It's Friday -- I'm in Cheese!

[anarchist_nomad]

Hwaet!

Tis the Friday of our content, marry sir:
Didst thou talketh like a Shakespeare anon?
For yesterday, by the hairs of my beard
Twas all to speak merrily as the Bard.

It is indeed Friday and, whether you spoke like a Shakespeare or no, gentle readers, it is time for an entry highlighting the, um, highlights of this week. First, though, we have a word from our sponsors a poll!

Last week, I asked YOU when you could come to play games at the Flat With No Name[*]. The winner from that poll appears to be Saturday May 9^th. So it is likely that there shall be a games party anon on that date. Before confirming, though, let me make sure that there really are enough people who can attend to make it worth our while:

[Poll #1389214]

In particular, there will be an emphasis on teaching and playing Betrayal at House on the Hill, using the awesome new set made for me by the adorable tawneypup. Other games are also on hand, though, and much fun shall be had by all who can attend!

---

Right. That said, what has everybody's favourite Nomad been up to this week? I will not bore you with the details go into full descriptions, but here are some notable happenings from the week now ending:

• One of the attendees from the Oxford University Astronomy Weekend is a member of the Newbury Astronomy Society, about thirty miles from here. Apparently, she liked my talk so much that she e-mailed me and asked if I could deliver the opening lecture to the Society's next season, in September. I was very flattered to be asked and I agreed, of course. The talk on cosmic rays is already written, and that is the part that I hate about giving a lecture. The actual delivery is fun, as are the questions afterward. So there is no reason at all not to give my talk again, to a different audience!
  
  
• Whilst at St. Giles on Sunday to ring for the evening services, somebody looked at the mail... and noted that there was an envelope for me there. Well, that came as a bit of a surprise! I have never received mail at the church before! Turns out, it was from the Oxford Diocesan Guild of Change Ringers. I was inducted into the Guild at the start of the year[**] and this envelope contained my certificate of membership and some information about the Guild. I know that I am only a learner, even after two and a half years of ringing, but it is nice to be part of some ringing societies now. It feels validating, as it were.
  
  
• Speaking of ringing, I have made it to both handbell practice and tower bell practice at St. Giles for two Thursdays in a row. Given the London commute, this is no longer a given... nor is it trivial to accomplish. However, the benefits are tangible. On handbells, I have brushed the dust off of my Plain Bob Major -- last week, I assured myself that I could still ring the trebles and tenors; this week, I went back to what I was learning before: the 3/4 pair and the 5/6 pair. Coming along nicely, if I do say so myself. On tower bells, I practiced trebling to a long touch of Grandsire Triples. Also, I extensively practiced my inside bell work on Grandsire Doubles last week, and this week I got in some work on a touch of Plain Bob Minor.
  
  
• Unlike Skullcrusher Mountain, the Flat With No Name is managed by a letting agency. Overall, this is a good thing, as our previous landlady[***] did absolutely nothing ever. However, one disadvantage is that the agent makes semi-annual inspections of the property. Joy and rapture. Wednesday was to be the first such inspection, so I stayed home from work on Tuesday and spent the entire day cleaning like mad. To be honest, our flat needed it. When I began, it was an utter mess; when I ended, it was spotless. However, on Wednesday afternoon, cheshcat gets an e-mail saying that they are putting off the inspection for a week. Oi! I had her call to chew them out, and to explicitly state that the flat was currently immaculate and that we would not be cleaning it so thoroughly for them again. The situation is irksome... but at least, with that incentive, we now have a clean place to live once again!
  
  
• For some odd reason, it seems to be the season for old girlfriends to hunt down Nomad on Facebook. I do not have a Facebook account, nor do I intend to ever get one[****]. But a couple of former partners -- who have never met -- recently contacted me asking if I was there. No, that is not quite true. One previous partner asked me if I was on Facebook, as she had been looking for me. The other correctly concluded that I was not there... so she sent me a letter demanding that I get a Facebook account. Indeed, she was adamant and would not take LiveJournal for an answer.[*****] I do consider myself to be on good terms with most of my ex-girlfriends -- indeed, I am rather proud of this fact -- but it is still a tad odd for two to ping me at once because they were searching for me on Facebook! Ah, well. Tis good to be wanted, I suppose!
  
  
• Over the past few years, I have been starting to fill in certain gaps in my education. My cultural education, that is. In 2005, after seventeen years of comic book collecting, I finally read the Crisis on Infinite Earths. In 2007, cheshcat and I became two of the last people I know to watch Babylon 5. Now, at long last, I have begun to read Neil Gaiman's Sandman series. No spoilers, please! I have successfully avoided any for close to two decades now! cheshcat has all the issues in trade paperback form and I have only read the first three thus far. I have been looking forward to this for ages and am quite excited as I begin to finally see what all the fuss is about!

...and that is about all the news from the week, dear friends!

Now tis time to rush off, as the weekend looks to be fairly full, as well. Tonight, I have a date with the lovely bunnypip. Tomorrow, the Oxford Society of Change Ringers is having a celebration for its 275^th anniversary -- plus, I may sneak away for a bit in the afternoon to see an exhibition in the Bodleian Library -- and then tomorrow evening, cheshcat and I have tickets to see Fiddler on the Roof at the Oxford Playhouse[******]. Then, on Sunday, cheshcat and dr_jen and I will be going to the Harcourt Arboretum to see the bluebell meadows. They only bloom for about two weeks per year... but when they do, they are a phenomenal sight to behold! And, gentle readers, they are in bloom right now!

So...

I go, I go; look how I go,
Swifter than arrow from the Tartar's bow.

---

[*] It will feel good to get out of the rain!

[**] Making it the second ringing society that I am a member of, as I am also a life member of the Oxford University Society of Change Ringers (and the only person with an identifiable photograph on their home page!).

[***] The irony does not escape me that cheshcat and I each co-own a house in the States... and yet we find ourselves renting our primary residence in Oxford.

[****] Similarly, I have never been on MySpace. I spend more than enough time online as it is, and that is not enough for me to keep up with my e-mail and LiveJournal. As such, I do not need additional online distractions, even those that I might enjoy (as opposed to things like Twitter, that I just find annoying). I may get myself a Dream Width account -- just because everybody seems to be migrating in that direction -- but that would be as far as I would be willing to go.

[*****] Somehow this particular partner has always had a way of presenting her demands in such a fashion that they came across as rather sexy, instead of whiny.

[******] Which will be the fourteenth theatrical production that I have seen, thus far, in 2009.

Comments

[simple-epiphany.livejournal.com]

Upon that day, kind sir, I cannot come
For I, alas, must then submit myself
Unto a test of mathematic skill,
And thus until the morrow comes about
I must remain, and cannot yet go out.

(In other words I have a variational calculus exam that day.)

Five Shakespeare Points for YOU!

[anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com]

Alas, would that you did not live so far!
For being hence, tis true I must declare
To see you not more than the once per year
Is difficult; this distance it does wear
Still, best of luck when sitting your exam.

(Thinking ahead -- any chance you might join us for Summer Solstice at Stonehenge on the night of Sat June 20? If you can get to Oxford, I can get you the rest of the way...)

[thehalibutkid.livejournal.com]

Hey should I bring Zombies with me on the 9th?

[anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com]

Only if they are well behaved! ;-)

[wolfpeach.livejournal.com]

OOOhhh.... I just clicked the non-sucky option... but might be out of town. doh. :s will confirm shortly...

[wolfpeach.livejournal.com]

I think you'll find that, generally, they are not unreasonable.

[tawneypup.livejournal.com]

What? Only if they eat your eyes?

[bethanthepurple.livejournal.com]

Are you driving or training to oxford? Will you have space for me to cadge a lift if I meet you at leicester, or will that that be hassle?

(planning bethan makes plans)

[thehalibutkid.livejournal.com]

Yeah that should be ok. What time do you want to meet?

[thehalibutkid.livejournal.com]

But it's probable that I won't be able to give you a lift back.

[bethanthepurple.livejournal.com]

s'all good

I'll check out cheap fares for transport home. Tell me when's best for me to be picked up.

[bethanthepurple.livejournal.com]

I think it's best if I fit in with your plans. When are you leaving for Oxford? (And could you pick me up from leicester station?)

[bethanthepurple.livejournal.com]

Crashspace?
Hey nonny nonny.

[anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com]

Of course!

I am leaving for Japan on the next morning, but cheshcat will still be here, so do feel free to sleep until you are done and take your time getting home...

[jadesfire55.livejournal.com]

My friends and I are just into the fourth season of B5. You are not yet the last!

[anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com]

Wowza! I am duly impressed! You are even later than we were! *grin*

How are you enjoying so far? I really enjoyed the whole series, particularly seasons two and three!

...... but have you read Sandman?

[jadesfire55.livejournal.com]

Really enjoying it! Seasons 3 and 4 have been my favorites so far...pretty much anything but season 1, and that only due to Sinclair. Couldn't stand him. Block of wood. It's a good thing the rest of the cast (Garibaldi, Ivanova, Londo, Vir and G'kar) were so good, otherwise Sinclair would have killed the whole thing for me.

Nope, have not read Sandman yet. Someday. :)

[anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com]

Didn't like Sinclair, huh? I did... though he is indeed a block of wood. I guess I just don't mind wood so much.

I did like season one (except for the stupid episode with the mu thai boxing)... just not as much as the others. Two and three were my favourites. Four comes in just behind those, only because the pace is a bit quick. Overall, it is still excellent!

When you are done with the series, may I recommend some of the novels to you? There are a few that very specifically extend things from where they are left at the series end. Won't say more than that now, to make sure I don't give you spoilers.

Oooops -- I seem to have slipped into geek-mode! Sorry 'bout that! ;-)

As for you having not read Sandman yet -- cool! Am not last there, either! *grin*