After spending a delightful Christmas with family, I set off
for London, where the cars are FAST and the people are RUDE and the lights are
BRIGHT and the supermarkets are ENORMOUS and the shops stay open AFTER DARK.
It's so shiny!
EVERYTHING is shiny!
Ok, so maybe I’ve been in York too long. You’d never guess I
was a Jo’burger until four months ago.
But anyway, Emily lives here, so I guess that’s
pretty cool.
In the past week, I've written two sets of study notes and first drafts of two assignments (and it only took five days of chaining myself to a desk and dozens of rice cakes illicitly eaten in the libary). So although I am an absolute boss, I'm too exhausted to even be properly proud of myself.
Someone pat me on the back. I can't lift my arms.
So basically, I'm not in any state to be interesting, unless you're particularly intrigued by how many hours I spent in the library this week (um, lots), or the morning I decided I had meningitis and would die in four hours before I remembered that I'd fallen off my bike twice* the day before, which was probably why all my muscles were stiff.
Christmas feels Christmassier when it's winter. Maybe it's because all my previous Christmases this side of the equator have been while I've been away on holiday, and so it all feels that much more exciting. Or maybe it's because Christmas imagery is so entirely Northern hemisphere-centric that despite the fact that I've lived my whole life in South Africa, I'm still a little sceptical of hot Christmases.
A song which I've only recently discovered, but which has fast become my least favourite Christmas song of all time, is Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas? (Feed the World),* a title that really captures all the subtlety and thougthfulness of the song itself.
Don't call the Hyperbole Police when I tell you that it makes me want to staple my tongue to a cactus. A moving cactus. Which is on fire.
It's Christmas time, there's no need to be afraid
At Christmas time, we let in light and we banish shade
But in our world of plenty, we should spread a smile of joy!
Throw your arms around the world at Christmas time
But say a prayer - pray for the other ones
At Christmas time, it's hard, but when you're having fun
There's a world outside your window
And it's a world of dread and fear
Where the only water flowing is a bitter sting of tears
And the Christmas bells that ring there are the clanging chimes of doom
Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you
And there won't be snow in Africa this christmas time
The greatest gift they'll get this year is life
Where nothing ever grows
No rain or rivers flow
Do they know it's Christmas time at all?
Here's to you, raise a glass for everyone
Here's to them underneath the burning sun
Do they know it's Christmas time at all?
Feed the world
Let them know it's Christmas time
Oh, Feed the World, how do I hate thee? Let me count the ways.
Today, my dreadlings are a year old. Happy birthday, little guys!
No actual dreads were set on fire in the making of this birthday candle.
My dreads have been with me through existential crises of varying severity, two very different overseas adventures, two brief experiments with full-time jobs, one disastrous foray into dating, meeting people I'll never forget (and one or two I'd quite like to), working out what I might actually want to do with my life and my linguistics degree, screaming my heart out for two of my favourite bands, one brush with depression, and a whole lot of times when I've been happier than I've ever been in my life.
At first, it was just peripheral. It was only people who were older than me. Then it was people I used to go on camp with. Then it was people I sort of knew from varsity. Then it was girls who were in my year at school. And... it was ok. Sure, it was scary. Sure, every now and then I'd log on to Facebook and scream, but I got over it fast enough.
I'm glad that I live in a world where science-comedy-music shows are a thing. Because I am a massive nerd, and, more specifically, a massive nerd who is becoming increasingly aware of just how gosh darn exciting science is, I decided to go to Manchester on Tuesday to see some cool people talking about cool things.*
All right, it was mainly to see Tim Minchin. But I was also interested in the science.
The main point of this entry is to share this picture:
This is probably the most English sign in the world.
I wish I could blame the fact that I haven't had time to blog on how hard I've been working. But that would imply that I've been working hard, and that would be misleading. I've been baking hard, and going to gym like a boss, and mostly remembering to do my laundry and stuff, but I definitely haven't been working myself to the point of nervous collapse, which is a really nice change from Honours. So anyway, I'm not really sure what's been keeping me busy, but I suspect it's mostly the internet.
