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I've been immune to the singing. Thank God. I am completely tone-deaf. But it has been unbelievably funny just walking around. I wonder if that's the reason I haven't heard from Oliver or some of my friends lately, come to think of it.

ETA: I just realized. A couple days and I'll be eleven months sober.

Had more dreams, and, thankfully, there was no singing.

Just old castles, kings, ghosts and a story about a battle between ye olde Denmark and Norway.

I also find it curious that some of us are afflicted with this singing thing and some of us seem pretty impervious to it all. Strange.

I'm not sure how I feel or what's happening right now, but I rather think that I like it.

(Yes, I'm going to be cryptic and let you all take guesses.)

ETA: It's not the music.

I'm beginning to lose faith in the miracles of modern science and the healing powers it holds in the form of large, tasteless pills for the sick.

The strep bit may be gone, but I can't shake the rest of it. After a night fraught with congestion and sinus pain, and no help from the good people at Benelyn, I discovered that drinking excess quantities of orange juice is supposed to (apparently) do the trick.

The good news is, I feel better. The bad news is, I never want to drink orange juice again.

I had some dreams last night... But I feel kind of silly even acknowledging them.

They were more just like living someone else's my? life. Nothing exciting, just... a childhood of someone else.

The sky is red. That's a new one....I think that's actually more disturbing than these tremors.

This is the worst time of year, no matter where you go. The last surge of flu and strep throat before all the fun summer bugs take over. Sad to say that I've been caught victim by one of them.

Just sent my students probably the happiest e-mail they get all week. Classes cancelled. They'll be less happy when I inform them they'll be writing a paper to make up for it, I'm sure.

In any case, I hope it passes soon. I don't do well on bed rest.

My life was sorely lacking in strangeness before moving back here. Funny how I didn't realize until now, but one can only try so long to ignore the state of things.

Further to it all, I had a dream last night that, compared to everything else currently, was really quite normal.

Don't forget wonderful people if you find yourself wanting or needing a break from all the hearts and flowers head on over to Irvine Independent Movie Theatre [Address] for a day and night of horror films, popcorn, snacks and fun.

Is it at all possible to get a real cup of tea anywhere? I swear, I've been here two years and I've yet to find a place in all of California that can do a decent cup of real, English tea. All of them steep it too long, or not long enough, and it never tastes the same as the stuff we get across the pond.

I may start having it imported, at this rate.

Dear Valarnet,

I have a friend and she is amazing. She's smart. Smarter than a lot of you guys put together, but don't let that put you off. She's brilliant and beautiful and funny. Jane is a really great girl who is sweet and amazing. She definitely needs a date for Valentine's Day. Or any day at all possibly. I'm looking for a guy who can not feel intimidated by how smart she is, and someone who is charming and wants to have a good time.

If there are any sweet, single guys who need a date, let me know. We can chat, and I'll see if you're the right match for my very best friend. She deserves the world, and I want to give that to her.

Love,
Darcy

To the UCLA students out there, some colleagues and I have been discussing course options for next year, and we thought it'd maybe be worth while to try and put together a study abroad course. In Europe, obviously, with it being European studies. We're looking mostly at Western Europe (though personally I'd love to include a few days in Prague).

The bare bones of it so far is this: your regular tuition fees will apply. We'll be talking to accredited schools to ensure you don't miss out on credits, and you'll also get credits for the trip as a course. This is open to all students, whether we're your home faculty ot if you just want an exciting way to get breadth requirements. Be prepared to pay a bit extra depending, but we'll make sure to set you up with homestays.

If anyone's interested, feel free to contact me for more information. We're having an information night next Friday (Feb 17) - location TBD. If we get enough interest, I think it should be do-able. We'll also be looking for students to head fundraising and help with other aspects of the trip.

I'll never get to used to how quickly things change. You leave for almost ten years and come back and all the places you used to go are suddenly Starbucks or juice bars or yoga studios. Tried to enjoy a Sunday off by driving around the old neighborhood and ended up sitting on a bench with a smoothie.

Thankfully I made it out without a yoga membership.

I know there's been talk amongst various professors about making sure our students get enough credits for the semester. It looks like everything's running smoothly, which I'm glad to see, and I thought I'd drop a memo here that Professor Hamlet and I have finally gotten permission to join our tutorial hours together to squeeze out the extra credits and study time.

That said, while credits are only available to those enrolled in our courses, we'll gladly welcome any students in the English or International Studies departments to stop by if they need the study time or some extra assistance. Also, I've extended my office hours, so feel free to drop by at any time.

Has anyone here ever killed someone before? A friend?


It's a matter of waiting until he dies, but watching Joly, every day, hearing him breathe like that, when he's the one of us who has always been so easily sick and knowing not only that I've put him there, that I've sentenced him to die as easily as if I'd held a gun to his head is something for which I don't think there are any words. He's going to die, and then the others are going to get sick and I am going to kill them too, and to make matters so much worse, they're putting things into quarantine and he cannot even have his L'agile or 'Chetta with him to give him any comfort.

I put him in this place. I put him here by letting him come to help me, and to see me here, and I'm the reason he's going to die. I don't have reservations for myself. Well, I'm afraid to die, but if I must, I must, and I only hope I've done some good in the world, somewhere along the way.

I accept my own mortality. What I don't accept is mortality for my friends, and myself being the cause. I'm the one who is responsible for all of this. I'm the one who should be saving them. Not doing this. Never this.



I don't know what to do.

I'd been looking forward to a quiet night in. In fact, I'd been successful at it until about fifteen minutes ago when my neighbors above me decided to have an influx of people over. Sounds like five or six, but a loud five or six, and suddenly I might need to watch Netflix in my room on my laptop and not, in fact, on the television.

I guess there are worse things in the world (or better ways to spend Saturdays). C'est la vie.

I may have to start instituting new rules for my students, in the coming semester.

It's strange getting used to being back after being gone so long. As nice as Germany was, it's good to be back home. Job's lined up, apartment's moved into, got a car (a necessity, truly), so I think it's all good to go. I wish I had some more time to settle in properly, but, well, there you go.

On that note, if anyone at UCLA is taking international studies, particularly European studies, I'm sure I'll see you around. You can find my contact info on the faculty website. Even if you're not in one of my courses, I'd be glad to help if I can. Also I'll be teaching a more specialized class - a smaller, more researched based course than a big lecture. European politics in 19th Century literature. It's more fun than it sounds. Really.