Began Begun Beginning

I keep waiting to post more about Israel until I develop the rest of my photos from there to illustrate the posts a bit. However, since I'm planning on developing the film myself (maybe even printing it! Who knows?), I have to wait till I can get a tutorial in the darkroom and actually do that. So. Patience. There will be talk of Hebron, talk of a lovely Israeli boy, talk of strangers on buses, perhaps.

In the meantime, I'm sitting in the RadCam (Radcliffe Camera for all you non-Oxonians; one of the numerous buildings of the Bodleian Library) working hard. Well, working hard at avoiding work. It's actually pretty difficult to do that in this library because especially in the LCam (Lower Camera) everyone is really dedicated and conscientious. Which, really, is why I work here a lot, so I am encouraged by all these studious Oxford people.

Term just began yesterday, but I've been work-pressured since Wednesday when I received my first assignment and reading list. As it happened, that was also the first day my mother was in town for a visit -- good timing! She was very understanding and had her own things to do as well, but I wish I could have spent more time with her around Oxford. As it was, we spent a lot of the weekend together, Shabbat at Chabad and all that. She left early Sunday morning, a few hours before my ex-boyfriend arrived. With me still having lots of work to do. (These visits had been arranged a while beforehand, because I figured my workload wouldn't have begun yet. Um, wrong.)

It was good to see Dan again (we went out for two-plus years, had a somewhat difficult break-up this summer) and to know that we can still be friends and be comfortable together. I had to do a lot of work, but we could sit in the same room in silence and not feel awkward. A part of me thought that after the stupid things we did to each other, we probably couldn't be friends again. But that's not the case, which is reassuring. Also, he has a new girl, which makes him happy and I'm pleased to say makes me happy. Anyway, it was a generally pleasant weekend (although I missed the Zoo Bop and the next night I missed seeing my friend get so plastered that he had to be carried back to his room! haha). (Oh, also: We had a go at my bottle of absinthe while watching Eddie Izzard on Sunday night, but no hallucinations, sadly.)

Anyway, it seems like most of my break-side fun is coming to a quiet end. It also turns out that this term both of my tutorials are going to be on the same day. Whee. So. Back to this essay (on Christian intellectuals in 19th century England) and translating Mesechta Brachos of the Mishnayos.