Day 43/99: Demon squirrels

Sorry for the massive radio silence - I had a lot I wanted to say, and couldn't find the time, so put it off, so had even more to blog about, and it was all a vicious circle. Anyway, here goes.

First, photos of things I saw a while back but never had my camera around to photograph - black squirrels are really common at Princeton (they scared me when I first saw them):

and there's a statue here of a boy reading a book:

Steve got home OK after spending a few days here last week, and took an extra bag of my stuff with him - I eventually conceded that Princeton's an informal enough environment that I don't need a dinner jacket - so that'll free up a lot of space for books and Princeton stash come December.

Opera Aida was really, really good - I need to go to more operas, and I'm even more tempted to learn Italian now. I forgot to take my camera, and photography wasn't allowed inside anyway, but the Lincoln Center (where the New York Metropolitan Opera was) is beautiful - particularly the lit-up fountain outside. The only real downside was returning to Princeton at 1am when I had a 9am Latin class on the other side of campus...

Finally, I finished the novel I was reading and decided to join the town library here rather than shelling out more money. It was pretty easy to join, and well-stocked, and I got one of the great American experiences: policemen with guns. There must have been some kind of terrorist scare there (the library assistant asked if I wanted to join "after all this excitement", realised she shouldn't say things that would scare patrons, and clammed up), because when I got there a policeman was wandering around outside with a massive rifle, and when I left two policemen were guarding the door.

It's my midterm exams - in Latin and in Greek history - this week. They count for about 30% of each course, so 2 or 3% of my Oxford degree...guess I'm technically a finalist.