The one breathing space in the week – between handing in my weekly essay and Supervision tomorrow – and consequently a perfect time to blog. I’m just committed the intellectual version of gym membership, paying an absence amount of money for lifetime membership of The Cambridge Union Society and hoping that this outlay will encourage me to go. Although I really shouldn’t need much prompting, with an incredible array of speakers and debates to tempt me over three years.
On the topic of extravagant spending, or not, I’d like to take a moment to evangelise the McFlurry. Despite claims to the contrary, a McFlurry is a truly wondrous piece of design – not just for the food – but, I think, for the spoon. After being lured into the bright lights of McDonald’s last night to buy one, I was reunited with the big, thick, square spoon you get with a McFlurry. It’s a power spoon. You don’t peck at a McFlurry, you eat it boldly, griping the spoon \ shovel as required. No-one could argue that masculinity was ever in crisis when we still have the McFlurry.
(Try not to take the above too seriously, yeah?)
Tonight I’m going out to celebrate Yang’s birthday. Happy birthday Yang! He lives down my hall and is currently drowning in medical textbooks which are each the size of a hefty child. While I’m on my cherished Monday afternoon, hehe.
Wow…
is it a measure of incredible incompetence that I managed to wake up 8.53 for a 9.00 lecture, or a measure of astonishing competence that I still got there on time, dressed and everything? Either way, I hope it demonstrates how wonderfully close my accommodation is to the lecture site 
I type this as I hurriedly catch up on some Coco Pops before the next lecture at 12 
I’m referring, of course, to the Habsburg Empire but perhaps there’s a case for applying it to Cambridge, too? 
Loving lectures at the moment. There were three today: on Ireland in the late 18th century, on British politics in the 19th, and on the position of women in the Victorian era. The latter last was the best, being one of those wonderfully good lectures, and coming with a comprehensive set of notes already (appeals to my lazy side ) so that you could just sit back and listen. Fascinating issues too, examining different explanations for how the position of women was justified, rather than just what it was. Saoirse, that lecture was for you.
Last night was parents’ night, so I thought it was high time I provided a photo of my brilliantly cool college parents, Felix and Rosa. They bought us pizza! (I have a brother and a sister too.) And there was a party, with chocolate cakes and cake and pass the parcel… really, there’s no better way to live.
Quintessentially student
Pass the parcel
Mum and dad!
Essay’s going well, btw, and I’m just back from a great night out at Nando’s and then back at the college bar…
The following sign is not from my building, but from K Block:
Ew
Just felt like blogging a little bit after watching Heroes, something which I’ve rather failed to mention much on this blog. It’s good! Couldn’t just abandon a series halfway through, and even with P2P strictly banned that’s no reason not to indulge in a little creative laptop viewing now and again…
So I’m busy, obviously. If you’re e-mailing, texting, Facebooking or whatever, sorry for not being able to get back to you as quickly as I should, but all contact with ‘the rest of the world’ is much appreciated!
Went to the big Freshers’ Fair today, and did the traditional studenty act of signing up for loads of completely unmanageable things, from Amnesty, to the Labour Party, to rambling. Before you scoff at the Labour party, I felt it was an elegant compromise between the Tory stall handing out (admittedly funky) Boris posters and the SWP \ Respect bunch who optimistically tried to tell me how they weren’t just the Galloway fan club. Never forgiven that man
Aside from that, I’ve pretty much been (gasp!) working! Yup that’s right.. Cambridge has a fairly loose definition of a ‘Freshers’ Week’ and in my supervision yesterday I was set an essay to do for Monday afternoon complete with a mammoth reading list. That, aside from the lectures which begin tomorrow (Cambridge lecture weeks start on a Thursday.. don’t ask..) will be taking up rather a lot of time! However, the topic is really fascinating on who ‘spoke for the people’ between the 1880s and WW1, so I’m enjoying the work.
I’ll leave you with an uber-stereotypical photo of Cambridge of no real relevance to me other than the fact that I walk past it several times a day and find it slightly surreal that I actually live around here now. Cheerio!
Nice architecture, right?
Helen on It’s (waiting) time.: “Fabulous news, congratulations to you both! X” Jun 8, 21:51
