Aha!

So, I’m in Cambridge. I haven’t got internet access on my own computer (I can’t remember who I’ve already said this to, so the benefit of putting it here is that I won’t have to pretend I can), as they have to do various firewall-adding and virus-softwaring, but I have successfully found and logged onto a computer room computer. This may sound trifling but is actually a fairly exhaustive process involving - well, I wrote this out but deleted it as it was really very dull. basically the computer room is in an area of Christ’s that’s blocked off from the rest of college by a huge bit of building work, so you have a bit of a trek round.

Cambridge is good. There’ve been moments over the past few days where cool or weird things have happened and I’ve really wanted to just tell someone about them, and sometimes it’s felt a bit lonely because these things do not however-many-characters in a text message. But it’s okay.

The coolest thing is the number of people I’ve recognised, hee. There’s apparently lot of Bryanstonites here for Greek week - though I’ve only met Helen as she’s the only Greek-weeker at Christ’s. I’ve also seen three from ECC wandering around the Music fac these past two days, randomly met Phil B around Caius accomodation and swapped college tours, and most recently this evening I met a girl I was at NCO with - she used to live next on the same street as a Theologian fresher here and came to dinner with us. Small worlds and all.

Audition this morning was alright but I doubt successful; Lydia (NCO girl) tells me apparently there were lots of NYO violinists auditioning this year. I’m hoping I won’t be called back for the second audition on Saturday, but we’ll see.

My spontaneous audition for Christ’s choir went great, though. I met David and sang a ‘prepared’ piece, then he tested my range and gave me some sightreading, and decided after that that he wanted to give me a space then, rather than waiting to see what the other freshers singers were like and then deciding. I’m flattered. The choir work three early evenings a week - two services and a few practices. They also tour once a year, and occasionally do recordings. It sounds quite a lot, but it’ll be a great standard, so I won’t be bored, and Helen’s in it too, so I won’t be lonely.

So yeah. Tomorrow my plans are to sleep in (yays) and then wander Cambridge looking for a winter coat - really need it. Must find one not too expensive. Then I’ll tuck myself up in my room with tea and biscuits (more yays) and translate more Odyssey. Then at around 10ish I think Lydia and I are off back to the Music fac to check the audition decisions.

Missing home has got a lot better now that I’ve had a night in my new room and properly unpacked - my room is becoming more my own the more time I spend in it, and though the building is a bit smelly and I’m looking out onto a Bingo hall and get drunk people wandering past and occasionally there are double-decker buses with people peering in at me… erm, what was I saying? It’s large, and it has a kettle and biscuits and Nutella in it… and it’s mine.

But this place will feel more like home when Lou and Ev get here. And, on a more collegeish note, when someone else starts living in my building besides me. There’s hardly any other freshers here yet, and it’s a bit too quiet. But that’ll get fixed soon.

So, time to brave the cold walk back to my room. Night all.

it’s clear it’s clear it’s clear

Off in about an hour, all that’s left to do is pack the computer. Have never taken a computer apart before and my nervousness is increased because I have to put it together again at the other end. Wheee. Need coloured stickers or something.

Don’t know when I’ll be back on the internet because computer will have to be checked by college people before I can use it. Hopefully won’t take too long.

Lou, see you Saturday =D

Ev, TEXT ME WHEN YOU GET BACK INTO THE COUNTRY/CAMBRIDGE.

Love to everyone else. <3

Naaaargh!

DoS of music just called from Christ’s and I have myself an audition late afternoon tomorrow. Because it’s not going to be a weird enough day already.

here in your perfect eyes

It feels like a lot’s happened since Sunday, but it hasn’t really. But some things have changed, I guess, and that has a tendency to make even recent times seem far away.

I leave tomorrow. Halfway through packing all my stuff up, but right now I’m recording a recording (lolz) of the Schumann Sonata that I’m doing in my audition on Thursday - I think my part sounds alright now, but I don’t know the piano part well enough yet. And yeah, I doubt I’ll get connected to the internet for a bit, but hopefully if I get my computer set up tomorrow evening then I’ll at least be able to listen to this. I’ll put it on my mp3 player to be sure. Credit for this slightly illegal recording goes to Audacity. and to Dr U for not changing the password of school’s Naxos account.

Anyway. I had my last violin lesson this afternoon - Kate’s been teaching me for twelve years now, so it’s a bit strange for it to be ending. I baked her a thank-you cake last night (with Chris’s ‘help’).

I’m feeling better about going away now. I’ve been praying about it a lot, especially coming out of last week when there was so much in such a mess. Since then things have got better, and while walking this morning I realised that when I leave tomorrow, I’ll be ready. Obviously I’m going to miss you like hell, especially in the first few days when I have nothing to do, but after that I think I’ll cope.

Oh, and I’m watching Heroes 11 now because I may well be too chicken to search out a tv in the JCR tomorrow. Don’t judge me

that i can wash this from my mind

Dear Homer

I have just finished reading your ‘epic’ (huh, that’s a laugh), The Odyssey.

First off, let me tell you I loved the Iliad. Achilles/Patroclus is one of my favourite pairings, as was Odysseus/Diomedes…

Especially the latter. I always fanficced Bottom!Diomedes.

Well, I read the Odyssey and wondered if it was the same writer. Were you the person who actually gave us the heartrending scene of Priam begging Achilles for his son’s body?

I bought the scroll of your new work the minute the scribes had finished. I queued up outside the papyrus works all bloody night, dressed as Agamemnon, too. I took it home in trembling hands. And then I read in utter disbelief.

Odysseus/Calypso – WTF? To say nothing of that imbecilic nonsense about Polyphemus. Cyclopses, for Gods’ sakes! You expect me to believe there was just a Cyclops on that fucking island, when you’d never ever written about Cyclopses in the Troadverse before? Deus ex machina much? Total sodding canon rape, that’s for sure.

Oh, and Penelope? Totally out of character. Penelope is the sort of kickass girl who would have cut the suitors to bits, not sat around weaving for 10 years.

It’s as if a different poet had taken up the story altogether. Clearly you rushed this epic to cash in on the earlier success of the Iliad. Word to the wise: get a fucking editor.

Frankly, your Big Name fanficcer, Virgil, writes better than you ever could.

(not) yours

Archimedes of Chios.

Hahahaha. Taken from here.

Church this morning was excellent. I had really needed it. They announced Jess as new head chorister, and though they’ve lost a lot of us older ones this time around I really think they’ll do okay. The young ones are growing up so fast anyway.

Just had three-hour lunch with grandfathers. Also discovered I can still fit into Sam’s old rollerblades so I had an exciting time rolling around outside our house in a fairly wobbly fashion after grandparents left. Now I am back to the Odyssey. Hello Odyssey.

if heaven was all you had

Had a lovely afternoon seeing Suuz and Stu and wandering Ashby to get lots of other random things I need for uni, and having a proper catchup over hot chocolate. Strange to think how those won’t be happening so much anymore.

Tonight I’d been keeping free for family stuff, but Sam’s still rather out of it so we may not do anything at all. If that happens I will tidy my room and do some violin practice and watch random television and never ever forget how lucky I am.

My problem ended today. This week is finally over, and I have… some kind of tabula rasa to take to Cambridge with me. I have been extremely lucky all my life, and since Sunday a tiny, terrified part of me had been thinking that it had finally run out. But… not yet. And this second chance will be all I need to make sure I don’t need another.

and we’ll say we didn’t know, we didn’t even try
one minute there was road beneath us, the next just sky

I just had to stop myself because I realise that for the last minte I’ve been pondering what acceptable word for ‘live’ I can use for μετειην that is not ‘live’, because I already have ‘among the living’ (ζωοισι) in the sentence and, as is obvious, in the Greek they are not from the same word. I don’t really like ‘exist’.

But erm, whatever. Keen maybe. Also, timewasting. wristslap.

she left it all to fate

I am still waiting. Which is okay. But not for much longer.

Yesterday was just lovely. Drove Chris and Lou to Chris J’s house in Groby, and the five of us (+John) lay around in his living room watching films. We only started around 3, I’d guess, so we had time for Pan’s Labyrinth, Withnail and I and Love Actually. Pan’s especially was awesome, but also totally disgusting, ahahah, and Lou and I spent a lot of time wailing and clutching each other. So then after Withnail we used our combined leverage to watch something fluffier and less like Donnie Darko.

Sadly the France group was left incomplete, as Ed wasn’t able to be there (and I’m a little gutted as now we probably won’t see him til after first term, and Beka and I still have a present of mystery to give him that we got on our way back from Cam, hah). But hopefully we can have a repeat at Christmas.

Mum and I have just been to Tesco’s to buy toaster and extension lead and sharp cutting things of various description, so I’m working down my packing list… now I’m sitting here with tea preparing to catch up on the 140L of Odyssey that I’m currently in arrears with. Oh lord. At least I have a Homeric dictionary now. <3

when the truth is…

This time next week… I’ll be in Cambridge. At this time I’ll probably be feeling a little homesick and trying to unpack… or perhaps I’ll still be translating the Odyssey. I’m 5 lines off completing the 50 I was meant to do yesterday, so then it’s 50 after that. Had Jo and Carole round for the evening so I’ve not had so much time.

I have hardly organised anything yet, and there is so much to do. So much to say. I know I’ll be ready to leave on Wednesday in a packing way, but I don’t know about any other ways. If it had been this week instead… I can’t imagine.

I am not quite as resilient as normal. Sam was having a bad day today and fainted and crashed to the floor at lunchtime and I just couldn’t take it. Maybe tomorrow.

and this little masochist

Ενθεν δε προτερω πλεομεν ακαχημενοι ητορ,
ασμενοι εκ θανατοιο, φιλους ολεσαντες εταιρους…

I’ve been listening to Boys For Pele all evening, as it is appropriately… sharp? Normally I’d agree about preferring Little Earthquakes, but tonight I needed Marianne and Hey Jupiter and Caught a Light Sneeze. Considering even the Odyssey could make me tear up this evening, I did not need empathetic music.

Today’s been fun, mostly sitting with blanket in John’s garage and sitting with blanket in John’s house. Often with tea. And at the end of the day we had the forethought to do a very rough recording of today’s work so that we don’t forget the parts coming back at Christmas to finish it. Those chords has been in my head ever since I heard them.