The day started as many days before it that are burned into my memory; with an exam. Exam day mornings are filled with color and majesty; we who are about to die, Caesar…
I was feeling quite well prepared and decided, after waking up 5 minutes before my alarm, chowing breakfast and caffeine water, and taking the bus to Honggerberg, to shoot a few hoops before the exam. I felt like I was back at WCC–some things never change, and I wouldn’t want them to.
I had the gym all to myself and enjoyed some shooting, then, a little sweaty, made my way to the exam hall. I said hi to Sara, who’d shared her notes with me earlier (that one lecture I went to to find someone to study with for the exam paid off ;)) Then I sat down in a quiet corner and prepared for war.
7 problems, we weren’t supposed to be able to finish them all. But I think I did, so I was pretty happy.
I went back to Culmann, planning to make Korean food with Michele and Yeomin, but Yeomin bailed and we had to postpone the lunch. Which was just fine, as Muriel messaged to say that she was in town and the weather was beautiful. We decided to go for a walk.
I scarfed down nearly the last of my lentils (they looked so unappetizing to Ally and Michele, I had to get them to try some; Ally tried some and couldn’t stand the spiciness; Michele tried some and found the meaty texture surprisingly awesome, as I had :)) I posted a quick tweetstorm on the virtues of lentils.
I ran over to the bookstore where Muriel was at, humming an Irish tune in the lovely sun. When she came out I gave her my book on North Korea that Brandon had recommended me and that I’d finished some months ago–she said it was the first on her list ;)
Off we went towards the lake, hand in hand. It was magnificent. The Alps basked in the distance over a lake as blue as sky. We took some goofy pictures on the dock to compensate for not taking any at the opera (I’ll put them on the album soon). Then we decided to take a coffee on the square in front of the opera house. We chatted about random things like the bubbles in bubble soccer (Muriel showed me an absolutely hilarious sport where people run down a grassy track and are chased by a rolling bubble). Then we talked about history and that podcast that Eric sent me about the years after 1945 and the geopolitical chess and dilemmas involving nuclear weapons. In the end, we turned to philosophy and thoughts on people acting in groups, what it means to be yourself–something I’ve been pondering. We walked along the sunny river to the train station and I dropped Muriel at her platform.
I ran back to Culmann, accreting groceries on the way. Jenny had invited me to celebrate “Pancake Tuesday”, which, absurd as it sounds, apparently is a big deal in her part of the UK, and all her friends are observing it. (Her litany of bizarre British traditions grows and grows. Have you ever heard of Remembrance Day?) I picked up a bottle of wine to make gluhwein with, plus some maple syrup for the pancakes. Then I went hard on QIT for a couple hours.
Took the bus to Jenny’s flat, reading more ridiculous “Hyperbole and a Half” articles on the way. It’s strange how, in discussing her own goofiness and ability to avoid responsibility, the author pursues her great work and the most awesome thing she could be doing (the writing is amazing).
Jenny’s flat reminded me of cooking brunch in Mercer–a relatively private kitchen, compared to Culmann. We goofed around, made banana pancakes and regular pancakes and gluhwein, talked about music and British traditions and American (lack of, mostly) traditions. Shocking fact–she didn’t know what sport the Super Bowl was. The pancakes were really tasty and the gluhwein was amazing. We discussed Settlers of Catan, travel plans and Jenny’s crazy adventures hitchhiking (she met some real weirdos). Also, her rather insane tolerance for risky sports. I would say she has not only a higher risk tolerance and tolerance for freezing than I do, but also a higher cinnamon tolerance (judging from what she put on her pancakes.) This makes her a REAL high-dimensional outlier.
It came time to continue studying, so I doffed my hat and caught the bus back to Culmann. When I finally made it back, I studied for a bit but then felt sluggish. So I played 1 game of chess (ugh, badly misplayed opening), wrote this log, and hit the hay.