I've made a few edits to the Outsider's Guide to Dining in Oxford. So many people commented! I'm always surprised by which entries prompt people to respond. Anyway, a few thoughts have come to mind since I wrote it on the fly in the lab, so I added them. Feel free to peruse it and comment again.
I've just finished up an evening shift at the Duke Humphrey. Such a lovely part of the library. I enjoy working in there. I did embarass myself a bit when I tried to turn the lights off early. Oops! One of the porters had come by and reminded me to turn off the lights before leaving. I thought the switch at the porter's desk just turned off the lights in the entryway. So, about 10 minutes before the reading room closed, while the staff was beginning to clear out the readers, I hit the switch. The entire reading room went dark. I was SO embarassed! ARGH!! So I immediately switched it back on and apologized, of course. I HATE it when I do things like that! Fortunately there were only about 5 readers there at the time.
Yesterday evening while we were in the lab, Andrew was IMing with our friend PJ who is home in Singapore for the break. It was early morning there and he's suffering from a bit of jet lag. Understandable I'm sure! Anyway, it was great to get to chat with him for a few minutes and hear how hot and rainy it is there.
PJ is one of those guys who is so kind and such a regular guy, that he proves my theory that great people are made by their actions. What I mean is there's no magical birthmark on PJ that makes him a great guy. He is a regular guy capable of great things. We're all capable of great things. He simply used his potential. I hate it when people limit themselves by saying "I could never do anything like that." I think ordinary people do extraordinary things on a pretty regular basis. You just have to go for it. PJ, Andrew, and so many others I know ARE really special people, but not because they have some magical gift, because they worked hard to achieve their goals. And there were some goals, I'm sure, they failed to meet, but they kept going anyway.
Okay, I guess that's my cheesy speech for the day.
I hope all my former colleagues and students in Florida are doing well. I imagine they're about to get out for the holiday break. A well-deserved rest for the teachers and staff!
Andrew and I are planning a visit to the U.S. from about March 19 until April 10 or so. We'll be visiting family in Florida (including a friendly local Mouse, we hope!) and Utah, so we won't have a whole lot of extra days, but drop us an email if you'd like to get together!
Posted by Erin at December 16, 2002 07:45 PM