Still alive...swear!

Hi all!

Well, it has been a very long time since I last posted because I have been up to my eyebrows in work lately and just haven't had a chance to update the blog. But lots and lots has been happening, so I'll do my best to summarize the highlights here...

I spent the last weekend of January and the first two weekends of February at Bill's parents' house in St. Osyth, a beautiful village near the sea directly south of Norwich. Our reason for going was because Bill was helping his dad put down a new wood floor in the master bedroom. I thought it wise to keep my butterfingers out of that project, so it was nice to be able to spend some quality time with his mom, and with his sister (Fliss) and her fiancé (Ant) (who also came to visit), which was just fantastic. The latter just got an adorable new kitten named Lillie, who you can see some photos of here. She wasn't too sure of what to make of Jeffrey J. Dog (aka Gyp), but seemed to tolerate him after awhile! Speaking of silly dogs, what do you get when you let Gyp go out into the garden early in the morning when the moss is all fresh and dewey? A punkrocker dog! Hilarious!

I would also like to share what a sweet thing Bill's dad, Graham, did for for me one of the weekends we were there. He's an electrical engineer and so knows his way around a voltage reader and circuit breaker. Well, I had this flatiron (for my hair) I brought from the U.S. that I hadn't been able to get to work since the first week I was in England, even with using all the adapters and converters they tell you to purchase before going abroad. Graham decided that this would be a fun project for him to figure out what part of the flatiron wasn't working, so he rigged up this (very impressive) electrical thing with lightbulbs and voltage readers, and lots and lots of wires...I'm afraid that's about as specific as I can be with it. His design was flawless, so much so that we were in fact able to determine that it was my flatiron that was kaputt. Oh well, at least now I know.

We also recently celebrated Pete's (Bill's roommate) birthday, which was loads of fun. We started off with a nice dinner that Bill made (chicken and mushrooms), followed by carrot cake provided by Rew and Laura, presents (Pete got a home ale brewing kit, a book, and some juggling clubs!), and then finally to the bowling alley! Unlike in the U.S., bowling in the UK is not an institution. Shocking! So even though none of us made much of a name for ourselves, quite fittingly Pete got the high score in both games and we had an excellent time. Definitely something we'll have to do again soon!














Bill and Pete's band, Collider, also had their first gig at the Norwich Arts Centre and they hit it out of the park. They had a great crowd and put on an excellent show. And what's more, they've got a bunch of gigs coming up including one in London next week.










Now for a final bit of news before I sign out for the day...I'm going to Paris next Thursday through Tuesday! My department has planned a trip for the M.A. students, but being the dedicated PhD student that I am, I've decided to tag along. :-) We've got private tours with curators at the Musee du Quai Branly, the Louvre, and others. Best of all, I'm staying with my friend Stéphanie who's from Paris, so she'll be able to show me some of her favorite sights! Very excited! I'll be sure to dedicate a post just to that as soon as I get back.

Okey dokey, hope everyone is well and stay tuned for more soon...