On the fine art of tea-drinking.

I have a thing about tea. It's a brilliant thing. A basic cure-all, and a cup of tea is as full of hidden meanings as any flower or fan- and a damn sight more useful as well, since you can drink it and use it to stain paper so it looks all old. (Ah, high school history...)
To be honest, I can't think of a situation where a cup of tea is not appropriate:
-Recieve call from ze old country about two am because of death of Grandfather. Solution: Make tea for everyone.
-Friend breaks up with on-again-off-again boyfriend. Again. Solution: Force him to come over and drink tea.
-Come home from clothes shopping on hot day. Surprised giant arse can fit through front door. Solution: Tea and three chocolate biscuits.
-Bike home from university In The Rain: Dry clothes and tea.
-Bored. Solution: Tea.
-Guest doesn't want to join the rest of the family in the morning ritual of drinking aqua vita. Solution: Perhaps they would prefer tea?*
It's got to the stage where offering someone tea within my social group is like shaking hands, or saying hello. Getting the tea right without checking with the person means you know their bra size. Walking into the host's kitchen and making the tea for them is more telling than a wedding ring. The cups aren't so important (though an old friend can tell when a new friend is being given the 'guest I'm not sure about' mug) but the prep is. Ideally you make it whilst talking about your week- the hands move in the old and automatic dance, mug, teabag (or leaves, that's not important plus or minus sugar), kettle, milk goes in after the water, teabag squidged against side of cup whilst you discuss the latest mental of a flatmate, or awkward moments with a lecturer. Then you take it to them, even if they're close enough to get it for themselves. The mug will burn your hand a little. That's the burn of friendship. In my family, indeed, in my wider social circle, it's rude to make tea and not offer to make it for everyone else in the vicinity. If you don't want someone to stay for a meal, but would still like them to come by, offer 'a cuppa'. If you're on the internet, you might offer tea to someone when you make it, or in sympathy, or as a welcome. Internet tea has the same place as tea in real life.

I've noticed it in the various telly shows and movies I watch. Tea is a sign of trust and a return to normalcy. In Doctor Who, tea revitalises a post-regeneration Ten so that he can save the world at Christmas, and one of the things that Jackie does almost constantly is make tea as she worries about her feckless daughter running after (from) space aliens. In Torchwood, coffee holds the same sort of role (because Jack is American and Americans drink coffee, right?)- although Gwen double-crosses her old collegue when she asks him to get a cup of tea so she can go out to Jack's secret island by herself ("Adrift"), and drinks tea with Rhys, her long-suffering boyfriend. In Jekyll**, Jackman's refusal to accept that Hyde is a part of him is summed up in his argument with his assistant as to whether the tea is 'his' tea, despite her insistence that there is only one type of tea. In Sherlock***, or more specifically the fandom, John's tea habit has taken on it's own life- he seems to thrive on the stuff- it takes on it's own subtext, a sign of Sherlock's own dependence on John, and John's devotion to Sherlock. Tea seems to be the only constant allowed to the poor man as he's put through his paces by an unwavering fandom. In Being Human****, at least in the beginning, Annie makes tea constantly- a sign of affection towards her new flatmates and because it's a sign of normalcy and old times for her. Even though she can't drink, she's often seen nursing a cup.

Tea seems to have entered the psyche as more than something you drink, in certain parts of the world. The biggest difference is probably in America, where only Bohemian types and the British drink tea regularly- the quirky heroine might be seen nursing a comedically large mug as she considers her love interest. (Can I think of an example? No. If you can, let me know and I'll put it up.) In British film it holds the same role as in British television- in Shaun of the Dead they stop in the middle of a zombie apocalypse for a 'sit-down' and a cup of tea.

Anyway, I could go on forever, but no. I'm going to finish up by telling you a few things in my real life.
I'm starting Honours year- my research topic is going to be Richard III and adaptation theory.
I've got to start getting into applying for funding for a Masters, ideally I'd like to go to a UK uni like Oxford or King's College London, though I'd settle.
I got my nose pierced and finalised what I'd like to get a tattoo of.
Uni starts soon, which is good, because otherwise I'd have to eat my own head.
I've had to put back Operation Motherland a few months so I can go over with a job, savings and hopefully a place on a Master's programme.
I'm still drinking tea.
Watched Troll 2, which was just. So. Bad. And quite hilarious.

*YouTube video, NSFW 'cause it's about drinking pee in a comedic setting.
**Wikipedia article on the series. It's pretty good, actually.
***Wikipedia article on the series. It's pretty good, actually.
****Wikipedia article on the series. It's pretty good, actually.

Writer's Block

It's kind of sad. I joined a new fandom (I know, tragic, but what can I say?) and after a dry spell of about... Seven years, I started writing fanfiction again. Bolstered by the fact that I managed to come up with a number of decent fics, that people actually liked, I joined a sort of secret Santa affair. Now it's like any inspiration I had has just sort of drained away. I'm hoping that finishing my current project will clear the block, and I'll be able to write the nice internet person a relevant piece of Christmas-filled fluff.
I'm trying to write more- anything really. This blog, for one, for sort of non-fiction-y pieces, and then the fan-fiction, because more recently I could just sort of bang one out in a couple days with relative ease, and people said nice things, and it was good to be creative like that. I don't know what I'm going to do with the rest of my life, but I can imagine it'll be something where I'm required to do creative (or not so creative) output about once a week, maybe more. It'll be good training.
Phillip Pullman, great man and author of His Dark Materials, said there's no such thing as writer's block. I'm not sure I believe him. It's the most frustrating thing in the world- wanting to create, even in someone else's world, and not being able to. The cursor blinks at me, and it's just like it's mocking me, and there's just nothing there, none of the little rush I've come to expect with my writing.
I'm supposed to be writing assignments and studying for a bunch of tests, but I can't work up any enthusiasm to do them. It's my last semester as an under-grad, so I really should just be whizzing through them, just to show willing. But it's like all the oomph went out of me. I know that in about a week, all the deadlines will come crashing down on me, but I'm some how having a hard time caring.

What else is there to say? Not much. I've been going to uni, and coming home and faffing about on the internet, staying up too late on school nights, and really just not achieving much. I have a vague fear I've lost my wee flash drive, because it had my only copy of my CV on (I know, I know, should have backed it up, that was dumb). I think I need to get more exciting. Maybe find a time-travelling companion or genius detective. Or maybe I'll just start writing about my cat more.

Oh well, I guess the only thing to do is KBO, and be glad that I am so far managing to do one of these posts a week. Hopefully next week I'll have something a little more exciting.