Man Overboard!

"Swing Dance"

"Come explore Scotland! Breakaway St Andrews Hill Walking Club"

"The Doctor Who Appreciation Society 'DocSoc'"

"The University takes NO responsibility for damages or injuries caused by personal electrical equipment within the residence."

This is just a taste of what is on my bulletin board right now. Also "Петрограда не отдадим!" but that's hardly relevant.

The most exciting thing I've done in the last week is gone swimming in the North Sea. Twice. Oh yes, once in that frigid, salty, choppy, take-your-breath-away cold water wasn't enough. The first time was kind of on a whim, after a run with John. It started with, "Hey, you want to go wading?" then, "Hey, you want to go swimming?" So we waded out in our running things (leaving our shoes on the beach), declared to the world that we couldn't feel our feet (John expressed concerns about "permanent damage"), then dove in on 3. We emerged to find people on the pier staring at us. I suppose we probably looked pretty stupid. We waded for a few more minutes, then (wisely) retreated to the beach to dry off. So that was my first experience. Perfectly harmless (albeit witless. Neither of us were dressed for it).

So, naturally, since I didn't do it right the first time I had to do it again, this time properly. Frederick, my German friend, invited me to go, along with another friend (Alex; he's from the Philippines!), and this time I donned my swimsuit and wore warm clothes. Frederick and Alex wanted to jump from the pier, and seeing as it was low tide, I thought this was a little reckless. So I volunteered to go down the stairs on the stone pier, swim the length of the pier, and try to decide if the water was deep enough for jumping. Of course they didn't end up jumping (it was ridiculously high, and even though I couldn't touch or see the bottom, I didn't trust it, and I wasn't going to dive to find the bottom). But getting in was absolutely shocking. The day before, the sun had been out and the air was relatively warm. This time was cold cold cold, nothing but cold around you and beneath you and above you and everywhere. It took my breath away and my voice quaked a little (a lot) when I called up to the boys to report on the depth. Swimming was actually a relief, because the moment you stopped moving, you began to realize how cold it was and how stupid the whole enterprise was. People up on the pier were taking pictures, which ordinarily I wouldn't mind, but in my cold-induced state, I was a little angry. I must have looked ridiculous, though, so I don't blame them for taking pictures, in hindsight. Anyway, I swam the length, then the boys went down another staircase and dove in. They stayed in for about 15 seconds each, then clambered out, shrieking. It was funny, and I would have laughed, if not for the circumstances. I'm not a very good swimmer, really. I can keep myself afloat, and move places, but not very quickly. And I'm kind of afraid of the ocean (as Laura can attest to), so I'd like to think of this as some kind of small accomplishment. Anyway, we all scrambled up the steps, got into our warm clothes, and congratulated one another on our stupidity.

The rest of the evening (this was Sunday) I spent with an Amherst guy named Aaron from our Butler group, eating an indoor picnic on his dorm floor. I really enjoyed our conversation, as we picked our way through topics ranging from diversity to the Spanish Civil War to the Roman Catholic Church. Geez, I really like talking about Catholicism. It's bordering on obsessive. Anyway, it was great to connect with someone who does the whole "liberal arts" thing that we put so much store by and compare experiences within the fold.

The night before (Saturday [I know this is out of order; bear with me]), I attended a bonfire with some friends on Castle Sands. It was, well, a little magical. The light from the fires was casting these spectacular shadows on the castle ramparts, and the fact that the entire scene was barely visible, cast in a dim orange glow, made the rest of your senses sharpen keenly. All the talk and laughter intermingled with the incessant swish swish of the waves, and the stars were only barely obscured by the smoke from the fires. The stars! They behave so strangely against the backdrop of the ocean. It's almost like you'd expect them to end definitively on the horizon, with nothing but the inky black of the water, but they don't. They kind of fade, so you can't tell where the sky ends and the sea begins. It's like looking out onto the edge of the world, with endless space both above and below you. To a landlocked Ohioan, the scene is a little mesmerizing.

Anyway, back to reality. I have started classes, and I'm very pleased with 2 and disappointed by the last. Here are my modules:

MO3017: Life of the Mind: Key Texts in European Thought, 1512-1697
PY2002: Metaphysics and Science
PY1105: Ethical Controversies

That's right: no Vikings, no Russian. I'm disappointed that I didn't get Vikings; it filled up before I got the chance to sign up (the woes of having a name that starts with "S"), but I think I will be very happy in Life of the Mind. It's really more appropriate, considering I want to do my comps on something within intellectual history. Metaphysics and Science is very exciting so far. Spacetime! Let's change how we think about it, philosophically speaking! My only reservation is Ethical Controversies. It's 1000-level, and I had no idea how basic 1000-levels could be. It is truly a course for students who have had absolutely no exposure to philosophy, in any form. I'm going to see whether I can't switch out, maybe to logic, which is a 2000-level course and something I think I would find more interesting. Or maybe something completely different. Like Greek. Never done that before.

This is getting lengthy, and it's my bedtime. If you've made it this far, I hope you don't regret it. Until next time...