Pre-Dinner

 

Dinner

 

I've been pretty bad about posting lately. I have been working a fair bit, and everything seems less photogenic when it's dark and rainy. Since it's finally staying light past 6 pm again and the sun is popping out from time to time, I'm resolving to post a photo every few days. Here's dinner from a week ago. American crayfish have invaded the Thames, pushing out the British species. This means you're allowed (and encouraged) to eat the much larger American ones.

Thanksgiving

Until recently I was convinced that the stereotype of British rainy days was over-exaggerated. Oh how this last month has proven me wrong. I try to strategically time my bike rides to and from work, but every few days I mess up get drenched. Thankfully the rain held off on Thanksgiving, and more importantly during the Rhodes/Marshall football game.

Several months ago I ambitiously decided to organize a Thanksgiving dinner for the American Rhodes Scholars. After being chided as a jingoist, the event grew to include all interested Rhodes Scholars, which at the end of the day was very nearly 100 people. I wasn't foolish enough to take this on alone, so I roped Sarah Miller into doing all the hard work. After a fair bit of stress and a full day in the kitchen, we managed to prepare a pretty darn good meal with all of the real 'murican favorites - rolls, cornbread, green salad, mac 'n cheese, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, sweet potato and marshmallow casserole, quiche (for the vegetarians), stuffing, cranberry sauce, and of course turkey (9 turkey breasts and 3 whole turkeys). As always, the football game was good fun (and the Rhodies won).

Chalkboard

Somehow grungy algebra is more tolerable on a chalkboard.

Lake District

I went walking in the Lake District (Northwest England) last weekend with the Oxford University Walking Club. We climbed a couple of little hills called Scafell and Old Man Coniston. Only when I got home and checked wikipedia did I realize that they're basically the tallest hills in all of England.

The weather on Saturday was gorgeous, but Sunday was a little more characteristically English. In the future I think I may have to be a little more serious about taking the advice to put on full waterproof gear.

Housewarming BBQ

I've been pretty delinquent about posting updates. Here are some photos from the housewarming BBQ Clara and I threw back when Oxford was still sunny.

The door to the rooftop patio

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.