Ah hah!

And this!

Well I've just finished cleaning the kitchen and the bathroom.... I need to tidy up my bedroom and then hoover hoover hoover.... but before that I'll bake some scones.

I sound quite domesticated don't I. :)

I like having time outside of studying, where I'm not feeling guilty for not studying, to do stuff. Yesterday I was in the Meadows having a waterfight. We then retired to the pub for a few drinks and dinner, then to the teahouse for hot chocolate (me), tequila, and tea, chess, checkers, and card games.

I could get used to this.

Meanwhile I'm learning cantonese (as I clean) and economics (though, it must be said, only half-heartedly so far) and dreaming of a person I could be.

Someone once said to me that he had become the person he had wanted to be, but now he was realising that he no longer wants to be that person. He had created new goals, he wanted to be someone else yet again.

I want to be someone, not someone different, but someone better. I want to know about world affairs and not merely sit at the feet of those who do. I want to be able to argue, to put my point across in a way that will make people acknowledge that I might be right. I want to be accomplished, to have talents both useful and to make people look at me twice. They need not be the same talents.

Don't get me wrong. I don't dislike the person I am. I think for where I am in life I am good enough. But I aware that I will soon be moving out into the big bad world and I want tools to keep in a utility belt and brandish around when needed. I want to be someone that I can admire.

I don't think my goals are too much to ask of myself. And I don't think when I reach there I will want to be someone else, maybe I will have bigger goals, to become even better, but I don't think I would want to be someone else entirely.

Anyway. I'm going to bake some blueberry scones.

Harry Potter (no spoilers, I hope)

I just spent the past 2 days reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I can't say it was a gripping read all the way through (there are afterall 607 pages of it) but at some points it was very very hard to put the book down even just to eat.

It was absolutely fantastic. I was quite disappointed after reading Book 5 but 6 was bloody good and this was amazing. There is about 100 pages of not muchness, which was at least easy to read, but the rest more than made up for it.

About 1/3 the way through it it occurred to me that that was the last time I will be discovering a new Harry Potter book... from here on out it is all re-reads and I will always know what happens. Even if I don't read the books for 10 years and come back to them later on, even though I will have forgotten the details I will know what happens at the end.

Potter fans from here on out will never again have to wait breathlessly for another book to come out, never spend years wondering what's going to happen, re-reading the books that have appeared, teasing out new details and putting together new theories of who and what and how.

I hope there are other books that can excite people the same way the Harry Potter books have, becuase I can't think of anything else that has turned at least Britain's attention the way these books have. Speculation in the media, queues outside bookstores at midnight, costumes, how everyone knows who Harry, Ron, and Hermione are without having to read the books, how you can say "I've finished reading it!" and everyone will know what you're talking about.

I'm not ashamed to say that I joined in the queues at midnight - I wanted to be a part of the excitement, wanted to experience this phenomenon that has taken Britain. It was, afterall, only going to happen once. I spoke to other fans, posed for pictures for strangers, took pictures of strangers, discussed plot points and theories with people I didn't know the names of, led a group verbal attack against a chav who came around saying "Harry Potter dies!" (the 109th person to tell us so) and generally had a great time.

I doubt it will be something people will talk about for years to come, but if any further generations of readers ask, I will be proud to say I was there. Hell yes.

3 days caffiene free

The first time I walked into Starbucks and ordered myself a coffee; through actual want of a coffee, was on a day like this a couple of years ago. My sudden liking of coffee was, I think, triggered by emotion, and my appreciation of coffee, though real, is I think caught up with lots of memories of various boys and their love of coffee. I have days when I can't imagine myself having a cup of coffee, and there are days when I really really crave some (though most of the time I try not to give in), and then there are days where I'd like to hold a cup of coffee and breathe in the smell, more for the comfort than the taste. Today is one of those days. I'd just like to hold a cup of coffee and stare out the window for a bit, watch the silver birches sway, let my mind wander.

But I am 3 days caffiene free and counting, and today (Day 4) is the first day I've not had to fight to keep myself awake sans caffiene. To give in now would be not only be a sign of weakness but would also mean more fighting to stay awake.

No caffiene, lots of water, fruits, and some exercise. That's my current goal for the moment.

I've been going to Freakanomics a lot lately, and find some really interesting posts there. I feel my brain expanding as I leave my next lesson of cantonese on in the background and read some of the links from that blog.

Anyway, just wanted to post this as I thought it was thoughtworthy.

Emily Oster's talk about what we don't know about HIV.

As a random aside, something else interesting from/about Ms Oster.

post!

Things that have happened in the past week:

1. Got a job
2. Graduated (with lots of photographic evidence)
3. Found out I got into London for my Masters
4. Got 2 dresses for a ball
5. Went to ball (with lots and lots of photographic evidence)
6. Consoled a beautiful damsel in distress with hot chocolate and hugs.
7. Got another job.
8. Said goodbye to someone who I recently realised has reminded me that life has so much more variance and colour than I have been comfortably living in for the past few years.
9. Called the police to pick up a guy who'd fallen asleep curled up in the corner of a bus stop
10. Returned a dress. And a kilt.
11. Started my new job.
12. Lost my other job.
13. Got a library card, hence saving money from buying books.

It's been a really interesting week. Good and bad things have happened, but I am mostly happy when everything is counted up. I'd be more upset about the goodbye but I somehow don't think it is really goodbye. I'm a bit unhappy about losing the second job, but I am hoping to get a new one soon. I don't know why I want to work in a cafe so much, but I do.