One of those days

Well, it was bound to happen... I was bound to have a day when I should have just stayed in bed. Nothing horrible, just feel like I left my brain in bed. Took me forever to get going (had laundry all over the apt), I'm supposed to call a friend for lunch and my cell runs out of battery power, I have no internet (currently at a cafe) and can't get ahold of her that way. Now I'm at a camera shop internet cafe and realized I left my lunch on my kitchen counter at home. Of course, this is the only cafe that only has internet, but also only has coffee and tea. Argh.

Aside from all of that, getting to do research at the British Museum is really an amazing experience. The prints and drawings room is a beautiful part of the 18th century library. Everything is carefully preserved - gloves to handle any material, minimal lifting, no flipping over, etc. It feels very... historical. History in action, and all that

What I'm realizing, now that I'm in my 9th week is how wonderful the research phase is and how essential it is for historians to be able to not just get to an archive, but really explore an archive. The material I've identified to look at is of course helpful, but it's really the material that is physically around what I thought I wanted to examine that has been the most fruitful. You really don't know what you are going to find until you get there, and having the time to really work though an archive's catalog has made a huge difference for my project. I'm also so thankful for the IHR research seminars. I've seen several good talks and two really outstanding presentations. The networking I've been abel to do has pointed me to sources I wouldn't have thought about (like the contemporary prints and engravings), and I've made some really good connections here with both grads and faculty.

Ok, I'm still trying to do London fashions w/ pics, but the weather has been a little too wet for pis of people.

Oh yeah, and Happy early Turkey Day to the Americans out there. I will be at a seminar and pub on Thursday but have plans to do a vegetarian Thanksgiving with my friend from Brown (who is Israeli) and her Israeli roommate. We're going to make stuffed pumpkins, yams in rum-butter-suger, sweet potato biscuits, and dessert of some kind. I also plan to drink several glasses of wine. I'm the only drinker of the group and will have to get my ass home, but wine will be had. I'll try to get some good images of the food and the minimalist flat they are sharing.