What??

Was shopping for children's books for our nephew in Galloway and Porter on Sydney Street when I saw this book. I was so horrified that I couldn't ask the staff about it.

Queens' College May Ball & King's College Formal Hall

Before we run out the door to the pirate themed Wolfson "May Ball", here are a few photos from Queens' College May Ball, on 19 June, and last night's King's College Formal Hall, one of the best dinners we've had in Cambridge.

Queens' College May Ball

It's not often M* sees my name written as "Amy Budny"

Steven, Susie, M*, me and Karen

Karen, M*, me and Kevin show off our absinthe

Mr X and me

Klaxons

Fireworks and rain

M*, Karen and Francis kill some time at the snail races.


King's College Formal Hall

M* and Mark, our host

Susie, Maria and me

Karen and M*

Me and my hard working man

Maria, Christiano, me and M*

Lake District—Pt 1

Since M* and I returned from the Lake District on Tuesday night, we've been quite busy: Queens' College May Ball, formal dinner at King's College, M* finishing papers, Wolfson May Ball (tonight) and getting ready to leave for Germany (8 am flight tomorrow—ouch!).

Here are a few pictures of the area around Lake Windermere, Cumbria. More details and photos of us in our "black tie" wear will follow.

Off to the Lake District

We're taking a short trip with our friends, James and Manuela, to the Lake District before returning to Cambridge to attend the Queens' College and Wolfson College Balls. M* finished classes yesterday, although his thesis is due and the program officially finishes the end of August.

While the forecast predicts some rain every day, we hear that is common in the Lake District. We're a bit use to the rain showers now—it's been a wet May and June. I just hope the weather is not too bad, as we are renting a car and I haven't driven on the 'wrong' side of the road since a trip to New Zealand over four years ago.

Arriving home after a lovely bike trip in the rain.


The cows don't seem to mind drinking from the Cam—newly muddy from the rain-caused runoff.

Our Daily Bread

Just some of the items from a Daily Bread run.

Eating black beans, baking gluten-free treats and blending almond milk into a daily protein shake would be much harder and more expensive if it wasn't for this store tucked away in a cul-de-sac on the northern edge of Cambridge. My new favorite product: their organic pumpkin seeds.

Paradise and Beyond Nature Walk

The Cam around Byron's Pool

M* and I were walking in Grantchester Meadows a week or so ago, and we saw a flier for "Paradise & Beyond" walking tour around the Grantchester Meadows area of Cambridge, tagged as a 'Town not Gown' tour: Cambridge history for local residents.

"Follow in the footsteps of Pink Floyd, Rupert Brooke and Lord Byron to discover what lies beyond Paradise! Local experts will be guiding people through one of the most picturesque areas in Cambridgeshire and telling them about the wildlife, its past, and how important it is that these areas are managed properly. Walk through wet woodland and riverside meadows, glimpse kingfishers (hopefully), hear numerous fascinating facts about the history of this part of Cambridge, learn about the management of nature reserves, see one of the earliest church brasses in England, muse on sites that inspired world famous poets, and wonder 'Is there honey still for tea?'"

These cows all sported the coolest yellow earrings.

Thought the red circle might help you find the grey wagtail

We convinced our friends, James and Manuela, to accompany us on the four hour, three mile walk. I must say that I didn't gain as much added insight to the area as I was hoping. We did not see the colorful kingfisher, and much of the information disseminated by the guide from the local nature reserve was a bit too sciencey for me (and I'm married to a fella who loves geeking out on science). In the beginning of the walk, he pointed out a green plant and told us to pull it out when we saw it, as it was a non-native species. Now to my flora-differentiating-challenged eyes, it was indistinguishable from eighty percent of the ground cover along the river, so I decided to pass on the weed pulling as, if let at it, there would be no green leafy plants left along our route.

Manuela, James and M*

We're glad we went on the tour, as we found the history guide, Allan Brigham, to be very entertaining; we had never walked through the tranquil, tree covered area surrounding Byron's Pond; and we totally felt entitled to an afternoon nap upon our return home.

Mother swans and her downy cygnets

Cam near Grantchester Road

Woodlands around Byron's Pool

My scientist and the native Field Maple

Dogs Love Cambridge in the Summer

La Raza

While I have not investigated many of Cambridge's late night haunts and bars, I was pretty sure that there was not a chill, loungey bar offering quality cocktails and tasty food, outfitted with comfy couches and walls, painted in deep red and white, sporting hipster-esque paintings that would not be out of place in Giant Robot or modern home stores on 3rd or Beverly in LosAngeles. Meeting some of M*'s classmates at La Raza on Friday night for a birthday celebration proved such an belief to be false.

Painting at La Raza

The selection of cocktails was impressive, and M*'s julep and my (three) caipirinhas were outstanding. Most pubs measure the alcohol that goes into a drink—I think that it's a law. However, M*'s julep, made with Makers Mark, certainly had at last two shots, and I witnessed my glass filled with far more than one shot of cachaça. When the dj went on about 9:30, I was beyond thrilled that the first track he played was one of my favorite house tunes from about six years ago: "Days Like This." Now, the rest of his set, while better than expected, was not particularly memorable—he worked in too many unimaginative standards, including at least two by Michael Jackson.

Atsushi, Johannes, M* and me

The club is downstairs, so there was no outdoor area to go and escape the smoke. But it's less than a month now to 1 July, UK smoking ban in enclosed spaces, so there won't be many more opportunities to wake up to my hair reeking of cigarette smoke. Can't wait.

Pavel, the birthday boy, and M*

M* in motion

A Blog Devoted to Passive (and not so Passive) Aggressive Post-It Messags

Saw PassiveAggressiveNotes.com on BuzzFeed and had to share.

Don't know if I agree that wiping counters is quite as critical as performing this action after certain bathroom visits.

Who knows, maybe the temptation of a delicious poptart would have broken Jesus during those 40 days in the desert.

First Farewells

Although classes for M*'s MBA program do not end until 15 June, our good friends, Michael and Tialda, left on Friday for Michael's internship in Seoul, South Korea.

Michael and Tialda, along with James and Manuela, were part of our Cambridge gaming group. We were able to fit in one more game night on Monday night. Settlers of Catan—The Expansion Edition was our game for the evening. I emerged victorious, but it was a bittersweet win, as it was the last game the six of us will play for a while

Manueal, Tialda, me, James, Michael and M*

There were pub nights and lunches this week to give them a proper send off, but my being ill precluded my attendance. I visited with them for a bit on Thursday, and it was quite sad to be saying goodbye to people you've recently formed close friendships with. It was also odd to be picking through the items they were leaving behind, as it felt as though we were benefiting from their leaving. While we are excited about the kick-ass LG rice cooker we now have, we would much rather have Michael and Tialda around. If all works out, M* and I, and hopefully James and Tialda, will be visiting them when they return home to Rotterdam in late August.

Michael, Tialda and me—final Cambridge photo

Formal Hall

One of the advantages of going to an old university like Cambridge, which is about to celebrate the 800th anniversary of its founding, is taking part in long-standing traditions. What we have found, however, is that access to such events depends on to which of the university's thirty-one colleges you belong. The college is like your home away from home—many undergraduates are required to live at their college for a year or more—where one studies, eats and socializes. The university is where you take your classes.

M* is a member of St. Edmund's College, which was only founded in the 1960s. While it is known as one of the friendlier colleges, we have spent so little time there due to its location and lack of amenities. A number of the older and wealthier colleges have amazing grounds, sports fields, gyms and social events where well known bands and djs headline. These older colleges also have elaborate formal dining halls where the head table, reserved for fellows, is raised.

M* and me

M* had been to a formal hall (dinner) once, but the dress was casual. Last Saturday evening, there was a black tie formal hall at Pembroke College arranged by and for Judge Business School students and guests. It was nice to get dressed up, and, as the program is ending soon, have the opportunity to spend time with a good portion of the MBA class.

The Judge football team's defense

The fellows were not seated at the head table until the rest of us were settled. An announcement of their impending arrival was announced along with a warning that photos were not permitted while fellows were in the room. All but one or two people obeyed—the offenders were given the evil eye by Pembroke's Catering Manager (I'm guessing his title). Once the fellows finished dining, had their departure announced and exited, the cameras were whipped out and the photo documentation of the evening continued.

Johannes, Michael, Taro, Tialda, Nicole, Maria, me, Manuela and James

Many colleges are not known for their cuisine, but I was impressed with the quality, taking into consideration that there were 150 guests. They even accommodated vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free diets.

Memorable Movie Review

I bought and devoured the 4 June issue of the New Yorker today. Anthony Lane's review of "Pirates of The Caribbean: At World's End" contains a sentence that made me laugh aloud and is definitely share worthy. It's also Digg worthy, so I finally registered with the "user driven social content web site" and became the first person to submit the review.

"At the climax, two vessels get their rigging entwined on the rim of a whirlpool, which sounds impressive, but give me a hot bath, an open plughole, and a pair of rubber ducks and I could have laid out the situation more efficiently." Anthony Lane, New Yorker