Porters

I was thinking today about the Bobs, who were the porters at Oxford.

Porters are the coolest thing ever, they are like the love children of a concierge at a top New York hotel and one of those under the bridge trolls that prevents you from passing without paying a toll. They regulate the flow at front door of the college to make sure that all visitors pay admission (the colleges are so pretty that people pay to come to tour them) but that no unsavory characters come in.

The porters also have stamps, keys to meeting rooms and squash courts, and information about everything from DHL pickup schedules to buses. I wish my house came with a porter.

Of all the porters at University College, Bob with the tattoo was widely recognized to be the best. He was really adorable and if you told him how wonderful he was he would blush and go all quiet. He was pretty much perfect.

Porter haiku:

Bob with a tattoo
Glad our time was not shorter
You're the best porter.

Low Table

On Tuesdays we have a fancy dinner called the high table. We have a speaker and we dress formally and eat very fancy food in a very fancy dining room. Last night before the high table the water turned off in our dorm while several of us were taking showers. And I mean actually WHILE we were in the shower. I had to rinse the soap off my legs using a bottle of water from the fridge which was so cold I can't even think about it right now without getting chills.

This is all thanks to the roadwork on High Street which is like a weekday alarm circa 7 am. Can't say I'll be sorry to see them go.

Severed water haiku:

Cleansing water comes,
Teases us, then goes without
taking the shampoo.

I know Oxford should be cold and wet but this was taking it too far. Brrrrr...

City of Oxford

I am studying at Oxford University, which is made up of tons of little colleges (over 40). There is a very serious amount of competition among the colleges, but University College (known to the initiated as Univ.) is the best. You don't have to take my word for it, ask Bill Clinton.

Here is a list of famous alumni that includes him:

Wikipedia's University College Alumni list

It also includes a British Prime Minister, a president of Botswana, Michael York, who played Basil Exposition in the Austin Powers movies among other roles and...what BILL CLINTON isn't good enough for you?

Here is the haiku for today:

Oxford's cobbled streets.
Colleges at every turn.
Univ is the best.

Cheers!