Useful words

There are plenty of lists out there of British vs. American terms for things, and I don't intend to duplicate them.  While I haven't bothered to pick up a fake accent, when in my second home I do say 'queue' instead of 'line' and 'cycling' rather than 'biking', and even 'fancy dress' for 'costume'.  Not to mention that I'll probably be really confused if I ever try to row in my native land, because I hear the terminology is different in that arena, too.  But in any case, there are also some very useful words I've learned in the UK that don't seem to have exact equivalents in American English.  They're so useful, I keep employing them when home, to the mild confusion and amusement of those around me.

Faff

This is the most useful word effver.  It means general fuss and effort that is kind of necessary but annoyingly holds you up in trying to do what you actually want to do.  For example, when you just want to get rowing and someone spends ages taking off their shoes, stuffing their jacket in the dry bin, and adjusting their seat -- that's faff.

Banter

Yes, we sort of have this in the U.S., but we use it more narrowly, for lighthearted back-and-forth talking.  Amongst my Cambridge friends, it means this too, but more generally, having good banter also means having good chat; being a pleasant and interesting companion for an evening, especially an alcoholic evening.

Lurgy

According to the OED, 'Usu. in phr. the dreaded lurgy . A fictitious, highly infectious disease.'  This was apparently coined by a radio program in the 1950s, but I've heard it used to remark on one's general malaise and feeling icky.

Kit
Athletic clothing, especially if decorated with your team's name (aka stash).  I have acquired an increasing amount of black and white rowing kit, and a fair amount of Trinity Hall or other Cambridge stash.

Keen
Yes, Americans know what this means, but it's in abundant use for eager/interested/enthusiastic/supportive/involved.

Now if only I could conjure more useful words to go into the conference paper I'm writing.  Ages and ages ago, I submitted a proposal to talk on a panel about W.S. Gilbert (as in Gilbert & Sullivan); the first time, my paper was accepted but the panel didn't make it into the conference.  A year later, the panel was guaranteed to happen, but I had to re-submit my proposal in case someone else had come up with a better idea in the meantime.  After acceptance #2, I've had six months to anticipate speaking at the MLA, the biggest conference in the humanities.  Here I am in the program:

It's an amazing opportunity.  And I truly have nothing original to say on the topic I proposed.  Seriously, it has all been covered.  Heh.  Well, with any luck, few people will come to the panel, and the other papers will get all the questions, and I'll escape with a nice line on my CV.  But I have a knack for getting a lot of questions...  I've found a perfect, hidden cubicle in the basement of the Stanford music library, and it's dead silent (finals just finished) and lacking all distractions.  If ever I could work anywhere, this should be it.  Wish me luck!

Michaelmas term 2012

I'm so sorry that I've neglected this blog for the entire term.  To be honest, it wasn't a good eight weeks, though there were bright spots along the way.  Rowing proved extremely frustrating as people dropped out or wouldn't commit to the training, and I spent so much time trying to hold it together that I did essentially no work on my PhD.  But let's move on to the good stuff:

Talking at the 19th Century Seminar

The English faculty has a guest speaker every other week, and occasionally they fill the spot with a third-year grad student.  I gave a paper that was basically the best of everything I've done so far, combined into a 45-minute talk.  I got a lot of questions, and while I didn't answer them especially well, people were clearly interested in the topic, so yay.  Here's me listed in the course bulletin:

Christmas grad hall dinner

Cam-mas/Bridgemas

The joking term for the Christmas that happens in Cambridge about a month too early.  The chapel choir sang its two carol services, the MCR had its annual Christmas dinner, and things were generally festive.  You know how people have those miniature Christmas villages they put on tables as decoration?  I want a miniature Cambridge, but it doesn't seem to exist according to my Google searching.  This could be my big money-making scheme...  Anyone good at ceramics?

Boat Club Dinner

After a crummy term, I wasn't necessarily looking forward to BCD, but it turned out to be one of the best evenings I had.  Being captain finally paid off as I got to sit at the fun table with some favorite alumni, give a speech, read fines, and generally feel loved and appreciated.

Me and my co-captain

Trip to Warsaw

My rowing friend Marta, who did her MPhil last year, emailed in November to say that there were cheap flights to Warsaw at the end of term, and would I like to come visit?  So I said yes!  Another boatie and I hopped over for a few days to gorge ourselves on potato-based foods and enjoy the Christmas lights.  Sadly, I've managed to leave my camera cable behind, so I'll have to share pictures later.

...And now I'm back home, pushing my way through a cold that is in no way surprising after weeks of not enough sleep and a lot of stress.  The only wonder is that it took so long to strike.  I'm trying to wipe the mental slate clean so I can start next term refreshed and cheerful like the Sarah of old.