Songs with Words

I know that you cannot spent a lot of time in the darkness without bringing some of it with you when you come into the day, but it is inconvenient. One of those things that I now have and did not always is a complete inability to listen to songs with words in English without hearing them. And usually, this means I cry. How embarrassing I find this. Really, the number of occasions on which unprovoked tear shedding is appropriate is rather limited. And there are a lot of songs with words! And they are all over the place: the mall, the grocery store, the elevator. Sometimes though, they are happy words, and I am made glad. Fortunately, the number of occasions on which unprovoked gladness is appropriate is vastly larger!

Morning Rituals

This morning I engaged in the usual dialogue with my alarm clock:

Time to get up! (enthusiastically)
Is it? (very much doubting this is the case)
Yes! Yes! Get out of Bed! (with urgency)
Must I? (hoping the answer is no)
Yes! Yes! (repetitively)
Ah. Oh. Are you sure? (burying into the blankets)
Yup! Class today! (with glee)
Oh yes. Class. It's not that important. (Obviously denying the truth of the matter)
Yes it is! Otherwise you would not have set me! (a supercilious tenor has crept into the conversation)
I don't want to go! (wishing I could reach the alarm clock from my bed)
You are going to be late! (a malicious note definitely in evidence)
Fine! Good! (reluctant efforts to rise)
Late! Late! Late! Late! La- (abrupt cessation of alarm due to rude removal of battery)

Thus spake the Lord:

Verily, I say unto thee: I have heard your cry for rain, but there is a time for all things. I will answer your plea, and this shall be the sign. At the commencement of the journey, the hour upon which Sarah doth leave her home and set forth on her travels, this also shall be the hour of precipitation. Sarah shall leave her home and lo! the rain shall fall. For it has been foretold that rain shall commence at the appointed hour and the sign shall be in the journey of Sarah. Behold! saith the Lord, all I have said to thee about the hour of precipitation has come to pass.

Oh Sleep!

Oh Sleep! why whilt thou flee from me,
And whither dost thou fly?

Oh Sleep! why whilt thou flee from me?
I beg thee, tell me why!

Oh Sleep! why whilt thou flee from me,
Ne'er to come again?

Oh Sleep! I do beseech of thee!
Return, and let me go!

Features of the Postgrad Life

Today I reflected on the number of really great things there are about postgraduate life.

1. Marks are a thing of the past. If I don't feel like doing the homework for a class I am auditing, there are no numerical repercussions. (Unfortunately, not preparing is still a bad idea.)
2. No schedule. I get to do whatever I want to. Whenever I want to. Get up at 12. Work 'till 11. Take three hours for lunch. Whatever!
3. No idiot classmates. Such a relief.
4. Fellow geeks as peers. Generally speaking, the 'cool kids' have been weeded out leaving the socially challenged and off-puttingly intelligent. Suddenly, there is no need to impress people with a suave manner and chic appearance.
5. The library signs books out to me for a year. A Year.
6. A super interesting subject pick by me.
7. Access to new materials. As a postgraduate I can go to the library, ask for a 13th century codex, and actually have them fetch it out. They (fools!) hand it right to me. "Here it is, feel free to use it". ! .

Tips for Traveling in Scotland

1. Always carry an umbrella. You will be glad of it when you come to the sudden, inevitable, realization that the dampness in the air is no longer merely drizzle.

Unknown Pleasures?

There is a place in town, on South Street if you care to know, that titles itself, "Unknown Pleasures". It does not look like a Den of Vice; it looks like a travel agency. However, I feel, and I'm sure you will agree, that if business of a shady nature is not conducted there, the owners of this business should review their choice of nomenclature and perhaps alter its seedy name. For clarity's sake.