2010 GO!

It is COLD here. Now it is snowing. I took these on my first morning back in the UK after having spent a lovely 10 days in California for the holidays. Those are ice crystals growing on a rose in my front yard and a spider's web on my way to work. COLD.

California was great. Life is constantly surprising me and I hope for good things this year. How about you? Happy New Year! (hug) HH

Bath, Bristol and Banksy

Frank and I went to the Banksy exhibit in Bristol for a bank holiday.

Bath and Bristol

This is Frank in line to see the Banksy exhibit... only a 4.5 hour 'queue'. Damn, am I getting into the lingo or what? You can follow the link to check out pics I took along our rides (Bradford on Avon, Bath, Bristol, Banksy exhibit). We biked back at top speed from Bristol in order to appreciate some of the fine local Bath ciders and cute pubs.

It was just a pretty damn fantastic weekend. Bath is the location of ancient ruins dedicated to the worship of Minevera. This is the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Athena who has been a favorite of mine for a long long time. In addition to being the goddess of war and intelligence (so awesome) she is accompanied by an owl who sits on her shoulder in much of the iconography. In addition to all of this she was born from her father Zeus' forehead(no messing around necessary).

The Roman Baths were neat and we walked around listening to the likes of Bill Bryson pontificating about the Romans. After that however we visited the Thermae Spa in central Bath. This was so relaxing and amazing. I loved the steam baths and felt really good about going back to work in Oxford after this little retreat.

Huzzah! Now, back to work!

Not all birds love England

As it turns out there are not hummingbirds in Europe. I know, I know, this will shock many. As a girl who has identified with birds since the age of 3 (little bird was my YMCA indian princess name) I am shocked by this. This means that the tiny hummingbird feeder that I was so delighted to receive from my brother Matt for Christmas this year, the same hummingbird feeder that was so kindly brought to me across the ocean by Kathleen when she was visiting this last week, the hummingbird feeder that I just filled with one part sugar to four parts water (the perfect nutritional combination to keep beautiful iridescent wings beating at a rate of 50 times per second), this hummingbird feeder is useless here. It will remain for the duration of spring and summer here in the UK as absent from hummingbirds as the one in this picture. This may be the most disappointing thing I have learned about the UK to date...

On the other hand... the weather is lovely today.

Hallelujah!

One of the great things about being at Oxford is that there are a lot of people here who I think are really clever for a variety of reasons. One of my pals from the choir is Hugh Trimble. He is probably my best source of interesting information about the English since I read 'Watching the English' by Kate Fox (strongly recommended). Hugh recently had a short contribution published in BBC letters that has received a lot of feedback. His letter follows:

Now I heard there was a certain song
That Cowell made and you sang along
But you don't really know your music, do you?
What follows next: some Bible text,
Some music terms and some kinky sex,
Leonard Cohen composing Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah,
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

The song was strong, but not well known
Till Buckley came, made it his own,
Helped out by John Cale, who had been peculiar:
He'd cut out the most fervent fits
And only kept the dirty bits
Soon every busker's lips said "Hallelujah".

Hallelujah, Hallelujah,
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Jeff Buckley's fans are grumpy now
While Alex milks their holy cow
But for once you don't hear Cohen moaning, do you?
There's royalties from every try
It doesn't matter whose you buy
When nothing's in the charts but Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah,
Hallelujah, Hallelujah.
Hugh Trimble, Oxford, UK

I saw the Darwin exhibit at the Natural History Museum in London a few weeks ago. There was a lot of really great stuff in the exhibit but I have to admit that this note on whether to marry or not was my favorite thing. It has some tough competition. There was a tiny gun on display that Darwin had on board the Beagle. There was a description of Darwin tossing Galapagos iguanas into the ocean to see if they were ablt to recognize him as a pest, they didn't (so great!). In his pro/con list on whether or not to marry Darwin includes 'a terrible loss of time' on the Pros list by mistake. Eventually he chose to marry his cousin (-Marry - Marry - Marry - Q.E.D.). I think I love this because even here he is being methodical and debating against himself here. It is a more human look at a man whose work I more than admire.

This is the question

Marry

Children — (if it Please God) — Constant companion, (& friend in old age) who will feel interested in one, — object to be beloved & played with. — —better than a dog anyhow. — Home, & someone to take care of house — Charms of music & female chit-chat. — These things good for one's health. — Forced to visit & receive relations but terrible loss of time. —

W My God, it is intolerable to think of spending ones whole life, like a neuter bee, working, working, & nothing after all. — No, no won't do. — Imagine living all one's day solitarily in smoky dirty London House. — Only picture to yourself a nice soft wife on a sofa with good fire, & books & music perhaps — Compare this vision with the dingy reality of Grt. Marlbro' St.

Marry — Marry — Marry Q.E.D.

Not Marry

No children, (no second life), no one to care for one in old age.— What is the use of working 'in' without sympathy from near & dear friends—who are near & dear friends to the old, except relatives

Freedom to go where one liked — choice of Society & little of it. — Conversation of clever men at clubs — Not forced to visit relatives, & to bend in every trifle. — to have the expense & anxiety of children — perhaps quarelling — Loss of time. — cannot read in the Evenings — fatness & idleness — Anxiety & responsibility — less money for books &c — if many children forced to gain one's bread. — (But then it is very bad for ones health to work too much)

Perhaps my wife wont like London; then the sentence is banishment & degradation into indolent, idle fool — Translated on Darwin Online

Pittsburgh to Tennessee

I am making my way back slowly to the UK after having been in Tennessee to see Lisa and Jason get married. I have never cried so much at a wedding (including my own). It was also surprisingly sad for me to leave. I don't know when I will see Lisa and Jason again. In fact I saw a lot of great friends on this trip and I will miss them when I am back in the UK. Maybe now that I have been in Oxford long enough to get a feel for what my life there is really like I can hold that up and compare it to the life that I knew in Pittsburgh and think about what I have lost. Don't misunderstand me, Oxford is great and I am happy to be there. I know today that I will always love the people I knew in Pittsburgh. This trip was great. The wedding was beautiful.

A list of things I recommend from this trip in no particular order:

• filling gas tanks while the engine is still running,
  
• calling the cab well in advance,
  
• having just one more beer,
  
• reading out loud at the pool,
  
• walking barefoot in wet grass,
  
• watching fireflies,
  
• smoking cigars while dancing,
  
• not catching flowers,
  
• turquoise with brown,
  
• tactfully not mentioning the fate of the goldfish,
  
• Guinness shots with the bride,
  
• talking about science anyways,
  
• the marinated mushrooms,
  
• playing pool in high heels,
  
• reconnecting,
• teaching others choice british phrases,
  
• ignoring silly girls,
  
• avoiding the ice cream by eating meat for dessert,
  
• and drinking the scotch on the rocks.
  

My Life

Hello there friends, I have been meaning to update this blog for awhile. I have come back to the UK with a work permit and visa and I am officially officially here. I will start posting again. Things have been interesting. I was in Norway for a conference recently and then I went on vacation in Morocco with Copic and Spoons and Scott :) I will post pics but for today Petra (my lovely Czech room mate) and I are singing an old Billy Joel tune : MY LIFE. Chew on these lyrics and I will be back soon!

Got a call from an old friend
We used to be real close
Said he couldn't go on the American way
Closed the shop, sold the house
Bought a ticket to the West Coast
Now he gives them a stand-up routine in L.A.

I don't need you to worry for me cause I'm alright
I don't want you to tell me it's time to come home
I don't care what you say anymore, this is my life
Go ahead with your own life, and leave me alone

I never said you had to offer me a second chance
(I never said you had to)
I never said I was a victim of circumstance
(I never said)
I still belong, don't get me wrong
And you can speak your mind
But not on my time

They will tell you, you can't sleep alone in a strange place
Then they'll tell you, you can't sleep with somebody else
Ah, but sooner or later you sleep in your own space
Either way it's okay, you wake up with yourself

I don't need you to worry for me cause I'm alright
I don't want you to tell me it's time to come home
I don't care what you say anymore, this is my life
Go ahead with your own life, and leave me alone

I never said you had to offer me a second chance
(I never said you had to)
I never said I was a victim of circumstance
(Of cirumstance)
I still belong, don't get me wrong
And you can speak your mind
But not on my time

I don't care what you say anymore, this is my life
Go ahead with your own life, and leave me alone

(Keep it to yourself, it's my life.)
(Keep it to yourself, it's my life.)
(Keep it to yourself, it's my life.)
(Keep it to yourself, it's my life.)