Deals!!!

Over the last week or so I've scored a few awesome deals. My new place is next door to the grocery store, so I can poke my head in at the end of the day and buy the spoiling food for dirt cheap. Usually it just means a loaf of bread for 10 or 15 pence, but one night I hit the jackpot.

80 pence for all of this

Though I've snagged some impressive deals in my time, nothing comes close to the most recent addition to my room. The other day Clara shot me an email ordering me to check out her department's dumpster. I reluctantly investigated, expecting to find a pile of rocks or a toilet brush. Instead I was met by this beauty:

She had to spend a few days in a garage at Rhodes House then in the hallway of a friend's place before I finally managed to get her down the Cowley Road. A surprising number of people stopped to stare as three of my friends and I passed by with her on our shoulders. The three of us from nerd schools (MIT and Caltech) didn't see what was so special about the sight, but apparently Oxonians aren't used to resourcefulness.

Around Oxford

Last weekend was "Open Doors Oxford." Most colleges and historic buildings are open to the public. I was excited that All Souls College was open, so I took a little tour of the grounds. I've become conditioned to Oxford's beauty so I actually found the college to be anticlimactic.

The Natural History Museum's hands-on insect exhibit proved more exciting.

Yes, I realize spiders are arachnids.

Just in case the tarantula doesn't make you jealous, my banana pancakes should do the trick.

Internet!

After nearly a month without it, I finally have internet in my apartment. Goodbye productivity.