Well, I have just about one week left to finish my bloody thesis. Its going okay, but as I've said before, it has been a really rough time trying to complete it. I've got just about 13,000 right now and that's without a conclusion and part of a chapter written so only about 2,000 more to go! The topic is really interesting to me, but at this point I just want to hand it in and get my degree.
Other updates... I'm getting glasses! For months now I've had trouble reading things, not seeing objects, but mostly trying to understand what things say. The letters seem to go all fuzzy. So I went for a free, yes free, eye exam and they gave me a prescription that helps with concentration. I could not believe the difference they made. I only had them for about 2 days though, when I realized that although yes my eyes needed to adjust, I still could not see mid to long range and well seeing as I should be able to wear them driving... it wasn't good. So sadly I was re-tested yesterday and my glasses went back to be fixed. I have to wait a week now to get them back. Perfect, the one week where I could really use some clarity in sight is the one week I don't have my glasses now. So yeah, glasses are exciting, I guess I didn't realize just how fuzzy things were until wearing them, I'm so excited that things really come into sharp focus now, especially letters!
I'm also pretty much ready for the move. I've set up a bank account so hopefully by tomorrow I'll have money in Australia and won't have to carry crazy amounts of cash. Also, had to buy a new case as one of mine was a bit small, but it was 5pound and its bright pink. :) No mistaking that on the conveyor! To get all of my clothes and such to Australia, given Emirates doesn't allow more than one bag, I'm shipping a bag weighing almost 70pounds. It is a door to door service which takes out so much hassle, and its actually the cheapest option. Its costing me quite a lot of money, but in the end its worth it because I'd spend way more on clothes there, and to be honest it would be such a waste to just leave things here. So I'm pretty much packed, save my carry-on and a few items that I'm wearing. We leave in 13 days! (note the spiffy countdown clock) I can't believe how fast this year, and especially this summer has flown by!
Well, that's it for now, time to get back to work...
I think I can, I think I can, I think I can....
Cheers!
Tori
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
Holiday to Yorkshire!
Hello Everyone!
Its August now and the time left to finish my thesis is becoming quite short... yikes. I'm working hard on that despite all the set backs. As I think I mentioned before, Steve and I are officially going to Australia, flying out on the 1st of September! I'm getting really excited about that. New hobbies I've picked up is cross stitch, I'm loving it, its like paint by number except with thread. Steve and I just got back from St. Andrews, where we both had meetings with advisers and such, it was nice to see friends, but so nice to be back home in a real bed with clean bathrooms and good food. I guess thats it for totally random updates, other than Steve's sister and I went to see Harry Potter which was amazing. AAAmazing. :)
Anyway, on to what we most recently did! For a week, we went away with Steve's family to Yorkshire on the coast where we did all sorts of relaxing and fun things. We stayed in a cottage in a little village right near the sea where we could easily drive to the beach. We went on a steam train one of the days which took us to different towns on the route. It was really pretty, and although she was nervous at first, Steve's sister Suzy's dog Flo ended up being perfectly fine on the train. She was hilarious though, it pulled into one of the stations and she was barking like crazy at it baring her teeth and everything haha big dog I guess! We stopped at a station where they filmed Harry Potter, the first movie where they get on and off the train! So I've officially been to Hogsmeade station! Anyway, we went to a few beaches which was nice, explored a few towns too. The whole coast there is known for its fossils and holy moly, you could find them so easily! Lots of shells and things, but also amonites which are really cool too. We found loads of interesting things. It was really so much fun spending hours on the beach looking for fossils, or just playing with Flo who was only just experiencing the sea for the first time. She was such a character playing in the waves, half scared half excited. It was so beautiful on the coast. I had to stay in two days though to do work, but that was okay. The region is also known for the semi pressious gem Jet, which is black and suprisingly light, I think its an organic material that fossilized or something. Anyway, it was beautiful, and the industry for Jet jewlery is spectacular. Looking at some broches in a shop I realized that this was the area the poets go to in the movie/book Possession. (love that film). There were lots of sheep and ponies to be seen as well in the countryside. We also went to Scarborough where Steve Suzy the Dog and I went on a short boat ride up the coast and back looking at the wonderful cliffs and coastline. It was nice to drive to little towns to explore. Whitby was nice and it had a neat old abbey that was in ruin. The streets were small and it had an old feel to it, really neat. We went to a few other towns which I totally can't remember the names of now. In one of the towns though I went into a church with a few wall paintings from the 1400s. They were neat, and there was a hell scene too. It was a lovely time. I'll post pictures when I have a bit more time.
Guess thats really it for now, i'll update again when I think of something!! :)
cheers!
Tori
Its August now and the time left to finish my thesis is becoming quite short... yikes. I'm working hard on that despite all the set backs. As I think I mentioned before, Steve and I are officially going to Australia, flying out on the 1st of September! I'm getting really excited about that. New hobbies I've picked up is cross stitch, I'm loving it, its like paint by number except with thread. Steve and I just got back from St. Andrews, where we both had meetings with advisers and such, it was nice to see friends, but so nice to be back home in a real bed with clean bathrooms and good food. I guess thats it for totally random updates, other than Steve's sister and I went to see Harry Potter which was amazing. AAAmazing. :)
Anyway, on to what we most recently did! For a week, we went away with Steve's family to Yorkshire on the coast where we did all sorts of relaxing and fun things. We stayed in a cottage in a little village right near the sea where we could easily drive to the beach. We went on a steam train one of the days which took us to different towns on the route. It was really pretty, and although she was nervous at first, Steve's sister Suzy's dog Flo ended up being perfectly fine on the train. She was hilarious though, it pulled into one of the stations and she was barking like crazy at it baring her teeth and everything haha big dog I guess! We stopped at a station where they filmed Harry Potter, the first movie where they get on and off the train! So I've officially been to Hogsmeade station! Anyway, we went to a few beaches which was nice, explored a few towns too. The whole coast there is known for its fossils and holy moly, you could find them so easily! Lots of shells and things, but also amonites which are really cool too. We found loads of interesting things. It was really so much fun spending hours on the beach looking for fossils, or just playing with Flo who was only just experiencing the sea for the first time. She was such a character playing in the waves, half scared half excited. It was so beautiful on the coast. I had to stay in two days though to do work, but that was okay. The region is also known for the semi pressious gem Jet, which is black and suprisingly light, I think its an organic material that fossilized or something. Anyway, it was beautiful, and the industry for Jet jewlery is spectacular. Looking at some broches in a shop I realized that this was the area the poets go to in the movie/book Possession. (love that film). There were lots of sheep and ponies to be seen as well in the countryside. We also went to Scarborough where Steve Suzy the Dog and I went on a short boat ride up the coast and back looking at the wonderful cliffs and coastline. It was nice to drive to little towns to explore. Whitby was nice and it had a neat old abbey that was in ruin. The streets were small and it had an old feel to it, really neat. We went to a few other towns which I totally can't remember the names of now. In one of the towns though I went into a church with a few wall paintings from the 1400s. They were neat, and there was a hell scene too. It was a lovely time. I'll post pictures when I have a bit more time.
Guess thats really it for now, i'll update again when I think of something!! :)
cheers!
Tori
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Poland post on hold... This should tie you over!
Hello Everyone!
Sorry for the lack of posts and for clearly lying when I said I would post err, a few weeks ago... things have happened. The update on the trip to Poland is just going to have to wait for a while, but for now I'll update on other happenings!
End of Term & the Move
Well I stuck through all the taught bits of my Masters. After various papers, some exceeding the the word length by 2000 words... ooops, a number of proposals and hours of packing later, I am now living in Birmingham England with Steve and his parents. We said goodbye-for-now to our friends up in St. Andrews with a few nights in the pub, a bop and of course plenty of drinks and laughs. The train ride was special with my numerous bags. How I have accumulated so much crap I just don't know. Anyway, life in Bham is great. We no longer sleep in a horribly uncomfortable college single bed but have a lovely double with nice sheets and superb pillows. We no longer eat crap food in a dining hall served by grumpy townies but rather get nice meals cooked by Mum. Steve's parents are great, and we get along well. Steve's sister Suzy is super nice and has the cutest Springer Spaniel named Flo. She is such a silly dog; loves to swim, loves to play, loves walks in the park and is just all around adorable. Way smarter than Bruce, sorry Mom! but Bruce was more handsome! Its nice to be in a home again, no more sharing bathrooms with gross people you don't like, no more cleaning up after someone else’s mess in the kitchen or having things stolen from the fridge. And there is tv. Its really great.
The Thesis
Well, its been a really really rough start. Never having written one before I simply had no idea what the hell I was/am doing. I'm not going into the details here because to be honest, I'll just get upset all over again. The short of it is, my advisor is unhelpful and has thought my work so far is crap, two other professors thought my proposal and bibliography were crap and I've had to pretty much start my thesis from scratch as of this past Tuesday. I spent this past week up at St. Andrews having a meeting with my advisor and frantically restarting my research. It was a productive week I must say, being alone up there, isolated in my room with a TON of books made working pretty good. Now I only have about 20 books to hunt down between here and London, then read them, then read the 20 + articles then oh yeah... write. I'm feeling okay about the topic, but just a bit worried I won't be able to really finish the research properly. But as always, it will get done, and come August 31st I will no longer have a thesis on which to work. So I just have to keep on keeping on until then to get it all done.
Australia
As many of you know, Steve got the Northcote Scholarship to do his PhD in Strategic and Defense Studies (history) at the Australia National University in Canberra ACT. So, we are moving to Canberra for three years! Holy Moly! I got my Work and Holiday Visa about a week ago which will allow me to well, work and travel haha. Steve has also gotten his student Visa good for three years. Mine is only good for a year, but by then Steve and I can declare we are in a de-facto relationship and I'll be able to get on his or by that time I may be able to have an employer sponsor my visa. I'm not sure when I'll be stateside next, its super expensive to travel to and from Australia, but I suspect I'll make a trip home around August or September next year when my Visa runs up. Finding flights and everything has been a bit trying. For some ungodly reason the airlines only allow one bag per person at 23kg with a carry-on being only 7kg. So that sucks, and you can't even buy extra bags, they charge per kilo over (like 35GBP per Kilo) so yeah. I'm working on how to get the stuff I really need over there, and I'm also looking into shipping some things home. It will all work out though. I hate to think about how difficult it will be when we need to move Steve permanently to the states... yikes.
Trip to Italy!
We went to Italy June 13-15th and it was great. Steve and I got into Venice a day earlier then Ma and Pa which was nice, as we could go to things they have already seen. We spent about four days there, and it was relaxing. There was nothing we HAD to see or do so it was just walking around and doing whatever we felt like. We then drove to Padua where I got to do some research on Giotto's frescoes in the Arena Chapel. From there we went to Ravenna to spend the night, in an amazing b&b, then in the morning we saw the famous mosaics. We got bikes to ride around the city for a bit, they were free rentals from the tourist board. We got to see some neat places, including Dante's tomb (he was exiled from Florence in 1302 and came to Ravenna where he wrote the Divine Comedy then died in 1321) and a church with holy fish (under the altar there was a chamber with water in it, and fish... yes fish in a church). We drove to Tuscany then, taking lots of pictures on the way and enjoying the summer sun. We stopped in several towns, and of course went shopping to stock the sweet apartment we rented outside Cortona for the last week. It was great. From there we took day trips, most of which concerned my research. We went to San Gimignano where I saw an amazing hell fresco by Taddeo di Bartolo and managed to talk to the curator about it. We also spent a day in Florence seeing lots of things. We went to Santa Maria Novella for me to see the fresco of hell by Nardo di Cione, then we saw several other churches (closed unfortunately) then I went into Santa Croce where I saw Michelangelo's tomb (and other famous dead guys) some great frescos and important fresco fragments by Andrea di Cione (known as Orcagna) who was Nardo's brother. We then went to see the Duomo which has some incredible 16th c. frescos in the dome by Giorgio Vasari and Zuccharo. Steve and I went up into the dome which was nice, really neat view on the inside, but quite the haul up. The outside view was nice, but it was starting to rain. After that Mom and I went to the Baptistery to see the important and influential mosaics particularly the depiction of hell. Steve and I spent a day in working, while mom and dad went for a drive, then the next day we were headed to Pisa. Pisa was beautiful, it was a lovely sunny day. Mom and I went straight to the Camposanto for me to do research. I was going to see the frescoes of the Last Judgment and Hell by Buffalmacco. These frescoes were damaged in WWII by the allied bombs, and were taken off the wall, restored and now hang in a special room. The fresco was spectacular, mom loved looking at it with me and it was a lot of fun discussing things with her and telling her what I knew about it. We briefly went into the duomo, then Dad, Steve and I climbed the leaning tower! I know, so cool that you can go in it now! It was pretty neat being up there seeing the view, and just being up in the tower. We stayed the night in Lucca, and took a lovely walk in the morning before being taken to the Pisa airport. It was a great trip, it was so so so nice to see mom and dad. It was fun just being the four of us, perfect because mom and I talked a lot and the boys were joined at the hip basically. It was crazy at the airport (problems with the ticket etc) and needless to say I was a bit of a wreck, no surprise there. But after a teary goodbye, Steve and I flew home to Bham while ma and pa set off for their driving adventure up towards Venice.
Guess that’s it really, I know I wasn't particularly detailed in the recounting of anything but I just wanted to let you all know what I've been up to, and hopefully I'll have time to write about Poland and elaborate on other things as the summer goes on. Hope you are all well and I'll get some pictures up soon!
Cheers!
Tori
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