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So I was writing an essay for the This I Believe contest and I was having a little trouble thinking of an alternative word for ‘slavery.’  To my very great surprise, Microsoft Word’s Thesaurus has no suggestions for an alternative word to ‘slavery.’ In fact, this is not the first time I’ve run into this problem.  Recently … Continue reading →

After a late night out with my dad (remind me to write about that in another entry) my parents and I are holed up watching movies on the couch to recover.  Lord of the Rings, also known as The Longest Set of Movies Known To Man, happens to be on. We missed the first one … Continue reading →

Once again I’m on the hunt for a place to live.  This time I’m looking for a home back in Exeter for when I depart in April to complete the second half of my PhD.  Each day I open a new e-mail from Gumtree (like a British Craigslist) hoping to find the perfect home.   … Continue reading →

Today I found out about the bomb that exploded in Hussein Square in Cairo over the weekend. Hussein Square is nestled between two important and very crowded places in Cairo: the Hussein mosque, considered one of the holiest sites in Cairo, and the large tourist bazaar, Khan el Khalili.  I tried to get an idea … Continue reading →

Yesterday Mom and I tried to cross a few (okay, one) of the Oscar-nominated films off our list before the big celebration in the evening.  We went to see Milk at the big movie theater downtown and parked in the municipal parking  garage.   A few weeks ago I wrote about a recent trip to … Continue reading →

Yesterday I delivered a talk about my research and all the wacky hijinks I got up to while I was in Cairo.  The talk went fine, certainly as well as I’d expected.  But I’m left feeling dissatisfied. I hate public speaking.  I really, really hate it.  This is a common fear, I know.  According to … Continue reading →

I don’t consider myself to be a very materialistic person.  I don’t generally spend a lot of money on makeup, clothes, expensive entertainment or anything like that.  However, there are certain items I covet that may be considered by others gross extravagances.  For example, I like expensive shoes.  I don’t mean Manolo Blahniks or anything, … Continue reading →

So I’m sitting here procrastinating over planning this talk I’m supposed to be giving next week.  I’m giving a talk at the Globe Coffee Lounge next Thursday Feb 19th at 7 PM (if you’re in town, drop in!) on my time in Egypt and my research and so forth.  I’m planning to read some of … Continue reading →

Last week I went to Disney World.  Nominally the purpose of the trip was to observe some belly dancing at the Moroccan Pavilion in Epcot center as well as another group performance at an arts festival in Orlando and to interview a couple of Orlando-based belly dancers. But the truth is: I love Disney World.  … Continue reading →