Random

So, there is no coherent thread to connect much of what I am about to write. And now that we have gotten THAT out of the way...

A few days ago, colorless, flavorless Tropical Snow fell from the sky. No, I am not describing snow. I mean precipation that was actually the consistency of a snow cone or slushy dropped from the heavens. I thought how happy I would be if this would happen in June or July. I know there are some real scientific obstacles that prevent this, but otherwise I can't see any good reasons why things weren't designed this way.

Sometimes incredibly intelligent and impressive people who do not speak English for their first language use some really politically incorrect words. When they do this in class, I want to giggle like a school-girl. But I am really just appalled because unlike the unpolished speakers who usually use such language, these words (which won't be replicated for propriety reasons--after all, I AM a native English speaker and so I know better) sound remarkably out of place.

Some people like to complain about the quality of food available in college. I had grilled salmon and gnocchi with mushroom sauce at Jesus College today (for lunch, mind you). I am thinking back to Hubbell dining hall. Sure, they may have avoided mysterious tuna and olive mixtures on the salad bar, but they also specialized in hamburgers, slimey deli sandwiches, and grilled cheese. Also, that would have cost you $6-7 bucks. Let's just say there is no comparison.

One of my biggest pet peeves is American's who adopt phoney British accents. The other day a friend of mine told me that if he didn't adopt the British inflection, people couldn't understand him. I like this friend, so he does not peeve me (and he uses his inflection selectively). However, I do not buy this line, and will not be testing out this hypothesis.

I think I witnessed an awkward under-cover date in the MCR. You know, the kind where one person knows it's a date and the other doesn't. These happen a lot in Oxford. How did I know? Well, the girl was talking about particle physics or whatever she is studying and the guy was murmuring about "how interesting" it was. I think at this point, the girl turned on her sleuth skills because she told a story about, "when my boyfriend was...". Well played, my friend. Well played.

My college has Rock Band for Wii. We voted to buy it in a meeting. The only problem is that you have to check out the remotes from the Porter's Lodge and the game is apparently password protected and can only be found by the brave of heart. So, I will just put this activity on the list of things to do when I get back to the states, including:

1. Watch TV.
2. Eat a burrito.
3. Drive a car.
4. Watch TV with friends.
5. Talk about sports.
6. Watch Sportscenter.
7. Send lots of text messages--for FREE.
8. Maintain my "biker's butt" (It has taken many days, and I don't want that training to go to waste).
9. Lift weights. Freely and without interference.

It is going to be a busy visit.

I went to a seminar on Welsh literature today. I only understood half of it. And that wasn't even all of the part that was in English. But I did learn something. Welsh sounds like a VERY hard language.