Eastertide!

Defeating the purpose of my Easter holiday, I have picked today to update my blog.

I've already written my French 221 and Archaeology exams; I've decided to finish my overdue Archaeology essay (it turns out I can't pass the course without writing it, as I would have known from my syllabus if I had consulted/remembered it properly . . .) today. The essay will be about Sir Arthur Evans, who uncovered Knossos and proved the existence of the Minoans and discovered Linear B and A.* I've already finished reading one autobiography; now I'm reading a second one, which so far is pretty much like a condensed version of the first, except that it includes the allegation that the archaeologist is homosexual (the last and frequent refuge of the scoundrelly biographer of the modern day).

This morning I woke up at quarter to 11. I woke up my cherished siblings (two of whom were already awake, which fact I purposely overlook). Then we had a delightful breakfast on a white linen tablecloth. The repast consisted of mini-bagels, croissants, hot cross buns, coffee, boiled eggs (dyed deep magenta), jelly beans, chocolate Easter eggs, and chocolate Easter bunnies. My youngest brother dramatically beheaded his bunny, a slow and painful procedure. My mother and I executed the boiled eggs with somewhat greater dispatch. This year we didn't have "Hallelujah" from Haendel's Messiah playing in the background, because it's been packed into a box in preparation for our upcoming move to Ontario. Instead my mother sung some sort of church song, as far as I remember. We also had some really nice (if occasionally silly) conversation.

Anyway, I intend to spend the rest of the day according to the principle of dolce far niente, and do as much essay-work over as little time as possible.

* This order is intended to unsettle you!

Some links for today:

New York Times, Music: "Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Britten and Me"
News: "Nepal Protests Draw 8,000 and Police Wrath"
"Flooding Danube at 111-Year High"