I went to Friends Chinese restaurant last night with Simon and Ganesh. Then Simon and I went to Narenek's to play RoboRally. Narenek won, of course. Tonight I'm going to Wolvercote, to either The Red Lion, or The White Hart, or somewhere else. People in attendance will be Ganesh, Kami, Simon, rols, J-P and probably Alan. Hopey some other people, too.
Gosh. There hasn't been one of these for a while. I went on a picnic down by the river today, with Ganesh, Kami, Simon, Alan and jon. It got a bit cold, so we went to Magdalen for pudding and coffee. Later in the evening, we went to see the brilliant Shakespeare in Love. It seems that I fancy Ben Affleck, though perhaps this may be because I've always had a soft spot for Mercutio. The trailers looked good, too: Tea with Mussolini is definitely one I want to see.
I've got a house to live in next year. Yay. It's in Marston, and other people living there will be doop, Neve, Ganesh, Janet and rols.
hoggy and I made a web page for Glis today [16-Jun-1999 editorial note: link to Glis' website removed as the host is no longer running a webserver. Will replace link if and when she gets it re-hosted.].
I had people round on Saturday; me and doop cooked Thai Red Curried Vegetables, Thai Coconut Noodles and Stirfried Vegetables for 15 of them. Rince cooked pasta for some others, too.
Other people in attendance were Neve, Mike, hoggy, Twoflower, Zaphod, Kami, Wol, Tristam, Angharad, rols, Sam, Ben, JT, George, Windle, Noodles, Adrian, Raptor, and maybe some others. Ganesh turned up later, and they all went for a walk to the swings. Glis also arrived late, and helped me smoke too many cigarettes. Wol broke feeble.
I went out to the Thai Orchid tonight, with the Oxford Vegetarians Dining-Out Club. It was scrummy food and really good company. Then I called into the Radcliffe Arms to see loads and loads of people, including Neve, Ganesh, Mike, hoggy, Twoflower, Janet, Socks, Rince, doop, Lucian, Raptor, pag, Zaphod, jon, Kami and maybe some other people I forgot. Simon and Noodles were there very briefly, too.
I went to see Star Trek : Insurrection last night, with Simon, Neve, Tom, Ganesh, Jester, Mike, hoggy and George. Twoflower, Janet, Socks, Rince and Narenek were in the Eagle & Child with us beforehand, too. We went to the Cock & Camel later, then back to hoggy's room to get more drunk.
Me and doop cooked cool food tonight : Spicy Chickpeas & Spinach and Stirfried Aubergine.
I can't be bothered to write too much news right now, but I should point out for those I haven't told yet that I've split up with Rob and am getting divorced. This is a Good Thing. I will get my flat back soon, too, hopefully.
Richard is coming down tomorrow. I'm going to go and see Square Pegs tomorrow with Janet and Simon. I'm going to the Lamb & Flag with Oxnet tonight to celebrate sjg's birthday.
It's the second week of term now, and lots of things have been happening. I'm teaching a b10 Mathematical Biology and Ecology class (with Stephen Gower in it), and tutoring a1 Differential Equations. I've started my year at Mansfield and have joined Andrew Linzey's campaign for vegan food in Hall. I'm singing in Corpus choir, and our new organ scholar is by far the oddest we've ever had.
My office is no longer in the Maths Institute - we're over the road now, in Dartington House. I've forgotten my swipe card today, so will need to be escorted everywhere. Our new office is much bigger but hasn't got as nice a view.
Update - 23 October: Went out to Frevds last night with the Math Biologists. Good fun, got drunk and danced. Forgot my swipe card again today.
I haven't updated this for ages. Richard has been gently nagging me; and this page had at least 25 hits in the last week, despite being advertised as out of date, so I suppose I'd better make some news.
So, what's happened since 13 July? Um. I recovered from the flu eventually. Then my stepkids, Ben and Yas came up to visit (I had my photos back this morning, so if I can get the college scanner working, this News might be illustrated soon). We had an excellent time. They were here for 3 weeks and we had all kinds of adventures, including a candlelit dinner and several parties. Ben, of course, brought his Sega Saturn and colour TV; I got addicted to a game called Nights, in which you fly around a colourful landscape doing gymnastics and collecting blue things.
We also had a few parties; Anna Kirsten has been round a lot. Lucy came down a few times and recited lots of poems. We had a Japanese dinner. Richard came down for the weekend, and then Bro and Jeff came down for the rest of the week. That was last week - the flat, Rob and I have just about recovered now.
Before that, we had a barbecue, which was attended by Anna Kirsten, Janet, Simon, Colin, Elaine and um someone Colin brought. Rob got drunk and fell over.
I had sushi for lunch today.
I've been ill with flu ;-( but I'm better now. I went to Rob & Steph's wedding on July 4; good fun. I saw all the clique, and had a screaming match with Halina's super-sensitive housemate. More news will follow when I feel well enough to make some.
Sorry; I know I said I'd update this yesterday. I was too hayfevery.
We had an ace barbecue on Sunday. Loads of people came, including Anna-Kirsten, Martin (plus 9-month-old daughter Morgan), Denise, Paul & Marjorie, Robin, Richard, Richard, Ben, Bro, Andrew, Fran, Rosie, Mark, Daragh, George, Juliette, Rebecca, Denise, Stuart, Pippa, Anne and Frazer. Probably also a couple more that have slipped my mind. Food we ate was:
There was supposed to be a pageant swordfight between Winter and Summer at sunset; but Winter drank too much and fell asleep, so Summer won by default. This led to a few worries about whether the days would now just keep on getting longer and longer. Robin and Richard HW then started getting very complicated about how this would be possible.
Nobody mentioned Vindaloo, but I did accidentally start the Z80 thread again.
A fair amount of stuff has happened since I last did this properly. I've done my transfer so I'm now a real DPhil student. Phew. It went OK but not brilliant, but I passed anyway. Now I have to prove that I deserved it.
I've finally gone to an ox.meet and met a lot of people; such as Janet, LNR, Noodles, jc, Neale and several people called Martin or Tom or Ian who I've completely mixed up. I kind of met Illtud as well, but he went away fairly quickly when he saw how drunk and stupid we were. People there I'd already met included Tony, Robin, Ian and Simon (kind of). We sat in the Angel & Greyhound meadow for a long time, then in the corresponding pub, and finally went to Frevds where Rob played and sang on stage. LNR and I tried to dance but not very hard. [16-Jun-1999 editorial note: Tony's link changed to his new website, jc decapitalised because he prefers it that way.]
I had a hangover and Byrd day to cope with the next day. Byrd day was good because Janet came as well. Parry day was yesterday and went brilliantly - even the Chaplain complimented us at the beginning of the sermon.
Just don't ask. Too much work. Transfer dissertation is due in tomorrow; it may be finished on time. Hmmm.
Friday, worked dead late (till about midnight); in the Maths Institute for 15 hours. Saturday, I bought a film for my camera and some new viola strings (a set for £4·00!). I also got some music out of the City Library for the string quartet I'm forming with Karen and two of her friends from badminton. I also discovered that Uhuru Wholefoods sell vegan Cornettos!
Saturday evening, I watched the Eurovision Song Contest. I voted for France, who only got 3 points in the end, none of them from the UK. I was sure Terry Wogan told me on the phone that my vote had been registered, though...
Sunday morning was Paul and Marjorie's brunch party. Halina was there, as were Paul and Marjorie's friends Gary, Tristam, Will and Franklin. Then, in the evening Rob and I stood Richard and Huw up in the Turf.
I had lunch with Halina in Café Rouge today. Good fun. Right now I'm working late to make up for it.
What a mad weekend. Not sure where to start, really.
First of all, I didn't do anything for May Eve, since I'm a grown up now (oh OK, it was really because I knew I needed to work the next day, and also because I didn't want to fall asleep in the seminar.
However, it all went downhill from there. I attended a very interesting colloquium on Quantum Gravity at the Maths Institute on Friday afternoon. Unfortunately, it was followed by a reception with heaps of free wine. Juliette and I got a bit drunk and so decided to go to the pub.
We dragged Eamonn along to the Eagle & Child, insulted a man's hair (OK, that was me) and then realised that if we went to the Crown, the Clique would probably be there. Luckily we caught them just as they were leaving; but only Alan had the stamina to continue. Needless to say, we (except Juliette, who had the sense to go home) ended up at Freuds, where we danced and eventually Alan fell over.
Bro and Jeff came from Ebbw Vale for a visit on Saturday. Jeff has turned vegetarian, except on Sundays, when his Mum makes him eat chicken. Saturday afternoon was spent in the garden drinking wine with them and Paul. Saturday evening, Paul and Marjory came over. We pretended it was Summer, and had salad:
Adrian turned up later, in a purple blazer.On Sunday, Rob's sister Liz, her husband Les, and their offspring, Sophie and Lucas, came to visit. They brought three avocados and a chicken, amongst other things.
That afternoon, I bought my first CD (Marjory is lending me her spare CD player). It was Beck, Mellow Gold. Later, Brian pointed out that my buying my first CD in Virgin was most appropriate. After this small piece of shopping, I met Alan, Chris, Halina, Katy, Rob, Steph, Brian, Gary and Jess in the Crown.
Later, Jeff got drunk and was thrown out of at least one pub. He talked about this constantly for the rest of the day. In the evening, we watched Muriel's Wedding and the last ever episode of Father Ted on Bro's big colour telly. This was a purposely sedate evening, as I wanted to go to a 9am lecture the next morning which I COULDN'T FIND.
And that's about where I am now.
Well, I didn't actually make it to Wales after all. But then, Bro didn't make it to Oxford (due to all the floods and things), so we're quits, kind of.
Ben, Yas and John went back to Wales on Tuesday. Before they left, we cooked a mega Indian meal -
This fed seven people, with seconds for those that wanted them; the only thing we could really have done with more of was the red pepper pickle, and there were a couple of servings of coconut rice left over, which we ate the next day. The meal was cooked by me, Yas, Ben and John and fed to us four, plus Rob, Paul and Marjory.
Rob, Paul, Marjory and I went out last Wednesday. We started in the afternoon at the Eagle & Child. Marjory was still in work, but Rob, Paul and I did our best to make up for that. We now have four stamps towards our Stella Artois T-Shirt. Later we moved to O X One, which is what happened to the Westgate. Paul made me look at some pure maths, an experience I've still not fully recovered from. We acquired Marjory somewhere around this point.
Once we were nice and drunk, we went across the road to Liaison, where we had really decent food and lots more to drink. Since it was ¼ to 11 at this point, we made a dash to The Jolly Farmers as being the nearest pub, and somehow managed to drink more alcohol.
I was ill the next day.
My stepchildren, Ben and Yas, are visiting us this week. They arrived yesterday having been delayed many hours on the train. They've brought Ben's friend John with them.
Bro is coming to visit today, and will be staying until Monday. My sister-in-law Liz, her husband Les and their 2 kids Sophie and Lucas will be coming for lunch today. Richard and his girlfriend Tara are coming tomorrow and staying till Sunday.
With all these guests, it's not surprising that Bro will be taking me back to Ebbw Vale with him on Monday for a few days, just to keep a balance.
Bro visited last weekend, good fun. Halina and Alan came over on Saturday night, and we had sushi and cider. George from upstairs came as well. The best cider was the strong organic cider I got from Uhuru Wholefoods.
On Sunday, Rob, Bro and I went to the Crown, and sampled their new menu. Marcus turned up as well.
All this term's teaching is now over. I asked my 1st years to write a little report on me so I could get some feedback and they wrote the most lovely things. Hurray - I can teach!
I had a really enjoyable lunch with a group of friends at the Gardener's Arms today. Those still there at 3:45pm were myself, Juliette and Marjory! Other participants included Henry (whose web page is a paragon of subtlety), Philip popped in for a quick drink later as well.
I felt a little bit guilty about taking so much time off in the middle of the day, because I took half the afternoon off yesterday as well to go to the Crown with Halina. We made anagrams of people, including Alan Robert "never a tear or bawl" Weaver. Then we went to a new(ish) pub on George Street called The Cock and Camel, which has very big windows and serves pints in strange tall thin glasses. Rob joined us sometime during this phase. Later we went to Pizza Express, and finally the Corpus Beer cellar, where we saw Marcus, the other Kate, and some more people.
Rob and I are going to Paul and Marjorie's for supper tomorrow night. Bro may be visiting this weekend, but I doubt it.
Only 2 classes, 1 tutorial and 1 pub lunch to go before the end of term.
The brunch was good fun. Visitors included Richard, Paul, Marjory and Halina. We had Bloody Mary, Buck's Fizz, onion bagels, roasted red peppers, hummous and fruit. The non-vegans had scrambled eggs, croissants and ham as well.
Only 4 classes and 2 tutorials to go before the end of term, and I have moved the tutorial that was going to be on the last day of term. Things are looking up...
I went on a minor pub crawl with Rob last Saturday, taking in The Pub, The Cricketers Arms and The Fir Tree. We ended up at the Dhaka Brasserie on the Cowley Road, then went home with a bottle of Malibu and pretended to be seccies.
We're having a brunch party next Sunday - if I know you and haven't invited you yet then please email me!
I'm still 22 and nearly 2 thirds.
Only 4 classes and 3 tutorials to go before the end of term! For some reason though, I have agreed to give a tutorial at 5pm on the last day of term. Madness.
My dissertation now has 5 chapters and 4 pictures, though I've yet to work out how to make an index. It's also going to have lots more pictures, but should be finished by the start of next term.
Richard is coming down to visit this weekend, and Paul and Marjory are coming round for a drink too. Perhaps I should warn the neighbours...
Come to think of it, perhaps I should have another party soon.
I'm still 22 and nearly 2 thirds.
Since it's term time, I'm busy. I'm teaching Waves and Diffusion to 1st years and Integral and Differential Equations to 2nd and 3rd years.
Apart from that, I've nearly finished my dissertation, so I will soon be a real doctorate student instead of just a probation one. About time, too.
Went for a long walk with Rob last Sunday. What ridiculous weather for February...
I'm now 22 and nearly 2 thirds.
Me and Rob went to Wales for Christmas and New Year. We stayed at my parents' house and partied lots. For Christmas I got a skipping rope, a gym top, some trainers, some clothes, lots of bath stuff, four Star Trek Voyager books, some chocolate and so on.
I got a toothbrush in my stocking as usual, but it was one of the ones that changes colour when you hold it. I also got a bottle of Bacardi Breezer, orange flavour.
I spent New Year's Eve with Rob (husband), Ben and Yas (stepchildren) because my parents had gone to a party in North Wales and Bro was staying at his girlfriend's. We ate pizza and made videos of ourselves and listened to Spice Girls.
I'm now 22 and a half..