Snapshots

        I was planning on taking pictures of campus today for your benefit, but London decided to rain today. Another day, perhaps.

        Once again, the Swing Dance Society has put off its first meeting. We're now meeting on Friday night at five. Fortunately, I don't have any conflicts, so I'll still be able to make it. I was really hoping to get to dance tonight! Something to get the blood racing around its closed track. I guess I could run up and down the stairs, but where's the fun in that? It'll be good. I can't wait.

        Today, I learned that the publishers of one of the books I need for a class have entirely run out of extant copies and are printing up more. The book won't be available until November. Awesome. Hello, Library, be my new best friend.

I've discovered two new media forms:

1. Pandora.com, an online radio site. It's pretty much amazing. I listen to it while I write fiction and read for the rest of my classes. Pandora lets you create personalized stations, in which you can list specific songs or artists as "seeds." The website then takes those seeds and finds similar music, which, while you listen, you can choose to rate, thus honing the station further. The upshot of all this is that you get to sit around listening to music you'll probably like (from artists you may not have even heard before) with little effort.
   
   
2. E-Audio books, courtesy MyMediaMall, via the Warren-Newport Public Library. I've listened to books I desperately want to be reading but don't own or have here with me. The website doesn't have a great variety, but they have some staples. Convenient!

        Also, I was bad. I passed the Student Union store, and started looking at the Goldsmiths apparel. Everything (mostly) in the store is "ethical." For example, the Goldsmiths hoodies are made from fairtrade cotton. Also, the hoodies are really dense but still thin and soft, so they're warm without being terribly bulky, so they don't need to be broken in before they're actually nice to wear; they're pre-niced, like pre-shrunk, but better. And so ... um ... I bought one.

        I know! I'm sorry. But, I figured, once I get back to the states, it'd be nice to have something warm and snuggly to wear and remind me of my adventures here ....

        Weak argument, I know. Yeah, yeah, I've got my brain to remember things with. And this blog. And photographs. And new friends on Facebook. Um.



        Look, I just really wanted it, okay?