Days in Great Britain: 8
New recipes made: 10 (Honey Za’tar Salmon with okra and corn; Salatet Malfouf (Lebanese Coleslaw); Pesto Ravioli with Zucchini; Peri Peri Pork Burgers; Pork Souvlaki Burgers; Pad Prik King (Red Curry Chicken); Lebanese London Broil; Butter-Soy (Velveted) Chicken and Asparagus Stir-Fry; One Pot Zucchini-Basil Pasta; Frisco Sour)
Movies: 8 (Jane Austen Wrecked My Life; The Phoenician Scheme; Nonnas; Everybody’s Fine; Murder Mystery; Paddington in Peru; Crazy Stupid Love; An Education)
Last intentional meals before going abroad: 3 (last catfish, Mexican, and American-style breakfast)
Stand-up comedy shows: 2 (the student club’s graduating senior show; Randy Feltface)
Requests from Cengage to reprint one of my articles: 1
Classes said goodbye to: 3
Upper endoscopies rescheduled: 1
Divorce lawyers found: 1
Being kicked out of our department’s offices for three months for renovations: 1
Catch ups with friends: 8
Catch ups with former students: 1
Letters of rec written: 4
Letters of rec not written, due to having nothing good to say: 2
Initiations of a niece to Labyrinth: 1
Plays: 6 (Goodnight and Good Luck; Advice; Here We Are; The Girl From North Country; Giant; Elephant; the last four were over three days)
Atwood books spotted in the Elephant set: 1
Avid Reader Midnight Release Parties: 1
Faculty lunches: 1
Reappointments to oversee the Upper Division Comp Exam: 1
Students I was worried may become unhinged about their grades: 1
Meetings devoted to dealing with the rise in AI cheating: 1
Wine tastings: 1
Events ruined by migraines: 2
Dinners at Nandos: 2
Servings of lamb: 2
Servings of duck: 2
Meals at Dishoom: 2
Servings of okra: 4
Lavender lemonades from the Borough Market: 2
Know-it-all Tories at plays sitting behind me who were wrong about everything, including where their seats were: 1
Plays missed because of IBS: 1
Courses started: 2
Ridiculous bus conversations: 1
Phones, driver’s licenses, debit cards, and cards about how I have weird blood stolen: 1 (each)
Phone calls to Bank of America (BOA), in which they insisted I deal with their AI on the app: 3
Arguments with BOA AI: 3
Problems solved on the phone or the app with BOA: 0
Daleks escaped from in London: 1
New favorite ice creams: 1 (soy sauce ice cream at the Banana Tree)
Purses I bought to use overseas that fell apart immediately: 1
Scary ads in the Underground: 1 (“Humans Were The Beta Test”)
Three hour walking tours with the students during a heat wave: 1
Times I found out my current assistant was formerly Stephen Colbert’s intern: 1
Getting recognized in my Oxford Wine Shop: 1
Lavender festivals in Woodland: 1
Days it took a bruise I got from wearing compression socks on the June 22nd-23rd flight to fade: not sure; it hasn’t completely faded, though it was nine days ago
Museum exhibits: 2
Times I wanted to book a reservation at a restaurant, but couldn’t make one when I said it was for just one person: 1
Times I changed the reservation request to 2 people: 1
Almost completely restaurants I showed up to: 1
Servers who didn’t properly check me in (failing to note I had a reservation): 1
Pissy emails from the restaurant, accusing me of not showing up for my reservation: 3
Direct text messages (at 10:37 p.m.!) from the restaurant asking why I didn’t show up: 1
Nearly perfect Oxford flats: 1 (no toaster; weird door lock)
Books, novellas, novelettes: 15
New cathedrals explored: 1
