I originally wrote this in the San Fransisco airport waiting for my flight home on Monday night.  Unfortunately they do not offer free wireless at the San Fransisco airport, and I’ve basically been sleeping since I got home.  Here’s my delayed blog entry – just pretend it had jet lag : rented ToyotaVallejoVallejo Luckily it … Continue reading →

Before I even get started, I’d like to point out that I really have had a great trip so far.  San Francisco was really fun, and I’ve been enjoying the dance performances here at Rakkasah West, the self-proclaimed “largest belly dance festival in the world.”   Great, now that I’ve got that out of the way I … Continue reading →

Yesterday I spent my birthday in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.  I started at the de Young Museum, full of artistic treasures both contemporary and ancient, had a lovely interlude in the Japanese Tea Gardens and finished up at the Academy of Arts and Sciences. I woke early because of the time difference, making my … Continue reading →

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So I was writing an essay for the This I Believe contest and I was having a little trouble thinking of an alternative word for ‘slavery.’  To my very great surprise, Microsoft Word’s Thesaurus has no suggestions for an alternative word to ‘slavery.’ In fact, this is not the first time I’ve run into this problem.  Recently … Continue reading →

After a late night out with my dad (remind me to write about that in another entry) my parents and I are holed up watching movies on the couch to recover.  Lord of the Rings, also known as The Longest Set of Movies Known To Man, happens to be on. We missed the first one … Continue reading →

Once again I’m on the hunt for a place to live.  This time I’m looking for a home back in Exeter for when I depart in April to complete the second half of my PhD.  Each day I open a new e-mail from Gumtree (like a British Craigslist) hoping to find the perfect home.   … Continue reading →

Today I found out about the bomb that exploded in Hussein Square in Cairo over the weekend. Hussein Square is nestled between two important and very crowded places in Cairo: the Hussein mosque, considered one of the holiest sites in Cairo, and the large tourist bazaar, Khan el Khalili.  I tried to get an idea … Continue reading →

Yesterday Mom and I tried to cross a few (okay, one) of the Oscar-nominated films off our list before the big celebration in the evening.  We went to see Milk at the big movie theater downtown and parked in the municipal parking  garage.   A few weeks ago I wrote about a recent trip to … Continue reading →

Yesterday I delivered a talk about my research and all the wacky hijinks I got up to while I was in Cairo.  The talk went fine, certainly as well as I’d expected.  But I’m left feeling dissatisfied. I hate public speaking.  I really, really hate it.  This is a common fear, I know.  According to … Continue reading →