kaberett | Bits and pieces (Reply)

I've had extremely intermittent internet access for much of the past week (home internet was, er, internot). The connection's been up and stable-ish for several hours at this point, so I'm tentatively hopeful, but given that it's a Virgin account administered by college affecting a relatively small number of users (no, we're not on the university network) I... yeah. Not promising I'm back just yet, but I am starting to work through the e-mail backlog, so if you're expecting to hear from me and haven't by the end of the week please feel free to kick me.
fannishness! This would be much easier if my computer would reliably play DVDs, grump, but nonetheless I have done a fair bit of writing and I am looking forward to getting the current piece of fic polished & Made Public And No Longer My Problem (A:tLA, ~1000 words on the political aftermath of the first three-quarters of the show finale)
had another PhD funding interview on Tuesday; I don't think I did especially well (off-day), but I was the only applicant (of four) for that project that they shortlisted for interview, and they were interviewing 29 candidates for ~15 studentships & some of those will be going off to other places, so. I think I managed to address their major concerns, and I will hear by Friday at the earliest and the end of three weeks at the latest. Fret fret fret. Supervisor bought me another hot chocolate, whinged gently (& justifiably!) about some recon experiments misbehaving a little, and took me to the fortnightly group lab meeting which I really enjoyed. Ugh. I really want this, and I need to not be thrown utterly off-kilter if I don't get it.
I took on London buses and won. (Last time I tried London buses was during the Olympics and I ended up sprinting [unnecessarily, as it turns out] for a train; the time before that I misinterpreted the front of the bus and ended up at the wrong terminus having travelled in the wrong direction, at which point I gave up and got the tube instead and wasn't actually late for my appointment at the US embassy, but. Nonetheless London buses are a slightly hyperventilatory experience for me.)
also also on Tuesday, I met up with a good friend I hadn't seen in over six months and they don't hate me and I had been half-convinced they did, and several other times that day I managed to apply logic to my kneejerk "I DID IT WRONG EVERYONE HATES ME" reaction. Go counselling & go applied techniques.
other making-stuff-wise, I have ~40 rows of ~300 stitches each left on the current project, and then I get to block it and I will have FINISHED MY FIRST SHAWL and then I just have to hope the recipient likes it. (They've said they like the principle; I then just Got On With Making It and didn't exactly, er, double-check with them. But if they don't like it I'm sure I'll find someone else to take it, and in any case BABY'S FIRST SHAWL and BABY'S FIRST SERIOUS BLOCKING.)