As is obvious from the timestamps of previous posts, I have been more or less out of commission for over a month. This was largely due to a sudden rush of activities/deadlines in the last couple of weeks of term. In order of decreasing time required, they were as follows:

  • Literature Report: This was the only real assignment we had all term, and boy did it gobble up time. For about three weeks, my life, day in, day out, was spent reading papers about protein dynamics and mathematical models, summarizing key points, and then stringing them together in a semi-coherent fashion. Luckily, much of it will be reusable in writing up my eventual thesis, so I should have an easier time when it comes to that 80-page behemoth.
  • Dance: While I have so far managed to keep myself from becoming over-involved in too many extracurriculars, what I lack in raw numbers I’ve certainly made up for in time per activity. Somehow, in addition to taking the beginner tap, advanced tap, beginner ballet, and contemporary classes, I managed to make it onto the beginner ballet, beginner tap, and jazz competition teams! And as absolutely bloody amazing as it’s all been and certainly will be, rehearsals have taken up a significant chunk of my evenings. I must say though, that I’m now more physically in shape than I’ve been since captaining the varsity boys swim team back in high school!
  • Choir: Any weekday evenings in the last couple of weeks of term that weren’t used up by dance were probably spent singing. Not only did we have the regular concerts for both main choir and chamber choir, but there always has to be carolling during Christmas season too ^_^. Besides, since we almost always go out for drinks afterwards, the actual amount of time spent nearly doubles. On a sidenote, one Thursday evening after carolling, I came to the shocking realization that I was the oldest of a group of four of us (but by only two days); I’m pretty certain this has never happened to me, ever.
  • Dinners: not the ordinary kind of course, but the celebratory or formal ones. Goodenough had a faculty dinner for the sciences, which was my first black tie event (i.e. “tuxedo” in American), and I also went to several Christmas meals. Additionally, the American Thanksgiving also came around, and almost all of my fellow Marshalls and I traveled to Oxford for a nice potluck supper, complete with turkey. Between all of these meals, I’m sort of surprised I haven’t gained any weight!

And there you have it: my whirlwind of a life in the final couple of weeks before term’s end. On a slower note, the past week or so has been considerably less exciting, involving mostly me sitting in my room reading mathematics, but it’s been a nice break from the frenetic energy of the recent past. The New Year’s coming up, which should be exciting, and I’ve managed to have a major epiphany about my future ambitions, just in time for the new decade ^_^. More on that later though.

Anyways, hope everyone’s had a Happy Christmas and will be having a Merry New Year!

~William~