News in not-so-brief briefs.

1. I had a minor mental blip at the beginning of last week, but I think that I have managed to rescue myself from some cataclysmic fall there. Point to me.          
2. I live next to a brothel. Some awful man tried to pick me up on the road side at the end of last week.  I hadn't even stopped, but I'd like to know in which country prostitutes march around with large coats, scarves, jeans and backpacks on? Well, Germany apparently. The incident would have been over sooner had my German been better. Unfortunately, it is not. 
3. It snowed here over the weekend, that was very beautiful. I think I was happy at the weekend. Now it's "oh-hello-empty-misery-tinged-with-that-oh-so-familiar-sense-of-self-loathing" again.
4. I have now seen the new Bond film Quantum of Solace. It was a very different Bond, but I still really enjoyed it. It was very much "Quantum of Solace: Bond's Revenge". 
5. The heating in my flat still doesn't work. Every night I have to build a nest in which to sleep. This isn't even me being a moron as my neighbour can't work it out either and the landlord was meant to come around last night to fix it... or make it work.. or something. In other flat-related news, I can now successfully open the bins! Huzaar! Also, it turns out that I do in fact have blinds and that I was using the shower incorrectly. 

Re-evaluation

Ok, what I said yesterday was insane. That is clearly not true. 

Potential Realisation

After a chat with someone, I just realised that maybe, just maybe people don't see me as a set of flaws. 

Another week

I went to a party on Saturday night. I was very drunk. I really really don't think that this should be repeated again. I have had to avoid coffee time for 2 days because I am too embarrassed to field more of the "so, you're still alive?" comments. I have received a number of messages on facebook beginning with "hey Steph, do you remember me...?" Answer: no. No, I don't because if we recall I fell asleep. I suppose that should really say "I passed out", but I think I rather say that I was just so tired that I had to take a little nap. 

It was my non-Russian office mate's 29th birthday today. I decorated the office (at least his part) with balloons and banners. He refused to wear the "It's my birthday" badge, which I suppose I can forgive. I think he was confused and a little perturbed at my actions. It's just, if I had an older brother, I'd want him to be just like him. 

Virtual bar

I stayed up to hear the results of the US presidential elections the other night. It was thrilling, and goes without saying that I believe that the right candidate won.

I went to a talk on "Vanishing cycles of holomorphic foliations by curves and foliated shells" today, which was given by my Russian officemate. It was fantastic. I imagine that he is an absolutely wonderful lecturer- he had a brilliant way of making everything accessible! I don't understand why I always seem to enjoy/understand more in seminars which are unrelated to my area than those which are on it? I can barely last 20 minutes in seminars on Algebraic Geometry and Arithmetic Number theory. There was a graduate student mini-course on "group cohomology" today and that was just horrific. I know the basics of group cohomology, but I (and the other students that I spoke to about it afterwards) thought it was going to be a mini-course on understanding it better, not assuming flawless knowledge (or at least a working knowledge) of it... which it seemed to.. There seems to be this virtual bar of knowledge that is implicitly assumed here and anything below this bar will never ever be explained! Unfortunately I am not sure where the bar lies, all I know is that I lack ALOT of the knowledge below this bar!

Conclusion: I feel more stupid than ever.

I spent all of this morning lost in the city, trying to find the graduate school to hand it a form with basically just my name on because it was essential that they had it before tomorrow. I returned to the institute to find the receptionist armed with a camera clamoring to take my photograph. Damn, I thought she has forgotten about that. I successfully have managed to avoid having it done for 4 weeks .. but now.. eugh .. my image has been captured for the photoboard.. and it is a "I'm very flustered , red-faced, hideous" image.

Winter-gate

1. For the past few days my non-Russian office mate has been putting his coat on the un-pronged coat-peg. I have found this disconcerting. Yesterday I cracked and asked him why he was doing that and if he was only doing it to mess with my mind... turns out he "doesn't give it a second thought where (he) puts his coat". Also, he now thinks I am insane. He gave me a sort of confused stare and asked "what is it like to see the world through your eyes?" and that he couldn't work out if I was "neurotic in a sweet way or a scary way?" Firstly, I am not neurotic in ANY way. Secondly, I know he somehow worked out what was happening with the coat pegs and has just been playing with me. I don't know how to counter this action, should I not wear a scarf, succumb to the cold and just use the un-pronged coat peg? Should I proceed as usual and pretend I don't care where I or anyone else in the office puts their coats? I suppose I could keep my coat on or wait until everyone is here and then use the non-used one? This is just a minefield of options.
   
   
2. "Women in mathematics look like horses." This is what a postdoc said to a group of people at coffee the other day. I scanned around the group- yes I am the only girl here- didn't really need to check, but hey, it doesn't hurt. I decided to stick up for my gender and said that "even if that were true then that would still be a favourable comparison to what male mathematicians looked like!"
   
   The reaction: "maybe I think you don't like mathematics that much" accompanied by a wink. A WINK. A disgusting wink. Unbelieveable.
   
   The guy next to me then said "Ahh, you strange but wonderful creature."
   
   I think I am going to stop going to coffee.
   
   
3. Turns out, I live next to a grave yard. I can't believe that I didn't notice this.