Seafront

1. The view from E-j's seafront flat. I was really excited when we got out of the cab last night and I could hear the sea, and I was dying to see it in daylight. Magnificent.

2. Shopping in North Laines. This cute little neighborhood has some great shops where I found some bright red gloves and a James Dean poster.

3. 'Treeless Mountain', a Korean film at the Brighton Film Festival. Amazing cinematography - the film was made up almost entirely of close-ups of the faces of two young girls who are abandoned by their mother.

Xmas in November

1. Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace was cancelled due to rain, but I did get to see the Queen's corgis, which is more exciting than soldiers in bear skin hats anyway.

2. Xmas lunch with Nadia's family and friends in Paddington.

3. E-j made me an amazing roast at his pub in Brighton and then we went out for a few beers at the Hand in Hand. It felt just like Xmas day - by the end of the day I was so stuffed and drunk and content. :)

Thames cruise

1. Indulging my touristy side in London, going around to all the major attractions with Nadia.

2. The enormous collection at the British Museum. You could spend a week walking around it and still not see everything.

3. Dancing for the first time since leaving Australia at Favela Chic. This Brazilian & French inspired club/bar has a friendly crowd, random decor, and great music.

Everything Is Going To Be Alright

1. Room 9 in Tate Britain.

2. Nadia's hospitality. She's very friendly and generous and has been a wonderful host and guide in London.

3. Finding a jar of Vegemite in Tesco's in Paddington. I've missed it!

Flights booked

1. Sent off the abstract for the conference in Prague. I should hear back about whether I've been accepted in about 3 weeks time.

2. Booked my flights from London to Munich and Rome back to London! And only 80 pounds for the both of them!

3. Riding home tonight I realised that I haven't carried my Cambridge map with me in a while. I guess I've got to know my way around town pretty well now.

Discovering television

1. Three good things before I even got out of bed this morning - an email from Ochre, and the first episodes of the British comedy series 'In-Betweeners' and 'Cast Offs'.

2. Shopping. Finally got myself bike lights and also bought 2 more DVDs for school, 'Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance' and 'London to Brighton'.

3. Met another new PhD student from my faculty at uni today. She seems nice, and we're going to have coffee next week.

Bright Star

1. Chatting via Facebook to Rohan and Caroline, and via Skype to Mum and Dad and Miri, and an email from Eleven. So lovely & it soothed my homesick heart.

2. Getting an abstract written for a conference in Prague next year. It took me hours and I don't think it's very good, but I'm just glad to have got it done.

3. Saw 'Bright Star' for free at the Arts Picturehouse tonight. At first I thought it was just a pretty period film but the romance crept up on me and I was quite affected by the film in the end. Much more convincing than a romance between Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson (in 'All That Heaven Allows' last night). :)

Purpley-blue heaven

1. The sky was a beautiful colour this morning. Kind of a purpley-blue. There are few autumn leaves left to admire their pretty colours so I'm looking to the sky instead. :)

2. Ploughed through a few library books. I didn't realise there was a limit of 28 items so i couldn't pick up my reservations the other day. But I returned 6 today so i could pick up my reservations and a few DVDs.

3. 'All That Heaven Allows'. How had I never seen this classic before? Loved it - the romance, the melodrama, the colour, the campness. Such a refreshing change from rape-revenge films. :)

Hommus

1. Phone call from Mum & Dad. I was feeling particularly homesick today, and extremely frustrated with my bad internet connection, so it was perfect timing.

2. Did some editing on 'No Skin'. I was worried it might make me more homesick but the process was calming.

3. Hommus & biscuits while reading up on the potential of postfeminism as a conceptual framework.

Grease

1. Bacon & egg sandwich for breakfast at 3.30am, going back to bed for a couple of hours, then a bacon & egg bagel for breakfast around 10am. Disgusting but just what I needed after being sick in bed for the previous 30hrs or so.

2. Travel plans: a visit from Elise & Georg in early December, then I'm off to Brighton for my birthday, Munich for Xmas, and Rome for New Years!

3. Gemma's birthday feast and a house party by Jesus' Green and the River Cam.

Autumn leaves

1. Staying in bed the whole day.

2. The last of the autumn leaves hanging on to the tree outside my bedroom window. These photos are a couple of days apart - tomorrow the tree will probably be bare, and it will be winter.

3. 'The Hills Have Eyes' is not particularly relevant to my thesis so thankfully I don't have to watch it again.

G-A-Y

1. Spontaneous trip to London.

2. Getting pierced. The staff were far from friendly but they were professional, it was done in a flash, only 35 pounds, and it looks good!

3. Drinking with E-j in Soho. We left the pre-launch of the LGBT History Month at the British Museum before the speeches and went to G-A-Y. :)

Teapot

1. Cured my stress with an op shop cruise and found a few good bargains. With that pound I found in my pocket yesterday I bought a teapot.

2. Had my second meeting with my supervisor. She's happy with the outline I've written (though probably wasn't happy about me emailing her such a long 'outline' the day before our meeting!).

3. Research Student Support Group. Nice to meet some other postgrad students.

Happy Birthday Miri!

1. Phone call from Miri. I'm glad the card got there in time and she liked the present.

2. 'This American Life' podcasts kept me entertained while I was typing references into a database for a couple of hours.

3. I just found a pound in the pocket of my jeans. Finding money is always a Good Thing.

Flapjacks

1. Flapjacks. I don't know if we have them in Australia but I've only discovered them since coming here. So much oaty goodness. I had two perfect coffees today and my chocolate-topped flapjack went so well with the second one.

2. Received mail from the uni saying that the FRDSC has approved my research proposal. I'm not sure what that means, but I'm sure it's a Good Thing. :) They now send the proposal to the RDSC and if that committee approves it then I'm off my L-plates and I'm a proper PhD student, or something... First hurdle jumped anyway.

3. Finished writing an outline for my motherhood chapter. It ended up being 3500 words so I hate to think how long the actual chapter will be.

Reality Checkpoint

1. Spending the morning in bed watching 'Boston Legal' and 'Factory Girl'. Refreshingly free of rape and revenge.

2. Gemma and I went for a ride in the sunshine. She showed me the Reality Checkpoint in the centre of Parkers' Piece (just near the new ice-skating rink). It's good to know it's there - it might come in useful sometime.

3. The town centre was full of street performers. Most of them were really terrible but it made me laugh. There was a guy playing a guitar inside a bin. I suppose that gimmick might work. I double-taked and nearly fell off my bike.

Hot jam doughnuts

1. 'Straightheads'. The violence is uncomfortable viewing (especially while trying to eat my breakfast!) but I found its post-feminist take on the genre very interesting.

2. Riding along beside the pretty River Cam. Now that I've got wheels again, I'm exploring further afield. The strong wind meant I hardly had to pedal, although it was kind of a problem when I had to ride the opposite direction. :)

3. Hot jam doughnuts. 1 pound for a packet of 5 at my local supermarket. I know this is the second time in a week jam doughnuts have made it into my 3 Good Things, but after riding in the wind and the rain, it really was that good.

Hot socks

1. Waking up to the sound of rain.

2. Discovering that the microwave works well as a dryer for my wet socks.

3. Today’s sugar’s fixes: a brownie from the uni café, and strawberry cheesecake. Gemma said she thinks I’ve lost weight since I arrived – losing weight is not a Good Thing, but it’s a Good Thing she’s alerted me and it will justify me eating more cake.

I finally bought a bike!

1. The walk to uni and back is quite a hike and now I can speed across town in a fraction of the time!

2. It was a bargain. Sure, the brakes need fixing and I'll have to buy lights, a bell, a basket, but it was still a good price and it'll be fun accessorizing.

3. I don't have to rely on walking or the terrible bus service anymore!

Superheroes

1. I woke up from a hilarious dream this morning. My sisters and I were nerdy superheroes who wore glasses and went by our middle names. Maureen the Meteorologist could control the weather, Kaye controlled the business world (manipulating stock prices etc.), and Lucinda... well I woke up before I found out what her special power was. :) But us 3 sisters were ending all poverty, injustice, and natural disasters. Such a great dream!

2. The fire evacuation procedures of my building at uni run smoothly, which was demonstrated twice today. Both false alarms - maybe some graduating kids pulling a prank?

3. Just as I got to #3, Gemma came in and we gave each other haircuts. I was well overdue for one. I don't care if my head gets cold, it looks so much better!

Action Pants

1. Valie Export's 'Action Pants: Genital Panic' posters. One of my favourite works from the Tate Modern which I visited this morning.

2. Hanging out with E-j. We saw the amazing Sophie Calle exhibition at Whitechapel Gallery, and then visited some friends of his in Hackney. Such a great afternoon.

3. 'Kim's Daughters' at the London Korean Film Festival, with an interesting introductory talk. The melodramatic intensity of the film was a bit much at the end of my big London adventure, but I was glad I went to see it before catching the train back to Cambridge. And the Barbican Centre is awesome.

'I had the time of my life'

1. The anticipation of going to London for the first time - I was ridiculously excited for the 40 minute train ride here. I changed at Kings Cross and surfaced at Piccadilly Circus. The big smoke overwhelmed me so I immediately ducked into a cinema (well actually I planned on going to the 11.30am session of 'Thirst' - my morning dose of cinematic violence is now routine).

2. The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery. Lots of amazing portraits, and one in particular I found so confronting that it made me cry (not sure if if that's a Good Thing - it's an Embarrassing Thing really - but in general art that is powerful and moving is a Good Thing).

3. The cheesiness and the great dancing in the musical 'Dirty Dancing'. Would Jason Donovan in the 'Priscilla: Queen of the Desert' musical have been equally delightfully cheesy? Quite possibly, but I'll have to come back to London some other time to find out. :)

Attack of the 50ft Reels

1. A lazy morning in bed watching DVDs (well not really lazy because i was scribbling viewing notes the whole time). Kill Bill Vol. 2 and Last House on the Left remake - which delivered on its promise to be EXTREME (so i was squealing and covering my eyes while scribbling notes).

2. Facebook love from beasts back home. xx

3. '50 Feet That Shook the World', a gem from tonight's screening of Super8 films from LA & Sheffield Doc Fest, put on by the Cambridge Super8 Group.

50p

1. Walking into town I came across a book sale at a Scout hall. For just one pound I got Vol. 5 of the collected works of Shakespeare (I'm reading Hamlet for school) and a paperback.

2. For another 50p I got a jam doughnut. Seems my sugar cravings aren't cured after all. :)

3. Another DVD splurge - the remake of Last House on the Left, and The Grudge. They cost a lot more than 50p this time, but I'm looking forward to seeing the 'extended version too EXTREME for cinemas!!'

Spaced

1. News that Romana got into a conference in Cambridge. I'm very excited that she's coming to visit in July!

2. Getting a better internet connection and talking to my parents on Skype.

3. Spaced. Gemma loaned me the box set of this British sitcom and it's hilarious.

This photo is from last night - on every day I don't take a photo I'll just post a Guy Fawkes one. I've got a whole album of rides, pretty fireworks, and the bonfire...

Guy Fawkes

1. Being interviewed by a BBC journalist as I crossed Midsummer Common on my way to school. He asked me my thoughts on fireworks and I think I came across as a patriotic and hypocritical git. An amusing reminder to avoid journalists. :)

2. The IT guy at uni fixed my computer and also kept me entertained with the story of how Anglia Polytechnic became Anglia Ruskin. My computer was running so slow that I got the full political and historical rundown, which was very interesting.

2. Fairy floss. If yesterday's caramel slice and brownies were a satisfying sugar fix, a bag of fairy floss tonight was the ultimate. I developed an amazing sugar high as I watched people on rides, and then the fireworks, and then the bonfire.

Cherry, chocolate, caramel

1. My new cherry sheet set from Argos. Argos is a great department store for people who don't like department stores - you just choose what you want from a catalogue, give them the reference number & pay, then your order is brought out from the warehouse. Easy.

2. Chocolate cookies and caramel slice. I needed a sugar fix today and the cafe near my office delivered.

3. Bumping into Gemma on my way home & drinking tea in the kitchen. I was tired and a little grumpy on my long walk home (I must get a bike soon) & she cheered me up.

Affect

1. My characters JD and Janey had a beautiful bonding moment this morning. A great start to the day.

2. The number of books at the Cambridge University Library. It's not as good-looking as the State Library of Victoria but but if size matters, it's pretty hot as far as libraries go.

3. Went along to a staff reading group on 'affect' and although half of it went totally over my head, I did make a few contributions without making a fool of myself.

Cous-cous in Jesus' Pieces

1. The simplicity of moving house when all you've got is a large suitcase, a small suitcase, and a bike helmet.

2. Clean clothes.

3. A picnic in the sunshine at Jesus' Pieces.

Ducks

1. The chef who served me my hashbrowns this morning. She's like a real-life Lorraine - her innuendos are almost as good, and a chef uniform is much hotter than a cop uniform. :) The other day when I was up early, reading in the lounge at around sunrise, she asked if I'd prefer the curtains open or closed. I blushed and she opened them for me. :)

2. Spending a rainy Sunday morning in bed watching DVDs - Last House on the Left and Pulp Fiction - and taking breaks in the violent parts to check Facebook & email. I got more innuendo and giggles from Rohan, and lovely messages from Romana and Ochre.

3. Ducks. I went for a walk when the rain cleared and came across a paddling of ducks. I got my camera out and they all came up to me - I guess they thought I had food. I want a pet one.