Bob Log #5: Bar Thoughts

I finally have wi-fi working on my netbook on campus. Despite all the hoops of fire you have to leap through and mythical beasts you have to vanquish to get wireless internet going in the UK, all it took was a five-minute conversation with someone at IT to finally get this running. Way to go Bob.

I am currently sitting in the SU Bar; by all means it is a pleasant place to hang out and catch a drink. I have finally taken some pictures of campus, so I'll upload them for an update later this evening. I am fond of this campus; it is by no means beautiful, but it is architecturally very interesting, and I feel quite at ease getting around it. I will elaborate later.

It's getting cloudy out. I can only imagine that means a shower is imminent. So far we've lucked out with the weather here; at times cold, yes, but very little rain except occasionally at night. The last two days though were true British weather; intermittent sun showers and periods of complete uninterrupted precipitation. I have to say I'm quite fine with this; the weather is so much more extreme back home than it is here that a murky day thus far hasn't seemed like a big deal. The only annoying thing is that a lot of the international kids here seem to want to stay home if it's raining. Well shit, I guess they'll be staying home a lot.

Besides, this is Britain, I doubt many people came here for the weather.

***

I have been here for nearly a month now. Hard to say if it feels like it's been longer than that or shorter. I suppose the answer is a bit of both. I feel like I haven't been here very long at all -things have blown by so fast, and the trimester terms make it feel even quicker- but I am so used to being here already. Not that my habits and rhythms are entirely down yet- they're not- and I certainly still have periods of uncertainty or longing for home, though these are fairly mature in nature. But the idea is no longer big, the task no longer insurmountable. At least for now. Having Christmas on the horizon is probably a big reason for this. Who knows what I'll feel come January, or May, or the years beyond that? These are questions I have no answers to for now. But. I can take a slight sigh of relief today, and review the past four weeks. And it feels good, at least for this moment.

***

It turns out another one of the students in the MA+PhD, a girl from Bristol, is also researching psychological types. Our research interests and applications of the theory are fairly different, so on Wednesday we did a bit of exchange in terms of resources and ideas. I play these things pretty close to the vest; as a rule I barely bring up my ideas and hunches in class, though in Camden Town I did end up waxing quite a bit about them with Giovanni, the PhD student from Florence (no not THAT one, Jesus). But it was still a good conversation. The inevitable question that comes up in these discussions is, "So what is your type?" Quite a few NFs here, as you would expect in a Jungian degree (mythical and abstract), as well as some SFP and NTs. It's a good mix.

***

More later kids, including, maybe, the article I wrote for the school paper here. Stay tuned.