#10 Canterbury Road

You Might be a CMRS Student If...

Hello friends! I was cleaning out my archived emails, and came across some really old ones from our Oxford days. It reminded me that I hadn't checked the blog for a shamefully long time! So, I've now read the postings of 07 and feel much more caught up. Oh, so here's text from a super old email by fellow CMRSer Philip Grace. I don't get some of them...maybe inside jokes from the non-Canterbury location, but most of them made me smile and remember the ole' days. Or make me feel like I was a heck of a lot smarter 10 years ago than I am now! Here it is:

You might be a CMRS student if:
-you've ever pulled on a door marked push--in the Bodleian.
-you've ever met a wandering minstrel and had a request--that he knows.
-you're in the way.
-you've ever seen a silhouette of the White House and confused it with the Radcliffe Camera.
-you're cenobitic on good days and anchoritic on bad ones.
-you think that Eusebius was a much better writer than Augustine, or vice-versa.
-you're qualified to drive, but not to cross the street.
-you've ever had a meal that consisted of more than half Nutella.
-you don't write poetry--very often.
-your enemies want to give you a "C".
-you spent your childhood maintaining that to be called a nerd is actually a compliment.
-you can't tour a library without checking "just one thing."
-you've ever fought with your significant other over theology.
-you've ever said, "It's only 9:30...I mean, 10:15."
-you try to study well, but instead you do it "bodley".
-someone has ever asked you if you're familiar with Nenius, and you sheepishly reply, "Well, I haven't *read* him."
-you keep the Complete Works of Shakespeare on top of your Bible, and your absentee ballot under it.
-you've ever started laundry or a paper at midnight.
-you're a steak-and-potato type of person, and everyone around you is a *potato*-and-potato type of person.
-you've ever gotten engrossed in writing footnotes for half an hour.
-you take notes in Roman numerals.
-you think the next big thing over here will be McPigeon.
-you know that the f-word is "feudalism".
An amazing semester. An amazing group. We few; we happy few...

Hope that was entertaining. I also came across an Oxford email I sent to my stateside friends claiming the loss of my sanity and futilely trying to explain the incredibly intense existence we were all living at CMRS due to the impossibly high academic standards, etc. I'm so glad to know that that aspect of the experience has blissfully faded, and I am left with (mostly) only the memories that put a happy smile on my face. Well, the other day I did find myself thinking about Greg the "houseparent" or whatever and how I should've given him a piece of my mind and tried to get him fired. And then I thought, "Wow, Carrie. It's been 7 years and you need to move on!!!" Ah well.

Thanks for indulging my trip down memory lane. Life in Denver is good. Ryan's finishing up his PhD in biochemistry (hopefully) this spring. We have no idea what comes after that. We've tossed around ideas from the Peace Corps to following a research job to CA to washing semi-trucks for a living, but nothing's stuck yet. I'm still working with HIV Care Link, which is still an awesome job but I am feeling a bit burnt out dealing with clients perpetually in crisis situations. I've gotten really involved with the Obama campaign and have stretched myself through a canvassing trip to Iowa and lots of phone calls about politics to strangers. Scary! But we'll see if it was all worth it in the next couple of weeks. Anyway, I've got a trip planned to the DC area in Feb to catch up with Jill and Missy. Woohoo! Anybody else living in the area? Zack? Hope all is well.

(Ana Maria, I figured out how to let the new blogger system acknowledge me, so you can ignore my previous comment about needed new access)

posted by Carrie @ 1/25/2008 02:31:00 AM