This is what comes of being a graduate student: I analyze EVERYTHING.  In fairness, the costume I want to wear for Halloween is particularly related to my PhD, being a belly dance costume. I’ve gone as a belly dancer for Halloween for the past four or five years, ironically apart from the year I was actually in Cairo because … Continue reading →

Last Wednesday I had to go drink a barium smoothie.  Barium is a silvery metal that gets used for contrast material when doing X-rays of soft tissue, in this case my throat.   I’ve been having this intermittent problem where I feel like there’s something stuck in there when actually there isn’t.   I already … Continue reading →

Apologies for yet another extended absence, my dear Skirtistas, but I have spent the last couple of weeks frantically searching for a new home.  Again. I had a revelation recently: I finally came to the understanding that I feel my home is an extension of myself.  My home isn’t just a place to eat and … Continue reading →

I was at a conference a week ago and I met this woman who works as a policymaker for the Commonwealth Secretariat.  In our conversation my lack of post-graduation plans came up.  She seemed intrigued and excited by my research, something I’ve frankly learned not to expect from people who work in politics (or maybe it’s … Continue reading →

I just posted some new videos from the Saqarah hafla on 12 September over on my YouTube channel.  They are a mix of solo performances (including one by my friend and research participant Lorna, who I’ve mentioned before, and one by Eshta, one of the Saqarah organziers) and group performances.  As I mention every time … Continue reading →

Okay so there are other things to do in London besides staging a belly dance flash mob on Southbank.  The friends I went to visit last week actually work, so on Friday I had to amuse myself during the day.  Headed into the city on the Tube in the morning, idly musing that I tend to … Continue reading →

On Sunday I belly danced on London’s Southbank.  The plan was to have a belly dance flash mob–a flash mob is a group of people who have prearranged to arrive at a place at a certain time and do something (have a pillow fight, lip synch to “Do-Re-Mi” from The Sound of Music, play dead…) without … Continue reading →

Last night I decided to take an herbal bath.  Sounds deliciously relaxing, doesn’t it?  Oh, think again, my friends. A few days ago I was wandering aimlessly around Exeter and I happened to notice a fair in the Cathedral Green.  Various sustainable, eco-friendly, organic, fairtrade products were on sale.  An herbalist’s stall was selling something called “herbal face … Continue reading →

Here’s a sentence I never thought I’d say: a couple of days ago I punched a man in the face and he began to bleed. We had the following conversation just immediately prior to and after my assault on my opponent’s visage: Him: “Okay, good, but this time, really aim for my nose.”  (This was in … Continue reading →