So the World Cup begins today. It doesn't seem like it's been four years since I was getting up ridiculously early to go over to my friend August's house to watch the live broadcast of the matches held in Korea.* And it was four years before that when I followed the tournament from the Bahamas, where I was participating in an archaeological field school. This year, to make things interesting, postgraduates and staff at the Institute for Medieval Studies have started a sweepstakes, where everyone draws teams, selecting randomly from slips of paper in a hat. Gag gifts will be given to those people whose teams allow the most goals. I drew Germany and Serbia, who I will now be rooting for in addition to the USA.
Leeds is currently experiencing a heat wave, with daily tempuratures reaching as high as 75°. Everyone is complaining about the heat. My standard response, if I can refrain from laughing, is to say "I don't care how many times you say it. I will not agree or sympathise with you until it reaches at least 95°."
One of the articles I've been working on has finally been submitted to the editor. It's the paper I co-authored with two other postgraduates and presented at a conference in King's College London back in March. I am still fine tuning the paper for the Iceland conference, but it is in pretty good shape. When I feel confident about it, I'll begin working on a PowerPoint presentation to go with it. I also still have a book review to write, but that's now not due until August.
*August had a dog that would howl whenever he heard bagpipes. I don't know which sound was more grating on the ears.** Fortunatley, living in Baton Rouge, there weren't many occasions where one was exposed to bagpipes. August remedied this by purchasing CD's with bagpipe music with the sole intention of playing them to make his dog howl.
** I am telling a lie. I like bagpipes. I once gave my mother a CD of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards as a birthday present just so I could listen to it. I did leave it with her, though, when I moved over here to England.
Friday, June 09, 2006
Thursday, June 01, 2006
De ratione temporibus
My how time flies. I don't know where May went. Come to think of it, I'm still wondering what happened to 2005. May was a busy month, but June and July will make May seem like a walk in the park.
For Memorial Day, Kat and I hiked out to Kirkstall Abbey, on the outskirts of Leeds. It's the ruins of a twelfth century Cistercian Monastery. We were rained on walking there and back, but the weather was cooperative while we were there. Here's a picture of the abbey:
I've put up an album of photos from the abbey, along with a few others, over at Flickr.
My thirtieth birthday was the 14th of May. I don't feel any older. I didn't expect that I would. I really don't have any further comment about my age. I have received some nice cards and gifts from family and friends, mostly gift certificates which I will use or have used to get CD's and DVD's. So far this includes Batman Begins, Serenity, Best of Bowie and Fight Club. With the remainder, I am considering MirrorMask, Star Wars Episode III (that's right, I don't own it yet), Clone Wars Vol. II, Samurai Jack Season 2 and Corvus Corax' Carmina Burana. Kat and I also have a stack of DVD's we've borrowed from friends to watch. We're waiting for the next installment of Smallville Season 3. In the meantime we're watching Twin Peaks.
Did you know that there is a Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists? I thought about applying, but I'm not sure if they consider archaeology a science.
This past weekend, Kat and I went to see the Rocky Horror Show in York. It was fantastic! There were several audience members with perfect timing on the participation lines, and the cast did an excellent job responding to them. At least half of the audience was in costume. Kat and I weren't in full costume, just mildly goth. Kat took this photo of some of the crowd:
David Bedella was an outstanding Frank'n'furter. He's not as good as Tim Curry, but then again, only Tim Curry is as good as Tim Curry. Which reminds me, I'm very much looking forward to seeing him as King Arthur in Spamalot. Kat and I have tickets for when the show opens in London this October.
I found out Tuesday that I was awarded a travel grant from the Royal Historical Society for my conference in Iceland. Thank you Royal Historical Society! I spent a good portion of yesterday obtaining reservations for a hostel in Reykjavik, accommodation at the conference, and train tickets to Stansted Airport. Unfortunately, there are no trains I can take that will get me from Leeds to Stansted early enough to catch my flight. So I will be arriving late the night before my flight and sleeping at the airport. That's going to be fun.
For Memorial Day, Kat and I hiked out to Kirkstall Abbey, on the outskirts of Leeds. It's the ruins of a twelfth century Cistercian Monastery. We were rained on walking there and back, but the weather was cooperative while we were there. Here's a picture of the abbey:
I've put up an album of photos from the abbey, along with a few others, over at Flickr.
My thirtieth birthday was the 14th of May. I don't feel any older. I didn't expect that I would. I really don't have any further comment about my age. I have received some nice cards and gifts from family and friends, mostly gift certificates which I will use or have used to get CD's and DVD's. So far this includes Batman Begins, Serenity, Best of Bowie and Fight Club. With the remainder, I am considering MirrorMask, Star Wars Episode III (that's right, I don't own it yet), Clone Wars Vol. II, Samurai Jack Season 2 and Corvus Corax' Carmina Burana. Kat and I also have a stack of DVD's we've borrowed from friends to watch. We're waiting for the next installment of Smallville Season 3. In the meantime we're watching Twin Peaks.
Did you know that there is a Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists? I thought about applying, but I'm not sure if they consider archaeology a science.
This past weekend, Kat and I went to see the Rocky Horror Show in York. It was fantastic! There were several audience members with perfect timing on the participation lines, and the cast did an excellent job responding to them. At least half of the audience was in costume. Kat and I weren't in full costume, just mildly goth. Kat took this photo of some of the crowd:
David Bedella was an outstanding Frank'n'furter. He's not as good as Tim Curry, but then again, only Tim Curry is as good as Tim Curry. Which reminds me, I'm very much looking forward to seeing him as King Arthur in Spamalot. Kat and I have tickets for when the show opens in London this October.
I found out Tuesday that I was awarded a travel grant from the Royal Historical Society for my conference in Iceland. Thank you Royal Historical Society! I spent a good portion of yesterday obtaining reservations for a hostel in Reykjavik, accommodation at the conference, and train tickets to Stansted Airport. Unfortunately, there are no trains I can take that will get me from Leeds to Stansted early enough to catch my flight. So I will be arriving late the night before my flight and sleeping at the airport. That's going to be fun.
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