Ramming Speed!

Another rowing story for you all about a most spectacularly horrible bit of coxing. We had an early outing this morning (7AM at the boat house). We were stopped and waiting to spin when suddenly and without warning another VIII (Queens’ I think) came plowing into the side of us at race speed. The huge blade clash absorbed most of the impact, but at least 2 of our rowers had over the head crabs and one of theirs was ejected from the boat and swimming in the Cam. It wasn’t particularly nice weather for swimming either; it was well bellow freezing and the blades and boat were icing. If it were much colder we would have been rowing like this

Clare Novices’ Regatta

I just competed in my first rowing race! I woke up at some crazy time to get to the boat house before dawn. The weather today was about the coldest I’ve seen here: just above freezing with thick fog and off and on light drizzle. Keeping body parts from going numb while waiting around for the race to start was not easy.

The regatta itself was a tournament where each round is ~800 m side by side race between 2 VIIIs. The first round we faced St. Edmunds which was supposed to be one of our biggest challengers. They pulled ahead early and seemed to just keep pulling. Late in the race, however, they started to fall apart and we held it together to pull ahead right before the line.

The second round against Wolfson was, unfortunately, quite the opposite. We quickly pulled ahead by about 2 boat lengths, and things seemed to be going great. However, in the last 200m-300m our timing fell apart, strokes got short, and overall just went to hell. So we’re out, and thats why I’m back here writing this instead of still racing. At least I can feel my hands now.

Next week is the Fairbairn Cup: a head (time-trial) race. We are entering in both the novice division (2.7km) and the senior division (4.3km).

Rowing Update

Rowing is going great. Yesterday it was raining and only a little above freezing and we rowed until almost dark. I also have new respect and apreciation for the fantastic senior coxes that have been helping train us. We had a novice cox on that outing and things were… interesting. I lost track of the number of things we ran into, but I know that we never had any warning. I think he once quietly and calmly said “watch your blades” as the blades were all smashing into an enormous sign on the side of the river. We did, however, get all 8 of us rowing together for the first time, and no serious crabs were caught. For those of you who don’t row, a crab is when the blade gets stuck in the water, causing all sorts of not fun things. Here is a YouTube example (sponsored by Heineken, apparently)

The rain continued all last night, so the river was very full today. Our nice dock was completely submerged, so todays outing was a little wetter than usual. The path along the river was also flooded in places, making things more interesting for our coach on the bank.

Tonight I’m off to a boaty formal swap with Trinity Hall.

Cambridge Weather

Where is the worst place you can imagine to be in a hail storm? How about on the river in an 8 man rowing shell… 2-3 miles from the boat house… wearing shorts because it was warm when I left. I’m not talking about tiny hail either; these things were making big splashes all arund us and stung good when they hit flesh. All we could do was row on, and push harder to stay warm and get home faster. I really wish I had pictures.

Big Update!

I know I haven’t posted in a while, but hopefully this will make up for it. Saturday was amazing. I should have uploaded these pictures sooner, but I was too hung over on Sunday and too busy the past few days. On Saturday morning I took a few pictures on the way to my lectures to give you some idea of what my morning routine looks like

At ~8:10 I walk across the street and through the Trinity Great Gate

Then I go across the great court to eat in the hall (the tall building taking up almost the entire picture)

After breakfast I walk out the back of the hall into Nevilles Court which has the Wren Library

Over the Cam and across the backs

And after a lot of less exciting walking (my bicycle had a flat) I arrive at CMS (Centre for Mathematical Sciences)

At 12:00 (exactly) there was a race around the Great Court. The goal is to make it around the entire court in the time it takes the clock to chime 12:00 (About 341m in 43s). This is VERY difficult; only 3 people have ever been sucessful. Nobody did it this year. The also have a fun run with silly costumes starting several meters behind the serious runners. The other notable thing about this race is that spectators are allowed on the GRASS (GASP!) with being attacked by the porters. Here are a few pictures from the race.

There is occasionally a similar race at midnight the same day, but, for safety reasons, the porters were out in force and made it known that they would rugby tackle anybody running around the court at midnight.

I also went punting to Gratchester (a village a few miles up the Cam). As customary, this involved a lot of biscuits, wine and champagne, and tea once we got to Gratchester. Someone else took a scandelous photo of my punting with less than the standard amount of clothing. In my defense it was quite warm and pushing a boat up a river with a big pole is hard work. I will post it if I can find it.

Saturday night was Matriculation Dinner. It was similar to the Admission Dinner a few weeks ago, and once again featured a wine glass per course that were kept full of very good wine (and later port). After dinner there were many parties all around the College thrown by various professors. At one party a professor was showing off his boomerang skills in a room packed with people; only one person was hit. This, and subsequent bar hopping (still in academical dress) lasted well into the night which I paid for on Sunday.

Speaking of acamedical dress, here is what I look like at all these parties

This portrait was taken in Nevilles court.

Wait wait! Theres more. Today I irresponsibly spent way too much money on a guitar. Its a Freshman acoustic electric that sounds wonderful both ways. I can’t very easily let you hear it, but I can show you beautiful instrument it is.

Busy busy busy

Sorry I haven’t updated in a while. Lectures started on Thursday and I have been extremely busy. I’m currently attending

• Algebraic Topology
• Commutative Algebra
• Topics in Group Theory
• Category Theory
• Combinatorics

Lectures are Monday-Saturday mornings starting at 9AM (no, that wasn’t a typo. I have a lecture at 9AM on Saturday).

I have found a little time to other fun things. Yesterday (my 1 real weekend day) was spent eating brunch on the Backs, and then punting on the Cam all afternoon. I have been out tubbing twice and today had my first outing in four. I joined the Trinity College Ultimate Frisbee club and will be joining the Trinity Mathematical Society this evening.

Quick Update

I’m still alive. I have avoided being run over by any busses (barely). I purchased a very nice cycle today for £150 including a lock, lights and a helmet. I just got back from my first outing on the Cam in a “tub” (a very wide, stable boat used to introduce rowing).

My internal dialogs (the voices in my head) have picked a british accent.

Freshers’ Week

“Freshers’ Week” seems to be a loosely defined phrase for the period right before the term starts when students are moving in and “freshers” (first year undergraduates) and other new students are madly running all over town to take care of a considerable list of things to be done before term starts. So far I have applied for a bank account, hunted down an ethernet cable, picked up my identity cards and had them programmed for propper access to buildings, registered with a general practitioner, met with my tutor (a fellow of the college who helps with everything not directly related to my course), obtained a UK SIM card for my phone, signed the admissions book in the Wren Library (an awe inspiring place), attended many parties (of both the wine and tea varieties), took a tour of the useful parts of town for graduate students, purchased a BA gown, stood in a matriculation photograph (with all of the new graduate students), and become lost more times than I can recall. I’m sure I missed a few and I still have lots more to do (such as purchasing a bicycle).

Now I must go dress up all fancy (including the gown) to go to a wine and cheese party for new graduate students, followed by a formal meal in the hall, followed by more wine. Cheerio.

View to the south

View to the west

My room from Green Street. I’m on the corner, on the very top.

The Cam

The Cam

Dining Hall from across Nevile’s Court, under the Wren Library.

Path across the Trinity backs (west of the Cam)

Arrival

I this entry when I arrived, but it took several days to get an internet connection, so I’m posting it now.

The flight from Denver to Heathrow was long but uneventful. We arrived only a few minutes late (after circling London several times). Immigration was easy; the only confusion came when asking what I was studying.

Me: “Math”
Immigration Officer: “What?”
Me: “Math”
Immigration Officer: “Oh, Maths?”
Me: “Yes”

I knew that “maths” was an alternative short form of “mathematics”, but didn’t realize that “math” would be so confusing here. I’ve had 2 other similar exchanges so far, so I’m trying to remember to say “maths” from now on.

Heathrow airport is enormous. I scheduled 1.5 hours between when my plane was scheduled to arrive and when my bus departed. That was not enough time, even with nothing major slowing me down.

The bus ride to Cambridge was iluminating. Driving on the wrong side of the road was not as disconcerting as I thought it would be, but some consequences of it (like roundabout direction and passing lane being on the right) did feel very odd. Much of the signage is also totally incomprehensible.

I arrived in Cambridge at the bus station in Parker’s Piece and took a taxi to Trinity College. Dragging my bags to my room (up a the equivalent of at least 5 flights of stairs) after dragging them around Heathrow and not sleeping much was extremely exhausting. When I entered the staircase and saw my name painted next to “N10″ I despaired, thinking I was on the 10th floor. luckily N10 was only on the 2nd floor (3rd in the U.S. system) and a very nice Kiwi who lived in my staircase helped me out.

I had dinner with 3 undergraduate students: a vet, a mathematician and a physicist who were British, Polish and Russian, respectively. We discussed everything from Cambridge and Trinity to oddities of the English Language to the world economy and politics in the U.S. This dinner, like all meals I eat in college will be, was in the dining hall which is one of the most impressive places I have ever eaten food. Photographs are evidently forbidden in the hall, but you can find some on the internet if you are curious.

Finally, here are some pictures of my room with my stuff halfway moved in.

Departing for Cambridge

Well, everything is packed (just barely). Everything I need to go to school for the next year, including clothes and a good pile of books has been squeezed into two 50 lb duffel bags, a carry-on suitcase, and a small backpack. Its both exciting and a little unsettling to think that I will be in London in just over 12 hours, and Cambridge just a few hours later. In less than a week I’ll be attending lectures. Things move so fast…

I can’t stop worying about everything that might go wrong in the next 24 hours. Hopefully British Air doesn’t lose my luggage (they are 0/2 so far after losing it both ways to Budapest), or forget that I requested a vegetarian meal. If customs and immigration takes too long I’ll miss my bus. I might have too much luggage to take on the bus. I might lose my passport.

But such worying is probably not productive, so I’m going to go play some guitar, have lunch with my brother, and head off to the airport. Unless something catestrophic happens, my next post will be from Cambridge (and should include some pictures).