Not the Netherlands, the Midlands.doc

I arrived back to Warwick University on Saturday afternoon. It felt a bit surreal to board the Stagecoach bus in Leamington and make the fated journey back to Heronbank but in some respects it feels like a bit of a return to the familiar. Warwick Uni is beautiful in the summer. I marched on down the path to Heronbank and passed by the geese, swans, and ducks lounging by the pond. They look more comfortable than they did in December. My room is on the third floor and has two big windows that open out onto the courtyard - it's a pretty fantastic view.

Thankfully the room is nice because I couldn't spend much more time in Heronbank. The common room and kitchen attached to my flat are pretty disgusting. Granted I came on the weekend when the cleaners aren't working, but she told me the next morning that the people I'm staying with have been like that all year. Add to this the general tension that all of the students here have been feeling while writing their exams over summer and it's not the nicest atmosphere to spend your time. The saving grace is that I only have two weeks here and most of that time will be spent diligently in the library or starting a work out routine that will serve as my second project of the term (the non-thinking, non-mental one).

So after the two weeks in Heronbank I am happy to announce that I will be moving into a flat in The Royal Leamington Spa! That's right Canadian friends, I'll be posh UK living while writing my dissertation. I'm moving in with Tory from Canada (who I studied with for a year at UofT) and our friend Zoey from Thailand. She's also a fun girl. I'm hoping we can cook some great meals, host a few parties, and help each other through the writing phase of the program. We have the flat from September to February (since they wouldn't accept a lease for just four months) but DON'T PANIC it does not necessarily mean that I'm bound in the UK until February. It just leaves some options open and was the only way we could secure the flat. I was going to provide a link to our digs but realized the place is officially off the market so there are no photos. In summary, it's a well spaced apartment with a furnished dining room, living room, kitchen, and bathroom. It sounds like the design is all very black and white. I'm ecstatic to be back among housemates and out of solo dorm living come September. Emily is our first scheduled guest two weeks after we move in.

The second update is that, yes, I have started the beast. The dissertation is underway. Completing this project really is for me like climbing a mountain since I've chosen a challenging topic outside of just the theatre but with roots in social and political performance. I'm excited by the challenge, but with academic burnout kicking in, I'm resolved that this is a final test before breaking free of the chains of academia (at least for the time being). So, I have written a draft of the introduction (due for submission on September 1) that tops out at 3000 words. It would look like I have 10% of the diss completed (since the word count should be 30 000) but that would be a fool's mistake for me to assume. A LOT of work still remains, even if I am happy with vomiting the intro chapter out. The next two weeks will be spent reading, reading, reading after descending upon the library to pick up books which I had no access to before. I'm sure it will help inspire the next burst of writing.

So I've quietly but quickly got my self set up to tackle the next phase of MAIPR after a glorious summer vacation thinking about anything but school - getting a flat sorted and the dissertation underway were the two major hurdles. On Saturday night, as a welcome back to Leamington and a christening of her flat, Bec had Tory and myself over for a night of reunion and revelry. It was an opportunity to catch up with friends after the summer hiatus and get use to the Spa feel. Bec and her two Australian friends have been living in the flat since July. We sat and had a few drinks in the living room while chatting about our travel escapades. Bec's two Australian friends are really cool guys - I think they'll be a great addition to the Leamington crew we'll have assembled this term. Later in the evening we went to SMACK, the premiere hotshot club in town. They were having a Silent Disco. I thought this might include bringing your own ipod like in photos I had seen of Silent Discos, but this was more upscale! You receive headphones upon entry with two channels of music. The feature of this theme, for those folks over 40 who might not have heard of a silent disco, is that there is no music playing in the club but rather in your earphones. So you chose between two channels and dance along with the headphones. The novelty is that everyone around you may be listening to something completely different. It's also mad fun to take your headphones off for a moment and listen to the assembled sing along in silence. It's quite something. We stayed for only an hour and made a stop at the Mumbai Bar before heading back to the flat for some post-bar philosophical discussion. The next morning we had a delicious breakfast before tackling a lazy Sunday. It was the first of hopefully a bevy of wonderful nights out in Leamington Spa.

Today was spent at the library getting organized for the official start to Warwick dissertation work 2009 on Wednesday. Courtney and I had a wonderful reunion at the library where we both agreed that the resources back in the UK far outshine those in Amsterdam. We shared a nice leisurely lunch and then met for dinner in Heronbank after a long day of work. Tomorrow, as the final hurrah before buckling down, I'm meeting the Hinckster in London for a day of fun. I'm sure we'll get up to some good old tricks and pranks....or just head to a museum and share some pints.

Doc's Prescription of the Day: In Amsterdam I relied on a bike and it's not out of the question here for Leamington, but until then I'm a public transport fiend. You should try it too, ecological footprints and all that.