option #1 for post-oxford life

Congratulations! You have been admitted for the M.A. and Ph.D. in History for Fall 2008 at the University of California, Berkeley. Your official letter of admission and other informational materials will be sent to you via U.S. mail tomorrow. We're pleased to offer you admission and hope that you will choose to attend Berkeley.

rare sunny sunday in oxford = photo expedition in christ church meadow

note to self:

when you are enrolled in a masters course at oxford, you can't really take 3-day vacations in the middle of term.

i got back from paris at 2am this morning to a very, VERY full email inbox filled with academic obligations. oh, right - i'm getting a masters degree? i'm going to niger in march? for field research with top fistula surgeons? oh - i forgot in the midst of the boulangeries de paris...

needless to say i've been entirely stressed out today - the "best" little piece of news i got was from dr. idrissa - the head fistula surgeon at the national hospital in niamey asking if i had received permission to do my research from the nigerien ministere de la sante. DANG IT - i completely forgot about such formalities, and have absolutely no idea how to go about getting said permission, since each phone number i try (ever tried calling niger? yes, the country code is 227 - just fyi) is out of service. ha ha ha - this is all happening, and i feel sort of in over my head.

in other news, this lovely hyacinth bulb my friend stephanie gave me opened while i was in france! huzzah! that made me excessively happy. plus paris itself was wonderful - and despite the stresses of oxford life, it was still completely worth the trip. i <3 paris, what can i say. :)

ce week-end

it's supposed to snow in oxford this weekend.

but alas, i will not be here to see it as i will be in paris visiting a dear friend, alice. :) really the only consolation to miss such a potentially beautiful wintry scene.

home!

i got back to oxford a few hours ago - i admit i've rarely been happier to see a place in my life. the break was nice and relaxing (man i slacked off way too much) - and also filled with some incredibly delicious cuteness, as evidenced above. even if max was a little less than enthusiastic about snowboarding... :)

i'm so happy i got to see everyone (except leslie - what a bummer). and i'm also incredibly ecstatic to be here in the UK - i can't stop smiling. :)

i'll update more from oxford when i get the chance.

pictures of morocco

so here are some highlights of the week i spent in the lovely country of morocco. really, it's a fantastic place everyone should visit - clean, safe, user-friendly, and stunning!

i'm in sundance now with mom, dad, lincoln, and mimi - it is absolutely gorgeous and snowy. i'm relaxing and loving life. have a merry christmas everyone!

some advice

new piece of wisdom i learned the hard way: take a taxi to heathrow terminal 4 and don't trust the heathrow express train time schedule.

i am home in california. without my bag. :(

the whole journey was epically stressful. but i'm home. and annie, jack, and max are adorable. so life isn't all that bad.

i'll post more exciting things later...viz. pictures from morocco.

au revoir, oxford - see you in a month!

sisterly love

i have the advantage of having two of the best examples of strong, beautiful women in my own two sisters. today is leslie's birthday and i'm so grateful for her in my life! both leslie and steph have done more for me than they know - they haven't been afraid to stand up to me when i've been a little bit off my head...i owe them so much and love them dearly.

happy birthday leslie! and stephanie, my thoughts are also with you and stella. love you so much. good luck with everything and give stella a squeeze for me. :)

the pob

it's the end of term. i needed a change of hair.