Tues: Aimed for the Ashmolean/ate bagels from Tuck on my favorite steps on broad st./saw an exhibit on old europe, then modern paintings, and some cool Egyptian shit. Went to Russian art lecture/got glowsticks, glitter, mustaches, noisemakers. Had tea at Grand Cafe. Had a delicious hall. Danced and glittered our bodies. Kukui. Flash. Red shirt. Intrigue. Stuck in Wadham. "You look a little chilly darling." Ok, dude, then gimme your frakking coat.

Weds: Ate at Pizza Express w. fk/ went to the river to see some of Summer Eights/ Angel and Greyhound for chocolate stout/hall with lemon pie and CREAM finally!/dressed as tribal warriors/park end "here's to the girl's dressed like indians"/ bounced around by lawyers and/or bankers/ saw T. and D. zoolander being brothers and/or making out "hollywell is my catwalk, yeah...I'm too sexy for my brozer." Ate Hasan's on steps.

Thurs: Read Dubliners/Started out to go punting with 2 backpacks full of cider, cherry beer, fizz, pringles, and cheese. "Oh, maybe we should, you know, get some sandwiches." Detour to Olives. 4 sandwiches. "Oh, we should get some ice cream from this cart right outside to eat on the way." OK. Punted for about 6 hours. Around Magdalen, then at Catz to finish off the day. JCR'd/went to G and D's in a mad race before they closed. Started my essay around 1. "That's why you go to Oxford. At Cambridge, they never would have gone for the ice cream." In serio.

Fri: Ate breakfast at Valerie/went into Christ Church and stalked their menu even though it was closed to visitors/had tutorial re: dubliners/walked around Broad Street and got milkshakes from covered market/train station to drop mars off/hall/picked up C. and ate hasan's, again on the steps.

Sat: Went to Summer Eight's again/raced after boats/went into Exeter boathouse/met fk and went back for some chocolate stout/went to Mission for burritos, spiciest thing ever eaten in life and I owned it/out to Kukui for some serious scarf dancing/2-5am Clems for after-club dancing and juuuuuuumping. No food but lots of shrubbery on the way home, too much dance, not enough money.

Sun: Got food from Tuck/sat outside Catz and worked/Carne, brazilian all you can eat inc. dessert. Stomach is now separate from body. Deep life conversations w. C/lab and tea.

ps. also, my watch broke. AND IT'S RUINING MY LIFE.

Ok, quick run down.

Thursday: woke up in the morning feeling like p. diddy. BUT was awake in time to get mars! off the bus. victory!! went to all souls, univ, and queen's college, ate, went to hall, where they did not give us cream to go on our bread and butter pudding. in serio! went to JCR/bridge where mars and AB had a tiny fling. golf theme? club was carried out by security gaurd. found trees on the street, had one stolen, ran after it, caught it, got shoes thrown on roof, tried to climb bank to get them, ran away, hasan's on the steps.

Friday: ate at cafe, met with fk, went to primark for flats and groceries, found tiaras, readied for formal hall, ate delish dinner in crowns, prelashed, ine flung a jackson pollock of wine all over our wall, went to entz, aie aie aie, intrigue with pirate poet, ran naked through the sprinklers, hit the library, ran ran ran, intrigue, torn dress, ah remember, steam, figure eights, still drunk, no earrings.

Saturday: went to OUIFS garden party at the Rhodes house with free food and champagne. Kid who threw my shoes into a roof checked us in. Bankers, hampues, pants, croquet, stole beer at end and went to head of the river. Met M., rooms threw my shoes/bra into the river. ran home, tried to get into rose and crown. home home home. annoyed hallmates. Mars and rooms ate cake, went for hasan's: looks at me: "didn't I tell you to put your shoes on earlier?" Ooookay.

Sunday: got lovely fruit/food at groc and had picnic in university parks, saw kids jumping off the bridge, yeaaah, returned, sat outside on lawn, found phone that had been outside all night, went to dinner at tapas restaurant mmm, got oxford blue at G n Ds, discussed merits of volvic water/lady gaga.

Monday: went to vault and garden cafe, took mars into the bod, saw the duke humphrey/harry potter forbidden section of the library, had tutorial, bought cheese, went into town and browsed/sat outside hist. fac and glittered my legs. Tried to find organic burger van "maybe it only exists if you believe in it" but went to gbk instead, went to KA, met some cricketeers/footballers, "you speak french like a german cunt" and learned to make ukrainian moonshine.

So last night.

Hall: asparagus soup, thai chicken, cheesecake with strawberry whatever.

Went to the Turf, Park End. Dance dance dance, saw AB and T. par-tay-ing. Ran. Some kid dumped his drink in fk's hair. Violence almost ensued. N.g.

Mars is here!!! We walked through All Souls, University, and Queen's college, ate from the ATS on the bod steps, and saw the river/Magdalen bridge.

Updates soon to come. Birthday tonight. Po na na. Interesting name, non?

I've had eggs benedict 3 days in a row. Deciding whether I should have it tomorrow too?

Heard the song Howl? By Florence and the Machine. Well, hear it.

Tried to walk to Paddington this morning. Went around the wrong side of the park and came out on same side we'd left from. Whoops.

Went to Windsor Castle today. Took a tour with Dave. Took pictures. Walked through state apt.s and the St. George chapel, and the Albert memorial. Saw a bust of some dude I'm related to. Saw a sword with an ivory hilt that was a dragon/st. george carved in ivory. SO much armor, so much coolness.

Also a hall with the crests of knights on shields all over the ceiling, but if a knight had committed a crime, their shield was painted over blank white, and left there to remind everyone of their shame. Ouch.

Had tea at a 17th CE restaurant, went back to St. G's chapel for an eveningsong by a choir from Brighton. Little kids. So Brit.

Came back on the train and walked through Kensington Gardens from Paddington back to Milestone, saw the Peter Pan statue and a lot of birds.

Also, the mars is coming! the mars is coming! YEEEEE-AH!

Addition: because I'm in a hotel room, and I have time...

filling out our room service breakfast card is taking like 25 min. just the way I like it.

Ate dinner out at italiano cafe and had caesar salads/split a pizza w. pesto, olives, and zucchini. mmm. Returned to talk about lil tieg's jr. prom. And watch youtube videos.

So, the volcano has once again interfered with my ENTIRE EXISTENCE. oh, so you won't stop erupting. oh, okay, okay. I get it, I get it. You want to erupt and ponder and stuff (points for the ref!). Arg.

So, in one way, it's totally great because I'm spending more time with mommy in London...we're getting to go to Windsor castle,which I've wanted to do and keep doing a lot of eating/shopping/walking. We saw the princess Diana memorial fountain this morning, mocked children feeding/getting bitten by swans, went to the Victoria Albert museum and saw sculpture/an exhibit on fashion/Grace Kelly(ish).

But M. can't come because of the ash cloud- at least right now-so it's frustrating and I'm waiting and waiting and waiting...and also, missing Oxford. I keep growling in my head at London for every single way it is not Oxford.

When I get back, I really need to kiss the cobblestones, read in the Rad Cam, and throw some more shoes in the river.

The incredible status of my 2 week birthday has begun. All with food.

So it goes down like this:

Tuesday my momma comes in and we meet up, and immediately go to eat. We went to this cafe called Puccino's where I read a lot and had paninis, huge coffees, and a greek salad. Mine had bacon in it, but it was called the Mexican. Mom: "What does bacon have to do with being mexican?" ...? Yet to be answered. Then we walked around "the High" and the covered market to look at the cake shops, and I showed her around Catz/my room. Took her to White Horse, which is a tiny/cute pub that is also in the PBS mystery series we both watch. Yes, I watch PBS with a passion. Deal. Then we ate tapas at the amazing tapas restaurant and went to sleep v. v. v. full.

Wednesday we woke up late and went to Patisserie Valerie, where I had eggs benedict and coffee and mommy had a croque madame and both a cappuccino and a mocha. Obv why I love her. Then I took her to Christ Church to see all the HP things and the porter acted a bit cheeky. Also went into Corpus Christi and Magdalen, where we watched people walk on the grass and discussed why their shorts were so weird. Walked over Magdalen bridge. Went back to Catz to have a v. intriguing poetry meeting. Walked into room where friends were decorating the room and said "HI!...wait...get the fuck out!!" OK, got the fuck out. Met mums again to eat dinner at Wagamama w. rooms and stuffed myself with salad and duck dumplings. Back to Catz where I was met with streamers all over the room, cake, cheese, custard!, booze, and love. Got dressed, wore a skull-decorated cowboy hat with a tiara on it, JCR'd, park end. Met CuCl and had a chemical reaction. Kept trophy. Lost room's dress. And something else I have never lost before. Lost my shoes, but that I could see coming from miles away.

Thursday woke up/couldn't move/was sprawled on the floor wearing almost nothing when the scout came in to check our electric box. Sorrrry bout it. Met mommy w/ my sunglasses on, went to hotel to rest/type essay/eat delicious thai take-out. Went to dinner at High Table, had mussels and filet and cheese and champagne. All went back to room for more cake. Got a huge Ben's cookie cake...heart attack in mouth. Also have pirate and octopus cakes. Mmm overload.

Friday...wake up call meant to be at 10. I wake up to mommy getting ready. It's 9.40. Mum: "You should really get up now." Me: "What time is it?" Mum: "Almost 11." Me: "Did the time change?" (Because I didn't think so.) No, the hotel just can't tell time. So we got ready/coffee'd/tried to get her into the bodleian, but my tut was at 1 so we didn't have time. Had an amazing tutorial. No busy work here. Ever. Never. Met mums for high tea at Grand Cafe. Clotted cream. Mm.

Packed/Came into London london town, and ate dinner. Asparagus soup w. poached duck egg, apple tart. More clotted cream. D-lissssh-c-ous. Also got free champagne upon arrival. Life is good at 21.

Sign at the health club: "Rules for the Gymnasium" 7. Please refrain from dropping weights on your feet.

My mommy's about to touch down in London town...

Okay, so now I'm making an addition to this because I'm bored as shit. Trying to read Yeats/Stevens and think about their last poems in relation to each other re: beauty/destruction. Normally, great. Right now, I just want my momma to come so I can take her to eat marvelous sandwiches, walk in the park, and tout her around Oxford. Also, she needs to eat the chicken nuggets from Hasan's. Mmmm. But I suppose we shall see.

Today had an amazing tutorial but realized I really need to learn more about the Brit polit. system ie what their government does and how it functions. I love/hate writing 8 or more poems a week.

Hall was mediocre...I have a bad feeling no meat mondays is going to be a bad idea. Tiny attendance too. But Thursday looks so bomb. So it seems like a good plan. I actually looked so I could plan. I know, it's a big deal. It's also my birthday, drum roll, so I need to come up with crazy costumes to wear.

In other news...

I hope it doesn't rain. I'm going to have awesome people staying for long amounts of time. And I love Oxford more and more each day. Now, the only question left is what time to wake up???

Yesterday pretty much did nothing until it was time to ball. The prince is giving a ball...more like St. Hugh's is giving a ball...

Secret Garden themed. Never ever have I seen anything like it. There was so much to eat: within the first ten minutes, we'd had 3 glasses of champagne, a falafel wrap, 2 burgers, and a chocolate fountain, plus a lot a lot of stolen jellybeans. Then we wandered around the tents...one had a silent disco, one had a buddha themed wall, there were bumper cars aka "dodgems" and a ferris wheel and a train.

Ended up running around the Pimms bathtub with T. and dancing, ran into F. and played darts with her for about 23891283 hours trying to convince this kid that we should win a puppy. Unsuccessful. Then he wanted our numbers and we were like, dude, no. Then we tried to grab more food but things were closing...however, we found an abandoned burrito that was basically wrapped, so we ate that instead. Classy.

Kept stealing glowsticks and ended up with about 35. Ran into a kid from shyyyy-town, but he knows someone from Ridgefield who actually goes here...and was smoking a legit pipe...and his name was Xander. Intrigue, no?

Saw a fake Queen perform...danced...went to the 3am tea party, got a lei and a boa from somewhere that was wrapped around the bass at one point of the night, prettay schweet, and then got tea and cake and a shot of kahlua poured in my mouth by a scotsman, and stole a jar full of chocolate sprinkle candy. Tried to steal a tub of lime but it was too heavy.

Also spent inordinately long amount of time conversing with p.i.c. and main squeeze and a. very amused in head b. never heard him utter that many words before. Came home and made tea at 5.30 and now I need to live a real life (ish).

So last night were the general elections...interesting social experiment done with fk in JCR while we watched. Discovered new mango involved beverage. Talked to F. for hours and learned nothing about politics. OK with that.

New heights of awkward interactions with the "others."

Got wrist band, which stands in for my ball ticket this morning, and are meant to wear it until tomorrow night. IT IS ALREADY SO ANNOYINGLY OBNOXIOUS I WANT TO TEAR IT OFF MY WRIST WITH FOX TEETH. But it's not that bad I guess.

Working. Not working. Consuming huge amounts of coffee. Being boring. Bleh bleh bleh.

Planning birthday night inside my head.

This morning I have made coffee. I have chill music. And I have NO willpower to start working. Not even sure what I'm sposed to be doing as cannot find the book my tutor exampled this assignment from. Blerrggg. But the coffee is magnificent, if I say so myself.

Went to lecture on Austen...decided I just don't like the way that lecturers in english talk. SO blather-y: "the means is a pretext spread across a range of textural possibilities." What does that even mean??

Last night went for a walk with fk and discovered where the Catz gym is for the first time. Looks like Bleak House. Ran into room's fake dad as we came around the corner from the "no entry" area. "What are you guys doing?" FK looking guilty as hell: "Nothing." Hall was mediocre but SO stirring the sauce because fk and I ended up sitting across from little friend and Poet issue child and solved the issue but then there was no cross communication. OK? Talked about it in the hallway before doing JCR and who is standing right in front of the door? Yes...

JCR'd for a bit, chatted with pretentious and it turned out not that bad, and met M. for more than 3 seconds and realized she is cooler than I'd thought. Tonight is the general election so will probably turn out for that even though I have .4783247 of a clue about what is politically going on.

On the plus side, it's not raining, my mommy is coming next week, and I'm going to the ball. Just need to decide how on earth I will wear a dress that a. looks good b. won't wreck when I run through the garden maze c. will allow me to eat the UNLIMITED food and drinks until 4 in da AM.

Too bad the REAL world is not filled with pirates

So right now the weather is sucko again. Blegg.

But highlights:

Sarah, Carolyn, and Taylor were here from Sunday-Thursday. We shopped and ate and drank and drank some more. Threw my shoes into a river. Ran around. Some of us had interesting tv-related relations. Closet-space. Rode a bicycle backwards. Lost fake glasses. Dissed London.

Also went punting. Much much harder than it would appear. Swans on the river are also evil.

Frantically wrote an essay on King Lear Thursday afternoon and went to Kings Arms/chicken nuggets.

Had pretty good tut on Friday/costume shopped for silly string/costumed up as Spidey/sprayed eveeeeryone with string/blackout/intrigue with b.h./accidentally walked into wrong room at 6am and could only say sorrrry bout it. oops.

Saturday so unproductive ate breakfast at 6.30 Watched movies/discussed frustration/tried to work. Failure.