Semi-Charmed Life

It's 1:33 in the afternoon. I managed to get the alarm on my watch to work. There's no snooze or backup alarm, so I must be very careful. The very last thing I want to do is wake up late for a lecture or meeting with my tutor.

I woke up stiff this morning. It's much cooler today than the past few days. That's alright. I had F/H wrap #3 with the second most delicious apple in the world from the same little shop. I might be a regular already.

This morning was so misty and foggy and beautiful. There's moss and ivy and various other types of foliage that climbs on every ancient wall. I can't help but love every exterior wall I see here. I wandered off the main strip today, enthralled with the mist. I thought I walked fast but people pass me all the time. I can't tell if my regular pace has slowed because I'm looking and listening and making mental notes and eating H/F wraps with one hand and sipping tea in the other. I have no particular place to go as of now, but I should probably locate all the buildings for my various meetings tomorrow. I'm a little nervous.

My sleeping patterns still aren't quite right. I forced myself to bed 2:30 a.m. and forced myself out of bed at 9:30 a.m. I got back to the room after my morning stroll and couldn't help but take a quick nap. It was 40 minutes long but at least I got the watch alarm down. The bells ring every 15 minutes. I love it. They're so beautiful. I tried to buy a bedside clock but they were VERY expensive. 50 BP for a cheap looking thing. I did find one for 9.99 BP but it was race car themed. The alarm sound was a car revving up and tire squeals. I'll risk the watch beeps. They remind me of the watch I had the summers I worked at Raquette Lake. I'm here at Oxford for the same amount of time I spent at Raquette Lake so it's really comforting. I have something to compare it to...even if the comparison is more like a contrast.

Raquette Lake / Oxford
Lots of English people: check / check
Warm weather: check / -
A lake: check / -
Lots of children: check / -
Intellectually stimulating: - / check
3 month duration: check / check
Own room: - / check
Responsibility for self only: - / check
Easy contact with outside world: - / -
Somewhat intimidating authority: check / check
An unusual locale: check / check
Rain: check / check
Personally challenging: check / check
Privacy: - / check
Bears: check / -
Feet: mode of transportation: check / check
Once in a lifetime opportunity: check / check
Old: check / check
Beautiful: check / check


I did some yoga stretches for about 20 minutes. I'm very stiff and sore. I yawn a lot. I'm physically tense. It must be this uncomfortable desk chair and, you know, trying to reassemble my world because it just got rocked. It's being cracked open and split into quarters and segmented into the tiny little juice pouches like an orange. It's been cut with a knife so some pouches have spilled open but others are clumped together nicely, keeping a strong hold on what is sacred and inside. Some of the seeds are being flicked out and this orange is only half pealed. Partially pealed, not quite half. This Orange World of mine is not being destroyed, it's being prepped for something good and nourishing and beautiful.

As my first attempt to listen to music that was not specifically meant for England, I dove right into my favorite song. Semi-Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind. I rely on this song because never have I listened to this song and felt worse or even the same. It makes me swell and nod: Ok. This is alright. This is manageable.
I don't know how it can capture every sorrowful moment I've experienced and associate it with...beauty, for lack of a better word or way to describe it. I hear this song in my head constantly. It used to be my ring tone. Every time someone called me it was the first thing I heard before hearing them say "hello" or "hi" or "what up" or "Sarah!" or "000010110110" or "que tal" or "bonjour" or "hey, lady."

4 times through the song and I should venture out of my room again. I've stretched. I've blogged. There are voices and footsteps a plenty around Morrison Hall. I think every thing is coming to life and I must participate.

Hearing from you all is facilitating. It helps. It's needed. I'm alone here but I'm not alone. It's so good.



The sky it was gold, it was rose,
I was taking sips of it through my nose.
-Third Eye Blind