school's in

the weather is getting colder, especially at night. we've also had autumn finally arrive, after a chilly august and then several weeks of indian summer in september. it's been rainy all week, especially yesterday. but we have tried to get out during the sunny spells, and i've managed to maintain my running schedule, amazingly. aerobics starts back in a week or so, and my friend liesbeth and i will once again start dragging ourselves to the university club every sunday evening to jump up and down and punish ourselves with weights under the cruel eye of our master, toney tonnie tony (don't ask me).

in the meantime, teaching is going well. i've had steady work at my regular school, and i've got the university teaching starting on the 10th.

we had an exciting week at work... pakistani president (general) musharref (sp?) spoke at the oxford union on thursday, which is directly across the street from my school--i actually taught some of my classes in the union this past spring. the metropolitan police were swarming everywhere, and the cops on horseback clopped up and down st michaels street all morning and afternoon. very exciting to go get your lunch and bump into a fellow on the sidewalk wearing a bright yellow police jacket and toting a semi-automatic weapon.

d's brother is in china at the moment, visiting his wife's family and also traveling to a few other sights. he's talking to d right now over a computer phone--interesting...

my pop and stepmother are coming at the end of this month, the 28th of october, and staying for a week. they won't be staying with us for the whole week--carolyn has a friend who lives north of london who they'd also like to see while they're here. but that'll be good. we're hoping to go to stonehenge and maybe blenheim palace, if the weather's halfway decent.

the university students are back in town, and they're taking turns walking in front of my moving bicycle one by one as i travel down the street. time to start wearing a helmet again.