Oxtober

It's Halloween so while I should be plotting the next issue of the magazine I am instead scrolling through typefaces looking for the one that most befits a celebutante mugshot :)

Time flies. or in my case, takes the bus. but either way October disappeared and this is my attempt to determine where it went. Some highlights of the month, in photos heavily borrowed from my dear sis-in-law:

+ the graduate. deano got his thesis in the mail. all 5kg of it. it had a lovely dedication in it (to yours truly of course) in which I managed to find a typo. Guess it would have ruined the surprise if I'd proofread it :)

+ thanksgiving brought Canadians together, as it's meant to do, I suppose. I cooked my first ever turkey, saw a couple of old friends and met a new one. we had much to be thankful for, but our guests might have been more thankful if we owned a microwave (still working on timing a big meal).


+ the next day we went to stratford. dean stayed at home cause he thought it would be lame. don't tell him, but it really was. At least I had great company.



+ spacey. we scored two tickets to hear Kevin Spacey's innaugural lecture as a visiting lecturer at St Catharines college. and i left my camera at home :(

+ DNA. we're doing this thing. at our church. a newcomers group. mostly to meet people and hang out with our friend Jamie who leads worship. but the other great thing is it gets us talking and thinking a bit more about God and community and what the church is meant to look like.

+ Black Kids. our first Oxford show. or "gig" as the Brits say. or "concert" as the Regier siblings say. Black Kids were fun. I've gone to too many head-nodding shows and too few dance-your-feet-off shows. Must do more of the latter. It's no Commodore, but Carling Academy was certainly better than any Aberdeen venues we went to. the one big dissapointment: drinking Carling. blech! we made up for it with doner kebabs on the way home.




+ ghosts. we went on a ghost walk through Oxford the next day. The Black Kids lead singer's skeletal face was scarier, but we had fun and took along some new friends.

+ cambridge. last sunday we visited Oxford's nemesis. it was pretty and had a nice river, and a nicer Bridge of Sighs, as well as cream tea and a scary time-bending clock but I still like Ox better. We brought one of the afore-mentioned new friends with us too.


+ fridays. AKA serentity days. I may have mentioned that I now work from home on fridays. I probably haven't mentioned at it has been gorgeous and sunny every single Friday since September. no wonder I love Oxford.


+ i also have a job. work gave me a blackberry. oh yah, and a credit card. and they're sending me to San Fran + San Diego for a week in the March. and i get all these free lunches and afternoon meetings catered with wine. call me a sellout, see if I care. business schools are where it's at.

great kate

FINALLY, Kate Moss comes out with a Top Shop collection that I actually like... just in time for the implementation of our new house-saving-budget :(



UPDATE: sheesh! Looks like I'm not the only one who digs it. The collection sold out in 15 minutes at the Oxford St store.

clever boys

hey remember not that long ago when Radiohead's In Rainbows came out online and we were given the choice to pay what we want?

It seemed sort of crazy at the time. But a year later it appears the numbers speak for themselves. This works. We payed what we considered to be a reasonable amount for the album, and because we liked it so much we also forked over a minor fortune to see the band (in a veritable downpour) in Glasgow a few months later. I guess ol' Thom is as clever as he is quirky.

Of course, now that we're neighbours here in Oxford I can just call him up and get a pre-released copy of all future albums ;)

marriage of genius

What happens when America's best TV show is recapped by its best (arguably!) magazine? Pure indulgence, and this very piognant tally of GG points. Spoiler warning - don't read it if you've not watched Monday's Tivoed/pirated episode yet!

a century of the tube

The Guardian has a pretty little slide show demonstrating the evolution of the Underground logo and some iconic tube scenes of the past century. Worth a peek for all you Anglo-philes!

mail goggles

Drunken late night emailing has never been a weakness of mine, but having read one too many booze-influenced posts on the blogosphere, I can appreciate this latest Google initiative.

Essentially, between certain hours of the day when you are more likely to have been drinking Mail Goggles asks you a series of mathematical questions. If you can answer them within a given time period then you are considered sober enough to use email :)

Read about it here.

**********************************
And a goodie from the Guardian: the best election spoofs, with much thanks due to Tina Fey.

master of impressions

Dean and I just got back from Kevin Spacey's inaugural lecture at St Catherine's College. While not necessarily an Oxford don, he did pepper his lecture with some good jokes and a mighty fine impression of Jack Lemmon and of Christopher Walken. A quick google search reveals that's not all he's got in his armory. This Actors' Studio clip is pretty darn awesome:

Happy-Go-Lucky

I just discovered that this (one of my top ten films of the year so far) has finally crossed the pond. Much as Poppy's talking in cliches and circles drove me mad when we saw this last winter, it still made me smile and cringe and sigh, and all the things it intended to do. North Americans, by all means, go see Happy-Go-Lucky!

it's official

Hubby has just received sign off on his final batch of thesis edits. It's now off to the printers and soon you'll ALL be able to visit the University of Aberdeen and read the soon-to-be-famous work, Discrete choice experiments informing cost benefit analysis: a Bayesian approach with an application to genetic testing, for yourself!

Tomorrow we celebrate!

On Saturday we'll celebrate some more. A small contingent of Canucks are joining us at North Lodge for Thanksgiving. Now if only I could find a turkey...

The Great Schlep

Years ago I went through a stage where I genuinely hoped I would find myself a nice Messianic Jew to marry one day. This could be because all the Jewish people I've ever known are geniuses and hilarious to boot, or because as a people they're always at the centre of the global action, or maybe it's just because I'm often told I look Jewish and I like to fit in (it's the schnoz, what can i say?).

So I didn't marry a Jew, but I still married into a funny, doting family and landed a hubby who looks mighty fine in a beard.

Anyway, sometimes i come across things that still sorta make me wish I was one of the chosen people. Sarah Silverman's new campaign to get Jewish grannies to vote is no exception... makes me want to get MY fat Jewish ass on a plane to Florida to see Baba, darn it. Watch the video. Beware of expletives unsuitable for grandmas.

Schmoozin

Dean and I just scored tix to hear Kevin Spacey's inaugural lecture as the Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theatre.

oi! Living in Oxford has its advantages!

Speaking of which, we went to our first Oxford dinner this week. The head of Dean's research unit was recently named a full professor at St Cross College (after a mere 14 years on track). In honour of the event we had the privilege of paying $60 a head to make awkward conversation with midwives and epidemiologists for an evening. At least the dinner was good and my date was hot.

Meanwhile at the business school they know how to do things right: a new season of Sundowners has begun. What is Sundowners you ask? An LBS tradition - every Thursday evening students, faculty and staff enjoy a freeflow of alcohol, unlimited and at no cost, courtesy of lovely corporate sponsors. Hubby and I dropped by last night for a quick free pint before a nice dinner together in Londontown. :)

self diagnosis

I know full well that a Google search can't replace a visit to the doctor, but it seems in this case, I've found a pretty accurate diagnosis. harumf.

getting down to busyness

A recent email influx reveals this blog is failing to do its job.

I would love to blame the current economic crisis, as it seems to be a convenient scapegoat for everything else, but really my silence comes down to simple and boring old busy-ness.

It really has been too long though. So how about an update in chunks:

Yesterday I sat in on my last session of the Senior Executive program... and just in time too - as one of only 5 women in a room of 58 execs (notably the only one younger than 40) some of the participants were taking too keen an interest in my "work". That said I gathered more information than I can ever use in my feature and am excited about finally getting to show London Business School what I can do.

******************************************************

The schedule of visitors hasn't slowed.

Last week North Lodge was graced by our dearest Trevor Meier, on his way home from back-to-back film projects in Israel and Swaziland. The dude gets around. Trevor wins the award for most devoted non-family visitor. He's now stayed with us three times in as many years and we love him for it, among other things.

******************************************************

Since we are still relatively friendless in Ox, I've been busy cultivating a nice little social life here in London - managing to fit in one or two lunches a week with some seriously interesting women which most recently grew to include miss Kelly Warnock who has just moved to Londontown to begin her Masters. Last night I even managed to squeeze in some post-work drinks with the infamous Rees and Rusty.

******************************************************

This past weekend marked the birthdays of three much-loved ladies: my best friend Julie, my adorable niece Sophie, and my stylin sis-in-law Jill. Celebrations with the latter entailed a day of intense London shopping, a jaw-dropping night at the theatre, pints on the pavement in Covent Garden, and then a lovely day in Bath on Sunday. whew!

Is it any wonder I've taken to sleeping through my commute?

******************************************************

lastly, a couple photos, courtesy of Jill:

we were feeling wicked

roman baths in... where else?

Jill's 19th birthday kiss (sorry Derek, someone had to do it!)