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Wednesday 8.5.02 | 'It is curious, but until that moment I had never realised what it means to destroy a healthy, conscious man. When I saw the prisoner step aside to avoid a puddle I saw the mystery, the unspeakable wrongness, of cutting a life short when it is in full tide. This man was not dying, he was alive just as we are alive. All the organs of his body were working - bowels digesting food, skin renewing itself, nail growing, tissues forming - all toiling away in solemn foolery. His nails would still be growing when he stood on the drop, when he was falling through the air with a tenth of a second to live. His eyes saw the yellow gravel and the grey walls, and his brain still remembered, foresaw, reasoned, even about puddles. He and we were a party of men walking together, seeing, hearing, feeling, understanding the same world; and in two minutes, with a sudden snap, one of us would be gone - one mind less, one world less.' George Orwell, 'A Hanging' - Adelphi (1931) Thursday 9.5.02 Mild worry as work has driven me to unforseen attempts to get information into my head. This meant that, last night, I ended up trying to teach the fridge in my room bits of Montaigne's work. Just glad my new next-door neighbour (whom I have not met) didn't choose that particular moment to introduce herself - I can just imagine someone walking in (ie someone who didn't know me - Liz or Claire or someone wouldn't bat an eyelid if they saw me chatting away to said fridge) who didn't know me and walking out again very fast. On random things, how tempted am I to adopt a roadcone? I know I've put something like this up before, but goodness me does it still make me giggle... Friday 10.5.02 Mark's general lack of subtletly and tact is definitely on the increase. Mark, having completed his exam yesterday and whilst milling around outside, talking to friends, says loudly, 'Oh look, there goes Friederieke with the papers. Shall we butcher her?' Those not acquainted with the miserable Prussian cow (Max's words not mine - bloody accurate description though) will know that she is possessed by something strange. She scares the crap out of all of us becuase she has a lazy eye, and knowing Mark's luck, this will be made up for by ultra-sonic hearing. Oops. So anyway, refusing to learn from his mistakes, Mark is sitting in the office with Swyrie last night, and, having been talking to the chaplain on duty beforehand, Mark remarks, not noticing that said chaplain is about two feet behind him 'Swy, have you noticed that Sister Ann is getting a bit saggy?' Monday 13.5.02 Goodness me, where to start. Friday was a huge relief after finished penultimate exam, and actually it was really nice to go down and do three hours' of completely mind-numbing work in the evening: no analysis, no thought, no originality required. Just tapping books into a till and gassing with customers. Marvellous. Saturday was quiet, spent most of it reading, and then went home to see the family yesterday, sorting my Summer reading in the process. Weekend ended with an amusing if not slightly off-the-wall conversation with Mich, who was evidently a little behind in terms of things zeitgeisty concerning homosexuals in the Nazi era (Channel 4 documentary - bloody interesting) - hearing about how NS soldiers would just quietly have a quick squelch in the woods without the watchful eyes (and mouth, I suppose) of Adolf ordering their arrest and deaths, Mich comments: 'But why can't they just pleasure themselves?' I tried to explain that people do have sexual urges that go beyond masturbation, and you would have been butchered if discovered by a loyal NS soldier, but she was having none of it. Strapping on her - metaphysical, I hasten to remark - enormously heavy and dangerous chastity belt, she wondered out loud why people couldn't just be celibate. Because that's no fun, Mich. Anyway, enough Michelle-slagging; no doubt I'm going to get slated on her site, so we'll have to look forward to that... :-) Talking of shagging and things, though, bloody Kath managed to destroy my childhood dreams with this - actually, no, this is a lie. I never really liked Rainbow and it is bloody funny... Tuesday 14.5.02 Spending day arseing around and listening to Two Rooms, the CD of loads of different artists covering Elton John songs. I really love the CD, and there are some stunning versions of fantastic songs on there (Sinead O'Connor's verson of Sacrifice is particularly moving) and there are also some weird things stuck in too. Kate Bush did Rocket Man which sounds like she's trying to crap a watermelon (sorry) - and Joe Cocker definitely doesn't do justice to Sorry seems to be the hardest word but it's a good CD. Off to buy the new Alanis one this afternoon, more once I've listened to it through.
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