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.