Swim Meet Party...

Yesterday after brunch, Shannon, Lenka and I went down to the pool for the last home swim meet of the year. Shannon brightened up proceedings with her posters in honour of Ellie and Danny, and a rather abstract 'Defence' slogan. WAC pulled in a win for the guys, which was good, and a close call with the ladies. 

Afterwards, we had an early, chilled dinner and then went over to KC to start preparing the post-swim meet party. We had a great evening to finish off the first week - myself bringing home a win on the beer pong.   

Shifting The Sofa...

The end of the first, slightly interrupted working week has arrived. As with all Fridays, the absence of a film shortened contact time by a couple of hours, in between which I played the piano and did a bit of writing. I think all the books for the semester have been shipped, so soon I won't have the luxury to fritter away my time on such creative projects. 

This evening, I played moving men again, this time helping to take Sean's sofa from Lenka and Kristine's apartment and over to his new room in Chester - fitting inside with an inch or so to spare. Returning to KC B, Lenka, Shannon, Danny and I spent a chilled out evening watching TV. We finished off with the final episode of Sherlock that Shannon needed to see. Naturally, neither Lenka or I had an issue watching it a second time - you can never have too much Sherlock. 

Starting Up Squash...

A very quiet start to the day today, with nothing until class at 2:30pm. I spent the morning finishing off the book I have been reading as I don't see anywhere near as much free time in the near future. After lunch, Lenka and I went to have the first Miller class of the semester and so received the last of our deadlines. They seem fairly well spread and the reading doesn't appear too heavy. Most importantly, there are no exams to be taken! 

At 5:00pm I met up with Axel and played an hour of squash, warming up greatly from the -13'C outside. I came back from the gym and rushed over to the dining hall after a message from Shannon that the place was packed, with Candyland opening up - no one seems to know how long it will be sticking around. 

After eating, I showered and then went over to the GEO for the formal welcoming back for international students. Finishing up at 9:00pm, we took the shuttle to KC B and then made full use of Lenka and Kristine's massive lounge for the evening.  

Pictionary...

Back to class yesterday for another full day, ending in a film. This time it was Jimmy Stewart in 'The Shop Around the Corner', which was easy enough to watch. Between classes Lenka and I went to the pianos where I very crudely taught her the basics of reading and playing music. 

After dinner we slipped our way across to KC, where we added some more wines to the  'Cheap Wine Snob List' and settled in for a very competitive game of pictionary (picture to come). I don't want to boast, but I was on fire with several, getting Lord of the Rings and Forrest Gump in a matter of seconds. My drawing of Notting Hill left much to the imagination, however, and it was pointed out that my bat wings for Batman were upside down.   

A Snow Day, Seriously?...

Today I woke to an unexpected message that there would be no classes due to the heavy snow to come. Me and Ester shared a skeptical breakfast, mocking a dysfunctional system, as the sky behind us cleared without a single flake in sight. We've had to eat humble pie somewhat now that knee high snow drifts had piled up all over campus, and it's going to continue snowing heavily for the next few hours.

This morning I went for a much needed haircut and then I made my way over to Lenka and Kristine's to help move Sean's stuff from J to B. Having not planned on doing much strenuous work today, I felt that I did well helping to move the sofa up and down three flights of stairs and outside in the snow, amongst other things. 

Hungry from manual labour, we made our way over to lunch and then it was back to B to relax in the warm. We stayed sheltered until it was time to venture out for dinner. This evening, we had hot chocolate, toast, and sat down to watch 'Bobby'.

The crucial question on everyone's lips is of course: will we have classes tomorrow?

German Suit Get Together...

So, the first day of classes has been and gone. The schedule and rooms stayed the same as last semester, which made it easier to get back into the swing of things. From the course booklets they look good, and now I have Lenka for all of them which is a bonus. It was a long day in the end, with the film class running on past 5:00pm, but the movie was good, so it wasn't too bad. 

To pass the time in between classes I went down to the piano and then after dinner, the German suite were good enough to host the internationals, new and old for a big get-to-know-you session. 

The Rest Return...

Yesterday saw a bit more of the old routine return with brunch in the morning. I had chance to catch up with Will, one of the new Australian internationals and then we were joined by Lenka and Shannon later on. After food, I headed over to KC with Shannon and Lenka to make some initial plans for Spring Break in March. So far we haven't made any definite decisions, but if we can't source somewhere beachy that it relatively cheap, then we feel a road trip for the week is on the cards. 

The afternoon passed idly and then we made our way over to dinner. - I realise that making the blog less food-centric isn't off to a great start, but when you have nothing to do meal times really are the key points of the day. Yesterday's dinner was especially key because we met up with the rest of the internationals who had arrived throughout the day. I did get some sad news that I have lost Marcela as my breakfast companion for the semester because of her new schedule. But, Sean is boldly stepping into her shoes, which means I don't have to spend my time alone and looking expectantly at the stairs or pretending to text some nonexistent food companion who is running late - not that I do that. 

Then, the evening was spent over at Lenka and Kristine's catching up with Axel and Kanta, discussing what we might like to do as days out and small trips throughout the semester - it's already looking like a pretty full few months.