Ewan McGregor, plasma membranes and the electron subshells of argon

[raven]

It's very, very cold. The wind carries drizzle that goes everywhere and it whips straight through you. It's horrible. I had to walk to the station and back today, which was not so nice, but on the plus side, I now have a pretty Trio train pass that means I don't have to fumble for change all the time. The picture of me is awful, but thankfully blurred.

The day, then. Becca wasn't in - she's apparently been throwing up everywhere - and neither was Gemma, which did make me wonder if they'd killed each other over the weekend, but apparently not. I'm going to ring her - Becca, that is! - a little bit later. Today, I picked up bits and pieces about what happened after I left - apparently they watched Velvet Goldmine, and Katrina was disappointed that, and I quote, "Ewan McGregor only pulled a moony like Megan... but then he turned round!"

Talking of Meg's antics, Emma happened to mention them to her parents and now Mr Wood most definitely knows, and has been dropping not-so-subtle hints. I wouldn't be surprised if the entire staff room knew about it by the end of the day. It's all her fault, of course. All her idea, according to Kat and Nicola. They were telling me all this in French General, which is indicative of the amount of attention we were all paying. I will not, however, launch into another spiel about how utterly pointless general is. Too many already.

I went into lunch with Bev and Fidan today - much too wet and windy to go out, even if we'd wanted to - and we had a strange encounter with Mrs Phillips. Well, strange is not the word. She chased us across the dining hall yelling, "Lunch passes!"
"We haven't got them!" I yelled back.
"WHY?" - that was scary. She's constantly apoplectic with rage, that woman. I then tried to explain that said passes haven't been issued yet, but she was having none of it. In the end, we just pretended we couldn't hear her and went into lunch.

So, yes. If I'd had my way, I would have spent my afternoon sitting on the radiator reading Witches Abroad, but sadly, I had to go to Biology and Chemistry. Biology - I hate it. I hate it so much. I especially hate glycoproteins and the lipid bilayer plasma membrane and all of that. We had to watch a video - one of those American ones where they say everything funny. It's so hard to transliterate an American accent, because they do such strange things with vowels. Anyway. Then Chemistry, Ionisation Energy Across Period 3, which I enjoyed entirely too much. Well, I enjoyed it partly because we were in the little lab and could hear Mrs Phillips next door, shouting. Like I said, the woman never stops shouting, but when she's shouting at the first years, I always bask in the thought that I need never ever do Home Economics ever again, and Chemistry is not only many many times more useful and well regarded, but I can actually do it!

And that, I suppose, is everything. It's still freezing cold.

Comments

[absolutism.livejournal.com]

Chemistry can die, and that's all i have to say about that.

sounds like today is a day you could have used the postcards that were in the package i sent that apparently never made it. blah, damn it all to hell.

let's just trade weather. the temperature here is a balmy 90 something degrees, and there's not a cloud in the sky.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Sounds *wonderful.* I'm freezing, here.

[language-idling.livejournal.com]

I wish I could hear what an American accent sounds like to your ears. Or even, I wish I could hear what my accent sounds like to your ears. That would be so incredibly interesting. In linguistics we talk about how over here, a British accent commands authority. In popular entertainment, someone with almost any type of British accent is seen as educated and somehow above. Yay for the colonial mentality. A southern (US) accent sounds uneducated to us.

If I could knit, I would send you mittens.

[donnertheim.livejournal.com]

I absolutely agree. I've always wondered what I sound like to a brit. Bear in mind, however, that the most foppish characters always have British accents. In plays written by leftists, so does the biggest buffoon's sidekick - Blair to Bush. *shrugs* I don't agree, but diversity of opinion is what makes things peachy-keen here.

It's true that a southern (US) accent sounds uneducated, but the stereotypical California accent just sounds ludicrously airheaded. Not to forget about the stereotypical Mexican accent. "I'll cuchoo, man!"

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

It's hard to explain - to me, an American accent sounds as through the letter A is being sent through a mangle. The words are flattened. I don't know about my own accent, to be really honest - I can only hear it when I'm over the pond myself. It's a neutral BBC newsreader accent, with a touch of Scouse when I get overexcited. Commanding authority... well, I don't know about that!

I will be digging out my mittens shortly. The weather has got worse overnight!