![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I get home, and the first thing I do is get myself onto a reverse schedule. So much for appreciating the extra hour of daylight.
Most of my week has been occupied with Lord of the Rings, in some form. I was going to go to the MIT showings of the first two on Monday and Tuesday, but didn't make either. Monday it was really cold out, and I had![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
exponentialdk's copy of FotR here, so we just watched it here. Tuesday ukelele, Grant, dolohov and I were out for sushi until too late, so dolohov and I ended up going over to avacon's house and watched TTT there. (It was my first time seeing the extended edition, and yes it is much better that way, even if dolohov and I had to dash to the T after the movie was done.)
Wednesday I saw RotK in a great bit MIT mob. It's really the best way to see geeky movies, surrounded by a bunch of people who are in a community you claim as your own. It was great, and wonderful, and amazing, though I had my quibbles, which I won't go into. Best of all, having seen the movie, I could finally read the book!
I have to say that I like Peter Jackson's version of Eowyn better than Tolkien's. (I also like his version of the Battle of Helm's Deep better.) I think Jackson just fundamentally has a better idea of what to do with female characters than Tolkien, and in particular I didn't like Tolkien's suggestion that Eowyn fell for Aragorn due to nothing more than social climbing (in dialogue between her and Faramir, in book 5.)
Aside from LotR...hmm. There was dolohov's visit, which was nice, although I was not in any kind of mood to be a host and it probably showed. There was a Great! Big! Birthday dinner at Maggiano's, wherein I pulled a Stupid Credit Card Trick bigger than any I'd previously done. (Lots of food, and lots of wine, for 25 people, at a nice restaurant. You do the estimation.) But this gave me cash, which I did not otherwise really have on this side of the pond. And there was a sushi trip with, among others,_nicolai_, which was amusing in that I'd seen him less than 72 hours before, in Other Cambridge.
Meanwhile, six weeks to the day after I handed it over, Barclays gave me the money from my cashier's check. It was naturally exchanged at a rate that sucked, though the wire transfer would have sucked more. But at least I don't have to worry anymore about being destitute. In England, anyway. (On the other hand, I may after all; the student loans I took out aren't worth as much as they were when I applied for them. This basically means that my savings is going to take a big hit covering the difference.) I hate banks.
Tuesday I go to Texas for nearly a week.tsarina, if you are not overly preoccupied with newlywed bliss, it would be fun to meet you finally. (If you are preoccupied with newlywed bliss, I'll totally understand.) Apparently there is a Christmas Eve service at Austin's cathedral in store for me. This makes me happy. Christmas carols, suitable setting, what could be better?
Most of my week has been occupied with Lord of the Rings, in some form. I was going to go to the MIT showings of the first two on Monday and Tuesday, but didn't make either. Monday it was really cold out, and I had
exponentialdk's copy of FotR here, so we just watched it here. Tuesday ukelele, Grant, dolohov and I were out for sushi until too late, so dolohov and I ended up going over to avacon's house and watched TTT there. (It was my first time seeing the extended edition, and yes it is much better that way, even if dolohov and I had to dash to the T after the movie was done.)Wednesday I saw RotK in a great bit MIT mob. It's really the best way to see geeky movies, surrounded by a bunch of people who are in a community you claim as your own. It was great, and wonderful, and amazing, though I had my quibbles, which I won't go into. Best of all, having seen the movie, I could finally read the book!
I have to say that I like Peter Jackson's version of Eowyn better than Tolkien's. (I also like his version of the Battle of Helm's Deep better.) I think Jackson just fundamentally has a better idea of what to do with female characters than Tolkien, and in particular I didn't like Tolkien's suggestion that Eowyn fell for Aragorn due to nothing more than social climbing (in dialogue between her and Faramir, in book 5.)
Aside from LotR...hmm. There was dolohov's visit, which was nice, although I was not in any kind of mood to be a host and it probably showed. There was a Great! Big! Birthday dinner at Maggiano's, wherein I pulled a Stupid Credit Card Trick bigger than any I'd previously done. (Lots of food, and lots of wine, for 25 people, at a nice restaurant. You do the estimation.) But this gave me cash, which I did not otherwise really have on this side of the pond. And there was a sushi trip with, among others,
_nicolai_, which was amusing in that I'd seen him less than 72 hours before, in Other Cambridge.Meanwhile, six weeks to the day after I handed it over, Barclays gave me the money from my cashier's check. It was naturally exchanged at a rate that sucked, though the wire transfer would have sucked more. But at least I don't have to worry anymore about being destitute. In England, anyway. (On the other hand, I may after all; the student loans I took out aren't worth as much as they were when I applied for them. This basically means that my savings is going to take a big hit covering the difference.) I hate banks.
Tuesday I go to Texas for nearly a week.
tsarina, if you are not overly preoccupied with newlywed bliss, it would be fun to meet you finally. (If you are preoccupied with newlywed bliss, I'll totally understand.) Apparently there is a Christmas Eve service at Austin's cathedral in store for me. This makes me happy. Christmas carols, suitable setting, what could be better?
