Back in the saddle

I am finally feeling right as rain after a long battle with congestion. The cold never really developed into a hacking cough, but the congestion has given me headaches. Anyway, its nice to be healthy.

Last night this lovely lady made kimchichigae for me, it's a traditional Korean kimchi soup. The taste is spicy and sour at the same time. There is ham and dried fish inside the soup, and a good deal of hot pepper powder. We ate it with a few big spoonfuls of rice. This is a warming and delicious meal. As they say in Korean, Jonun kimchichigaerul johamnida, or I love kimchi soup.

Of course, I am also back into the full swing of working. I have to submit 20,000 words for my PhD thesis by the end of March. This is a tall order. I've probably got 15,000 decent words on paper, but a good deal more research and polish is needed to get this work into shape. My current chapter is on the Legislator in Rousseau's political thought. I am trying to deliver a more fulsome explanation of his psychology and his role in Rousseau's thought. Taking Rousseau as a political thinker of the self, I think that only by examining and cognating the Legislator as a self, can his relationship with a political community, his aims, and his modus operandi be adequately understood.

So that's my work for the moment. But as for now, I am cooking. Making chocolate cake and then stir fry. Ahreum's visiting me in Exeter right now, and we are having company over for dinner.

Once more into the breach,

Ben

A silver lining

I've just come down with a head cold. Ahreum's flat mate had it earlier, and now I am infected. Anyway, I won't go into details, but I haven't felt this sick in quite awhile.

But the good news is that Ahreum cooked a really wonderful chicken soup for me for lunch today. Flavouring was perfect, she used a mix of carrots, garlic, spring onion, zucchini, rice, and chili peppers. The bit of spiciness just added to the congestion fighting properties of the chicken soup. It's so good to know when I'm out of commission, Ahreum is there looking after me.

The downside is that I'm not getting as much work done as I should have. I have to go on a blitz when I am well again. But that is a story for another day.

Once more into the breach,

Ben

Many Meetings

The last week and a half has given Ahreum and me the chance to meet some friends of mine I haven't seen in two years or more. These opportunities were truly fortunate, and I am thrilled that they worked out.

First, last week Ahreum and I drove up to Eau Claire, Wisconsin to meet my friends Jason Godin and his wife Meg. I have been friends with them since my freshmen year at university, when they were already dating. I hadn't seen them since August 2003 just before I left for England. Well, luckily Meg's family lives in Minnesota, so we meet halfway in between.

We didn't do anything fancy, but we had a meal all together, and they had a chance to meet Ahreum. Jason and I talked about our research, and we all filled each other in on what we are doing and what are plans are for life. All I can say is that seeing them again means an awful lot. I don't know when we will meet again, but more than likely it will be because of wedding bells.

Second, two days ago, I received an email from my friend Kuan Ju. He was visiting his girlfriend Caroline and they would be travelling through London on the way to his flight back to the USA. They were free yesterday afternoon, and luckily, so was Ahreum. So we all met at Pizza express and had lunch together. Really a great time. Caroline is doing a law conversion degree at Nottingham, so she and Ahreum had quite a bit in common between them. This meeting was really unexpected, and it has really made my week. I'm still feeling elated. I had better hold off before I get misty eyed (insert youthful and jocular sense of irony).

Ahreum had to leave after a little more than an hour to head to class, but I ended up talking with them for just about two more hours. The time really flew buy, and it was good to here how well things seemed to be going for them. However, Kuan Ju and I, appropriately, didn't have a chance to go into in depth conversation on photography. He's probably the person most responsible for me taking photography seriously as a hobby, but it would have been out of place to have too much techie talk.

Anyway, I would never have imagined four weeks ago, that I would be able to meet these friends over break. It kind of shows how the world can quickly shift from a vast expanse of time and distance, to moments of close interconnection.

Once more into the breach,

Ben