Monday, February 15, 2010
Moment to Spare Blog Update!
Hey there, ladies and gentlemen, it looks like I actually have a moment to spare to fill you in! I mean, I should probably be reading John Donne right now, but I'm feeling so relieved after my Modern tute that I'm not thinking about my Renaissance paper right now. (And, for the record, it's that kind of thinking that keeps me playing catch up. Problem identified...but is it going to change? Hahahaha--no.) Anyway, I had a great tute today for Modern on James Joyce and Catholicism. My tutor liked my paper a lot and the close readings I did were very subversive--that's totally a good thing. Know what's not a good thing? I have rehearsal every night this week until 11:30pm because Little Shop opens next week! I am too nervous about this, especially as I keep butchering "Mushnik and Son." But, I think it can only get better. Or so I hope. Also, I have officially been cut from the rowing crew. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted...well, fun in that bizarre masochistic get up at 5 in the frigid morning kind of way. This is probably a good thing, what with my busy schedule. Without rowing, I'm a lot less tired and I have more free time in the mornings. Well, I think that's it. I'm off to music rehearsal for Little Shop. DON'T FEED THE PLANTS! xx
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Hilary Term--4 Week Crash Course
Hey, ladies and gentlemen! I know you've been waiting on the edge of your seats with bated breathe, wondering when I was going to post again. I had hoped that enough pretty pictures of Scotland would distract you while I stretch myself across Oxford doing an ungodly amount of extracurricular activities. Basically, my life looks like this right now: rowing in the mornings, academics from about 9am-3pm, rehearsal for this new show from 3:30-6:30, rehearsal for Little Shop of Horrors from 7:00-10:00, then library time from 10:30-1:00am. And that's on a slow day! Lemme break it down.
So, we'll start with rowing this term, since it happens first in my day. I have been doing ergs (um, indoor rowing machine sessions) and doing 5ks. That's the brighter way to start my day, really. The river has been red flagged this term because of all the rain and snow, which means we haven't really been able to get on it. However, it went down to blue flag, so with an experienced cox, we went out on Friday and will be having another outing tomorrow morning. There's also some tension in my rowing life right now because we have 9 rowers, yet only 8 seats. We will have to cut someone from the crew this week. See the drama unfolding? Now, not to be pessimistic, but I'm not that strong of a rower. If we can flash-back to last term where our coach called me "the Hunch-back of Notre Dame." And our new coach doesn't think I'm rowing much better because of my too tight hamstrings. Honestly, I don't think I'll make the crew, but I'll certainly keep trying. Our 8 rowers will be chosen based on performance in the water according to the coach (um...yeah) and then our 2k erg times. I'm going to try to erg well and hope that keeps me off the bottom rung. But, if it doesn't, rowing was certainly a good experience.
Academically, I'm doing about the same as last term. My two tutes--Renaissance and Modernism--are pretty interesting, especially after I got past the poetry of Sir Philip Sidney and Edmund Spenser. I've touched on some Samuel Beckett, which was a heart-breaking affair, but absolutely fascinating. I spent last week with Shakespeare and the gaze in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, and The Winter's Tale. My tutor really enjoyed my essay--both the content and the way in which it was written. This week I'm continuing with Billy Shakes, and I'm also exploring Catholicism and the language of the liturgy in James Joyce's works. It's a party.
On the theatre front, I'm in Little Shop of Horrors, and opening night is like 2 weeks away. Am I spazzing? Am I nervous? Am I reveling in the part of Mr. Mushnik as a crazy-dancing man with an unnatural love for money? The answer to all of these questions is a resounding, "Yes!" Also, I auditioned for this other play during 1st Week, and I actually got in! It's called Instead of Beauty, and it's an original composition entry for the Oxford University Dramatic Society's New Writing Festival--or, OUDS' NWF. I love acronyms. The show has a four person cast, so it is a lot more pressure that Little Shop, only Little Shop still makes me more nervous because I have to sing. In front of people. Someone remind me how I got cast for a musical? Anyway, for the past 4 weeks, I've had two rehearsals a day, and at least one every Saturday and Sunday. I'm pretty much living on drama right now, both academically and on stage.
Of course, I top off my day with some good quality library time. In fact, that's where I am now. I'm having a lot of fun, but my life is absolutely crazy right now. Hopefully, I'll be blogging more after 6th Week (so, after Little Shop runs and right before Instead of Beauty goes up; also, if I'm still rowing, Torpids will be the next week...) Thanks for tuning in, sports fans, and I'll keep you sort of in the know when I can. Back to work!
So, we'll start with rowing this term, since it happens first in my day. I have been doing ergs (um, indoor rowing machine sessions) and doing 5ks. That's the brighter way to start my day, really. The river has been red flagged this term because of all the rain and snow, which means we haven't really been able to get on it. However, it went down to blue flag, so with an experienced cox, we went out on Friday and will be having another outing tomorrow morning. There's also some tension in my rowing life right now because we have 9 rowers, yet only 8 seats. We will have to cut someone from the crew this week. See the drama unfolding? Now, not to be pessimistic, but I'm not that strong of a rower. If we can flash-back to last term where our coach called me "the Hunch-back of Notre Dame." And our new coach doesn't think I'm rowing much better because of my too tight hamstrings. Honestly, I don't think I'll make the crew, but I'll certainly keep trying. Our 8 rowers will be chosen based on performance in the water according to the coach (um...yeah) and then our 2k erg times. I'm going to try to erg well and hope that keeps me off the bottom rung. But, if it doesn't, rowing was certainly a good experience.
Academically, I'm doing about the same as last term. My two tutes--Renaissance and Modernism--are pretty interesting, especially after I got past the poetry of Sir Philip Sidney and Edmund Spenser. I've touched on some Samuel Beckett, which was a heart-breaking affair, but absolutely fascinating. I spent last week with Shakespeare and the gaze in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, and The Winter's Tale. My tutor really enjoyed my essay--both the content and the way in which it was written. This week I'm continuing with Billy Shakes, and I'm also exploring Catholicism and the language of the liturgy in James Joyce's works. It's a party.
On the theatre front, I'm in Little Shop of Horrors, and opening night is like 2 weeks away. Am I spazzing? Am I nervous? Am I reveling in the part of Mr. Mushnik as a crazy-dancing man with an unnatural love for money? The answer to all of these questions is a resounding, "Yes!" Also, I auditioned for this other play during 1st Week, and I actually got in! It's called Instead of Beauty, and it's an original composition entry for the Oxford University Dramatic Society's New Writing Festival--or, OUDS' NWF. I love acronyms. The show has a four person cast, so it is a lot more pressure that Little Shop, only Little Shop still makes me more nervous because I have to sing. In front of people. Someone remind me how I got cast for a musical? Anyway, for the past 4 weeks, I've had two rehearsals a day, and at least one every Saturday and Sunday. I'm pretty much living on drama right now, both academically and on stage.
Of course, I top off my day with some good quality library time. In fact, that's where I am now. I'm having a lot of fun, but my life is absolutely crazy right now. Hopefully, I'll be blogging more after 6th Week (so, after Little Shop runs and right before Instead of Beauty goes up; also, if I'm still rowing, Torpids will be the next week...) Thanks for tuning in, sports fans, and I'll keep you sort of in the know when I can. Back to work!
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