Michael: I think you have some rage.
Alice: Oh, you noticed?
Kelly: Do you think that, if we brought an anger management consultant into the apartment, we could get a group rate?
Emilie: Do you all have anger problems?
Kelly: [Roommate] has three classes a day with [name redacted].

How I Spent My Day

Woke up at 8:30 hating the world having gone to bed at 3-ish, met up with people for a 10:00 am Eamon Duffy reading/discussion group. We dispersed at 12:15, and Kolya convinced T. and me to bring our books and accompany him to the Toronto Islands for a picnic lunch and studying on the beach.

This being Toronto, where the weather will very soon be not-so-nice, and because T. and I have spines of Jell-O when being pressured to procrastinate, we acquiesced.

So we took a ferry out to Ward's Island, settled ourselves on the beach, and spent the afternoon wading, enjoying the sun and air, and reading selections from our history reading to one another.

Then I went home to make dinner and prepare for the evening activity-- movie watching and beer drinking with Celticist Roommate and our PhD friends at Massey College. Movies watched: Anchorman and The Lion in Winter. Yes.

(Imagine a more elegant transition.)

One side effect of the time spent on the beach was a conversation about proper names, in which it was revealed that Kolya has a middle name that he finds embarassingly preppy, I have The World's Most WASP Grandmotherly Full Name, and T. was named neither for the character in medieval literature nor for the character in opera, but for the young, gadabout veterinary student in All Creatures Great and Small.

One of my fondest memories of second year is that of spending time in the kitchen cooking with Mary Claire, quoting James Herriot at one another. Do any of you Breckie/Comptonite readers have contact info for Mary Claire H.? I haven't spoken to her in months and months, but I'd love to share that little story with her because I know she'd get a kick out of it.

Today I briefly considered putting my religious views on Facebook as "Hell is Other Catholics".


...but I decided that I didn't want to alienate that majority of my Catholic acquaintances I do love, nor horrify those who would misunderstand it as me being more Catholic than, er, the Pope.

A Bit Late, But...

Happy New Year to the few who read this and are of a haberdasher'd persuasion. I am eating sweet autumn apples (albeit with peanut butter, not with honey) and hoping that the sweetness of next year will be seeing you all.

Ughh...

I have a pounding headache today, folksies, so I'm going to try to keep this short. Then I shall take some Ibuprofen and lie down until going to the Centre becomes completely necessary.

Yesterday was a surprisingly good day. I spent one last night at the house I was sitting, then made my way to campus where I bought pens, took myself out to brunch, and then sat the Latin exam. It was really shocking to see how many other people were taking it... PhD candidates from other departments and MAs who hadn't passed it last spring, as well as the new MA candidates. The first passage was a medieval paraphrase of Joseph interpreting dreams in his cell... "Ah-ha!" I thought, "People who know scripture... for the win!" I spent the next forty-five minutes having warm feelings for the Rabidly Lutheran Babysitter I had who gave me my first (Precious Moment's Children's) Bible. The other three passages were an Advent Sermon, a passage from the Latin version of the Ancrene Wisse, and Bede's account of the six ages of the world.

Then I went home to the apartment and put together Ikea Furniture. We now have a dining table and chairs, and I have a bed and a dresser. I would put together my desk today, but... pounding headache.

I think that's about all. Interesting eavesdropping over my brunch, but I don't really want to get into it. I start foaming at the mouth in fury.* Suffice to say, it was proof that secular people don't understand the scientific method, either. Dear friends who are planning to teach sciences: please to be kicking ass and taking names? Thank you.


____
* He was explaining to his friend that, you know, lots of doctors don't believe that HIV causes AIDS. There, I said it. Now I'm going to go lie down with a cold compress and be bitter.

The celebrant is simply not allowed to make a pass at anybody.

Liturgical Referees, sent to me by Sukie.

Latin exam at 1 pm tomorrow. Eep!

Quick Update

Moving went fine, still looking for a fourth roommate, blah blah blah. The internet here remains capricious, so I'm posting this as fast as I can.

Latin studying continues apace, thanks to the efforts of Em-the-Younger.

I had my own little Blackadder marathon last night, and I think I may be addicted. Very addicted.

Sometimes it is just a little too clear that I am my father's daughter, which I realized yesterday as I stood in front of the pepper grinders in the grocery store, trying to make up my mind. So far the only spices/flavorings I've bought for my cooking are crushed red peppers, sugar cubes, and peppercorns. (He reads this... Hi, Dad!)

Okay, I'm going to go research internet plans for our apartment. To entertain you, I present Matthew's "Radio Free Saxe-Coburg-Gotha" from The Shrine of the Holy Whapping.