November 20, 2008
London

I am saddened to admit that I have had something of a set back and purely because I brought it upon myself by my long walk yesterday in Barnes. It is now clear to me that no matter how improved my feet feel, I still cannot thwart their limitations. There is now only so much walking I can do before my feet begin to show the ill-effects of such exercise. This morning, it was not just my left knee that felt uneasy but, sigh, my right knee as well–and this knee has never shown any signs of wear prior to this.

On the other hand, this new knee constriction might be a result of new knee-focused exercises that my physiotherapist Megan has asked me to do. They are challenging, create a burn in the knee area and could well be producing this reaction. Who knows? I do admit that I overdid it yesterday; but it is my belief that, in the long run, these new exercises will strengthen the knee muscles and that eventually all pain will disappear. But for the next two days, I will take it easy.

I took the bus to get to our Bedford Square campus today and also rode the bus back. Since I am teaching tomorrow as well (make-up class for the day we missed during Fall Break), I came straight back home to prepare my lecture for my class on Anglo-Indians in the two World Wars. Besides, Karen, my colleague, with whom I usually keep a dinner date on Thursday evenings, was also out of sorts, having picked up a stomach bug probably in Turkey where she spent fall break. She bowed out of our Thursday arrangement and also went straight home after teaching her class. With just three weeks to go before we pull the curtain down on the semester, everyone is feeling a little jaded, most of all my students who see the finish line ahead and are pushing themselves to crank out papers and start studying for final exams.

I finished editing my Christmas essay for The Examiner and should have it in the bag by tomorrow when I will email it to the editor.

Also with Ryan Air having emailed me information about their new free tickets drive, I managed to book tickets to Berlin once again and propose to be there at the end of January. There was also room at the Youth Hostel and I went ahead and made my reservations there as well. Hopefully, this time, I will be able to keep my date with the Fatherland!

I shall probably watch a little bit of Clockwork Orange over dinner and then have an early night.