Last Thursday night after I blogged I headed to the Turf Tavern (reminder, Bill Clinton did not inhale) and met up with Juliana (another MPhil NSEPer) and some of this year's NSEP class. I really like the new cohort of NSEPers. They are smart, and engaging, and funny and friendly and interesting and I'd expect nothing less from NSEPers but it was nice to meet new people and get out a bit.
Friday I slept in and then got up. The weather was miserable but I managed to fit in a long run, complete with sideways rain. Still, I actually like running in the rain and it felt good to get out and move a bit. After that, I did a bit of cleaning since we had so many people staying with us over the weekend and also did a bit of hand washing clothes since our washing machine had been broken for over two weeks and I was running out of things to wear. From there, I headed to meet up with Ole (an NSEPer from last year), his fiance Tina, his mom, his aunt, and his three kids. We met up at the Natural History Museum because I'd offered to babysit the kids so that all of his relatives could attend his graduation and he wanted me to meet the kids beforehand. The oldest daughter is 12 and speaks and understands English (a huge help) and the younger 2 were 7 and 5 and spoke no english but were super cute. After they both approved me as a babysitter, I promised them lots of stickers, coloring and play dough and then I headed home.
That evening I made the play dough (purple, green, and red, as promised!) and then headed to Freud to reunion with lots of NSEP. It was so, so good to see everyone. It felt pretty much just like old times, hanging out in Freud drinking cocktails, being the only ones dancing, and just catching up with good conversation. After awhile, people started to head off- tired from travel and wanting time with family that was also in town. Finally, the group of us left decided to go to Wahoo! to go dancing. It was me, Andreas, Andreas' sister Kristen, Dennis, Rob, and Rob's brother James. James decided not to come in with us but the rest of us danced and had a great time. Andreas and Kristen and I headed home before closing, which was a good decision since Andreas' graduation was the next morning.
Sadly, the only picture I took with an NSEPer all weekend... though he IS one of my favorites :)
Saturday I slept in a bit and then got up to go for a run... unfortunately, I've been having some issues with my calves and the shooting pains in them indicated that I probably should skip the day's run. Instead, I did a bit more cleaning and then cycled in to meet up with Ole and his family to watch the kids. It started pouring on my cycle in and I got absolutely drenched. I took the kids to the department and it was actually really fun to sit in a place where I would normally discuss Latour or Haraway and draw pictures and play with play dough. Despite not speaking the same language, I had a blast with the kids- they are super creative and fun and I think that I was a pretty good babysitter for the afternoon. When Ole's ceremony was over, I took them to meet up with him outside the Sheldonian, and then I met up with Dennis to take him and his things back to the house. I was still damp and freezing so as soon as I got home I took an amazing, hot shower and finally got warm. Then I relaxed for a bit, made dinner, and headed to the Kings Arms to start the evening.
NSEP practically had an entire room to ourselves at the Kings Arms and I think almost everyone from NSEP who was in town for graduation came. It was a wonderful reunion. We all sat around and talked and laughed and after awhile we decided to head to the Keble BOP since Lisa L and Rob were there with their college friends. Brittany, Todd and I headed there a bit after everyone else, but we still got in some excellent dancing to some rather bizarre song choices and it felt good to be out dancing with our entire group again. From there, a bunch of us headed out to go clubbing, after a few failed attempts (really just expensive covers) we decided to go to Maxwells. We stayed and danced for a bit and then it was time for falafel and chips and to head back to ours with everyone for an after party.
The after party was pretty much just like old times. There was Louis' selection of music, snacking, a bit of dancings, cards against humanity. It felt weird only because it didn't feel weird at all... it was like no one had ever left and it was just another night out together. Around 5:30AM we finally called it a night/morning and headed to bed. Sunday I slept in until nearly noon and then it was just saying goodbyes to people and cleaning up. I walked into town with Rob to get my bike and see him off and then meet up with Andreas (which actually never happened b/c he was with a family friend and that ran long) but I biked home and then that night made a huge pot of red lentil stew for everyone (including Cato who was staying with us in Oxford a bit longer!)
Monday was trying to play catch up on rest and work and just get my life in order. I had a mostly quiet day, though I did a 7 mile workout which felt surprisingly easy compared to what I expected it to be and my calves actually felt pretty good. When I got home from my run I spent extra time stretching and rolling my calves out while chatting with Katherine and Cato. That night, I ordered take out from my favorite Malaysian place and it was delicious. I finally got some sleep Monday night and it was glorious.
Tuesday I worked pretty much all day. I had a lot of reading to do and also a paper due in class the following day so I worked most of the day on that. Then I did a yoga session since my calves seem to be acting up again and I thought it would do my some good to stretch them out. That night, Alex, Juliana, Katherine, Cato and I all cooked together. We made a curried, squash soup that turned out amazingly (acorn squash and pumpkin with curry and coconut milk), a salad with tahini dressing, and crispy roasted potatoes with a dutch whiskey dipping sauce that Cato made for us. There was also plenty of wine, tea, and even chocolate. It was such a good night- even though I had a blast partying Thursday-Saturday, it was good to have a night in with the girls (mostly ones who live in Oxford full time with the exception of Cato) and to feel like we had an amazing night laughing and goofing off. I definitely have needed more of that this year.
Wednesday I woke up super early and headed into town to print my essay and get to class. About two minutes in to my cycle the bottom fell out and it poured. I was soaked. One of these days I will learn that I live in England and that I always need to be prepared to cycle in the rain. One day... Anyway, class was good- the focus of the lecture was on invasive species and reconceptualizing novel ecosystems. It was interesting and I really am liking the class. I got the paper turned in and then headed to meet up with Cato, Michael, and Juliana for a coffee. We sat around and all talked and then I said my goodbyes to Cato and Michael since they were both flying out that afternoon.
From there, I headed home, had lunch, did a bit of reading, and then tried to go for a run. I thought that my calves were doing better, and for the first quarter mile or so they are always tight but normally loosen up, this time, they didn't. After about a mile and a half, I decided to pause, stretch, walk around a bit and see if I couldn't loosen them up. It seemed to work, and I turned for home thinking I could run the return route and still have gotten in a 3 mile run.... only about a quarter of a mile later, they seized up really, really badly and I had to stop. I started limping/waddling home, trying not to use, contract, or stretch my calf muscles at all, and grimacing all the while when I heard Katherine's voice say "Sazzy?" She was waiting on the bus and very concerned/amused by my limping along. I stopped to chat and then continued my peg leg trek back home.
When I got home, Todd got my the rollers and Brittany made some suggestions to help and I also iced my calves... hopefully they will stop doing this soon. After that I had a nice, long skype with mom, a shower, and then I headed into town to meet up with my reconciliation ecology professor (Maan) and the rest of the class for drinks at the Somerville College bar. We all sat and talked and it was really nice to get to know people from some of the other courses in the department (most BCM which is biodiversity conservation management) as well as the professor. Most of the class stayed for one drink, but I was still finishing my cider and in the middle of a great conversation, so I stayed, as did the other NSEPer there (from this year's cohort) and Maan (the professor). We all had a few more drinks and when the bar closed, we were talking about time and scale and relativity and decided that we should continue talking in the senior common room. We had tea, followed by sherry (a terrible idea- that stuff is disgusting) and finally ended the night around 2AM. I took a cab home since it was so late and then crashed.
Today has been a quiet day. I've pretty much done nothing productive beyond laundry and booking a trip to Oporto, Portugal. I've always wanted to see Portugal and somehow, I have just never made it... now's my chance. It's not going to get cheaper and I'm not going to have more free time than I have right now, so I might as well go :)
Hope everyone else has had just as fun over the past week as I did!
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