Stuff

[raven]

Stuff! Stuff is happening. Stuff is happening all over the place. Well, it has a tendency to do that. But it's all good stuff. I am now so firmly settled into the rhythm of life here that it feels like about twenty years since I left home. Which I think is a good thing.

Anyway. First of all, the flat is rather wonderful. I actually wasn't expecting it to be as much fun to live here as it is, because it's a bit of a screwball layout, five rooms around a staircase, and the kitchen as a weird little protuberance over the Master's field. But it's turning out to be quite fun. I love being able to get up, wander into the kitchen and find someone else having breakfast; I like living with people and having my own bit o'space at the same time. I'm an only child, it's a new one on me. And so far no one has killed anyone else with their cooking, which is a good, good thing. The meals have all been a bit eclectic, really; the three people in this flat who can cook are me, Pat and Maria, who are Indian, Brazillian and Russian respectively, and well-versed in our collective culinary heritage. Tonight, we made chicken. Pat fried the chicken, I chopped onions, Maria made salad. Then Pat decided the chicken needed tomato puree, I added the onions and decided it needed chilli sauce. Pat put in stock, Maria put in chopped celery, I can't remember who thought the parsley (fresh off the plant, bizarrely) was a good idea. I have a jar that is already being referred to with initial capitals as Iona's Spice Jar. I filled it before I left home with haldi, mirch, garam masala, dhuniya and salt. (There are English words for all of those, but I can't be bothered to work them out.) These were added. The chicken was good, if a little multicultural in the sauce.

Speaking of my being Indian, I actually am. In a legal sense, I mean. I got all the relevant documentation in the post a couple of days ago, and it hasn't stopped being thrilling yet. I'm an Indian citizen again after a gap of eighteen years - I have dual nationality, two passports, two sets of voting rights. The new passport is green and has "Bharartiya videshi" on the front in gold lettering, and I am ridiculously pleased, perhaps more than I should be for something that's just a legal formality, but I can't help myself. It means something to me because suddenly it becomes real: I'm not not British, and I'm not not Indian, and I can be both, so there.

(In fact, something has happened recently that may raise a few more issues like this, concerning who I am and where I've come from, but more on that when I've quite decided what to do about it. Sorry to be vague, and I probably will elaborate later.)

Back in Oxford, it's getting cold. The lingering summer has changed, within twenty-four hours, into a crystalline cold snap. The city has acquired a new beauty because of it; the cold gives everything sharper edges, and the sun is out and the sky is cloudless and it's a pleasure to walk anywhere. (And I'm walking a lot of places.) I'm actually enjoying running errands, and I'm definitely enjoying noughth week. First week will be upon us soon, and thus I am also attempting to labour through an essay on Rawls' theory of justice, which would be interesting if he had not rambled repetitively for six hundred pages on the subject, whilst waiting for my Ethics tutor to spring something on me. The joy in all this is, of course, no Economics ever again. Ever, ever again. I am selling my textbooks to one of Pat's kids. For a profit, because I am that good an economist.

Pat's kids are quite nice, but they're the only freshers I've met despite the city being swarming with them. There are fifteen new PPEists. In my year, there are twelve - thirteen if you count Sky, currently in Manchuria running up an enormous phone bill - of which eight are guys and four are women. In the year below, there is one girl PPEist. Just one. My mind is boggled. That poor girl, for one thing, and how can the imbalance be so enormous? I've often wondered why PPE is such a gender-skewed subject - what's inherently masculine about it?

(And speaking of that, there may possibly be an anonymous column in next week's edition of Cherwell consisting of some gripes and advice for women in male-dominated subjects. I leave it to you all and your enormous squishy frontal lobes as to why exactly I am telling you this.)

So this is my life: cooking, theory of justice, moving my flatmates in - Claire arrived yesterday with hundreds of boxes and all the pasta in the known universe - and some writing. The main dilemma I've been having is whether or not to stick with Political Theory or switch it for Jurisprudence, a lawyers' module that PPEists are being allowed to sit if they should so desire. I am baffled as to which to pick, and my theory tutor, whom I like very much mainly because he was the only person to notice last term that I was on the verge of a breakdown, is off on sabbatical presumably writing another book. So today I went to meet his replacement, who has come from Magdalen and lives just below the attic I used to live in.

And seeing him, I'm pretty sure I'm doing theory. Er, yeah. Picture a stereotypical Oxford don. Picture one in all his eccentric, elderly, long-haired glory. Now endow him with a bright pink tie and the facial expressions of Hugh Laurie, and you've got my new theory tutor. His name is Chris, and the first thing he said when he opened his door was: "You must be Iona do come in have a seat oh dear I don't know anything about Jurisprudence shut up shipping forecast!"

He shouts at the shipping forecast. This is good. He also talks a lot - twenty-five minutes and I didn't say a word - but he just seems generally nice, and friendly, and was wearing the ridiculous pink tie because he had to go to the freshers' dinner(!), and he was delighted to hear I'd actually done my vacation essay and thought feminism would make a wonderful theory topic. And he only wants six essays this term. Yeah, I like him. And meeting him was a nice thing in a nice day, which as said before, was only otherwise marked by cooking chicken and justice. I was going to sit and eat the chicken and not do anything else, but in the end I decided to be socal and went out.

Actually, I went to steerpikelet's room-warming at Wadham and found most of ou3fs - plus me_ves_y_sufres, the newest recruit - on the floor in various states of inebriation watching the Doctor Who TV movie. Just as I entered, Sylvester McCoy was morphing into McGann and the room was on tenterhooks for the messianic moment of "WHO AM I?!" It was marvellous, and I poured myself some unmeasured Pimm's - and later vodka - and sat down to enjoy it. The evening passed in discussion of Venn diagrams (Apparently all goths are geeks but not all geeks are goths? And there is no intersection between Visigoths and the Roman Empire? And also Hannibal rode dinosaurs over the Alps against the Greeks and got bombed by the Luftwaffe?), withiel explaining the American TV pilot alternate universe theory of Doctor Who canon, anariel_di_gaia's bedside manner, and various people filling me_ves_y_sufres in on the year's worth of debauchery she missed. I sat back hugging the vodka bottle and just took it all in with quiet glee.

I have a feeling amchau rang me on the way out of the college - I explained about the unmeasured Pimm's, I think, and also the beauty of the full moon and the clear night, and foulds and chains_of_irony were probably corroborating me on all these points - and I wandered home underneath the sky feeling very happy about everything. foulds walked me home, and let slip the secret that he actually walks girls home in gentlemanly fashion because he's waiting one day to be asked in and shagged.

(I didn't ask him in.)

(But I am very fond of him regardless.)

I got in the flat to find Ben, Claire and Pat yelling something about codecs at Claire's laptop. When I left them they were watching the film version of Carousel and looking very happy. I disappeared to go to bed, or at least to watch Supernatural in bed. I've just seen "Scarecrow", and come on. The Cigarette Smoking Man is in it! He's got to be evil! It's the CSM, for heaven's sake!

Ahem. Yes. I am still loving that show. I am still loving life in general. Time for bed.

Comments

[gwynnega]

Glad you're having fun! And yay Supernatural!!

[icepixie]

The city has acquired a new beauty because of it; the cold gives everything sharper edges, and the sun is out and the sky is cloudless and it's a pleasure to walk anywhere.

I loved it when the weather changed like that at Kenyon (it usually happens a bit later in October). Walking back across campus at 11 PM after ballroom practice, discussing this and that with my friend and dance partner under a clear sky stuffed with stars--lots of them, since of course you can see more out in the boonies--and crunching through leaves that have just fallen was magical.

Somehow, that same atmosphere just doesn't exist at home... *sigh*

Congratulations on getting your Indian documentation. :)

[gamesiplay.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on your documentation! That's so exciting.

I... had no idea there was a system for classifying goths in with geeks. I didn't even know there was an overlap at all! I'm still stuck on the nerd/geek distinction, myself. I fail at social taxonomy.

Who was the CSM in "Scarecrow"? Because someone else recently mentioned that crossover to me, and now I have to go back and watch with this in mind.

[pinkishmew.livejournal.com]

It all sounds wonderful.

[foulds.livejournal.com]

Lies! Lies, I say!

[ressie-noldo.livejournal.com]

Out of curiosity, exactly how long and painful was the application process for the dual nationality? (I am sort of halfway through filling it out; considering the insanity of Indian bureaucracy, I can't imagine that it isn't going to be an annoying and bribery-loaded road.)


As a completely pointless aside, I am very proud of myself, for I remember that haldi = turmeric despite not being from the North. ;)

[hathy-col.livejournal.com]

See, when I get tutors like that, I would have to be a post-grad, or a very talented fourth-year. This seems unfair, as Historian Off The Telly sounds just like him, except for a whole lecture.

Also it is good to see you happy. Makes me smile. (WYRD SISTERS IN THREE WEEKS NOT THAT I AM GIVING YOU CAPS LOCK HINTS OH NO.)

[jacinthsong.livejournal.com]

because he's waiting one day to be asked in and shagged.
I KNEW IT.

And is PPE a male-dominated subject across the university? It's an equal split in my year, and I think among the freshers too...I assumed your woes were mostly because Balliol attracts the arrogant MP-wannabe boys to a greater extent than other colleges. Hmm.

[amchau.livejournal.com]

You are correct in the matters of phone calling, explainations, and corroboration. You also promised to call me back tomorrow, which is now tonight. (I was sober, even though I had just won a sci-fi and fantasty society quiz.)

[--kali--.livejournal.com]

When you go away abroad now do you have to take both passports with you?

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And eee, I love this show so much.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

*smiles* You're so right. There's something special about that chill and you don't get it anywhere else.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Eee, thank you! I am still bouncing!

*laughs* We all fail at social taxonomy. The resulting Venn diagram went onto more than one sheet and included the Visigoths and citizens of the Roman Empire.

The CSM was the old professor who told Dean about pagan gods. I spotted William Davis' name in the credits and, er, he hasn't changed in ten years. Really, he hasn't, and I strongly suspect he plays the same character in everything he's in!

(XF canon is sufficiently crazy that it's acclimatised me to the essential weirdness of a character referred to within the show as "the Cigarette Smoking Man". Sigh.)

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

It really is. *smiles*

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

*nodnod* All lies yes.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Very long and very painful. We've been trying to do it for the last six months or so, and this is with the help of a family friend in the High Commission. (Yay Indian nepotism and all that.)

*laughs* Where are you from?

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

*giggles* I think perhaps philosophy tutors are naturally nuttier than any other type.

*hugs you* I love you lots and lots, you know. (OMG I KNOW WATCH THIS SPACE!)

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

DIDN'T WE ALL SUSPECT IT.

Mmm, I didn't think of that. In fact, I think you might be right - last year the Balliol PTB were having kittens because of the imbalance, and now I come to think of it, they probably wouldn't have been so upset if there had been an imbalance university-wide.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

I fail at life.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Depends where I'm going, I think. The EU, America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc. - I only need my British passport. For India (and Nepal, I suppose, but I've never been there), the new one. I think my Indian passport might be slightly different from a standard one - not valid without the British one alongside it, I think - so there's that to consider, too.

[amchau.livejournal.com]

You are suffering grave weather-related window-signal use aversion.

You invited me to your party, though, so I'll forgive you. I'd invite you to come to Nottingham, though there's nothing going on except me trying to do work.

[foulds.livejournal.com]

Exactly, because that wasn't the real me - it was one of the Giant Evil Bees

[pinkdormouse.livejournal.com]

Picture a stereotypical Oxford don. Picture one in all his eccentric, elderly, long-haired glory. Now endow him with a bright pink tie and the facial expressions of Hugh Laurie, and you've got my new theory tutor. His name is Chris, and the first thing he said when he opened his door was: "You must be Iona do come in have a seat oh dear I don't know anything about Jurisprudence shut up shipping forecast!"

Heee! I want one!

And yay dual nationality!

yo.

[thehairyfairy.livejournal.com]

First off. I've met david tennent. sqeee.
second off, what does oxdocsoc actually do since i may have accidently founded the cardiff chapter? we're getting hoddies...

Re: yo.

[thehairyfairy.livejournal.com]

hoodies, not builder brick carriers. although cool they would not be strictly relevent. bloody spelling

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Everyone should have one! And everyone should have dual nationality too!

Re: yo.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Our Docsoc meets and geeks and organises events. And drinks. It's a peaceful existence.

(How's Cardiff in general?)