14 December 2006

everyone smiles

My brother got into Cornell!

13 December 2006

milk and wine

I moved into the room next door with Leia and everything is chill.

I'm done with finals! No schoolwork for four weeks! No biology ever again! And I passed the French Placement exam!

I'm actually looking forward to the peaceful drive home tomorrow.

10 December 2006

lying on a bench, looking at the world

07 December 2006

the only true magic

I walk through Barnes and Noble, confidence in my stride. I pace the aisles of the "Fiction and Literature" shelves, glancing at interesting titles, straining my eyes to make out the author, picking up books with interesting covers. Books that I've read smile like old friends among rows of blank stares - The Poisonwood Bible! She's Come Undone! The Fountainhead! I know those. Even books that didn't become favorites still wave.

I went to treat myself to a new book purchase for pleasure, because I cannot remember the last time I did so. I do not often pay for a book if I don't know it's worth it. But I think I would read more if I was able to hold a weighty, colorful paperback in my hand, instead of an imageless hardcover with the coverslip removed, the library's way of saving money. I found two old gift cards tucked away in my wallet, and used them up plus 81 cents. I feel wholesome after I buy a book, like how I feel when I change my sheets or breathe deeply.

SO - My goal for the New Year is to complete 52 books in the 52 weeks of 2007, a la Julia and Andrea. I want to spend less time on the internet and more time with books. I think it's an admirable goal. I've already got a list of 50-odd books that I want to read, so I'm not lacking for subject matter. And I'm starting a month early, but don't worry - I'll play by the rules.

06 December 2006

a syllabus

Assigned Memoirs and Autobiographies From This Semester
(starred ones I recommend)

04 December 2006

a poopy day

The four latest emails to grace my Gmail account were sent by me, with a big Word Document attachment, and the subject lines read:

Paper 9pm Monday
Paper 6pm Monday
Paper 4pm Monday
Paper 2pm Monday

I have now been in the library, at this very desk, for eight and a half hours, minus a total of one-and-a-half hours for a quick walk, and dinner. Laaaaaaaa deeeeee da. It's due on Thursday so I have two more days after tonight, but I've developed almost more uncertainty about how it is now, with a twelve-page rough draft, than when I had a mishmash of paragraphs earlier today. GREAT.

My dog died this morning. I cried. I miss him.

02 December 2006

bottoms up boys, this is your last call

You can take the girl out of England, but you can't take England out of the girl. I grew up with Heinz Baked Beans.

There is nothing in the US that compares to them, and the American Heinz brand isn't at all the same. Americans generally think of baked beans on toast as strange and unappealing, but I love it. When I was little, occasionally my mom would make us baked beans and scrambled eggs on toast for lunch. I still love baked beans and while I don't eat things out of cans as a rule(except for when I'm desperate for soup), I know that I will never be able to make them from scratch - it's utterly futile, and I would never want to add the sugar and salt that Heinz does to make them taste so good. Now, they're an occasional treat; a quick, comforting dinner. My mom bought a dozen cans of Heinz Baked Beans and Heinz Tomato Soup at CostPlus during Thanksgiving, and I brought half of them to school with me.

I went on a hour-long walk tonight at sunset, and it was pretty chilly as I got back to my room. I was hungry, too, and I knew the dining hall options tonight would be slim. If I were at home, I'd want baked beans, and I remembered that I had six cans under my bed! There was a small hunk of whole grain bread remaining from a loaf I bought on Monday. Buying bread for one person is impractical, but I only eat good bread, and living life for too long without bread is so unhappy. There is a small specialty grocery store within walking distance of my dorm, so sometimes I'll walk there and buy a small crusty whole grain La Brea loaf and then have a delicious week of toast for breakfast, or a peanut butter and jam sandwich, or with goat cheese and soup for dinner. After six days, the thick crust was really, really stale and the inner part wasn't so soft anymore - perfect for hot, gooey baked beans to soften up. I tore the bread into small pieces, heated up the baked beans, and voila.

01 December 2006

i should shower but i don't feel like getting wet

It's the first of December! I love December. I feel like I say that on every first of the month, but I am really do thoroughly love December. And this is why - the end of school for a few weeks, truly cold weather, candy canes, tangerines, my mom's Christmas cake, having a beautiful Christmas tree, Advent calendars, Christmas music, Christmas lights, Christmas Day, Christmas Lunch, and the closing of another year. Lots of Christmas action. It's my favorite holiday.

I registered for classes yesterday, and I got into everything I wanted. All but one of my classes were wide open when I checked the course schedule just before going to the Registrar's office - I grabbed one of the last spots in the Ceramics class, which was quite exciting.

I am very, very ready for this semester to end so the work is finally done and the classes are done. Next semester will be much more interesting. I'm not thrilled about the two American history courses - I've taken enough American history classes to last me a while - but I need to take two survey classes before getting into upper-division History classes, and 1865 is one of two surveys offered in the spring (the other is African Diaspora in the US Since 1877 - THRILLING) and I'd rather only have to take one survey in the fall instead of two. And US History is pretty interesting, but I hope I learn some new things on top of what I already know. I'm crossing my fingers that the survey offered in the Fall will be the first half of European history, a subject I've been dying to take since I was fourteen. It was pretty hard to pass by all the actually interesting History classes like London and Paris in the 19th Century, Female Rulers of the Renaissance, Britain and India, 1600 to Present, Revolutionary America (an area of US History I really like), and Age of Elizabeth I and Shakespeare. But I told myself that those classes will come around again, and getting lower-divisions done first is the right way to go. Warriors, Wives and Wenches is a religion class that satisfies my Letters and Womens Studies requirement, and honestly was the best way to condense my remaining requirements in one semester. The professor sounds great, and we'll be reading myths, legends, ancient stories and all that lovely liberal arts stuff to learn about women's roles. Decidedly womens' collegey. It was the best option I had, and I hope the professor proves it was a good choice. If worst comes to worst, I'll drop it in January and take something else like Intro to Philosophy. And Slave Women is not at all something I want to be in, but Scripps has a silly Race/Ethnic Studies requirement that has to be about a minority group in America, and the offerings for that this semester are dismal. Asian American Lit? African-American Psychology? No thanks. At least this is a History class, and it's very specific which I think will be more bearable than a sweeping topic about something I already don't care about. There are far too many requirements at this school! Assuming I pass Biology, after next semester I'll have all of my general education requirements done except for the 3rd-semester language requirement (which I'm taking next summer). So next fall will be the first time in my ENTIRE LIFE when I'll be in only classes that I want to take, instead of those I'm told to take.

It's finally cold here, although East Coasters will laugh when I tell you that that means mid-50s. At night, it is utterly freezing in the 30s, and I have to get into the library before 7pm or else I won't want to go outside to walk down there. After spending the week before Thanksgiving in the 80s, it was nice to come back and find the weather suitably wintery. It even rained and was cloudy on Monday!