As I write these lines, in the middle of a cold Sunday, hours away from choir rehearsal, my new room is in a state of complete disarray. It is always so when I am pressed to choose clothes for what is meant to be a formal (or at least formal-ish) occasion. But even amidst this chaos I must say, I am well, and it's finally starting to feel like the long, horrid summer is behind me.
For one thing, it's cold again. It happened between Wednesday and Thursday. Somewhere between twilight and dawn, summer turned into winter over the span of a few dark hours. When I woke up, the sultry weather had been replaced by a wonderful grey sky. The pavement was wet, the streets were quiet, it was 13°C outside and I smiled, remembering for the first time in a long time how much I enjoy living in the North.
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| My street, early in the morning, before heading to the library |
But I'm getting ahead of myself. This week was busy, in more ways than one. The point of these logs has never been to dwell too long on the workings of my DPhil, but it would difficult to skip over the long days I had at the lab, at one point staying as late as 22:00hrs. I was consumed by obtaining the results I wanted to present on a meeting at the end of the week (the third in three weeks, mind you), and it paid off, for when the meeting came it went well, much better in fact than even I could have anticipated. That being said, I was busy in other ways as well.
Monday marked my first meeting of the Star Trek Society as captain of the ship. I was the only bridge officer on duty, seeing as how the first officer is away at Chile and the grand Nagus got stuck in traffic. As if that weren't enough, although I intended to set the room for our crew beforehand, I got caught up at an MCR meeting, where I foolishly decided to voice an opinion that would, very obviously go against that of pretty much every other person in the room. I should have known by now to stay away from such things, but it doesn't matter... Immediately after that failed attempt to build a future that looks a little more like the Federation than anything we're currently moving towards, I got to meet my new crew, and they seem a swell group of ensigns. Most of them are freshers, and most of them seem to love the Original Series more than any other Trek show, which is promising.
Last year, watching City on the Edge of Forever with the Society was a weird experience, for several reasons... There were people in the room who didn't really appreciate TOS and behaved as if my favourite episode was little more than a comedy show. Laughing out loud, mocking the performances and visual effects. It was bad. I would never get in an argument about that. Star Trek is an old show, people are entitled to their opinions. But I happen to think it's marvelous, with no reservations and I don't get why someone who doesn't really appreciate it would wanna get together and watch the show. In any case, this year, it was much better. We also watched to Tapestry and In the pale moonlight, so it was a very strong start.
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| There are pokemon everywhere in this town... |
Two days later, I attended the first meeting of the new Oxford trading card game society. I got to talk to their president during Freshers Fair, and it seemed like a fun thing to try. Last year, when I first arrived in this town, I tried many different clubs and societies, looking for the things that would stick. That was always part of the plan, and this is year is not different at all. This week, the society did a Pokemon workshop. I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. I had played Pokemon before, when I was 11, I think, but the game lost its allure to me when I started playing Magic the Gathering. This week however, I found myself enjoying it enormously. I played with 5 different decks, I think, and even got some free cards at the end, most of which are pokemons from the initial roster of 151 species, which is cool, because those are the ones I am most familiar with. The meeting took place at the Student Union's building, which I had never visited before, and once it was over, I nearly stayed around for board games with yet another society. But instead, I walked home, enjoying the thin evening rain, and on my way, stopped at a cafe for a cup of hot chocolate. This sojourn into pokemon even made me download Pokemon go again, and I've been playing quite voraciously ever since.
My Thursday started a little crooked. It was my intention to work at the Taylorian, but by the time I arrived - 20 minutes past its opening time - all the best desks were taken, and I couldn't persuade myself to stay. Instead I took refuge at the oxford union library, and regardless of the fact that it became crowded over the course of the day, I had a good, productive time there. At lunch I stopped by Gloucester green to have some pastéis from a new Brazilian street food stand. I was so eager to try them, I haven't had pastel in over a year! I ended up ordering two, and I'm glad I did... Although mince with boiled eggs is my favourite flavour back home, the meat here is not quite the same, and the chicken pastel actually tasted better. Also, it was the first time I had to spell my name in over a year, which was not without its element of amusement 😂
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| Crispy fried pastry = pastel; chicken with cream cheese = frango com catupiri |
Friday came, bringing with itself the promise of the weekend, and that night, I went to an Orchestra rehearsal. I was so profoundly nervous about this, I couldn't have hidden it if I tried. Spock would be disappointed (although I like to believe he would have been kind in his reprobation). So nervous, in fact, that I didn't even bring my instrument. I thought I would just sit there and watch, see what it was like before actually trying to be a part of it. But the lead cellist was lovely, and with his encouragement, I left Exeter's chapel during the break to get my cello in my room. Playing with them during the second part of the rehearsal was terrifying. I can't shake the feeling that I'm simply not good enough. But there's also a part of me that is certain I can become good enough, and I wholeheartedly wish to be a part of the group. This won't be easy. After all, I'm already facing much of these same hurdles with the choir. But now I'm committed. There's music in my room, an encouraging chat on my phone, and the ever present desire, to be more than what I currently am.
Prior to the rehearsal, I met a friend for pizza at the covered market. The same person with whom I shared that walk after the movie last week, and though it hasn't been long, I feel I can confidently say we are now friends. We went from a stroll afterwards. Not a long stroll, unfortunately, seeing as I had to cut it short to go to the Orchestra, but our brief time together has contributed to my finding the courage to pick up my instrument and try to play alongside 30 or so musicians, all of whom were better than I, I who never really played with other people before. And we talked... I told him about a play I want to write. The idea came to me this week, and this week I wrote 4000 words or so of the outline. Wouldn't it be wonderful if I could enter it in the new writing competition next term? Actually... wouldn't it be wonderful if I could just... finish it? Wouldn't it be wonderful if it turned out great?
Last night, I went to the Oxford Union to watch an Operatic performance by Aida Garifullina. It was a black tie event, my first black tie event at Oxford. The music was fantastic. She started and finished with pieces I knew well, and oh, what a privilege to hear the sound of that woman's voice filling the debate chamber with emotion and beauty. What a lovely night...
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| I always enjoy the events at the Oxford Union... This was my first black tie one though, having missed ball season during my first year. I spent quite some time in the afternoon trying to make sure the dress looked all right, and walking around my room in heels, just for practice... Ah, there are so many things I should know already... 😊 |
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