Get Thee To A Nunnery

Today has been pretty good so far. The sky is very cool- it's really overcast, like it could rain at any minute. I got up at 8:15 and went to breakfast. Then I took a shower and hung out in my room until colloquy. This colloquy went pretty well for me. I'm pretty sure I got an A.

When colloquy was over, Eri, Tabitha, and I went to the professors' flat to have lunch with the Wardwells. Throughout the semester, they've been inviting students over to their flat for lunch, and it was our turn. I was pretty nervous though. I had never gone over to one of my teachers' houses for lunch before. But it went really well. Dr. Wardwell, his wife, and his son are all really nice. The conversations were good too. It wasn't forced or awkward at all, really. Mrs. Wardwell made cream of broccoli soup and we also had biscuits, carrots, fruit, and chocolate cookies. The soup was fantastic. It was really salty, and they gave us shredded cheese that we could put in it. I had two bowls. It felt so good to have a homecooked meal, as opposed to the Highbury meals or scraps of food that I put together for lunch.

After lunch, the three of us went back to the Highbury Centre and played tennis with Steve Corell for the next hour or so (there's a tennis court in the backyard, next to the garden. Adam and I have a perfect view of it from our room). It was me and Steve against Tab and Eri, but we didn't really keep score. On several occasions, I'd accidentally hit the balls over the fence into the convent next door. So we went nextdoor and knocked on the door and a very nice nun let us into the backyard so we could get the balls.

I was tired and sort of chilly, so I went back to the room and watched a couple Looney Tunes. Because that's just what I do. Then, remembering it was Thursday, I checked my email and saw this week's paper topic:

With appropriate and specific references to relevant selections from this week’s sources, document some of the ways in which eighteenth-century artists and intellectuals embraced and developed themes associated with Renaissance humanism, in particular a focus on human nature and its perfection (along with its many foibles), as well as the reform of society. (By “relevant” we mean relevant to the specific points you think you can provide evidence for and explain in five pages.)

I read through it a couple times, laughed a little at how confusing it is, died on the inside a bit, shrugged, and watched another cartoon. Now I'm in the library. I have a piece of chocolate cake in the fridge, and I'm going to bring it back to the room and watch a couple more cartoons. Then I'll start looking at the paper, I promise. I got a few general ideas in colloquy today, so I have a starting place, at least.

Tonight at 7:30, a bunch of us are going to a concert. They're going to play Bach, Handel, and Vivaldi. I'm somewhat familiar with all three of them, so I'm actually looking forward to this. I probably won't want to work on the paper much after I get back, so I guess I should do some of it before I leave. I will. But I still have all of Friday and Saturday too. So I might not get much done today. I don't know, I'll see.

I come home in exactly seven weeks from today. 49 days. A month and a half. Words cannot express my excitement. Just thought you all should know.




An actual ad we saw on the way to the Science Museum. I couldn't stop giggling.



My response to long and confusing paper topics right after they are assigned.

Adam's response to long and confusing paper topics right after they are assigned. I think both of our tactics are more than adequate, don't you?

So. You've probably heard this already, but I'm still having fun with it.. You know Joaquin Phoenix? He's one of my favorite actors. I've seen him in "Walk the Line", "We Own the Night", and "The Village". He was absolutely fantastic in all 3 movies. Well, apparently he's decided that acting isn't for him. He's aspiring to become a hip-hop artist. Yeah. You read that right. Here are links to two videos that I highly recommend, if you want to see how he's doing:

(Joaquin jumping up and down and ultimately falling off the stage)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F_Ikksg40U

(Joaquin fighting with an audience member and getting dragged away by security)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-SQN18KUds

Good luck to you, Joaquin. Thanks for wasting a perfectly good acting career. Personally, I find the whole thing utterly ridiculous (the beard and hair are especially hilarious). The only thing that keeps it from being 100% hysterical is that I had a lot of respect for Joaquin, especially after seeing him portray one of my all-time heroes, Johnny Cash. I took Joaquin very seriously, and it's a shame that he essentially lost his mind and blew his career.

Speaking of Johnny Cash, I have an idea for a potential tattoo, because I'm 19 and have silly ideas like that. But tell me what you think- and please be serious. Two of my greatest heroes are Johnny Cash and Chuck Jones. Two of my oldest and best friends are Jordan Stengel and Christina Graczyk. Plus, I'm a Christian, and follow Jesus Christ. I was thinking of having a *small* ring of 4 J's and 4 C's going around my arm, like this: JCJCJCJC. (To represent Jesus Christ, Johnny Cash, Jordan, Chuck Jones, Christina) I've been thinking about this for about a week now, and I think it would work. Then again, I did originally come up with this idea late at night when I was trying to sleep, so it might just be a dumb idea. But I really like it. What do you guys think?