oxford!!

hello all!!

sorry for not writing until now. i got to oxford and then almost immediately left on the chunnel over to paris. i just got back late last night. paris was beautiful, but i'm very happy to be back HOME. (and the fact that home means OXFORD is what makes me so happy). so upon returning from errands etc. this afternoon home to my college dorm here at st. cross, i decided to snap some photos of what i walk through multiple times each day as i enter/exit my room. so here's the tour....enjoy! (and more updates to come)

i live on st. giles street - here's the view of the street standing on my college stoop:

and here's the door to my college:


and you walk inside that door to the porter's lodge:

then on through to the first quadrangle:

and through some gorgeous archways to a second quadrangle:

and finally to a spiral staircase at the end of the courtyard:
to my humble (and not very gothic or glamorous) little room (and that's my official scholar's robe hanging up on my bulletin board. you'll get a full picture of me in them once mom and dad get here. haha! i look like such a dork):

let me roll it to ya'

countdown! dad drives me to LAX in less than 9 hours to begin my journey (en fin) to oxford. i just woke up from a nap, and am now finishing up packing/laundry etc. and listening to paul mccartney.

much love to everyone for all their well-wishes, support and love. . .this summer especially.

see you all in the UK.

love,
jooj.

summer take III

i went to new york city with friends to visit even more friends. the picture in the middle was taken at our 100 block mark - we attempted to walk the entire island of manhattan, and got 150 blocks into it. it was rad to walk way up from 215th street through inwood and the mini dominican republic up there. a manhattan very far from park avenue. . .the gorgeous women in these photos are: me (obviously), sara (going to lubbock, texas on a mission), molly (trying to figure out what she's doing with her life back home in portland), and ali (going back to BYU to graduate). in total there were 15 of us in new york that week, which was fabulous - one last great hurrah before we all go off to our separate lives. . .

summer take II

i went to DC to visit friends. . .




















and the national gallery.

summer take I

so first off, in july, i went to idaho for the first time, to be a bridesmaid, for the first time. and this is ali and me with our dresses. i think we both successfully performed the role of bridesmaids: to look duly inferior to the bride.

hello again

so i came back to my blog 2 weeks earlier than i said i would, mostly because leslie wants photos from this summer, and i don't mind obliging.

and i changed the look and title of my blog - though it still has the same html. ogaden is the region of ethiopia which i'm writing my masters thesis on whilst at oxford. the region is inhabited entirely by somalis - but was arbitrarily given to ethiopia in the 1940s when the country lines were drawn up. it's incredibly volatile and interesting.

anyway, more posting to come - here's a picture from my recent frolicking in new york city with some of my closest friends. this was from a photo booth on coney island. ya - how many people actually still go to coney island? oh man, it was probably the highlight of the trip though. hilarious ghetto fun.

holga

this past memorial day some friends and i pilgrimaged out to robert smithson's "spiral jetty" in the great salt lake. it was one of the most ethereal and transcendent places i've ever been to. next to the jetty were these random outcroppings of dilapidated wood pillars someone had erected - i have no idea who. but i actually found them more interesting than smithson's piece (which was still beautiful and powerful in and of itself). anyway, i took these shots with my holga camera. much love, jooj.

bonjour, mac

so it took a full month for the compusa people to realize that no matter what they did, they couldn't fix my computer without replacing the motherboard (i.e. $800). so, rather than do that, i received yet another beautiful gift from my dear father:

a spectacular brand-new black macbook.

this means i am finally back to frequenting the world of blogs! and thanks to natalie and leslie, i have a fantastic new look for my dear little blog. thanks both of you! you're too kind, really.

in other news, i have 4 weeks left in provo. (!!!) i told my boss at guru's today that my last day of work will be june 14th. i want to enjoy my last weekend/week in provo with no work. i have so many dear friends that i need to spend time with before i say goodbye to this fantastic chapter of my life. i've been so lucky to have the past 4 years. they've been dreamlike in many ways. and to close this all. . .que c'est bizarre !

the third wave

this is a fascinating article from the new york times. i absolutely agree with its sentiment. it argues that female characters in popular media today have been stripped of any ability to be empowered, controlled, self-sufficient individuals and are instead portrayed as overly-neurotic, needy, and desperate. i remember discussing something similar with mom when "superman returns" came out. we both agreed that the contrast of the new lois lane by kate bosworth to the classic lois played by margot kidder was shocking. kate bosworth was not only fragile in physical appearance (much too underweight), but also in her characterization of the once-empowered lois lane. then again, we discussed, what young actress could have done better? young actresses seem trained to appear small and needy - while men continue to fulfill the same roles they always have. this is a frightening commentary on the way women are potentially viewed today. i'm all for exposing human complexities and weaknesses in cinema/TV - but how are women being denigrated by this? what movie character of today could compare to karen blixen? who, though shows human weakness and frailty in many ways, never becomes a simplified waif craving men in overtly sexual ways to fulfill her life. we need someone to bring back real women to hollywood.

(oh and p.s. - my computer is still broken, and will not be ready for pick-up until friday. that means over 3 weeks in the shop. more inconvenient than i can say considering one of my jobs requires my presence on a computer. alas.)

sorry, steph

so steph astutely noticed that i have not posted in awhile. this is mainly due to 2 factors:

1. i worked 50 hours this week between guru's and womanstats.
2. my computer's been in the repair shop for 9 days now.

more posting soon, i promise.