads to knowledge.

Then, of course, ending the evening with the lovely Bell Ringing Society.

The bells, the bells!

Isolated, cold in their tower of echos,

Ringing, ringing!

As cadavers absorb my vibrations.

Tuesday, Wednesday - heart attack:

Caught a last-minute train to Liverpool to attend a last-minute Q&A with Lawrence Krauss.
It was almost everything I would never expect from a night with a superstar Physicist.
My review and the pictures of the beautiful Liverpool & the Lawrence Q&A are here.

The University of Liverpool Humanists blogged about it (used my pics!).
And another Liverpoolian gave his 2-cents as well <- This guy asked a great question, too.

Class was cancelled on Wednesday so I lucked out completely. Took an easy train ride back. Worked on the new R language.

Thursday, never looking back:

Went for a run EVERY DAY THIS WEEK. My arms can barely move from the push-ups & pull-ups I'm thrashing my way through. I have a goal. Fully unsupported handstand. It requires just the right ratio of weight:strength. Then ability steps in. I could do supported headstands before. I want to surpass that previous plateau.

Ended up in Leamington Spa for the evening having dinner, playing pool, and just generally hanging out with the local WASH Society. The night's meeting was all about opening a dialogue on the efforts and effects of religious forces. One member played the proper Devil's Advocate, though he did seem to have trouble committing to the role since he didn't agree with any of it. It gave me an opportunity to test the English waters on local policies, opinions, segregations, etc. It was the general understanding that, after comparing notes, the UK has had remarkably fewer segregation & exclusionary laws than the US, particularly if you're focussing on the last 120 years.

Ran into an extremely inebriated young hair-dresser around midnight who insisted on hitting on almost all the guys in the group. Then, inevitably, he targeted me as the one to dump his problems on. Wow, so honoured (that's sarcasm children).

Leamington Spa, however, is a lovely little slice of England worth visiting. Check out some pics here.

It's Friday, I'm in love.

Since I borrowed from them, I shall share them. Enjoy:

Second Week-Term 1

Monday Warm-day:
Weather report this morning warned of the season's first **Frost** by the end of the week.

Attended the first meeting for Warwick Improvised Theatre Society (WITS). I tried to channel the teachings I remembered from Luna (1st acting instructor) and my theater friends. I used the space, freed my body parts, tried to keep awareness of 'safety zones', invaded people's space, and generally tried to be as foolish feeling as possible. We went for drinks afterward at the Dirty Duck, on campus. I might join up and attend their Thursday session, too. Campus has bars, but I'm not about to drink that beer. It's about the quality of Miller Light.

At this university you have to pay for every club membership and be on the official Warwick Uni registry in order to play with the society kids.

Tuesday Spa:

Road the bus to Leamington Spa for a day in the gardens. Queen Victoria used this town apparently for royal retreats, etc. Many of the houses & buildings here are a few hundred years old and still contain the servant's bells in the basements, where their rooms were traditionally located.

I mostly spent time in Jephson Gardens and Mill Gardens. Enough chit-chat, enjoy the view :)
Click on the pictures for a larger view.

St. John's Church. It was closed.

Leamington Spa Town Hall. How cool is this!

Town Hall

Oversized statue of Queen Victoria in front of Leamington Spa Town Hall.

Lionhead fountain at one of the entrances to the park.

Lionhead fountain up close.

The trees were so wildly tall. The building in the back is the Royal Pump Rooms & Bath. 

Yep, authentic old-school turkish baths tapped into local hot springs for the rich and dirty.

Found a Redwood here. Very cool.

Strike a pose, sir. You're about to be immortalized.... again.

I wonder what's going through his head? 

"How is thought possible? I'm made of stone. Oh look, a cookie!"

The Butterfly gardens.

This Japanese *** tree contracted a root fungus early in its sapling years. By the time they detected it, they had no choice, but to cut it down. Rather than throw all those lovely ginormous branches away, they made them, and the stump, into stunning benches with different engravings for the park. The other side of this trunk is a bench.

To give some perspective, these leaves are half my height. They're growing on the banks of the River Leam. 

Under the leaves.

The other bank.

The leaves are beginning to fall. The trees are changing.

River Leam, early autumn.

A lovely mixture of mediaeval & modern. 

The Royal Pump Rooms & Bath.

....and I caught site of these two lovely gems just before leaving. 

1. "Munchies" is a sandwich shop two doors down from "Planet Bong".

2. An employee of Munchies has now offered up another submission for Apostrophe. 

Wednesday Snoooze:
I slept in an extra 30 minutes this morning. Arrived on campus 1:30 hours early, slept for the first hour. Attended a 2 hour lecture on basic statistics (for the economic students), slept for about an hour off-and-on throughout. STILL asked more questions than the other students (save one) and even got some research talk in with the professor. At one point in my lecture nap I actually dreamt about sleeping.

I went straight home to nap, then couldn't sleep for lack of a snuggle buddy. I changed tactics and did a slow yoga routine to stretch my back, hamstrings, quads, calves, and shoulders. The entire back side of my body must have been all scrinched up I guess, because the practice felt wonderful.

Thursday Thinking:
CCCCold. FFFFront.
This is my long day of the week. I'm on campus first thing in the morning until possibly well after dark. Today was old and new theories which kept me just interested enough not to fall asleep. I really don't mean to, I just don't do well sitting for hours at a time not writing, not typing, not asking questions, while being lulled by soft talking English professors. For bucksakes I gotta do something! Which has always made me wonder about my long-winded meditation sessions. Am I reaching greater depths of consciousness or just falling asleep?

Met up with another student society tonight, WASH. I forget what it stands for. The meeting was at Terrace Bar on campus. Same beers at the Dirty Duck, so no thank you. We played pool, they drank beers, I enjoyed the rare soda-POP. Everyone seemed more interested in pointing out the differences between my American terms and their English terms.

English pool: 3 types of balls; red, yellow, and the 8 ball.
American pool: 1-7 solid balls, 9-15 striped balls, and the 8 ball.

English pool: you "pot" the ball.
American pool: you "sink" the ball.

English pool: potting the cue ball is a "foul".
American pool: sinking the cue ball is a "scratch".

English pool: a foul earns the other person two consecutive shots.
American pool: a scratch earns you limited free placement of the cue ball.