Recipes for Friends

I think Wednesday is my least favorite day of the week October 26, 2006

You’d think it wouldn’t be. It’s the halfway point of the week. It’s also the day when I turn in my econ essay, so I don’t have to really worry about essays for the rest of the week. But it seems like it rains every Wednesday, and I have three lectures, and I am always tired so I never seem to get much work done in the afternoon. So the morning is always gloomy, but usually it gets better by the afternoon, which it did yesterday but then it got worse as the night went on. I did all my stuff and went to Mass and had lunch there because I was feeling okay. Then I went to Sainsbury’s and got some tea and honey and the closest thing they had to chicken broth/chicken noodle soup that actually has some chicken broth-like quality to it. And I thought I only had 5 pounds left in my purse, but found that I had two 5 pound notes. So that was exciting.

Then the afternoon was really good. I found the open market that apparently happens every Wednesday in Oxford that I had never found before. I got four packs of cough drops for a pound. Black Currant flavored mentho-lyptus Hall’s, so the good kind, though I didn’t realize they were Black Currant flavored until later. I also found a present for my mom. Then I came back to college and found I had gotten a package from my Aunt Janet, which had lots of food. Just what I needed for the day. It was great. I have an awesome family. It had granola bars and cookies and cereal and some crackers, which I am eating with my chicken soup stuff today. So I should be good on food for a while, though if someone is really wanting to send me stuff, something I keep forgetting to tell people is microwave popcorn. I only have one bag left, and it’s a very good snack. And it might be pretty cheap to send.

So then I started chatting with Amanda and then we realized we both have skype so I called her and we talked for a while, which was really good. My voice was sounding sort of manly and I couldn’t make any high noises because it was getting a little hoarse, but it seemed fine. I wasn’t too achey, and I was actually warm. I had a nice cup of tea, and then decided to lie down before dinner instead of read (this is where I get unproductive). So I woke up before dinner and went to the hall. I saw Celia and she asked me how I was doing because she knew I had been sick. So I open my mouth to say I was all right, and nothing really came out. I mean she could hear me, but I said, apparently my voice isn’t working. So I went into dinner and sat across from Sarah H. (this is the girl whose dress I borrowed last year, not my South African friend, who will be Sarah W.). She asked me how I was, not knowing that I was sick, and I squeaked out, “A little sick.” And then she was like oh I’m so sorry, I won’t make you talk. So then nobody really talked to me the rest of dinner, not because they don’t like me but because they didn’t want to make me talk. So I was sitting there in my hoodie, and I am roasting. I started sweating but I didn’t have a t-shirt on under my hoodie, so I had to run back to my room and change into my t-shirt and get a hair thing and put my hair up. And I was still hot. We had soup, so I think that contributed and it was warm in there, but I think it was only me who was sweating. It was really weird. So after dinner, I talked to Katy a bit, stole 2 oranges from the kitchen (well really I had signed up for fruit and usually I get two pieces when I do that, but everyone else had only gotten one and I got two of the same thing so I felt like I was doing something I wasn’t supposed to). I need the vitamin C so I felt justified. There have been times when I have signed up for things and not gotten them and everybody had already left when I got my second orange so I wasn’t taking it away from anybody else.

So anyway, I went back to my room and read a little, talked to Kim through messenger and Lee for a little bit on the phone. He said I sounded terrible. Then I drank some more hot tea, gargled with salt water, took my vitamins, and tried to go to bed. By this time my throat was so sore I could barely swallow. And then during the night I was sweating again and my throat hurt and I got a stomach ache, so on the first night I was able to get some good sleep, I couldn’t. It seems there’s always something about Wednesdays that make me wake up the next morning not looking forward to the day, but then Thursday’s lectures always make it better, but that’s for the next entry.

The past two days October 25, 2006

Well it’s probably a good thing that I didn’t have time to write in my blog on Monday because the title of it would have been “I’m going to make a lot of generalizations about British people.” I was not very happy. The deadline for payment was posted on Friday, I think, that it would be this past Monday. I didn’t see it until after the people who I could talk to about it had left for the weekend. So I sent the bursar an e-mail, but nobody seems to check their e-mail on the weekends. So Monday I went to go talk to David or Mary, one of the two financial people, but neither of them were going to be in on that day, the deadline that was set. So my check was weird because it was made out to me and Regent’s, so I wasn’t sure if it would work. So I couldn’t pay and was really worried that they would charge me 10% because that’s what the signs said. So finally Tuesday, I talked to David and he said that they knew I was working on it so there was no worry of me getting charged. But then I went and finally found Mary and got the check the way it was supposed to be. She gave me a receipt, which said I had no balance, which isn’t true. But that’s okay. Then I got my other checks mailed to my bank back home so I can do an electronic transfer to my new bank here. So by Tuesday I wasn’t feeling as hostile toward Britain. I had my tutorial, which went pretty well. I never talk as much as Simon and James and I should jump in there, but I’m okay with sitting back and listening and taking notes, which isn’t what the tutorial setting is supposed to be like. But anyway, I was feeling more productive.

But then the sickness kicked in. I had been coughing on Monday, but then I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep, so I guess it got worse. I was achey and chilled and my throat started getting sore and I was still coughing. So I came back to my room and ate some Ramen and took some tylenol and fell asleep for a little bit. Then I had to go learn how to use the erg machine for rowing, where we pull this thing against resistance and time how long it takes us to go a certain distance. So then I walked to the library and got some books for my next politics essay and even found an econ book for my essay which was due today. And I stopped by the post office, but I was starting to feel awful again. So I came back and took some more drugs and slept some more. And then I woke up and tried to call my uncle to ask what other drugs I should take. So finally I went into the kitchen and stole someone’s tea, but I think it was really old, so hopefully nobody will miss it. But that gave me some energy and I got a little stuff done, got a hold of my uncle, and then fell asleep to wake up early this morning and finish my essay, which I will write about later.

I’m sick October 24, 2006

I have a lot I want to write about, but at the moment, I’m really achey and still have an essay to work on and I just want to sleep and take lots of drugs to make my pain go away.

Short entry, but it’s the third entry today so it’s okay October 22, 2006

So today, I pretty much studied, reading a lot. And signing up for two societies at Oxford that took up some time. I revised my resume too. It’s looking a little bit impressive now. But the real reason I wanted to write something was because of Mass today. As I walked in, Sister Nora stopped me and asked if I would bring up the gifts, so of course I couldn’t say no. But it made me really nervous. I know, it’s not that much to do, but it’s in front of all these people and the British Catholics do things differently sometimes. But then Sister asked what my name is. Mind you, I’ve probably introduced myself to her at least 10 times. And I come to lunchtime Mass at least twice each week and I’ve talked to her quite a few times. So I said Caitlan, and recognition dawns and as she always does, she says, “Oh yes, I remember.” So apparently my face is not memorable at all, but name is, maybe because it’s Irish, but I’m American. The Irish pronunciation is different, so they say it that way sometimes and then repeat how I say it every now and then too. I can’t really tell you how they say it for the Irish name, but it’s something like “Cot-leen” if you can imagine that. So anyway, I participated in Mass today. Yay!

My G-town friends in Oxford

Thought you guys might actually like to see some pictures of Katy and Ashley since I talk about them a lot. And I really like the picture of Ashley and me. I like the one of Katy and me too.

This is Ashley and me during Formal Hall, when we had to be even fancier because it was guest night.

This is Katy and me after Formal Hall in the JCR when they were serving champagne and chocolates for guest night.