First, I finally went outside today after a long time spent shuttered in the apartment. It was a bit overwhelming; I had forgotten that I was in Berkley. For the past two days, my mind has been everywhere but here: Yuma, Bangladesh, central Mexico, the Mediterranean, Bolivia, Cuba. The consumption of books and movies has been dizzying and I was a bit startled to discover that I was in Berkeley all along.
Once I was out-and-about I thought I would do some of the things that normal people do when they are out-and-about, so I went to a local dealer of books and bought some textbooks today for next semester. I also got a used dictionary for $3.29, primarily for its excellent words to price ratio.
Second, I finally started up a correspondence game of chess with Ramon over the Facebook (not like I need more reasons to compulsively check and recheck that page). Current board position (Ramon plays white, I play black):
1. d4 f5
2. Nf3 Nf6
I am playing the Dutch Defense in response to Ramon's queen pawn opening. It's not a particularly strong response to the queen pawn, but it's different, and the game should be interesting.
Third, I finished reading The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh. This is the second of his books that I have finished reading over my long winter break, and I definitely enjoyed Sea of Poppies more, by far. But both books satisfied a longing for faraway places in me. Ghosh's writing is so evocative of his native India that reading one of his novels is equal parts travelogue and human drama. I don't think that I will ever travel to India, but reading Ghosh's books has been a whole lot cheaper and more convenient. Perhaps I should renew my subscription to National Geographic? Pretty soon, I'll have sprouted muttonchops and developed a taste for shooting enormously large creatures, deep in the bush. The Empire will have to wait, I'm afraid.
Today's Expenditure: $252.98
Currently Reading: 1491 by Charles C. Mann
Miles Ran: 0
No comments:
Post a Comment