March 31/2010 :: Sometimes Professors are Amazing

Day 68
Mood: anxious
Weather: ehhh...could be warmer
Quote: "Ah..ah..ah...*pause*...she's a lesbian."


Some professors aren't teachers. They're eternal students. They enjoy learning and enjoy talking about what they know. They're frequently not the best of teachers. They don't cover everything and they cover with fervour the things that they do enjoy. I know this first hand. I've had professors that just talk at the class. No structure, no flow, just talking in whatever order they fancy about random things that are slightly related to the subject at hand.

But some professors are amazing.

Professor Peter Jones is one such professor. He's my professor in two classes and he's absolutely fantastic. He's engaging when he speaks, he's got structure to his lectures, he's helpful, he answers emails in a short amount of time and above all he's understanding. Plus he runs very good seminars that are different and interesting.

It's fantastic.

I have a lot of profs like this back home. But here I find they're a tad rare. Things aren't done the same way here as they are in Canada.

=_=

But anywhoozle~ 2 more classes left and then I'm done for a full 2 weeks!!

Huzzah!!

And I have one more piece of significant news, for me anyway.

I first got into anime because of a friend when I was 12. She bought the Inuyasha manga and we used to read together all the time. When Inuyasha came on television we used to watch together as well. We parted as friends at 14 but this imprint remained. When high school came around Inuyasha was one of the first animes that I watched in its native Japanese under the influence of another friend. A friend I still hold very dear for helping me shape the person that I am. We used to play 'Count the Kagomes' at conventions and mock how there was never an ending to the show. Just a relentless girl-fest. I never actually watched more than a few episodes and I never read beyond Volume 9.

Finally I finished the manga last year and this week the anime finally finished the story with the last episode of "Inuyasha: the Final Act". It makes me feel nostalgic and happy. I was never a huge fan but I owe most of my life to it. Without Inuyasha I would never have purchased my first manga. I wouldn't have started doodling [poorly as I do] anime styled doodles. I would have never met my greatest friends in high school. I would never have done so many things. I might not have been passionately involved in Inuyasha but it was a deciding factor in my life.

To see it finally end fills me with joy, almost as though finally symbolizing my turn to full adulthood. I do turn 21 this coming month...26 days away. My childhood is finally over and done with and the next stage of my life begins.

I wonder what shall be my inspiration for the next chapter?

:: Julianne ::

March 29/2010 :: Homework is Weird Here

Day 66
Mood: Relieved and yet still a little nervous
Weather: Beautiful, a bit rainy, but the perfect temperature

I hate the way you hand in assignments here. You have to put them in a box, a drop box. With a paperclip. Awesome. Plus I get all worried about the pages being lost etc. even though I did look over all of them and handed it in to the right drop box.

That's the funny thing about my memory. Sometimes I completely forget doing something and then I stress about it forever afterward. Did I lock the door when I left? Did I leave the oven on? Did I have all the pages?

I hope so. It's about all I can do.

=_=

But beyond that things are going really well~ I feel full of energy and really excited. One assignment done, the one that was the hardest, and now I can move on and really enjoy my time here. I've got some things I'd like to do over the break and I'm planning a visit to some family friends. Plus Easter is this weekend and that means the new Doctor Who episode.

Whee~~

And my birthday is coming up in less than a month! Also super awesome!!

:: Julianne ::

March 28/2010 :: Edit

I have come to learn that my previous blog post was found to be offensive by other parties. It has thus been edited to remove offensive materials. It was not my intention to offend people but rather give myself a sense of closure.

I admit that I shouldn't have mentioned things and, as someone well versed in the internet, I leave quite a bit of my life on the web. However other people should not be dragged into this sphere for an assortment of reasons and I apologize for my lack of tact. I shouldn't have involved other people, I apologize to those once more who took offense.

All I meant to say was this: Be happy with your life, be happy with yourself.

My wordyness led to a whole range of things that shouldn't have been included. That is all that should have been stated.

Once more, for the record, I apologize.

:: Julianne ::

March 27/2010 :: Books galore!!

Day 64
Mood: So close!!
Weather: Rained briefly but then gorgeously sunny
Word of the Day: ...

Actually did interesting stuff today!!

There was a Literary Festival at Christ Church today and I went~ Got myself three books. Classics were on sale for 'Buy 1 Get 1 Free' so I got two:


Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens; I've never read it before and I thought it would be the prime opportunity to give it a shot after taking a course on poverty and welfare.

Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë; I read this in Grade 11 methinks but didn't give it enough thought to truly pay attention. I've been wanting to re-read it recently because I think it deserves more of a chance.

I also purchased a new book. There were lots of authors that had come and left signed copies of their works and I thought it would be a prime opportunity to pick up a new series and have a good souvenir.


Noughts and Crosses - Malorie Blackman; the back of this book was absolutely fascinating. It's the first in a series and it seems like a genuinely interesting read without being to overly difficult to sink my teeth into.

We then went to get a milkshake from Moo Moo's. [There's over 200 different kinds, some of which include Rose Syrup and Nutrigrain]. I got myself a Smarties one, which was most delicious.

Tonight we're going to watch Hamlet~ With David Tennant! Yey!!

March 15/2010 :: Nothing much

Day 52
Mood: Working hard!
Weather: Sunny and gorgeous!
Word of the Day: Research

My goodness I have not blogged in a while. I apologize. But unfortunately not much has been going on. My traveling excursions have slowed greatly due to the dreaded Homework. Homework has devoured up my time and my soul. It's rather unfortunate actually.

I go out around Oxford, of course, but nothing truly interesting.

4 Big assignments due in the next two weeks. When they're done we'll get more info!

:: Julianne ::

March 1/2010 :: Blooming like a Blodeuyn

Day 38
Mood: Ecstatic!
Weather: Yesterday it rained in Oxford but Cardiff was clear, slightly windy, but beautiful! Today it is starting off sunny in Oxford
Word of the Day: blodeuyn [Welsh for flower~]

So~ Yesterday one of my lifelong dreams came true. And by lifelong I mean...over the past 3 years or so. I went to Wales yesterday, more specifically Cardiff the Capital. All the signs were in both English and Welsh. We were right on the coast, it was absolutely beautiful. I have decided that I must live in a coastal region because the energy there is just perfect. The view is amazing. I could have sat there forever and watched the water.

But we had things to do! More importantly a certain place to visit. A place I've wanted to see since I started watching Doctor Who. The Doctor Who Exhibit!!

oo~ Lookit how pretty it is!

Went inside with my neat little wristband and entered a place of wonders! Props from the show, costumes, audio, lights!

K-9 and me!!

When it was done I bought a few things, which I am in LOVE WITH! And then we moved on to the Bay and the location for filming for the show Torchwood. Torchwood is a spin-off of Doctor Who and also quite awesome. Most of my pictures need to be rotated so I can't post them here. No rotational powers.

Millennium Centre

Went and looked at the Bay, found a whole area pledging the return of Ianto Jones after his untimely (and not awesome) death on Torchwood.

Then we met up with others and went walking about to Cardiff Castle. Ridiculously expensive to get inside so we didn't go inside. Just took outside pictures.


Went for dinner, I simply bought a sausage pasty. It was quite delicious. Took the train home and then watched the hockey game! It was so awesome! A great end to a great day! Success for the men's team!! It was really awesome!

The Doctor was really rooting for Team Canada!

So basically it was an awesome day!!