The lure of the cinema today was stronger than the lure of multiple scholarly articles on World War I and Colonial feminism. And the thing is, I don't even feel bad about not doing anything today, partially because I'm fading fast, and partially because I've done nothing but work since Monday. And really, I can't think of many things that make me as instantly happy as going to see a movie in the theaters does, especially if I'm alone, and especially if it's in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday. I like nothing more than sitting alone in the dark in a practically empty theater with surround sound and huge screens and a movie that's just come out. I saw Sherlock Holmes, which was thoroughly enjoyable, if not exactly an Oscar winner. I noticed something very odd after the movie, though. At home, when I go see British movies or watch British DVDs or TV shows, my brain seems to lapse into thinking in an English accent and/or intonation, which sometimes shows in my voice. This was well-mocked in my sophomore year at Wooster, when I had three British teachers, and I would occasionally say certain words with an English intonation. It happens after I watched Spaced or Harry Potter and the like, so I figured that it would most certainly happen once I moved to England itself and was perpetually surrounded by people with English accents. It turns out that didn't happen, and I still sound about as American as when I left, minus some changed vocabulary and the very occasional intonation slip-up. I noticed this a while ago. However, today, about five minutes after coming out of Sherlock Holmes, I noticed that I was thinking in an English accent for the first time in ages, and I froze. Why the hell should this happen all of a sudden? There are more English accents in my everyday life than there were in the 90-minute film. I think something is wrong with my brain.

Switching gears, tonight my friends and I had a meeting to discuss our ideas and plans for our month-long spring break as they stand now. (As a side note, I love all of these people: we all sat down with our calendars and notebooks and had a meeting that was, at most moments, more akin to a corporate board meeting or a college classroom discussion than it was to a bunch of 12 young adults in any social situation. And then we played Scrabble. We're so hardcore). I have nothing booked as of the present moment, but I've had a running list of ideas in my head for a while now, based on my own desires and what I've heard other people talking about. I'm saddened but not surprised to say that Iceland isn't happening this year, and neither is Sweden, in all likelihood. I plan to go to Paris in early February, which I'll book this weekend, and two weekends after that, my friends and I are going to Dublin for a long weekend. Concrete plans for spring break are hazy for me, but they will include one, some, or all of these countries: Holland (again), France (again), the Czech Republic, Croatia, and Greece. Of course, it all depends on funds and timing (since I have at least one paper to write over the break, my mom might be visiting, we're juggling at least twelve schedules, and I'm going to be travelling on a budget), but the absolute priority is Greece. The idea was planted in my head sometime last semester, and so many out of the 27 of us Dickinson friends want to go to Greece that it makes quite a lot of sense to rent a villa or a block of apartment-style hotel rooms for a week or so. It seems as though we've decided on Santorini, which is fiiiiine with me, but I hope we can also spend a day or so in Athens and see the Parthenon, since that's probably going to be where we fly into. Croatia is a bit of a random destination, but apparently it's been a Dickinson abroad favorite, and from what I've seen, it is absolutely beautiful. I've been hoping to visit Jane in Prague since she found out she was going, and I'd love to go back to Holland, maybe bringing a friend or two with me. But Greece is the priority. I've had Greece on the brain for two days. A villa, a bunch of friends, the beach, and the Mediterranean sun for 5 days or more sounds like exactly what I need. I think what I need is very early retirement at the ripe old age of 20, but perhaps I can hold on long enough and get through just so I can get to Santorini.