I had sort of been dreading yesterday for a while. I got through it okay, and here's how:
5:45 Although I had set my alarm for 6, my body got up, so I went with it, checked my e-mail and made and ate breakfast. Weight /body fat percentage back to same as the day I left for America: great feeling.
6:45ish Left for work
7:20 Arrived at work and didn't take a shower, but started working immediately on some writing for my supervisors that was due at 9AM and which I had not been able to finish over the weekend.
8:30 Got the writing done, including tables and sent it off. And then got to work on coding some of my data for a meeting at 12.
10:00 Went to library to get a book/return a book.
10:10 Took call from surgeon for consultancy about impending minor surgery. Set initial consultancy date. I probably shouldn't be as pleased about this as I am, but it's going to uncomplicate one area of my life that has been too complicated the last five years. Yoko's happy, I'm happy, everyone's happy.
10:20 Stopped by the blood donation centre which is set up on campus every so often and which I had an appointment for at 11:20 and said I had been sick the last week and probably couldn't give blood, right? 'No,' they said, 'So long as you're feeling fine today. Are you feeling 100% today?' 100%? I thought. Well, yes, no, I don't know, whatever, can you take me now by any chance? Gave blood.
Woman asked, 'Where are you from?'
'Originally?' I said, 'The States.'
'Yeah?' she said, 'You haven't lost your accent yet.'
Lost my accent?
11:00 Returned to desk, coded more.
11:30 Had a lunch and packed everything up so I could leave the OU directly after my meeting.
12:00 Had meeting with supervisor and colleague to look at my coding of metaphor vehicles in my data to check my reliablity. More or less reliable. The way I roll.
13:20 Meeting ended and cycled back to the house. Had a crazy experience on my bike where someone got upset with me and followed me in their car, getting out at one point to throw something at me before driving off. Really, really crazy experience and left me feeling terribly troubled. When the car stopped and the guy started rummaging through his back seat for something, I thought, This is it for me. In the States, this could have well been a gun. Not sure what he threw, but I didn't stop, so it was quite a distance he was trying to make up. Bizarre. Got me thinking about gender, being male, fighting, and territorial instincts (always a social scientist, even at a moment of terrible fear). Really? I thought, You are going to hurt me because I pointed to a Give Way sign and yelled, 'That's you!' when you almost hit me?
13:45: Got home, showered, packed different bag, fried vegetables and left for train station.
15:05 Train to London.
15:45 Got to London, stopped at Starbucks, got on Underground to Middlesex (posters everywhere for Norwegian Wood, coming out in the UK on Friday!), walked to campus from station.
17:00 Arrived at campus, met the person I who organises the series of talks I was a part of.
17:30 Gave talk to 4 people, including organiser. A good group though: two of my students from last year. Got a good idea of how I might rework it for my talk at the iMean conference in Bristol in a month or so.
18:45 Left campus with organiser for dinner. Ate at the Great Nepalese Restaurant next to Euston. Talked Murakami, future of higher ed./our university.
20:46 Train back to Milton Keynes.
22:00 Arrived home, checked e-mail, watched Austin City Limits.
23:30 Back to sleep.
Today is Pancake Day in the UK. No, really, it's Pancake Day. It's a thing, I guess. We are going to a church Pancake Feast tonight, and I will eat judiciously.