Today's news

1. A heat-wave is expected for Britain and we're all going to die.

Before you get all "Frawrhar, English heat wave, fwah hah harhar," Dad, they're talking around 95F tomorrow. In England where there is no air conditioning. Good thing they installed AC in the computer labs last Christmas. I didn't appreciate it at the time when I was sick and dying all alone in the labs with only the sound of workmen and their profanity-laden mobile phone ringtones, but now I'm grateful. Which just goes to show you how funny life can be.

2. My advisor brought in a thriller set in Prague for me to read, because he is a sick individual. When am I supposed to be reading thrillers? The answer to that, really, is "when I should be sleeping," so I'm going to go pick the thing up from his office in a minute.

3. I'm feeling a tiny bit sad about missing graduation. Not that I actually enjoyed my own BYU graduation all that much--I don't even remember much about it except that I had to pay for the gown and then didn't even get to keep it. They're doing all the undergraduate ceremonies this week and it's kind of sweet to see all the shiny happy British and Chinese students in their robes with their families. Also they get to eat lunch in covered pavilions with jazz bands that play the Austin Powers suite. I'm not so jealous of the Austen Powers, because that's so 10 years ago. The lunch, though, I could go for.

The postgraduate ceremony isn't until December. So it's not like I was going to come back for it anyway, and England in December is not as nice as England in July, so I wouldn't really want my parents to fly out for that. "Welcome to England, where at least it's warmer than Alaska! Check out those hedgerows, folks!"

But still. It feels a bit like I'm skulking off in the dead of the night the second after I turn in my dissertation. Which, technically, is what I'm doing--my bus to the airport leaves at midnight. I don't even know when or how I'll find out what my marks will be.

4. Have taken my father's advice ("Stop whining and just write the dang thing") and have begun my lit review. It feels very good to be getting actual words on the page.

Posted in: England