diverting from diversions

Closure

2010-01-28T22:57:00.003Z

Over Christmas Simon and I flew over to British Columbia to spend time with Robin and Gerald - friends I made in Korea. They gave us a wonderful tour of west Canada, staying with Robin's various family members along the way and getting the local's perspective of Christmas in Canada. It was the perfect break away from work, studying, and the UK's influx of snow in December.

But now I'm well and truly settled in the UK again. The sarcasm has returned, along with an appreciation for talking about the weather and exchanging cynical remarks with fellow Brits about this, that and the other. And here I plan to stay, at least for now. Since this was a blog to keep up with my life back in England after returning from Korea after 18 months, I think it's time to lie it to rest.

The banality of native living has returned. I'm not sure it's really bloggable.

(But since I'm now a blogaholic, see my *new* blog on my life as a linguophile ;)

Snow on the horizon

2009-12-14T22:45:00.002Z

I ripped my jeans today. It's dancing around 0 degrees. My knees are going to get cold. Time to crack out the tights.

New Moon

2009-12-08T09:05:00.002Z

Well it's a good job they cast Jacob Black as a hotty as there wasn't much else going for this film. And considering I'm a vampire fiend and a Twilight enthusiast, that's saying something.

Admittedly this is the worst of the books of the Twilight Saga, with Bella dreaming every night and screaming in her sleep (thank god they didn't play that out too much), but the film was so-o-slow and plotless, and with a distinct lack of acting. Alice the vampire is pretty cute, but her minimal screen time doesn't make up for the fact that I was completely unengaged and eager to run from the cinema.

And I cried at Mary Poppins, and got scared by Glorious 39. I'm not one to be unengaged.

Christmas Hall and Fez nightclub

2009-12-03T15:18:00.003Z

I went along to the Trinity Hall Christmas dinner last night (which sold out in a record 10 minutes), which was far more impressive than their usual formal Grad Halls -- there was no rogue dish with dubious looking meat, for one! Christmas crackers, choir, jolly carol singing and mince pies made it well worth a night out. It was followed by my first proper big night out in Cambridge at Fez, where it was good to bop to some latin beats and let my hair down.

Despite the holidays being a prime opportunity to knuckle down with some work, the end of term definitely brings a festive cheer, and with it a day in bed with a big bottle of water.

Happy Christmas!

2009-12-02T17:33:00.003Z

I can't believe that 8 weeks have already passed and that today is the official end of term. What has happened?

--I have developed a love of semantics, and thrown all previous expectations of a mathematic/syntactic future out of the window

--I have competed in my first ever latin & ballroom dance competition, doing averagely well, but mostly viewing first hand the Oxford/Cambridge rivalry that exists

--I have become addicted to taking part in research experiments for minimal amounts of money, giving-myself-up-for-science, and subsequently gone cold turkey as the commitments sliced into my workday

--I have been given the dSLR camera of my choice from my generous bro, and consequently discovered an ebay obsession searching for new lenses

All in all, a good term, and just a busy holiday of essay writing ahead!

Week 2

2009-10-21T16:51:00.003+01:00

It's raining. My feet are wet. I skipped my syntax class in favour of tea in the University Library. Which is, by the way, huge. The research methods seminar on library resources was very informative, but equally intimidating. "You will be an expert in your field," at this point in time is just not seeming like a plausible statement. But I'm happy. So perhaps I haven't hit the ground running as fast as I'd like, but at least I'm yet to stumble over a rock into a muddy heap. It's easy to freak out with notions that it's already a quarter of the way through the term and I'm only just figuring out a sensible filing system, but it's not particularly constructive.

Student again

2009-10-16T10:02:00.003+01:00

So here I am, all settled in the small market city of Cambridge, a mere 30 minutes from my hometown. Postgrad communal living appears to be a lot more considerate than undergrads would you have believe they were capable of, I've done more reading the last week than I've done in the last year, and Cambridge take their dancing seriously which will help keep the birthday chocolates off. OK, time to hit the books again...

London

2009-09-30T11:37:00.007+01:00

Phew. Simon has finally moved into his flat in London, allowing me to flat pack and unpack while he went off to lectures and so forth. I saw his room in Leamington - and after the cheeky, "Just throw it all over the desk; that's where it used to live," there was no way this house was going the same way. It does mean that I've put together more IKEA furniture in the last seven days that I'd want to do in the next seven years, but the king size bed does mean I can sprawl without kicking Simon out of bed every night.

Of course a week in London (and undoubtedly many weekends to follow) enabled us to do what we do best: go sight-seeing and take photographs. And with largely blue skies all week, that's what we did.

-- British Museum --

-- Round Reading Room --

-- Greek antiquities --

-- Horse Guards Parade --

-- Arch through to Whitehall --

-- Buckingham Palace --

-- St James's Park --

-- National Gallery --

-- Trafalgar Square --

Uh-oh...photo obsession taken up a notch...

2009-09-21T21:33:00.002+01:00

I blame the internet. When the information is so readily available, once you start looking there's no end to what you can find...and decide you want to buy. It's not a conventional choice given the amount of advice out there for Canon/Nikon cameras, in keeping with Simon's system I have opted for a Sony a230, based on ease of use, weight and size, its in-built image stabilisation and the potential for sharing lenses ;)

It gets worse. Given that I don't really feel like forking out for my new toy just yet, instead of playing with it I've been dedicating hours to researching appropriate lenses to accompany the camera. I won't go into that now, but let's just say, I might have to cut down on meals to fund this hobby on a student budget...

Julie & Julia

2009-09-16T22:13:00.003+01:00

In Korea, appealing to my list-making enthusiasm and completionist tendencies, Lauren encouraged me to log every film I've ever seen on IMDB.com. Simon, also showing symptoms of the above traits, began to follow suit. A year down the line with a comparative spreadsheet in tow, there is an underlying competition to a) increase the number of mutual films we've seen, and b) increase the number of films we've seen full stop.

Now 'unemployed' (I wouldn't like to fully embrace this word, being quite securely between the realms of employment and education), I have the time (limited though it may be) to pull my socks up and hold up my end of the bargain. Pulling out an old pile of counterfeit Chinese DVDs, last night I endured the poor sound quality of the equally poor film, Fantastic Four (The Incredibles meets Spiderman, minus a 1.5 of their average rating); avoiding studying this morning I put on House of D (a cute flashback film of a 13 year old whose life turns upside down, improved by its mere 97 minute playing time); and tonight, taking advantage of it being an Orange Wednesday, Julie & Julia (the true story of an ambitious blogger - perhaps inspiration for this another non-post? Certainly inspiration for a future blog...).

Sure, I'm up three films than I was this time yesterday, but has it been worth it? Simon blogged about his 500th film on IMDB months ago, and I'm still falling behind at a mere 487. But it's not a competition. No, no.

A photography phase

2009-09-14T10:49:00.002+01:00

Photobooks: a relatively cheap, time efficient, professional way of presenting photos without the hassle of prints, mounts and albums.

It is not so much the obsession with taking good photos as it is the sifting through and editing of mediocre photos - which happened to have the aid of favourable weather - and of course the making of the book itself, first involving trawling through half a dozen photo websites choosing the simplest user interface with the most sophisticated display options. Simon did this part.

Maybe one day I'll become obsessed enough to want to take good photos too.

It's the final countdown

2009-09-11T11:49:00.006+01:00

Accommodation in Cambridge is sorted, and will hopefully live up to my requests of location and lack of basement/dingy setting. Currently staying with Simon in Leamington for a week or two. Every dust bunny has been sorted through and dispelled in eager anticipation of his imminent move to London to start a PGCE, while I have even started pre-reading for my course, dampening the concern of my fraudulent interest and honing specific interests in preparation for the beginning of the academic year.

In other news, Simon and I went to visit Juli in Stamford over the weekend of the infamous horse trials, stopping over at Peterborough cathedral to satiate a growing photography thirst; three days later we were hurt and confused that Pizza Express was overflowing with a 40 minute wait for a table as we aimed to take advantage of the 2 for 1 Orange Wednesday pizza offer.

-- Peterborough Cathedral --

Game Night

2009-09-01T17:02:00.004+01:00

Date: August 20, 2009
Time: 17:00
Participants: Charlie, Chi-Hé, Neville, Simon

Round 1: Carcassonne
Aim: To victoriously build the medieval city of Carcassonne by means of laying tiles and manipulating city dwellers.
Duration: 50 mins
Winner: Chi-Hé

Round 2: Citadels
Aim: To build the most valuable city by deploying characters and exploiting their talents.
Duration: 1 hour
Winner: Neville

Round 3: Risk (Mission)
Aim: To conquer the world.
Duration: 4 hours
Winner: Neville

Risk became so heated at times, shots of tequila were necessary to see through the evening. Neville won by an arguable hair's breadth, due to a lapse in concentration on the other players' parts.

Cambridge baby!

2009-08-18T19:02:00.006+01:00

I have now accepted a place, submitted a financial guarantee, received an invoice for fees and applied for accommodation at the University of Cambridge, making me (subject to paying said fees) officially a fully fledged graduate student from 01 October 2009. Concerns include:

1) Being evidently incompetent at describing what exactly my course entails, implying I have no idea about what it is I am to study.

2) Living in a house of 9-16 students, and crying internally that the sink is piling up with mouldy washing up.

Excitements include: (not to be confused with Reasons for going to university)

1) Taking advantage of cheap university dance societies.

2) Not working 9-5, nor feeling like I should be working 9-5.

----------------------

Addendum to Cambridge baby!
Reasons for going to university include:
1) To avoid job hunting during a recession
2) To discover interests that may potentially lead to a fulfilling career
3) To take advantage of an opportunity to study at a top university, meet like minded folk, etc, spew

Summer holidays

2009-08-16T16:14:00.006+01:00

On Wednesday Simon and I got back from a week in the south of Ireland, where his parents have a house a stone's throw from the beach and the aroma of fresh cows. Unfortunately I've been nursing a stubborn cold for the past month (suspected hayfever?) so felt inclined to shy from the surprisingly mild Irish summer weather, but a light breeze flowing through the window equipped with trashy magazines, Strepsils and a mountain of DVDs was certainly conducive to a relaxing holiday.

And we did get out a bit to enjoy the moody skies and fresh air of the countryside.

Ed's surprise birthday barbecue

2009-07-15T19:37:00.004+01:00

"E-d!" called his mum, after she'd covertly ushered us into the house to take our positions.

Trudging down the stairs, expecting to leave for lunch with his grandmother, a burst of laughter exploded as Ed's jaw dropped noticing two old friends casually laid out in the living room.

"And you had no idea?"
"Didn't you wonder what all the food was for?"
"Didn't you wonder why we hadn't left for mum's yet?"
"And didn't you wonder what mum was cooking all that food for?"

Ed shook his head to the negative, bewildered.

But I think the combination of mum's home cooked Mexican food, introducing us to the latest fluff-ball kitten, and catching up with one another after so long was far preferable to lunch with relatives.

Decisions

2009-06-29T19:40:00.006+01:00

And to think I thought I had the next two years figured out. In retrospect it's little wonder I'm having some last minute questions regarding my choice of university, or indeed potential career path; I umed and erred between undergraduate English and History before finally settling on Maths; I phoned UCAS the day before the final deadline changing my university choice from Bristol to Warwick; I considered law, medicine, writing, politics and law again before applying to go back to university to study linguistics. So accepting one high class university in potential favour of another is really just following a long tradition of academic indecision.

It all started when Cambridge accepted me into my first choice college; quite a shock after Oxford had granted me admission into quite possibly my last choice college. But on research it didn't seem like a bad place to be and Oxford's speedy admin department put them at the forerunner for taking my graduate money. But perhaps one too many people have managed to spark nonchalant enthusiasm for my upcoming studies, ringing alarm bells that I might not be making the right decision.

So on Sunday I got Simon to drive me to Cambridge - a beautiful city with many personal memories - to take the walking tour and visit the college at which I could be a member. And it's old, and it's pretty and it's next to the river, and it's close to town.

What a trial to have to make such an amazing decision.

So This Is Summer

2009-06-25T18:44:00.006+01:00

On Friday night Cat had a housewarming party, celebrating the month she moved out of her parents' house into her own 5th floor 2 bedroomed flat. I drove to Leamington and Simon took the scenic A46 all the way down. Difficult to believe I hadn't seen her in the two years since we graduated.

And on Saturday the University of Warwick had its first ever alumni weekend. Ian Stewart (kind of a big shot in the maths world, and professor at aforementioned university where yours truly is proudly an alumna) gave a lecture on his new popular maths book, Professor Stewart's Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities.

It was pretty fun, in an ultra-geeky sort of way. I toured the new library/union with a curious new sense of belonging. Charlie got me a postcard with a cartoon captioning "...And here's one of us 20 seconds ago!" I don't know what she was trying to say.

On Sunday Josephine and Rudi cooked Simon and me an excellent roast lunch, as we made the journey to the abode that I've failed to visit due to being on the other side of the world.

Tomorrow it's my dad's birthday.

Next month Kristi, a fellow Seoul-salsa-lover, is getting married in Oxford.

Clearly, life is moving on.

Haircut

2009-06-11T21:39:00.005+01:00

Where it was £10 including wash, extensive head massage, cut and style at the top end of the market, I found myself going to the hair salon far more than I needed to in Korea. Especially in a country where basic commodities were so cheap, I didn't mind splashing out on frivolous haircuts and subway station clothing more frequently than I went to the supermarket.

Now even though I'm living rent-free meals-free, somehow life here feels that much more expensive. Really it's because my income has a specified purpose, namely that 20 grand+ education I'm about to fork out for, and expendable income doesn't feel quite as free-flowing as it was. So that's my excuse for letting my hair shred itself to pieces and refusing to pay £40+ for a similar level of cut that I was receiving three months ago. Can't really complain; Hannah claimed it cost £80 at the bottom of the scale for a mere trim in Oslo.

Anyway, probably tired of hearing my complaints about the state of my hair, my mum booked me in for a £3.50 cut at the local higher education college. Actually it's £8.50 when you add on the cheeky blast of a hairdryer, but still, not bad money. But is the three hour pre-amateur haircut really worth saving the pennies, when really you could probably find a cheap qualified hairdresser for £20 somewhere about the town? I fear not. And there's nothing like getting your hair criticised by someone who has failed to pick up the basics of cutting hair 10 months down the line at the end of the course.

...but then it's the amateurs that scrape through beauty school that become "qualified" and charge the cheaper rates. If I'm unwilling to fork out for haircare in favour of education, I'd probably better start getting used to a lesser quality haircut.

2009-06-08T18:48:00.003+01:00

It has been 3 months and 6 days since I arrived home in England. As is probably evidenced by my European travels and lack of day-to-day posting, I've settled in pretty well. Work has become more interesting since taking on the company website and with it getting to grips with its inner workings, which has eased the more mundane tasks of answering the phone and paper shuffling. Though these are not unuseful skills to have, of course.

So I sit, firmly in the middle of what was an overseas adventure, discovering a love of some things and a hate of others, and the prospect of a future reading and churning out essays, returning to full time education further discovering a love of some things and the ability to avoid others. A strange apathy has surmounted me, no longer so eager to travel the country (following a smashed wing mirror down the country lanes that drive me to my desk each day), no longer so eager to fulfil all life's travel/reading/film watching ambitions in a day. But no matter. Another 3 months is to pass and with it I am sure the apathy that accompanies the settled lifestyle of a full time job, which admittedly I enjoy, but admittedly groan about as the alarm rings each morning.

Norway

2009-06-02T17:41:00.007+01:00

To do:
1. Go to Cuba
2. Go to Norway

Such was the time spent during A-Level History lessons of me and fellow communist/fjord enthusiast, Hannah Garside. We ticked the former off during a university summer holiday and the good fortune of some cheap air tickets (dragging Josephine along with us), though finding ourselves quite disappointed with the fried chicken diet and unsurprising wariness of locals to the tourists so adamant to keep away from the tourist resorts. Number 2, however, was not to be sampled until our most recent bank holiday weekend, happily coinciding with Hannah's last weekend-proper of a 6 month jaunt as a language assistant. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to revive our high school friendship group (with an enthusiastic Meghan now in tow) with a bit of Scandinavian springtime.

Although we were greeted with "another on-time Ryanair flight", our Friday evening travels meant we just scraped past the last metro to Hannah's home of the night, forcing us to sample the Oslo nightlife as we waited for the nightbus to carry us onward instead. As we exchanged our multi-yeared catch ups we couldn't help noticing the distinct lack of stereotypical aryan Norwegians spanning the bar, and instead pondering on the surplus of multiculturism in our view. And despite what one learns about Scandinavian prices before the holiday; gosh! The beer was pri-cy.

Saturday Hannah gave us the inside guide to Oslo, including an all-inclusive public transport pass allowing us access to the Oslo fjord and essentially a free boat trip around. Being as I mentioned Hannah's last weekend as resident, there were of course last weekend celebrations to accompany it, and an introduction to Hannah's co-workers and the famous statue park. While we introduced the non-Brits to Pimms No 1 (which assumedly went down well), we fulfilled our roles as tourists by taking imitating photographs of as many statues as we could.

After an extended Sunday lie-in Hannah took us down to marvel at the dug up Viking ships - every part a highlight as the guide books tell us - before paddling at the beach and taking a homemade salad to the lake by her house. And even though it was photographically proven to be frozen over a mere two months before, our arrival in Norway had apparently brought with it blue skies and a positively summer-like vibe, giving Oslo a categorical thumbs up from us all.

Hannah's blog

--Oslo's fjord--

--Statues in the statue park--

--Having fun--

--Viking ship--

--The beach--

--The lake--

It's still raining

2009-05-13T19:54:00.007+01:00

Sometimes I think about changing the "About Me" blurb, over yonder -->, feeling that it's a little pessimistic, or suchlike. But on the days that I go to do it, typically, it starts to rain again.

There must be something about being in a foreign country that, as arduous as the working/travelling is, still makes it seem exciting and ultimately, bloggable. Just because I'm living at home, does this mean my life is more dull? My weekends are as jam packed as they were three months ago (arguably more so), and yet putting them down onto this blog with fewer readers than [insert slimly read text here] doesn't feel quite as compelling.

I suppose now that I'm no longer writing for the two target audiences of my previous blog, namely a) friends and family, and b) those interested in working/living in Korea, there seems little point to this spin-off UK one. Now I'm just writing for self-indulgent purposes, and to provide a pseudo-informative collection of UK destinations for the enthusiastic UK traveller. The multitudes of which are, honestly, few.

But nevertheless I proceed.

Last weekend me and my mum and my dad ("the gang") went to London to meet my brother (becoming "the family") for my mother's birthday outing. It was slightly haphazardly planned, which became especially apparent as we realised we didn't even want to look around Camden market. But the afternoon wander along the length of Regent's Canal was perfectly lovely, even if our legs were already aching on the first lap of London. We followed this up with a walk along the Millenium Bridge and a stroll through the Tate Modern before sampling a rather overpriced but tasty Korean-London meal with a Simon addition to the party.

Then we saw a guy carrying a guitar and a cat across his shoulders.

On Sunday me and my mum and my dad and Simon went to Aldeburgh to visit my uncle and cousins' joint art exhibition. It turned out two-thirds of my English extended family was milling about the area (and that's not a small extended family I have here), so it was good to get in a thirty second catch-up with them all having missed all the family functions over the last 18 months. Eventually we dragged my dad away from the chit-chat to get our local fish and chips (queues likely during peak periods), homemade icecream and blowy brisk walk along the peppled shores.

And there's nothing like a bit of sea air to send you to sleep for the journey home.

-- Regent's Canal--

-- Boats --

-- Aldeburgh --

-- A man and his cat --

Portugal: The Abandonment of the Dramatic Skies

2009-05-04T19:07:00.004+01:00

I think the primary reason that I have found the prospect of this post so difficult is the obvious replacement of my favourite photographic ominous weather condition with these wonderfully blue sunny skies. Furthermore, it was reportedly just as sunny in England as it was away on the Portuguese coast! How frightfully irregular.

And how difficult it is to be cynical about a country with such friendly folk, all seemingly enthusiastic to speak English and crack a joke with the oblivious foreigners, an excellent, punctual, clean and spacious rail system, not to mention the delicious home made white sangria! I could of course express some complaint about the culture of displaying bread on the dinner table but filing hidden charges on the bill when you inadvertently take a bite, but since my experiences have taught me that this is a Europe-wide practice, little comment can really be made.

Between the stops that we made between our cheap Ryanair flights from Faro to Porto, Lisbon was by far my favourite destination en route, encompassing fine architecture, the aforementioned blue skies, and a relaxed place to spend a few days. Otherwise the red roofs and blue tiles that also made up the photographs of other stop-offs were rather largely similar throughout, and as pleasant as they are, don't make quite so much for good reading as for good photos.

But I suppose the week-long break away was less about the travel and more about spending time with one another (and certainly we enjoyed doing that - eating, chatting, playing cards, passing comment over the lack of things to poke sarcasm at), so perhaps given that, we'll base a summer holiday over cheap flights, good weather and summer alcoholic beverages. Again.

-- Old lady to be run over by graffitied Lisbon tram --

-- Lisbon's Mosteiro dos Jeronimos --

-- Rooftops of Porto --

-- Some of Porto's finest azulejos (painted tiles) --

-- Fine port of Porto --

Coventry Cathedral

2009-04-17T22:25:00.005+01:00

In response to the four day Easter weekend (but not necessarily in response to the religious nature of the weekend) Simon and I took a wander around the bombed Coventry Cathedral and its art-deco replacement next door. The beauty really lay in the dampened skies opening up for the bank holiday Monday, allowing for a serene stroll around Coventry's only tourist attraction (save the new Ikea nearby) before gorging ourselves on crosswords on the drive back to Bury St Edmunds.

Actually the whole weekend was nice. On Friday, following the news of an imminent MOT failure, we took a family trip into Norfolk to view a potential replacement. Really I was viewing this as an excuse to kick off the snow boots and put the first summer clothes into action as the sun shone its core out and we enjoyed coffee and cake in Swaffham on the way back. Not much here but a few local accents and a Catholic church parade, but certainly worth the kitsch café and the stop-over home.

Met Simon and Charlie for some house party action at mutual university friend John's digs in London on Friday night, leaving the weekend free for Simon and me to marvel at Leamington Spa's closed shops.

Going to Portugal tomorrow.

-- Old Cathedral --

-- New Cathedral --

-- Mixing old and new? --

-- Tea and cakes in Swaffham --

The capital city

2009-04-07T17:55:00.006+01:00

Determined to maintain my tourist tendencies, meeting my old Korean language buddy, Anne-Sophie - fleetingly in London from her studies in France as her boyfriend attended a Warhammer event last weekend ("Nobody's perfect," she admitted) - was an opportune excuse to take a day's wander around our historic capital city.

Simon and I set the tone for the day walking along the South Bank and taking in the iconic views of the London Eye and Westminster. Joined by Anne-Sophie and Simon's college friend Tom, we snuck in a traditional pub lunch near Leicester Square (sausage and mash, and gammon and eggs were among the choices made) before groaning with anticipation as the Covent Garden clown endured the drunken heckling of onlooking football fans and furthered the career of a precocious young trouper who'd enthusiastically volunteered himself as the assistant, as the crowd awaited the dubiously impressive unicycle demonstration. "Christian", the keen crowd-gathering accomplice, did manage to swindle some paper money from the raucous football fans, definitely enhancing the otherwise tedious routine.

We followed the display up with a pleasant walk along Embankment towards St Paul's, taking the much recognised photograph across the Millenium Bridge towards London's famous cathedral - but powerfully enhanced by my favourite "dramatic sky" - before heading in to the Tate Modern for a cultural experience of a more thought-provoking kind. The War-Of-The-Worlds-esque exhibit was certainly that, if only to raise a few eyebrows at the uninspiring inspiration of the piece. The permanent collection is always worth a gander however, and London's free-museum policy is always gladly received.

All the fresh air was rather taking a toll on my attention span rendering the prospect of coffee and cake particularly welcoming, by which point more old friends on all sides of the party had joined us for some post-gallery relaxation (as did the expected London rains). The animated chit-chat across the table gave us all the courage to brave the rains and go on our separate ways.

So what was anticipated as a quiet get together between two friends re-acquainting on the other side of the world, resulted in an excellent whistle stop tour of the river and its delights, accompanied by an extended catch-up between old friends all meandering in on different paths, satisfying their thirst for others' news bulletins, before heading out again on their respective walks. Here are the photos.

-- Westminster --

-- The London Eye --

-- Covent Garden --

-- Juggling on a unicycle --

-- River view --

-- Dramatic skies --

-- St Paul's Cathedral --

-- TH.2058 --