Procrastination in the Radiant Garden

Most of today, as well as a portion of yesterday evening, have been marked by a bout of procrastination in the midst of completing our first real "assignment" here in York. The task is simple, a "reflection" on what we've learned about the history of this place, Romans and Vikings and all. And in fact, I've been quite interested in this material (our readings in books such as A Traveller's History of England by Christopher Daniell or group excursions to the Yorkshire Museum or Clifford's Tower). More than just purely academic interest, even, our brief survey of England's long and varied history has opened up new perspectives on our present-day culture, its bipolar strengths and weaknesses, and where we might all be headed. But, the burn-out I experienced at the end of last semester was not dealt with during the off-season of Christmas break, interim, and getting here to York, so now I'm stuck with trying to re-motivate myself for academics. Oh boy... I think I'd rather just keep reading poetry.

On a lighter note, on my way to lunch today, I stopped to check my post at the Student Union, and in the "W" box was a nice little Valentine addressed to me from "the ladies of GFC," via representative Kay Berry. I guess you could say this wasn't exactly the sort of mail I was expecting (I thought perhaps a late textbook had arrived by now), but it was wonderful surprise. I was with my dorm-neighbor, Emma, at the time, and she was so overwhelmed by the "cuteness" of the situation that she spread the event to I think the entire female population of apartment block E. Now all the girls are complaining about not getting Valentine's from the adults in their life.

After lunch, John barged into my room to drag me off to Morrison's "to buy a blanket." However, once we got there, he became discouraged at the high price tag of fleece throws (and they only other bedding options they seem to have here are fitted sheet, duvet, and pillow case), and I decided to fulfill my goal of buying a planter for my window. Miraculously, we wandered into the produce section of the store and there discovered an abundance of potted herbs. I chose coriander (cilantro) and flat-leafed parsley, while John opted for the more aromatic choices of mint and basil. To complete our project, we also picked up a couple narrow plastic bins and some potting soil, then headed home to take care of the transplanting. Below is a clip from after our little adventure, although it's a little too bright to see anything.



| video: The Radiant Garden (complete with audio tour)