far from home...
(It's a Levellers song)
Thought I should post from t'other side of the world. Just as a little bit of evidence that I've finally left the country.
Arizona's alright. Can now sympathise with Lord G's ramblings about irritating Americans. They really are larger than life. Gunt spotting tally is ever increasing. At least it's seriously warm. Feel very english for sitting outside for 5 mins and returning a pattern of red and white. All I need now is a spot of sunstroke to liven up the week.
Journey here was an utter nightmare. Despite stressing the previous day I managed not to set my alarm so was rudely awakened by a taxi driver calling to take me to the train station. Somehow managed to make it to Manc airport on time, was about to board the plane when heard an annoucement to pick up my belt I'd left at customs... tit. 9 hours to Chicago. 9 hour wait in Chicago.
At this point the story saddens. I got really homesick, even though had only been away for a few hours. As I've never travelled before I was very aware of the distance between myself and the Shire (what a loser). Although things here are all good now, I'm not sure I'd ever be able to leave home for a long period of time. Does that mean I'm a softie who needs to grow up? Maybe I just have an insecure resistant attachment with my mother. Pathetic. After that 4 hour flight to Tucson. Altogether it took over 24 hours to get to the fine hotel in which i sit now.
Anyway, as I said, things are fine now, and I'll be home before I know it, although slightly redder than before. I have met some dream heroes already, and some nightmares. Conference is good, largely because there are lots of stupid people here and I feel mightily intelligent despite having done no work for quite some time. This should be inspiring, really.
Best bit about Tucson: internet access in the hotel room. So, internet addiction not just bringing about a second year slump. I'm just a computer geek at heart.
See you soon, kids!
Moon.xxx
Thought I should post from t'other side of the world. Just as a little bit of evidence that I've finally left the country.
Arizona's alright. Can now sympathise with Lord G's ramblings about irritating Americans. They really are larger than life. Gunt spotting tally is ever increasing. At least it's seriously warm. Feel very english for sitting outside for 5 mins and returning a pattern of red and white. All I need now is a spot of sunstroke to liven up the week.
Journey here was an utter nightmare. Despite stressing the previous day I managed not to set my alarm so was rudely awakened by a taxi driver calling to take me to the train station. Somehow managed to make it to Manc airport on time, was about to board the plane when heard an annoucement to pick up my belt I'd left at customs... tit. 9 hours to Chicago. 9 hour wait in Chicago.
At this point the story saddens. I got really homesick, even though had only been away for a few hours. As I've never travelled before I was very aware of the distance between myself and the Shire (what a loser). Although things here are all good now, I'm not sure I'd ever be able to leave home for a long period of time. Does that mean I'm a softie who needs to grow up? Maybe I just have an insecure resistant attachment with my mother. Pathetic. After that 4 hour flight to Tucson. Altogether it took over 24 hours to get to the fine hotel in which i sit now.
Anyway, as I said, things are fine now, and I'll be home before I know it, although slightly redder than before. I have met some dream heroes already, and some nightmares. Conference is good, largely because there are lots of stupid people here and I feel mightily intelligent despite having done no work for quite some time. This should be inspiring, really.
Best bit about Tucson: internet access in the hotel room. So, internet addiction not just bringing about a second year slump. I'm just a computer geek at heart.
See you soon, kids!
Moon.xxx
posted by Moon @ 10:11 pm
7 Comments:
At 1:40 pm,
Lord G said…
Did you complete the form on the plane which has a tick-box asking the following:
"are you coming to this country to engage in any terrorist or subversive activities?"
Oh yes ladies and gentlemen, this DOES exist.
Arizona is nice. Tucson is south though so dry and hot. Here is humid and hot. Sweattastic. It doesn't make you soft at all. Everyone gets homesick. I've been out of the country a fair few times before though so I guess I'm used to it.
If you REALLY want to feel good - get a PhD student from the US to explain their (joke of a) grad-student system, and chortle when they show you one of their 100 page PhD theses, that took 6-8 months (from it being proposed to defended) to complete.
At 6:04 am,
Moon said…
Yes - and I resisted ticking. Was held up enough with photos and fingerprinting at immigration without crap like that getting in the way. Surely if terrorist activities were to be a problem you'd lie anyway? It's like gun licenses... if you're going to brutally shoot someone are you really going to stop in your tracks if you haven't got a license? I digress.
Just had dinner with a philospher who did his PhD in 2 years. Either he does not know the meaning of procrastination or he's got a shitty thesis. I'm with you on this one.
Spent the day enjoying the dry and hot weather. Been by pool then in sauna. Now a concoction of red and white. Nice. I heart conferences.
How much longer you in Florida for?
At 12:46 pm,
Lord G said…
Depends if I can pull in a research grant to stay here a bit longer. Currently writing one....
RE the tickbox - it's representative of so much over here. There is no logic at all.... Pooldwelling eh? Now is the time for me to inquire about what tattoos you have.
At 1:19 pm,
frankien said…
my poor brother nearly wasnt allowed into the US. Just cos he looks a bit foreign. Just as well I didnt try to get in, my passport photo makes me look like I'm wearing a muslim headscarf (I wasnt wearing one when I had the photo taken).
At 9:47 pm,
Moon said…
Good luck with the grant proposal. Got any other postgrads in mind as assistants, though? That email might have been a little warning sign...
Tatts = a "rolling A" symbol on the back of my left hip (i.e. above le arse). See http://www.levellers.co.uk/www/lev_image_detail.php?page=100571&v=1&url=%2Fwww%2Fupload%2Fhat-main-11205.gif&id=112119 . It now resembles a Natwest sign, however. It represents a particular non-extreme definition of anarchy, which sounds left-y and crap. I thought it looked pretty at the time.
Other one at top of right arm is a black sun-like logo that resembles a chilli peppers album sleeve. Unintentionally. Would like something interesting creeping round the ankle, at some point. How's your tatt search going?
Were they really awful with your bro, frankien? By the way, time for another (possibly sweet-related) blog posting, methinks!
At 2:56 pm,
frankien said…
I should have to ask him for the fully story- he managed to avoid a full body search, but he got held up by officious annoying people who told him that he would be going back to England. they didnt like his passport, but thats the british passport offices fault, and I already dont have too much time for them since they previously lost my photos (and then printed my normal photos in such a way that I had a headscarf). I also now need to get a new passport, and am unable to know what exactly to apply for. This is due to the fact that I was caught up in the stupid scheme previously employed, where full passports for those under 16 were only issued for 5 years (which was later abandoned). I have since applied for an extension, but this was for a period of under a year because I'd left it so long. therefore, according to the website, I am ineligible for any passport application.
At 5:57 pm,
Moon said…
Passport people are crap. All of them. How did they give you a headscarf? Was there some smudge-age at the top of your head? That's their fault - they should pay for the new passport. They're so strict about photos (no smiling, now, apparently. And no fun on holidays, either).
I think you just apply for a new passport. You put your previous passport no. on the form, so they should be able to work out what you require.
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