This is a bit of an odd way of sending a message, but my parents have said there is all kinds of crazy going on on your front, and I know you read the blog sooooo.....
"Reading Week" is a short break we get between the 10th and 18th of Novemeber, so starting next weekend. I'd really to take advantage of being on this side of the world and go somewhere--specifically, Egype, as I've got a friend who is doing a semester abroad there who I can stay with. What is your situation/opinion? Is this doable?
Hope it was alright posting this here (private message in semi-public space ughhh)--I can edit it out after you reply.
Things here are good. Printed out and turned in Philosophy essay yesterday morning and did about half of my IR essay in the afternoon. Went and saw Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Dammit Cate Blanchet is amazing, but the movie itself was a bit cheesy and Hollywood. Interesting seeing it with a load of Britts....some didn't even know the Protestand/Catholic schism, some were pointing out historical innacuracies, and some just said "Ah yes, the defeat of the Spanish Armada. More proof that God is English." After that went and hung around in a pub. Today I've got my rehearsal at 2 and nothing else, so I'm hoping to finish up the IR essay. Tommorow I've got rehearsal at 2 again and--don't freak out--lunch with a bunch of students and a math professor and his wife who I met last Sunday in the church. I have not argued with Christians in far too long, but I'm really going for the professor. Since we change lecturers every week or two, and because classes are fairly large, you don't really get to know the professors, which I think is probably part of the whole point of university. So I've informed them of my (un)religious beliefs, and they say "come", and I say non-hall food at the cost of conversion is a price that must be paid!
UPDATE: I woke up late on Sunday. No lunch with Christians. I cried for nearly four hours. Then I told myself "there is no God" and that cheered me up.
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hey brian,
this is a perfectly good way to send me a message, (my going-ons are an open book anyways... K and I are the only ones who don't see it...) Regarding travel to Egypt, I will ask around at work for tips on ZED. Since AA does not fly directly from London(LHR) to Cairo(CAI), you will have to go with BA (British Airways) from the ZED website. Try that first, since it is a non-stop (direct) flight. There are two other carriers, but they both involve a layover at their base, e.g. if you take Luftansa, you will have to stop in Zurich. So it is up to you. I will cross reference any restrictions between carriers to make sure you do not get stuck. It is also advisable to have several reservations with several carriers, so that one can make last minute decisions at the terminal. Flying ZED internationally is like gambling in Vegas - more tickets equals more options. Since you will only use one in the end, the rest can refunded electronically, so you do not lose out. Please familiarize yourself with the ZED home page, and when you've done some fare shopping, I will have more info for you.
In the worst case scenario, we will have to buy you a revenue ticket to get you out of Cairo. International crisis and weather notwithstanding, you should have no problems. will keep you posted later.
Lunch? with Christians? And, to think, I thought that being a lawyer was the worst fate in store for you.......:-) What will they serve I wonder? Roast Lion?
My two cents....that which you can argue about intellectually is not the same thing as spiritual experience.
Also, arguing with true believers is a waste of time. If you do not agree with them, you will be defined as being "in a state of error" and the whole conversation from their point of view will be about bringing you "out of error" and into "the light".
There is never a recognition that there are two or more possibly contradictory religious/mystical viewpoints that have equal potential validity. If THAT assumption exists at the base of the conversation, then, by definition, they will NOT be True Believers or Fundies or Religious Nut Cases - or whatever you want to call it.
There have got to be better ways to find food............
=Art=
hey art, well put.
Awesome, thanks William. I'm on the goZED website now, just looking around. If possible, it would be ideal to go from Edinburgh airport, and looks like there are flights from there to Cairo. It's just a lot closer and easy to get to--although of course i could go Edinburgh-London-?-Cairo.
William, if you can make this happen it will be one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
From what I can tell, from Edi you can get to Cairo with only 1 stop on Lufthansa, Air France, and KLM. BA looks like there is an additional stop on the London-Cairo leg... I wonder if it is a codeshare? In any case, lots of choice! I would suggest planning on returning 1-2 days before you need to, so you have a cushion. Sounds like fun.
As for lunch, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Being a nonbeliever makes you a soul in need of saving, whether with a hard or soft sell. With luck it will be the soft sell (let's befriend the poor lost soul) and you can enjoy the 98% of the time they are not trying to convert you ;-)
[this is a repost with spelling error corrected!]
brian, I am currently on vacation, so am out of touch with the tipsters.
When I return on Thursday, Nov. 8, I will ask around for the best way to travel in that area. The ZED page has only a colour-coded indicator, so there is no way to gauge the actual number of open seat on any particular flight, and therefore your placement on a flight. Since ZED travelers are less than D3, or dirt, you should know that the roll-over rule does not apply to you, hence Raj's particular predicament in HNL last summer. EDI is just as well as LHR. I just thought the latter had more flights. more details later.
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