l'orange du chocolat

Pretty sure even people who don't speak French can understand the title of this entry.

Yay cognates!

In our stockings, Santa left brother and I chocolate oranges. They're fantastic and kind of a tradition in our family. Pretty sure I'm the only one who likes them.

It reminds me of the Little House books, where their treat is oranges in their stockings. I guess we can take a scurvy-free life for granted, as oranges are plentiful year round.

I suppose the same can be said for chocolate oranges, but there's just something special about them over Christmas.

Mom told me my grandma had scurvy as a baby. I suppose she was Depression-era so nutrition wasn't so good. Something to be grateful for.

Also, Taylor Swift is really cute and funny.

It's the Holiday Season!

Happy holidays, whatever holiday you celebrate. I celebrate Christmas, but not religiously. (ahhhaaa....)

You know you're an atheist when your reason for the season is physics.

You know you're an ancient Greek when it's Persephone, Demeter and Hades.

Go spend some time with your family, make awkward conversation, give each other stuff, gamble, tell bad jokes and make fun of each other.

It's how Christmas is celebrated in my families.

I lost a lot of money today at my dad's. Normally I gain 10-15 bucks playing with nickels and dimes. I probably lost a dollar today. And we were playing with pennies. My lucky streak is broken.

Taste Test!

In first grade, I was selected to do a taste test. At least I assume I was selected. I didn't volunteer for things. I was not one of those kids. I had to leave class, go to the cafeteria and eat fruit loops.

Well, two different kinds of fruit loops. But fruit loops all the same.

Why the hell did they do that? Are the taste of fruit loops really that important to kids that they pulled several dozen of us out of class to see if we could tell the difference? It was probably a science project for the older kids or something.

I vaguely remember getting anxious and crying during the taste test. I probably didn't know what I was supposed to be doing. I tend to get upset when I don't know what's going on. I guess I don't cry about it anymore, but I still pay really close attention to directions.

I think we had to eat both, then answer which one we thought were Fruit Loops, the brand. Maybe that's what made me anxious. I also don't like to be wrong, and I didn't know the right answer for sure.

I also remember not liking fruit loops as much after that. Apple Jacks and Fruity Pebbles were ok, though. Still are.

wtf is up with Fruity Pebbles, anyway? They actually look like pebbles made from fruit. That name makes too much sense to be a kid's cereal. They're not supposed to make sense. Apple Jacks don't taste like apples! Not only does it make sense, but it's also a double entendre. Fruity Pebbles. lol. Cocoa Pebbles.

This concludes your tour of Catey's stream of consciousness.

Cookie Day!

Today, I baked. A lot!

I started baking at 1, and finished around 8 (I took 20 minutes to eat while the swedish toast was baking, but other than that it was nonstop).

I made a dozen pinwheels (the chocolate vanilla swirly cookies, not the tarts), 3 dozen double chocolate chip cookies/bars, 79 peanut blossoms (with the kiss in the middle), about a dozen attempted peanut butter bars (they did not come out looking like peanut butter bars, so I decided to try and save it by baking them then cooling them for a few hours. They came out more like fudgey bars, and taste amazing!), three dozen molasses cookies and an indeterminate amount of Swedish toast (a little over a third of them split in half, so there are only 3 dozen whole ones left).

That's over 16 dozen cookies. My feet hurt.

I was also going to make russian tea cakes and rosettes, but rosettes are so labor-intensive (dipping irons in batter, then in oil, then finagling them off the irons and onto paper towels to dry and then with powdered sugar, over and over and over again. it's really a two person job.), and I ran out of powdered sugar for the tea cakes. Maybe some other time, I guess.

I'm bringing about half of the cookies to my Dad's for Christmas Eve, and some more to my brother's girlfriend's parent's/neighbor's house for Boxing Day and whatever is left uneaten is going to my grandparents on New Years.

I have only eaten one of them so far (I put too much labor into them to be able to enjoy them at the moment. that and a lot of them have nuts so I can't eat them yet), but my mom the taste tester said they taste great!

New hair!

I finally got my hair cut. It was annoyingly long and I am about to go abroad for a month, and I really don't want to have to take care of it while I'm having fun.

Ergo, I made my second donation go locks of love and my hair got super short.

There are pictures on facebook. Most people who follow me on here are facebook (and real life) friends, so you can just go see for yourself.

It's basically Katie Couric's haircut, just a bit shorter. And I can make it look messy and whatnot, whereas she must look professional and boring.

Today was also the Anoka High School Orchestra/Band Ice Cream Social. All the orch/band alums go there and eat ice cream. There were so few people this year, probably because so many people have finals late. I think there was only one or two from the class before mine, and 5 or so from my class, two of whom were in choir, not band or orchestra. It was a little sad. We're all growin' up and movin' on! *chokes up*

Kidding, it's not that sad. The future is bright!

Also, I ate my first solid food today. I had some soggy croutons (soggy from tomato soup), sourdough bread and a pumpkin muffin from panera.

It's Christmas time, this time each year....

Today, the Christmas tree went up.

Well, I guess it went up yesterday, but it didn't get decorated until today. Mom put the lights on, and after she left, I put most of the ornaments on. Then I got tired and lazy. She put the last quarter or so up. I'll put non-tree decorations up tomorrow. I always enjoy finagling with the Finnish sled to get it to hang on the railing just right.

We don't have a tree topper. The tree has a delightful Charlie Brown-esque squiggle of a top, and we think it's cute so Mom just stuck some confetti wire stuff up there. I'll post pictures at some point, maybe.

In other news, I love my snuggie, but hate rinsing my mouth with salt water. I am also sick of squishy foods. Tomorrow, I think I shall add some solids, like rice. Or I might just puree some soup or something. I'm not in much pain, but I'm very cautious. I don't want it to be Christmas day and have one of the stitches rip out. Though, I think my other teeth are on the rebound already. Must be nice to be so squished and suddenly have the hulky pushy teeth taken out, leaving room to wander back where they're less crowded.

The Legend of the Shadowless Sword

So, I did not do much today. I did my laundry, and ate some soft squishy food. Played some pokemon and watched a movie.

Pokemon is awesome and everyone should know that, so I'll review the movie.

The Legend of the Shadowless Sword is a Korean period action movie. It was pretty awesome. The main characters were noble and heroic and cool. I didn't really understand the history of it, but I guess I don't know much about ancient Korea. I don't even know if it's historically based, but it kind of seemed like it. There was a strong female ass-kicking character, and a redeemable exiled prince and antagonists with depth.

I recommend it. The blood was a little weird. It was red powder that burst from them like it would in a comical movie, but it wasn't comical. Less distracting than realistic blood, though.

Also, there are a shit ton of throwing stars. Seriously, they must keep bags of them under their clothes because they can keep whipping them out for over ten minutes.

Teeth update: my gums taste gross. they're not hurting too bad, though. The ibuprofin is enough to keep the pain down, so there's been no need for the narcotics.

My First Surgery!

I had my wisdom teeth removed today.

I was really nervous, but it was a good experience. The oral surgeon brought me a blanket because he didn't want me to be cold. The surgical assistants tucked me in. It was pretty cute. Then they hooked me up to the EKG and blood pressure machine. On my other arm, they put a tourniquet so they could get the IV in. That was a little weird. They don't do that when I donate blood. Ah well, the IV went in just fine.

Then they put an oxygen mask over my nose. It smelled "icky, I mean, unique" (according to one of the surgical assistants). It make me feel like a pig. Then they took my glasses away, and I don't remember anything after that.

I vaguely remember being moved from the chair to a bed. Then I remember laughing. A lot. And crying. Someone wiped my face and asked if I wanted my glasses. I guess I said no. I don't really remember. Being in my little fuzzy world is nice sometimes.

Apparently, three of my teeth were impacted, the two lower ones more so. I looked at them later. The lower ones had to be sawed in half, but the upper two were easier to take out. If you want to see picture, let me know and I can show you. But it's pretty gross, so I'm not going to post it on here.

Anyway, the next hour was spent continuing on my way home. I slept a lot. And talked a lot. Mom couldn't understand me very well, but I talked. My lower lip is still a little tingly, but the numbness is gone. My upper lip wasn't numb at all. Weird sensation.

Anyway, I got home, drooled over the sink while I took out the gauze, and tried to put in more. It was pretty bloody. Since then I've eaten mashed potatoes and yogurt. I'm really hungry. I should eat something. I'm due to take more ibuprofin, and I probably shouldn't eat on an empty stomach.

I couldn't eat at all today. I had to fast 8 hours before the surgery, so I ate some leftover aloo gobi from Chapati at 2am today. Delicious, and I want more. : ) Indian food = yum

Meltdown

I had my first ever school-related meltdown last night.

Finals stress got to me. I was freaking out because I thought I was going to be expelled for academic dishonesty and I was going to fail my class.

Of course, I was being silly, but a full fledged sob fest in the shower is a great stress reliever. I felt great today, even though I was still nervous.

Everything turned out fine, though. I got an A on the term paper I thought I was going to get in trouble for (which was silly to think in the first place, but the stress went to my head in a non-constructive way).

Now, I just need to revise and proof a paper, and write a 5-7 page paper. And pack. And clean. Those can be my study breaks. I'll prolly be up til 3, so I can eat and drink. I'm not supposed to ingest anything 8 hours before my wisdom teeth extraction.

Fun times.

I can't believe I actually made it through the week. Surreal, man.

Snuggies!

Yay!

For my roommates birthday/christmas, I got him a snuggie. And I also got myself one! They're delightfully cozy and warm. : )

We match in our hunter green blankets that have sleeves. We also pretended to be wizards for a while.

Yeah, we're awesome.

Update.... much delayed

Well, finals stress has set in. I'm still pretty stressed, but I wrote a 7 page research paper in 5 hours today, and it's well-written, so I'm giving myself an extended dinner as a reward before I jump back in and get to writing my next paper.

So, it snowed. It's so cool. I love snow. Here is a picture of my window the morning after the blizzard. That's one of the smaller drifts around, too. The highest one was halfway up my thigh. Most were just under knee depth though.

It was the funnest walk home that night. It was super snowy and exciting.

Then there was this picture that I took yesterday of one of the bubble drain covers.
Isn't it cute?

Anyway, it was my roommates birthday yesterday. We went to Chino Latinos. It was pretty fun. One of the drinks I ordered was called El Orgasmo, which is a fruity drink. Really fruity. It was served in a pineapple. Pretty fun.

Also, I went to the dentist last week for the first time in a year and a half. My wisdom teeth have come in pretty much as much as they're going to. The lower two are impacted. They're sideways. And actually up higher in the gum than the top of any of my other teeth. They move a lot and give me headaches.

I'm getting them out Friday at 1.

I am pumped.

Unfortunately, that's halfway through finals. <.< >.>

So, I have 6 major assignments due between now and Friday. I have 2 written, but that need proofing. One of them is an in-class essay exam. The others are 2 take-home essay exams and 5 1 page reflections. Plus clean the apartment and pack to go home, and to go abroad.

Sigh... ok. Dinner over. Back to work.

On the Elite Track

Today, my anthro prof made the startling announcement that we, by virtue of being students at St. Olaf, are on the elite track. As in, we will one day be those 'elites' one reads/hears about in social science, the people who generally control everything that happens in the country (and since this is the US, what we do one day affects the world, provided the US doesn't completely collapse and the world becomes destabilized).

This is so cool!

I mean, I guess he's right. We're upper middle class, Nordic (aka white), Lutherans (or at least that's the image of the college, and since we are Oles, we are the college). This gives us immediate advantage here in the US. We're college educated. Another advantage. We have liberal arts degrees from a prestigious private college, so we're (in theory) well-rounded and extremely hire-able (unless we want to work as a plumber or electrician or masseuse). We have learned all of our civic skills necessary to participate in the public/political spheres.

This is doing nothing to deflate my growing ego. I have had the biggest head lately. I am, on one hand, completely annoyed with myself. It's irritating to be around people who think they're the greatest, and to have to put up with me all the time is really annoying.

On the other hand, I deserve to have an ego. I work my ass off. I do good work. I am ambitious, driven and realistic. Why can't I stoke my own ego?

Ah well. I'll see what happens. At least I know my limitations, so I'm not deluding myself.

I love stress. As the stress level rises, so does my confidence. I'm glad this happens. I'm not sure where it comes from, but it's a good combination to have.

Maybe my ego is swollen because it's nearing finals.

First Snow! Kinda...

It's really the second snow of the year. It snowed 2.8 inches in October, but it melted. It snowed a couple inches in Northfield today. It was a lovely surprise to wake up to.

I was eating breakfast, when I hearing this whirring sound from outside. It sounded like a leaf blower. That confused me. Why would there be a leaf blower in December when it's snowing?

Turns out my landlord is lazy. Even though leaf blowers leave most of the snow on the sidewalk, his idea of clearing the sidewalk is pointing a leaf blower at it. >.< Oh, Larry...

I wonder if he'd hire me to shovel? Actually, no. I'd rather not. I'll put up with half-assed shoveling.

Secrets revealed!

Or just one, I guess.

When I fertilize farms on farmville, I make them into a penis shape. : )

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Pirates marathon

Today, I meant to do a lot of homework. I have a paper due Tuesday that I don't really get what I'm supposed to write about. It's about a book called Friction, which is an ethnography about the Meratu people in Indonesia and the effect of globalization and deforestation on their culture. That's a really shallow explanation. It's a really complex book.

In any case, I am supposed to pick a theme of the book and write a paper without a thesis on that theme as it relates to the book in 1200 words. I am at a loss for what to write about, as I generally think of themes as only in fiction, not non-fiction, particularly since I can't have a thesis to base my paper on.

I think I am just going to pick a chapter, probably the last one which is on collaboration between the different actors involved. Tsing writes about how all the groups had different conceptualizations and aims in cooperating with each other.

I would normally not take so much time explaining the assignment, except that I had just spent from 2pm-10pm watching all the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. I came in near the end of the first one. They're good movies. Not good as in elitist meaningful cinema, but as in they're a lot of fun to watch and were an appropriate use of my day, even though I have a difficult paper due in just a few days.

I was able to draw connections to my assignment, in that all the main characters had different aims and perspectives on situations. I mean, the third movie is just really bloody complex and I have no idea what is happening sometimes. Like, why did Elizabeth care so much about what happens to the pirates? In the third movie, is she now a pirate? They should have made her conversion to a pirate-identity more obvious, if that's the case.

Also, how did Will fall in with the pirate group so well again after the exchange on the sandbar when he had been previously locked in the brig, and subsequently betrayed their location? What happened to Will and Elizabeth's relationship tension? Their trust issues were never worked out (although, what is so bad about making decisions on one's own? particularly if it ends up that you only see each other once every 10 years?) and just kind of dropped in exchange for a mid-battle wedding ceremony (which, while ill-conceived and tacky, was epic).

Anyway, that's all. I also did not each any vegetables today. It was not a useful Saturday, but it was still good. Vegies would have made it better. I feel a little sick from eating only carbs and dairy today. Ah well, tomorrow will be a cooking day. Chana masala, maybe?

TDOR

Today at St. Olaf, we celebrated Transgender Day of Remembrance.

The MN GLBTA Campus Alliance came to Olaf to give a workshop called (trans)gender 101.

It was very good. It was one of the better workshops we've had. We learned about gender systems, what makes up identity, about different genders and sexual orientations. Our facilitators were Mike and Anna. Mike is has a really long job title at Augsberg. Anna also has a shorter job title at Metrostate. Both are GLBTQA coordinators at their colleges, basically.

We also had a display throughout the day. We had a tall kiosk. On one side we had information about TDOR, resources to be involved with orgs that work with the trans community, a few stories of some of people who have been murdered in the past year.

On the other side was a list of all 354 people who have died as the result of transphobia. Most were stabbed, shot or strangled. One three year old boy was beaten to death by his father because he wasn't acting tough enough a few years ago. A 19 year old gay man was decapitated, dismembered and then burned in Puerto Rico earlier this year. One person died of AIDS because the hospital wouldn't treat her because she was transgender.

We also had a large pile of shoes to represent all the people who have died. We covered it with chicken wire (mainly for symbolism, but also to prevent shoe theft).

It is so good that we had that pile of shoes. So many more people looked at our kiosk just because they had no idea why the pile of shoes was there.

I normally don't have much patience for making displays like that. Luckily, I didn't have to do anything to make it. I'm not so good with that sort of thing. I'm more of an organizer, not an artist. I put the kiosk together while Matt and Willa put the shoes together.

Very good day, imo. Nothing huge, but it was successful.

Odd things I noticed whilst on my way from the bathroom to the computer

There has been a headless piece of caramel apple candy corn sitting on our bathroom floor for about 2 days now. None of us have picked it up. I'm not sure why.

Maybe we haven't picked it up because the only time we notice it is when we're sitting on the toilet. It's rather awkward to bend over and pick up a piece of candy whilst taking a shit.

Ergo, it lies there.

Also, my Flintstones Complete vitamins are now more complete. Apparently, they weren't completely complete. The ingredient they added doesn't have a daily recommended amount yet.

I hope I don't die.

I probably won't.

Uninspired

I am sick of doing homework.

I never want to do it, but now I don't want to do it so much that I don't do it.

That's not true. I am doing what's necessary, getting papers written and reading the things that papers are about, but I just don't do the other reading.

It's homework anomie.

Yes, Blogger. Anomie is a real word. Go to college, maybe you'll learn something.

Maybe I'll learn something if I do the readings. Well, I'm learning stuff anyway.

This is a bad path. This is a path that leads to Bs.... I hate Bs. Yeah, they're not bad grades. They're just not something to be proud of and I like to gloat.

Ode to Progesterone!

Today, I got my vaccine. My pregnancy vaccine, that is!

I don't know if this is considered too personal to share in a blog, but I'm going to share anyway. Depo Provera is amazing.

I got my period for about an hour on Monday, which made me realize that oh shit, I need to get my depo soon. So I called them a few minutes later. Normally, I can get the appointment for the next day and the scheduling is pretty flexible. It takes about 5 minutes to get it.

However, there was one appointment this week open when I called early Monday morning. Friday at 10:45. That's the last day of the 2-week window. Not only that, but I have class at 10:45 on Mon, Wed, Fri.

My lovely roommate drove me there at 9:45, just in case they could squeeze me in early.

We walked out at 10:05.

Aside from a sore right ass cheek, I am pretty happy. Except for some reason when I glanced at the TV and saw a hokey Pillsbury commercial and choked up. It was about a college student coming home for Thanksgiving. And croissants. The sudden influx of hormones must be freaking me out. That'll go away in a couple days.

Ah... hormones and menstrual suppression!

Excitement!!!!

Last night, we had our first meeting for getting ready to go abroad in January.

Even though there are a lot of things to be excited for, I am really excited to pack. I will be an awesome packer. 1 carry-on suitcase and a backpack for a month. No checked luggage for me!

Also, the hostel and institute we will be staying at/studying at both have wifi, so I am definitely bringing my laptop.

I've decided to use of my free weekends to go to Venice. It's about 2.5 hours away from the institute we are staying at in Piran, Slovenia.

We are also taking a bus tour of Croatia and Bosnia. I will be going to Sarajevo. I am really excited. And nervous. There is so much real history there. Not like here in America where there are very few monuments or museums dedicated to the bad shit that happens/ed here.

There are no monuments to the genocide against the First Peoples. I'm not used to this. When I went to the Holocaust Museum in France, I almost puked. It was so intense. In America, it's easy to just ignore it and picture it happening far away but never where you live (even though it did).

The bombing of Sarajevo only happened less than 20 years ago. I was alive during this. I innocently started school, got a dog, was a kid. How can life just go on when people are being killed, slaughtered?

How can it still be happening now? I'm still sitting comfortably in my apartment while ethnic violence is perpetrated. Kids are dying. People are scared and trapped.

God, what a shitty post.

What a shitty world.

A Hot Topic

I was thinking/reading about abortion today.

While I am personally pro-life, I think abortion is and should be a legal option for women who have no other options (politically pro-choice, I suppose). I don't really know anyone who thinks abortion is a good thing, but making it illegal isn't going to reduce the number of abortions. It will just cause more people to die from abortions because they are unable to do it safely.

Proportionally, more women die carrying a child to term in this country than do women who have abortions. Right now, it is a safe medical procedure. Yes, the baby's life ends, but women do not get abortions without taking this into account. The mother and the people who support her have decided that this is the only viable option. I don't think anyone has the right to tell her/them otherwise.

The best way to prevent abortion is to prevent unwanted pregnancy. To me, this is a no-brainer. I think abstinence-only sex education is stupid. It doesn't work in prevent pregnancy or STDs. Yes, abstinence works 100% of the time, but far from 100% of people are abstinence. Comprehensive sex education is a life-long education. Abstinence works until you decide to stop being abstinent. Say you get married, but don't want to have kids right away, or want to know how to have sex in the first place!

They should have basic sex-ed in high school, and then have optional sex ed II either as an elective in school or as a community education course. People should learn how to have sex safely, make dental dams out of condoms (or even know what a dental dam is), what kind of lube to use for what activity, etc.

Just my two cents, anyway. Feel free to disagree.

Apple Cider Glazed Squash

I recently joined a cooking club. The magazine they sent me was timely, as I had been looking around for a good squash recipe and lo and behold, they had several recipes for baked squash as a side dish.

So I tried the apple cider recipe (below) with an acorn squash. It was delicious. I think next time I will thicken the glaze a bit more, and add brown sugar to make the flavor stronger, but it was really good. I also left a couple dashes of salt and a dash of pepper out, but that's because I don't really like salt and pepper. And, as in almost all of my cooking, I added a dash of ground ginger to the glaze. They didn't look as fancy as in the picture, but they didn't look too different either, so I think I did something right.



Need:
13x9 pan
Tinfoil
Small skillet
Brush

1 squash
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups apple cider
2 tbsp butter
1/4 t. cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400. Cut the squash into quarters with the large knife, scooping out the goop. Cut 1/4 inch deep scores in a crisscross pattern in the flesh.

2.Place in baking pan skin side down. Pour water in the pan (this is where you could add a dash of salt and pepper). Cover with tinfoil. Bake for 45 minutes or until tender.

3. While that's cooking, bring cider to a boil in the small skillet over medium heat. Cook 15-25 minutes. Adjust temp to avoid scorching. When there is about 1/4 cup of cider syrup, remove from heat. Add butter and cinnamon (and ginger and another dash of salt).

4. Blot any liquid collected in the cavaties from squash. Brush half of the syrup on the squash. Bake for 5-10 minutes. Brush the rest of the squash.

5. Slice in half so there are 8 pieces. Serve in shells or mashed.

A message from el presidente!

Dear Oles:

Thank you for your patience, cooperation, and flexibility during the power outage yesterday. I’m grateful to the staff who worked diligently through the night to bring the campus back on-line as quickly as possible.

Here’s what happened: fuses in the campus electrical loop blew. It’s not entirely clear right now why this happened, but it may be something as simple as a squirrel in a switch gear cabinet. If so, it was a bad day for the squirrel. The big electrical loop that carries electricity around campus appears to be fine. We’re doing final checks on the system now. If something needs to be repaired, we’ll do everything we can to minimize disruptions.

Meanwhile, life goes on. Please note two things in particular:

And I’m grateful once again to the St. Olaf community for its care for everyone on the Hill.

David

Blackout

Today, as I was walking between Buntrock and Holland hall to my office hours, the power went out. All over campus. I walked in the door, and hit the button for the elevator. Nothing happened. "Did I miss it?" I hit it a few more times. Nope. One of the nursing profs explained that the power had gone out in the couple minutes I was between buildings.

I sighed, and walked up the 3 flights of stairs to the GSC (it doesn't sound like much, but these flights were built long before current regulations were put in place, ergo, they are big flights of stairs. the third flight is 22 steps). I am in better shape this year, I guess, because I wasn't even breathing hard when I got up there. It's quite an accomplishment.

I took advantage of the power outage by eating in the caf, who couldn't swipe any cards to make sure people had meal plans because there was no power! It was really dark in there, though, so I couldn't really tell what people were serving. I just got a burrito because I didn't know what else there was. Interesting how the emergency generator powers the food heaters but not the lights in there.

Doing homework and anything useful during office hours was impossible, but I finished my test at my apartment where I still had power and internet.

I wonder what happened? I'm sure I'll hear it through several rumours tomorrow.

Childhood pro

It is a lot harder to be spontaneous when start to grow up.

I was recalling a summer evening by the lake when a cousin and I decided to jump in a lake, and did.

I didn't have to take my watch off, or my cell phone out of my pocket. I didn't have to worry about my contacts falling out, or whether or not the shirt I was wearing would be ruined.

I just jumped in. She got in trouble. I didn't.

Brown eyed girl

I just saw a comment on Facebook in which someone said their eyes were "boring brown eyes."

I don't understand this, I guess. One of many things I do not understand.

How can someone's eyes, or features in general, be boring? No ones features are the same. Everyone looks different. Yeah, brown eyes are more common, but where did people get the idea that green, blue or hazel eyes are interesting?

Everyone seems to change themselves to match everyone else. How many people do you know who have brown highlights in blonde hair, or blonde highlights in brown hair? Or how many people a few years ago died their hair maroon/purple/red? So why is it that when we have a feature we can't change, such as eye color, we are rarely happy with it?

I love brown eyes. I mean, I love all eye colors, but not because of the colors themselves, but how eyes manage to capture you. Looking into someone's eyes can be so intimidating, so communcative. How could that be boring?

I wonder if anyone has told her that her eyes are boring?

Elections - but no one will be elected... Maybe Selections?

I voted a week ago. Yay absentee voting!

CD 6, SD 48B, Ramsey W1 P2 only had two things on the ballot. The school board guy was up for reelection, but no one was running against him. And there was a school levy renewal.

I feel a little bad voting yes for it, because I don't pay property taxes. But at the same time, the schools need what little money they have, and people were already paying these taxes since it's a renewal.

We'll see how my voting habits change as I get older. I can't imagine they will too much, but you never know!

Awesome, I am.

So, I have to go to bed, but I wanted to share this with you.

I wrote 4 papers this weekend, starting Friday at 5 and ending at 12:30am Monday morning. And I threw an awesome Halloween Party that took up 25 hours of my weekend (cleaning, party, sleep, cleaning, shower). Luckily, I got an extra hour from the end of DST.

Anyway, I have to get up at 7, so goodnight. I just wanted to share that with you.

I'll do less homework-related posts. Even though I think about it a lot, I understand it's probably a little boring and you could care less. Ergo, I'll post about a wider variety of topics starting soon.

Liminal

I accomplished something I don't think very many students have. I used a word in a paper which my extremely well-educated and well-read polisci professor had never heard before. Liminal, which means transitional. Even Firefox doesn't recognize liminal as a word (it's underlined in red), but it is a word!

It might be why I got an A- on my paper. *does happy dance*

I am a B+ student (many at St. Olaf are. super annoying). So an A- is a good thing. Professors consider A- and B+ to be the same grade and give B+ to show they're fighting grade inflation. But they are not the same thing! There is a .4 grade point difference between a B+ and an A-. And when one is shooting for a 3.75 GPA (which would be cool, but I'm a B+ student, so it's not going to happen), a 3.3 is devastating versus a 3.7.

I also improved my grade in Anthropology. On the first exam, I got a C. Suck. On the second, I got a B! Maybe on this next one, I'll get an A! Probably a B+. He's not the most GPA friendly prof.

On a related note, I have 4 papers due on Monday. I have finished one of them (it doesn't need to be well written, thank goodness), and have outlined and written 2 sections of another (the prof for that class is a notoriously easy grader). I think I can get it done, even though I have 20 hours this weekend set aside for preparing for, having, and recovering from our party on Halloween.

Sunday is going to be fun.

(it's funny because I say the opposite of what I mean!)

Homage to Ol' Reliable

I got a new phone today! It's nothing too fancy. No Blackberry or iphone. It has a 2.0 megapixel camera, which is nicer than my old phone. It has a removable micro sd card, which is really nice and I will take advantage of this feature. It plays mp3s a feature I will never use. It flips both directions, so I get a qwerty keyboard for texting, which I didn't think I'd like, but it's a lot easier on my fingernails. My only concern is that it is a lot bigger than my other phone, which barely fit in my pockets sometimes. I guess this is an excuse (as if I needed one) to buy more mens jeans.

And the best/worst part: I pay my own bill now! Yay! I don't really enjoy paying bills but I like being in control of my finances. I guess one could call me controlling about certain issues. Or if not controlling, at least someone who wants to know what is going on and has some say about what's happening when. I'm kind of a power whore that way.

In any case, back to phones. I'm retiring my perfectly good phone, who today got the name Ol
Reliable. It's always just been named My Phone. It reminds me of the bloodhound in Lady and the Tramp. His grandfather was named Ol' Reliable. He was apparently full of memorable anecdotes. I kind of want to get a bloodhound and a scotty just to name them Jock and Trusty. (Cute, Ol' Reliable and Trusty.... aww... I wonder if they wore Depends when they got old?) I like naming pets after characters. My cats were Rajah (Aladdin) and Kovu (Lion King 2). Disney has too many good hound names. Napoleon and Lafayette from the Aristocats, Copper from The Fox and the Hound (although I will NEVER name my fox Todd, should I ever get one. Todd..... Weinhold? Too weird...)

In any case, back to phones (what a sudden tangent!). Ol' Reliable still works perfectly fine. Nothing wrong with it. I'll just keep it for a couple years before I donate it in case New Phone breaks or something. So far, works fine. Mom keeps texting me, because she has a lot of units on her prepaid to use up before November so she can upgrade her prepaid phone to a newer prepaid phone.

Yup, that's the news from Catey on Fall Break. Bored? Me too... Actually not really, I have a lot of homework to do, and a DS to distract me.

Bonus!

So, I guess I'm bored. I've been sitting in Avant Garden since 11:30ish. I've still got another hour and a half til my mom comes to get me at 4:30. I've caught up on ANTM and Glee. I've harvested and planted everything on farmville. I don't have any more email to write. I could look into finding art or posters to hang in our apartment, but I've already started this post and it'd be a little silly to stop now.

Ergo, post number 2 of the day.

I had a very up-and-down past yesterday.
Up: I got a ride to school so I didn't have to walk in the rain.
Down: My backpack was thoroughly stuffed, so it was atrocious even though I walked a mile less than normal.
Up: We had an interesting discussion about bodies in anthropology.
Down: I felt really disenfranchised that while we talked about male, female and intersex biological sexes, we talked only about men and women as genders in the context of St. Olaf. There are trans students on campus, me included, and he knew it.
Up: Russian politics was interesting and engaging.
Down: No one recognized my suggestion in Asian Politics as valid, and discounted it before I had even finished. It was too valid.
Up: I got my N64 games in the mail!
Down: I got a cold.... possibly swine flu, but so far it's just a runny nose and sore throat and a stuffy head.
Up: Work was easy and drama-free.
Down: I was working while sick.
Up: I got to leave work for 20 minutes to go present to the Student Organizations Committee so we can get SANRA recognized as a student org.
Down: They ran out of meatloaf AND mashed potatoes before I got to eat. Although the turkey was good.
Up: I played pokemon snap for a few hours because I had no homework.

Yeah, that was pretty much it for yesterday. Today, aside from the cold weather and my cold and lack of sleep, it's been a pretty good day.

20/20 Foresight

I had an eye check up today. It was nice. My doctor is really friendly, and she has a daughter who goes to St. Olaf, is in my class, live off campus, and we are both Soc/Anthro majors. We have never met. Or even seen each other. I haven't even heard of her spoken of. Small campus, my ass.

In any case, my eyesight has changed. My right eye got worse. It is now -10.25 with -3.0 correction for astigmatism. My left eye, on the other hand, improved (oooohhh.....). It is now -8.0 with -2.5 correction for astigmatism. (This is glasses, btw, not contacts. I don't know if there's a difference, but if there is, I'll specify)

So now I need new glasses! I wonder what style I should get.... Bold? Charmingly tacky? Obscure? Square frames? Round frames? Thick frames? Bright color? (no, actually. no bright colors). They must be big enough for the nose pads to be able to fit comfortably this time, instead of having my right nose pad dig into my tender flesh. The lens is too thick for it to bend farther even though I really like these frames aesthetically.

My eyes are almost back to normal. My pupils don't get drastically large when dilated, but everything looks annoying and warped, so I figure they're back to normal because only up-close words piss me off. As I was waiting for the bus to take me to Anoka, a cop with their lights on screamed by. And by screamed, I mean both aurally and visually. It hurt....

In other news, I have a cold. : ( So fall break will consist of sleeping and drinking tea. Oh, darn... :p

Coming Out Week

Last Sunday was National Coming Out Day. At St. Olaf, where nothing but homework or movies happens on Sundays, we celebrated Coming Out Week. Coming Out Day was created to celebrate everyone's identity, and encourage people to be out (as GLBT or an Ally or whatever they felt like) to let others know who may not have the courage to be out, that there are other GLBT people or people who support them in their community.

Anyway, we had a lot of events happening all week because of NCOD. Monday, we had a theologian from St. Paul come and speak with us about the intersection of faith and sexuality, and how coming out is an holy act. It was a good talk, if one needed faith-based support, or if one were a Christian ally. I was a little lost and apathetic.

Tuesday, the QLBT women on campus were invited to have dinner with Ellis, a singer/songwriter gay alumna. Oddly enough, we had tacos (vegan and gluten free, as Ellis has dietary resrictions). Get it, the lesbians eating tacos? haha. Anyway, Ellis is one of my favorite people in the world. She's so funny, and down to earth, and full of great ideas and quotes. For example, her cell phone beeped a few times from her coat pocket in the next room. "That's just my cell phone. There's not a submarine trying to get in the house or anything. If y'all were worried about that." *insert awesome laugh*
After that, she played a concert. It was really good. She's so talented and funny. She's a folk artist who writes her own songs. She performed one she wrote when she was feeling sad one day, and decided it's not really her most of the time, so she's going to try to sell it to someone less stable.

Thursday we had a fun community time celebration. Community time is an hour (or an hour and a half if you don't go to chapel) on Thursdays where nothing is scheduled. No classes, no mandatory meetings (or they're not supposed to be, anyway!), etc. So we made a rainbow balloon arch, 120 cupcakes, and put on some loud gay music in Crossroads. If you took your picture under the rainbow arch, you got a cupcake! It was a fun hour and a half. The table near ours was a boy scout selling popcorn. I felt a little bad for him, so he got the last cupcake. It was also Fall Preview Day aka Prospie Day, a day when all the prospective students of St. Olaf come and see what it's like here with their parents. We had about a dozen prospies take their picture under the rainbow arch too. And the Regents were on campus today too, so all tenured profs had to dress up in full regalia for a ceremony and everything. The Regents don't really support GLBT issues, so I'm glad we could come out in full force that day.
Later that evening, we had one of the first year students give a workshop of queer people of color. He was recently a speaker at the March for Equality in DC, and even gave a speech. That's pretty cool, especially for someone so young. His workshop was a little speedy, and didn't really go in depth as much as I would have liked, I guess. But he has been active in California high schools, not Minnesota colleges. He isn't really sure how much we know or what we have here. For example, he doesn't seem to know that GSAs are nation-wide, not just in California.

Friday, we had a party called the GLOW Underground at the Asian House. We used the Asian House (1) because it's on it's own in the woods far away from everything and (2) we don't have the GLOW house this year. : ( It was called the GLOW Underground because (1) There was a DJ in the basement and (2) it implies that there will be drinking. Which there was.

It was a fun week. : D

Oh, and I got an A on my Women's Studies paper. But I got a B- on my Asian Politics paper...

More Good News!

1) I got an extension til Monday on my Anthro exam!

2) I got an extension til Wednesday on my Russian Politics paper!

3) I frosted 100+ cupcakes today!

4) I got paid today!

5) My Asian Politics presentation won't be that bad!

Life is busy, yet goin' fine. Tomorrow at 8, I will go up to campus and blow up balloons for a balloon arch, and set up other fun stuff for the community time party from 11-12:35. After clean up, I get to have a lunch break til 2, when I have another meeting. From 3-5 I have office hours at the GSC. At 5 I am meeting with my group for my Asian Politics presentation. At 6 I am attending a Queer People of Color workshop.
After that I am free to finish up details on my presentation and work on my paper proposal with annotated bibliography that's due Sunday night. It's an early night for me! I will get home before 9!

Good News!

1) I saw Ellis (a fantastic musician and Ole alum) perform this evening. Always amazing.

2) I just baked 100+ cupcakes in a giant oven!

3) Meredith the chicken is home! She was roosting on my neighbors deck! She's alive! : D Happy!

4) I get paid tomorrow!

5) I've lost 1 pants size since coming back to school. I mean, I'm not obsessive over my weight (I have actually gained pounds since coming back, according to the doc's scale), but I like being healthy, and since I've lost inches but not weight, I'm taking that as a sign of being healthy.

Busy busy busy

If you have noted the absence of these "daily" posts, I'm sorry. I get very busy, and every minute of potential sleep at night is precious. I suppose I could update from the school computers. I'll try it sometime.

I have been busy, but next week is the Week of Complete Crap. It is Coming Out Week, which means I'll be busy baking and blowing up balloons and decorating hallways and attending events and cooking dinner and tabling and doing all the little things that together equal about 35 hours of unpaid labor in 2 weeks just for Coming Out Week. So far I've put in about 5 hours just for tabling. Tomorrow I spend a couple hours buying stuff, and Sunday I spend a couple hours decorating the hallway. Plus about 5 hours spent planning events prior to this.

Monday I work in the morning, have 4 classes, will spend a couple hours making buttons, then we have our first event, which is a dinner lecture on faith and sexuality by a local theologian.

Tuesday I work in the morning and the afternoon, with tabling for 2 hours, then I go to cook dinner for a QLBT women and females potluck with Ellis that night, then go to make sure Ellis has everything she needs for her concert that night at 8. At some point, we'll also be baking about 200 cupcakes.

Wednesday, I have 4 classes, then an hour later I work for 3 hours. After work I will frost the cupcakes and blow up balloons for a couple hours

Thursday morning I am putting together a balloon arch, which includes finishing blowing up balloons, and getting other stuff ready for the Community Time Celebration, then having the Community Time Celebration and cleaning up after. I have GSC office hours for 2 hours, then tabling for 2 hours after that, then a GSC meeting.

And Friday, I have 4 classes, with 1 paper due, 1 take home exam with 4 short essays and a group project presentation. I also have a research paper proposal due the next Sunday, complete with annotated bibliography. Then we're having a party for Coming Out Week.

In addition, I also have a full reading load every day except Friday, when I only have to read 2 long chapters and 6 short chapters.

And Brigit and I are meeting with the new advisor for our new club.

I would put in a well-deserved (imo) "FML" but I think I'll have fun. I might just ask for an extension on my Russian Politics paper. That'd make it a lot less stressful!

Cultural Differences

You know how sometimes when someone says a word that can be considered dirty and you giggle?

I wonder if French people giggle at Americans because we say "Dur..." (duh).

Dur = hard in French.

I would giggle if I overheard a tourist say "Uh.. hard!"

On another note: French doesn't have a word for 'gender' the way we use it here. They just use sex for both the social and biological aspects of gender/sex. It's very limiting for non-heteronormative people. But I suppose if a need arises for a new definition, it will be created. Like gender was in English.

Red Rover

Tonight was the Political Awareness Committee's Fall Speaker. This year, the speaker was Karl Rove. Oooh! Controversial figure! They reserved the Skoglund Gymnatorium for the Fine Arts so they could get enough seating for everyone. (Side note: Skoglund is just a gym, but it fits the most people of anywhere on campus, so it's used frequently for music events, hence the nickname).

I was expecting the event of the year. I guess it was pretty remarkable. Hundreds of students waited in line outside Skoglund in the rain for a good seat. I think several hundred probably didn't come because of the rain. This behavior is typical of Oles. It must be a remarkable event for people to (1) walk down to Skoglund for an event and (2) walk and stand in the rain for it.

As I was huddled under a nice music major's umbrella and we were slowly trudging to the entrance, I saw a figure in red and white run toward the building, something smoking in hand.

"Oh god," I thought, "Now they're just going to cancel the event. Some stupid kids gotta play terrorist for Karl Rove."

Surprisingly, they just threw the smoke bomb back outside, and kept letting people in.

I got in, took my seat next to KT, and prepared for the fun. Then there was a disturbance behind us. The same red and white figure was now laying on the ground, blood coming from his mouth, not moving. The security guard just started at him, and beckoned some EMTs over. Then they all stood staring at him. Then an officer picked him to his feet and marched him outside. I think he was trying to protest the violence that has come about as a result of Karl Rove's influence, but I think he was a little high so it didn't really come out the way I think he intended. The blood was fake, by the way. Some people, including me, applauded him as he was marched out. KT glowered at me. I think it takes a lot of guts to do something like that, especially at St. Olaf where Minnesota Nice is not only encouraged but institutionalized. I frown on the smoke bomb, but exhibiting your message in a non-verbal form is a unique gift that not many people can pull off, including Reed.

Anyway, Karl Rove eventually started speaking. He spent a long time talking about being Norwegian and Lutheran. The beginning of the speech was directed at the stereotypical St. Olaf students, being as we're a Lutheran and Norwegian school. I don't think he realizes that many of us are not Lutheran or Norwegian. Anyway, then he got into his talking points about healthcare. There was much recitation of the Republican standpoint on health care. It wasn't really anything we don't hear every day now that health care is the biggest issue in politics right now.

It wasn't until the Q&A portion that things got really interesting. (I mean, the health care debate is interesting, but not when only one side is presented and it's a side that's been repeated hundreds of times in the media and town hall debates). Questions were written on note cards, collected by SGA volunteers and then selected by lottery, moderated and read by PAC people. There were questions asking him to defend his role in the war on Iraq, his election tactics, etc.

There was a lot of question evading and more talking points being recited. A lot of facts cited that we've all heard before that don't represent the whole of the issue. The best moment of the night, however, was when someone asked about whether or not another Reagan figure would come to the Republican party, and someone shouted behind us "It's the Second Coming of Reagan!" Pretty sure we laughed at that for over a minute. : )

By the experience, I am satisfied. By the talk itself, not so much. I guess I was expecting new and innovative ideas to be addressed in his speech, but it wasn't anything really challenging.

New Job!

I started Job numero dos today.

I should really start learning to speak Spanish.

My second job is a tutor position for Northfield Public Schools. Monday and Tuesday mornings I go to Greenvale Park Elementary and tutor 3rd and 2nd graders in math. The Monday class, the 3rd graders, is a Compenearos class, which means it's a Spanish immersion class. Language arts are taught in English, but science, math, social studies are all taught in Spanish. Ergo, I must learn to say 'Cinco mas tres son ocho.' Except, the 3rd graders are learning long addition and subtraction, time changes, and will start to learn their multiplication tables this year. I've already exhausted the extent of my math in Spanish with simple addition. I don't remember how to count above 10. I don't know how to say 'minus' or 'times.' I do know how to say 'Que hora?' in my broken Spanish so they can tell me what time it is on the paper. Hopefully I'll pick it up pretty quickly. Or at least have the 3rd graders help me interpret. Or the teacher, as he speaks English just as much as he speaks Spanish, but he is supposed to speak more and more Spanish as the year progresses.

Luckily, my other classes are not taught mostly in Spanish. My 2nd grade math is taught in English. My 6-8th grade learning disabilities math is taught in English. The after-school homework help is taught in English, unless the student I am working with needs language help or has poor English skills.

In other news, I kind of want a wheelbarrow. I don't need it yet (not til this summer maybe, if even then), but it would be pretty fun. I'd be like Nicole on ANTM who used to bring a rusty wheelbarrow to school instead of a backpack.

Wedding Bells and Bongos

I had a good weekend. Friday afternoon I hopped on the Northfield Metro Express. That took me to the airport, where I got on the light rail and headed downtown. I walked across the river (Like Jesus, you ask? No, there was a bridge involved) and went to meet Mom at the Picosa nightclub, where there was a live salsa band playing. We didn't do any dancing, but I certainly enjoyed watching everyone else dance. The best dancers there were Eugene the bouncer and the hostess. They were really happy to be dancing, and it seemed they danced together a lot while working. She also danced with a couple of the regulars and the dance instructor while Eugene was making the rounds, but she seemed to be more comfortable dancing with Eugene. It was fun.

The next morning, I got up and went to Anoka to catch the 852 to downtown Minneapolis again, this time to meet my brother at 4th st and 1st Ave. However, he went to 4th st and 1st ave on the other side of the river. Havoc. It took us about an hour and a half to find each other. Anyway, we then headed to my dads house, stopping at Dunn Bros to use their wifi, then the liquor store so I could buy some champagne for Dads and CVS so brother could pee.

Then we went to Dad's and Stepmom's (oh man, she's no longer Dad's Whatever!) for their wedding. It was a nice backyard ceremony, about 20 people there. Their pastor was a bit of a weirdo. They found him on the internet... Anyway, the ceremony was good. They were both a bit nervous. Dad talked really fast and Stepmom messed up and laughed a lot. She acts drunk when she's nervous. Dad gets really serious when nervous.

After the ceremony, everyone had lunch and drank a lot and there was a bonfire and a lot of cigarettes and stories and catching up. I saw friends of Dad's I haven't seen since I was a little kid. Brother and I talked to our new Grandma and Uncle and Aunt. The bees were everywhere, but no one got stung. Brother and I decided we should leave soon when Big Joe and Dad started pretending to make out. Usually it's Dad's twin who pretends to make out with Dad, but he's been sober for 8 months. Kudos to you Uncle Gray! Keep it up!

What an Awkward Relationship

Today when I was getting dressed, I pulled a random t-shirt out of the drawer and put it on.

I should think about what I'm wearing to class. The t-shirt on top of the pile on the right was my VDay t-shirt.

My cute little Japanese polisci prof asked my about it at the end of class. "What is VDay stand for? Is it Valentine's Day?"

I stood there awkwardly, the rest of class was also standing there awkwardly. "Um. It actually stands for Vagina Day..."
"WHAT? Why?" She was shocked and amused.
"It's a movement to stop violence against women."
"But why vaginas?"
"I guess female anatomy is usually portrayed as negative and weak, so they use vaginas to empower women through reclaiming their anatomy." I started inching toward the door, desperate to escape the conversation and to get to my next class which is an 8 minute walk away and I had 9 minutes left before class started.
"There's isn't a DickDay is there? You always tell me the weirdest words!"

She was, of course, referring to the week before, where in a discussion about gender presentation, I mentioned the genderfuck movement (a movement that intentionally challenges social ideas of gender through gender presentation and behavior). She was also shocked and amused at that.

It's probably a good thing she's not a traditional Japanese woman. She is in her 30s and doesn't want to get married and have kids, which she seems to be struggling with a bit. I think she feels pressured to be a mother, but she doesn't want to be and she feels guilt because of it.

Once in a lifetime!

I am so proud of myself.

Tonight, for the first time since I can remember, I finished my homework. All of my reading, done. All my writing assignments, done. All my latework, done. All by 6pm.

How did this happen?

I don't get it. I worked even less diligently than I normally do (farmville is distracting). I had just as much work to do. I got caught up on latework on Friday, I guess, but I still had my usual 100+ pages to read. I was done by 6.

Maybe it's because my roommate was working most of the day. : )

A Lack of Language

I wish I spoke Spanish. At home, there were very very few people who spoke Spanish as their first language. If I heard it, it was a high school student speaking it to their friends with an atrocious accent. Ergo, I chose to learn French in school.

I wish I had taken both. I am glad I know some French, but 90% of my neighbors and many of my coworkers speak Spanish as their first language. Most speak English well, but prefer to speak in Spanish. Much of the time, I can hear their conversations that they have outside because my windows are open. The only people I can understand are the two girls who play double dutch in the parking lot, because their chant is in English.

One of them was very upset today, though. I would put her at 11 or 12 (that age...). I was coming back upstairs from bringing out the recycling and she came down the stairs sobbing with a bag of garbage. I'm guessing she didn't want to take it out and her mom made her. She rushed by so fast, I didn't get a chance to ask if she was all right. She's the oldest of three kids, from what I can tell. I think they live with their grandma?

I should probably just talk to them when I see them. Haha. I am sounding like a creep-o. I'm really not, I swear. If I was, I'd know where the cute man lives. I've only seen him in the laundry room.

Good times

Tonight, I enjoyed a leisurely evening. I watched some tv online, made dinner and put a movie in, resigned but not disappointed that my Friday evening would be spend alone. To my surprise, two of my friends called to see if they could come over.

So they popped over for a few hours and we played Mario Party on the N64. Apparently we're not very good at it. We lost to the computer every time. I'm good at a couple of the mini games, but not many. I came in last overall every time, although that made for entertaining endings where I got carried away by a fish or a cloud thing.

Also, the application on Facebook known as Farmville is addicting! I just added it this afternoon and I can't stop! : )

An experience with the uncanny

It's really not that uncanny, but today I was walking along enjoying my day, admiring myself in the mirrors I passed.

I couldn't get it. Why was I looking so different today? Was it my hair? No, my hair was normal, just a little straighter than normal. My legs? No, those jeans aren't my good ones. Hm... It must be the shirt I'm wearing.

When did I get this shirt? It's nice, flattering.

Hm...

My shirt was on backwards...

Well shit. Why does it look so good when it's on wrong? It looks fine normally, but it looks really good backwards.

Uncanny.

What a weird night

I had a very strange evening.

As I headed up to campus for meetings, I decided to take a wooded path behind Ellingson that a friend told me about. As I walked up the nice, cool path, I heard some shouted voices and some stomping. As I got closer, a few dozen men ran toward me wearing nothing but teeny tiny running shorts. It was mildly entertaining. Then I kept walking, and there was one lagging behind, taking a piss. That made me giggle.

Then it was relatively normal for a while, went to the poster sale, ate some dinner, etc. Then I went to the library to print a reading and I checked my email to make sure my work orientation started at 6:30. It didn't. It started at 6. I looked at the clock. It was 6. Shit. I booked it to the CEL, and made it there in 3 minutes. Not too late, but now the meeting was going to end at 7:30, not 7 as I had thought.

I had a SANRA meeting at 7. Well, I was gonna be late for that now. So I got the meeting late, and I felt a little confused the whole time. After SANRA, we had the first GLOW meeting of the year. Around 60 people came. We normally have around 10 people. We played Shuffle-Your-Butt, and talked about GLOW.

Then I started walking home, and I ended up walking PDA home. PDA is President David Anderson, the president of St. Olaf. He's very intimidating. We chatted politely, but it was rather awkward. He doesn't really support GLOW very much.

Then I turned the corner, and a guy got off his bike, and the pedal fell off. Apparently I am normal because I don't carry a wrench around at 10 pm.

It was an interesting night, full of strange encounters and odd moments.

Alienation

I am not a typical St. Olaf student. But in many ways, I am.

I shall rephrase: I am not the stereotypical St. Olaf student, but in many ways, I am.

Many professors, when speaking about St. Olaf students, generalize the student body to be a white, Christian, heterosexual middle-upper class dependent who eats in the Caf 2-3 times a day, lives in a dorm and is in a organization or a sport and sings well and wants to make the world a better place and will marry another Ole.

I've realized this stereotype exists more and more as I realize how few people actually fit that stereotype. It's not only professors, but students, alums, the general public all perpetuate it. There's nothing wrong with a person like that, but it simply isn't representative of the people at St. Olaf. Many Oles are at least a few of these things. I am white, a dependent and an org-involved idealist.

So far, I've had 8 classes, and in 4 of those classes so far, the professor has assumed everyone lives on campus. While 98% of Oles live on campus, only 75% of seniors do. I have quite a few juniors and seniors in my classes, so it's a little odd that profs assume we all live on campus.

Anyway, to get to the point: I feel a little alienated. I feel just as involved with campus as before (except I don't get to vote in Hall Council elections, which I don't care at all about), but I feel like I am somehow different in the eyes of Olaf Society. I am not a regular Ole. I never was, but I started off not being a regular Ole, and now it's different because I'm less regular (decaf?) than before. I am much happier living off campus, but it's still an odd feeling.

Maybe it's because I don't have a sense of community here at the apartments that I had before in the Alphabet House. Maybe I should learn Spanish and start watching soccer. I'd fit in then. : )

ANTM

"I have one picture in my hands. This picture represents the one who will stay in the competition to become America's Next Top Model..."

This is one of my favorite TV shows. I also like The Office and LOST a lot. I have seen every ANTM episode. It's such an interesting, entertaining show. I have absolutely no interest in fashion, and very little sense of it. Maybe the narcissist in me is jealous of these young women who get to have pictures taken of them a lot. I know I will never be one of these women (unless I go up or down 6 sizes for some reason), but they're so fascinating. Most of them are normal people who decided to try out. They're all beautiful, but not classically so. They have unique features, such as large eyes, small foreheads, etc. that make them unusually beautiful. It's fascinating.

The show doesn't really perpetuate stereotypes either. Women with eating disorders are not allowed on the show (or are taken off the show and provided with help), and many of the contestants don't fit the stereotype of a model. There have been a few Ivy Leaguers and many other college graduates. Some are mothers, some are transgender or gay, others are blind, epileptic, burn victims or have Asperger's. Many are just really odd. There are always a few nutjobs per cycle. I think part of it is to make the cycle interesting, and part because models with personality impress Tyra more.

Tyra is pretty awesome. She's like Oprah, only not as great as Oprah (yet?). I have a lot of respect for those two. They do great things for young girls and women. I don't think Oprah can be replaced by Tyra, but Tyra is still pretty awesome.

It's my birthday!

Today I turned 21. : )

It was a pretty uneventful day, aside from the plethora of facebook notifications and random well-wishes via phone, text and hallway run-ins. It was the co-curricular fair today (the day people can walk around and sign up for organizations), and I'm a leader in three organizations, so I was pretty busy.

I chilled at the apartment til 12:30, when I went and made buttons for a few hours. Cute gay buttons that say "I can't even think straight!" "Closets are for clothes. Really fabulous clothes." and "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" We made probably 250 buttons.

Then I tabled for the Gender and Sexuality Center for the most of the time, but I tabled GLOW! for the last half hour. I also stopped by the newly created SANRA (Society of Atheists, NonReligious and Agnostics), of which I am VP. We made it last night via email. : ) Hopefully it lasts longer than Atheist and Agnostic Society (AAS), which died pretty much when it was born two years ago.

Then my friends and I went to Hogan Bros and got my free hoagie and soda. I gave the soda to Katie and bought a beer. It was gross, but it's my 21st birthday and Hogan Bros serves beer. Then we walked around The Defeat of Jesse James Days and played games and ate fair food.

Now I'm gonna finish homework and watch ANTM. : )

First Day of Class

Today was our first day of class. I got up at 8am, and packed a lunch and breakfast and headed up the hill. I got my free birthday cookie from the Cage (I wasn't planning on being on campus tomorrow, my birthday, but it turns out I will), and ate breakfast and read the paper. I checked my email and hung out with Katie during Chapel.

After that relaxing morning, I took the plunge and am now in the full swing of school and all the hectic activities that go with it. 10:45 I have Anthropologic Theory, which seems like a fun and interesting class. At 11:50 I have Russian and Eurasian Politics, which also seems like an interesting class. At 12:55 I have Women in Politics in Asia, which I think will be a very different Political Science class than any other I have taken. At 2 I have Intro to Women's Studies, which will be fun and exciting and relaxing.

All of my professors are amazing. Tom Williamson, my Anthro prof, is a favorite of most students of the department. This is my first class with him. He seems really awesome. We listened to a clip of "This American Life" about talking to kids. He is funny and easy to listen to.

John Patrick Dale (MCKA Paddy Dale) is from Liverpool, went to Essex and the University of Moscow and started teaching at St. Olaf with a focus in Soviet Politics in 1988. Bad timing. So he switched his focus to Russian and Russian satelites politics, and have focused on Central Europe as well. He is so entertaining and endearing. He is the prof leading the trip abroad I am doing in January to Croatia, Bosnia and Slovenia.

Nanaho Hanada is the new visiting professor for the political science department. She's from Japan, but she went to college in Montana and Ohio. Her hometown, Osaka, has 8 million people. The colleges in Montana, Ohio and Minnesota do not. She is super cute and peppy. And humble. She laughed at herself endearingly. "I was a gymanast. What happened to me?"

Nancy Thompson is such an endearing weirdo. She giggles at seemingly random moments (she giggled at the spelling of my name, for example). She says really weird things in really weird ways. I like her. She's an art history professor, if that helps explain anything. Her hair is fuzzy and unkempt and her glasses are thick and her clothes seem to just happen to be there, like she doesn't even notice them.

Anyway, after classes, I ran down Thorson hill and home to meet Chris, the guy who installed our internet. Turns out the internet cable got ruined when they replaced the sod and sidewalks, so they've laid a cable for us today and will come back and bury it next week. We are getting my new modem and router (free after rebate!) in the mail soon, so we can return the rental.

Then I ran back up the hill for a GLOW coordinator meeting, and am now waiting for the GSC leaders meeting.

Yay busy school!

My Summer of Love and The History Boys

In the boredom at my apartment from having neither TV nor internet yet (I didn't even bring reading books!), I have been watching movies. It's a very nice evening activity. I suppose I could play N64 when I run out of movies, but our internet is getting hooked up Wednesday afternoon. Which is the night the new cycle of ANTM premieres, so we damn well better have TV!

Anyway, My Summer of Love is a fantastic movie. It's about 2 young British women who are on school holiday and meet, and find, in each other, escape from their live. Tamsin is a rich girl who wants excitement and to be away from her family. Mona is a poor girl who wants to get away from her born-again brother. It gets pretty f-ed up. It sounds like a love story where they will be devoted to each other until family tears them apart, but they tear themselves apart.

The History Boys is a British film about getting into Oxford. A group of 8 young men get excellent marks on their exams, and spend an extra semester preparing for their entrance exams and interviews. The characters are interesting and deep (and hormonal), the dialogue witty and meaningful and smart. If you have trouble following fast dialogue, you will be bored. If you need action in the movies you watch, you will be bored. If you like learning, or at least appreciate education, you will enjoy it.

A surprise!

Well, as I walked to Fireside to check my mail today between work shifts, I ran into my friend Mathmat (his name it Mat, he's good at math). He is a JC in in Mohn (the awkward dorm, in both name and aesthetics) this year. He somehow got the information that one of my classes had been canceled!

Thanks for letting us know, Registrar.

So, now I think I will be able to add that Statistics concentration! Golly! Am I overambitious? Or do I just like to get credit for majors that apply to me for classes I would take anyway?

If the prof allows me to add the class, I will take Statistical Modeling instead of The Arab World (my prof didn't get her work visa approved, so she is stuck at home in Jordan instead of teaching us in Minnesota). Stats 272 allows me to take Research Design next spring, and 2 other classes my senior year. I just have to talk to her and see if my AP Calc credits count toward Calc 1 in the concentration.

~~~~EDIT~~~~~
The class has a long waiting list. I guess I shall take a political science class instead: Women in Politics in Asia. Never mind, no stats concentration...

Work work work

Today, I woke up at 5:05.

It was really early. My weekend newspaper wasn't even delivered yet! I got up before the newspaper was delivered. I don't think I've ever done that before.

I got ready, and took a brisk walk to school (it's a 15 minute brisk walk while cutting through the football field, which may not actually take any time off. I slowly strolled up to campus in 22 minutes yesterday). It was still dark and very cool, but not cold.

I got inside Buntrock and oh man, it was so warm! I just broke out in a sweat, and had to wipe my face with a paper towel before putting on my visor.

Then I spent 8.03 hours setting up serving stations, making sandwiches and changing out desserts for work. The hard work was inside, the easy work was outside, but it was hot!

Still, money!

Now, I'm going to go and pay my rent. : ) We get internet on Wednesday.

New Apartment

Yesterday, I finished moving in to my new apartment. It's a nice place. Our living room is bare-looking at the moment, but all we have is a coffee table, a couch and a TV on a small table with an N64. We're getting another couch on Monday, and an antenna for the TV hopefully soon. My roommate's S.O. is allergic to dogs, and our couch has a light coat of dog hair on it. Poor guy. He had to change clothes after he helped us shove it up to our apartment.

My room is all put together. These are some pictures. When the living room and kitchen get figured out, I'll put pics of up those, as well.

This is my desk area, including my balance ball/chair.
This is my bed/futon, including my finishedt-shirt blanket. Yay! I finished it!
And my dresser and bookshelf. See the swords? My dad gave those to me yesterday, too. I managed to get them on the wall, balancing precariously on thumbtacks. Or pushpins? I don't know what they're called. Like my hula hoop? : )

Now I have to pay bills, too. Suck... yay adulthood?

I start work tomorrow. 6:30-2:30. Good times......

What Not To Do With Chickens

When one owns a flock or chickens that are allowed to roam around during the day and are locked up at night, do not lock them away too late at night. They will fall asleep somewhere they're not supposed to. When you try to rouse them, they will be stupid.

If you try to carry a chicken to where it is supposed to be, it will flap to try to get away from you and then fall to the ground, completely disoriented. It will then lay there for a good minute or two, trying to go back to sleep. Its instincts will kick in eventually and it will go where it is supposed to.

If you push a chicken off, the same thing will happen, only it will fall rather heavily to the ground in an uncontrolled fall. You might worry for a few minutes if it has broken it's neck.

If you try carry a chicken by its legs instead of its body, it will fall asleep on your arm once it has secure footing. Your arm will be scratched up. Once a chicken has a secure footing, it does not like to let go.

If you poke a chicken awake, take away the rest of its flock, and hope it goes down too because you're secretly scared of it, it will eventually go down. It will walk in the wrong direction for two minutes, try to walk through chicken wire, and wander listlessly back to the coop.

If it weren't so dark, it'd be funny to watch. Unfortunately, I couldn't see them very well. I could sure feel the scratches, though. They weren't deep and have already faded.

BTdubs, blanket finished! Moving day tomorrow!

JAWS!

My jaw hurts.

It sucks.

I think it's partially from my wisdom teeth moving around and screwing up all the pain I suffered through when I had braces. Also, I've been clenching my jaw a lot (probably from stress), so I think that's part of it.

I want to make a dentist appointment, but our dental insurance changed to Lincoln Financial, and I can't find a list of dentists anywhere on their website, so I don't know where I can go to get my teeth looked at, or my wisdom teeth removed. Silly insurance companies.

If I knew anything about how the health care industry or the economy worked, I would have a really strong opinion about it!

Ode to Water

This entire post has been manifested simply for the fact that I am thirsty and a little warm. When conditions such as these arise, a feeling of dryness in the throat arises. To rectify this, one drinks the magnificent compound known as H2O. Water.

Water, which is essential for life as we know it, is best served without salt or any other compounds diluted into it. Salted water will not quench a thirst, and will indeed exacerbate it. Occasionally, contaminants are unavoidable. For example, the water from our well tastes strongly of iron. This is sometimes good, sometimes bad depending on the drinker's personal preferences. City water generally contains low levels of fluoride and chlorine. These additives are also acceptable to most people. For those who like as little added to their water as possible, one can either buy filtered water, or filter their own water.

I prefer my water from a glass, but plastic is frequently used as well. Ceramic is not a preferred water receptacle. Ceramic cups are best when one sips from them, not takes swigs, swallows or gulps as one typically does when drinking water. On warm days, glasses or plastic cups should probably be set upon a water-absorbent material, such as a napkin or towel, to absorb the condensation that forms when cold water is in the glass and warm air is outside the glass. This prevents water rings and keeps the surface of the table clean.

Some people prefer water with ice cubes in the glass. Others prefer it closer to room temperature. I prefer it a few minutes out of the refrigerator, in a glass jar with no ice on a towel. And that's how I'm gonna drink it, dammit!

Yes, I'm weird. I think I'm tired and thirsty and that leads to strange posts.

Tomorrow is move in day number 1.

This is also the last day of tagging a random object. I've been doing it all month. Zasz noticed the first day, when the random object was boobs. No one else has commented on it, though. You may have noticed it. I generally don't read tags on posts, so why would anyone else?

New Apartment

Yesterday, I made the journey to Northfield to sign the lease of my new apartment. I am renting a two bedroom with my friend Sokun. We signed the lease, then went to move some of his stuff in. We live in number 100, on the 3rd floor. Luckily we have a wide stairwell, so we were able to carry things up easily. We also found a couch in our garage, but apparently it's janky, so Sokun didn't want to bring it up. WM is taking it away unless another resident wants it.

Our fridge is short, but spacious. Our toilet is broken, but being fixed tomorrow. Our range hood needs fixing, but will also be fixed tomorrow. Our carpet squares aren't glued down (but that's not really a problem). Other than that, it's a really nice place. Oh, also, both of our names are spelled wrong on the lease. It's still legally binding, though. Just funny. My last name is Jorden (Jordan) and his name is Sokum (Sokun).

I'm very excited to move in on Wednesday. : )

However, the journey back from St. Olaf was fraught with mild inconveniences. Sokun dropped me off at MOA for the light rail, and I went downstairs to the transit station, intending to put money on my Go-To card. Apparently there was a Twins game that night, because there was a line about 20 people long waiting to buy tickets. Good lord. So I waited in line for about 5 minutes when I remembered the morning bus driver accidentally charged me for disability, only 50 cents instead of $2.25. So I still had 50 cents left on my card! Joy! (With the Go-To card, if you have any money on it, it'll just go into the negative when you charge the ride, and you pay it off when you put more money on your card). So I went to the Go-To pole, and a Metro Transit officer was leaning on it. Ugh... I just politely asked him to get off the pad, scanned my card and got on the very crowded train.

Luckily I found a seat. Unluckily, the train was really crowded. The woman sitting next to me kept staring at me in the reflection on the glass that was in front of us. The bike rack area was full of standing Twins fans, so bikers had to hold their bikes upright because there was no room for them to put them up, or even to let them sit with both wheels on the ground. (BTW, don't stand in the bike rack area. Just move down the aisle. it's really rude). Anyway, I eventually made it back downtown, where I put money on my card for the transfer home.

It was also really cold outside. Earlier in the day, it had been nice and sunny, if a bit breezy. By the time I was heading home, it was cold and cloudy and windy. I took refuge in the Central library, where I decided to go to the bathroom. Out of the 6 stalls, one was occupied, 3 had piss on the seats and 1 had crap on the seat. As I was walking back to the empty one, someone else took it. So I waited for the person in the occupied stall to finish (she left pee on the seat...), and carefully went potty (after wiping the seat down thoroughly).

Then I went to Dunn bros, and bought a chai latte and picked up a Lavender magazine. The chai was a little cold, but warmer than I was at the moment, so I didn't complain. I walked to the bus stop, balanced my chai on the railing, hopped up myself, and started to read. About halfway through my chai, it fell off the railing. That's more my fault than anything (I really should have been holding on to it), but it was still aggravating. Then not one, not two, but three other people waiting for the bus pulled out cigarettes and started smoking. They were both a respectful distance away, so it'd be rude of me to tell them to stand elsewhere, but like I said, it was windy. So I walked further away, and then something good happened: I ran into Nik, a friend of mine from high school, who was also waiting for the bus. We chatted pleasantly on the bus.

And that was the end of the mildly inconvenienced journey home.

A Good Day and Whoa. Chicken Alert!

Today was an awesome day. I got up this morning and my lovely friend picked me up, and we proceeded to journey to Minneapolis. Well, she was late, and I needed to stop at the bank for a few seconds, and then there was a train, and then the stupid semi was slow and kept changing into our lane. In any case, our 9:16 bus from 3rd and Main in Anoka was barely caught, and included an epic dash and a leap over some construction in order to catch it. But we caught it. We were awesome.

Then we took another bus from downtown to the U, so we could go and poke around the Weisman Art Museum. In the Weisman, there is this creepyass hotel exhibit where you lean into the door frame and it triggers the sound recording. You are essentially eavesdropping in on people's lives. There is The Price is Right, a dog barking, sports, a party, a woman sobbing (or laughing?), etc. I dragged KT along in there with me. No way was I going in there by myself.

We then walked to the stadium village and ate some Bruegger's Bagels sammiches at a picnic table. Very delicious. I had a 4 cheese and tomato paninni and a mocha cooler. Came to $10.11 for a sammich and an iced coffee. Expensive. Anyway, we walked to a bus stop to go back downtown, and we were worried. Our transfers expired at 11:45. It's 11:44! Suddenly, our bus pulls into view. Oh no! A red light! We wait anxiously, counting the seconds. Will we have to pay again? The bus pulls up, and we get on with just seconds to spare. Another lucky break for us. : )

Anyway, we walked down the Farmer's Market on Nicollet Mall, bought a couple nectarines, and walked to the Walker Sculpture Garden. Of course, we took a lot of silly and artistic photos of ourselves with sculptures. We saw 13-striped gophers and geese. And art. We were stopped there, and given a pamphlet about the mnartists.org day at the Walker. It was today! How uncanny. So we head over there, and get free lemonade! Complete with lemon wedge and sprig of mint leaf. Delicious.

Then we bussed home again. Luckily, KT's car was not towed or ticketed while we were gone. Woohoo!

A good day, all in all. : )

Now for the chicken update: Angela is a he! Dwight is not the same breed as the others! I nominate Angela's new name to be Ryan, because he was just a lowly temp and then popped out of nowhere and became the boss. Hopefully, Angela/Ryan doesn't become addicted to coke. Of course, he's not my rooster, so I doubt I get to name him. I am worried about Dwight, though. He's probably the first to go now. I like both Angela and Dwight, but you can't have 2 roosters sharing a flock of hens. It's just going to cause fights. But if Dwight gets sent to the country (both colloquially and literally), he'll either be eaten or bullied. Plus his girlfriend Pam would be lonely.

Angela is more likely to stay, because he's of the same breed, so we know he's cold hardy and calm. I haven't been able to figure out Dwight's breed. He matured much faster and is much more aggressive than Angela, but maybe they'd both calm down if one of them was gone. I like them both. I want to keep them both. I wish gelding weren't so expensive and invasive for chickens. We could just neuter them if it weren't invasive surgery. Maybe I like them both because they flirt with me a lot. At least they don't bite my neck and mount me the way they do the hens.

Fail...

So, I've been putting together a little lap desk for my laptop so my testicles don't overheat when I have it in my lap (I don't want my sperm count to go down). Today was the day I got to nail it all together.

So I spent a good length of time nailing and missing the nails (my aim isn't so great), and I go to turn it over and flip the pillowcase right side out (I nailed the pillowcase to the lapdesk between the three boards that make the desk top and the four smaller planks that hold them together), and lo and behold the center piece of wood got flipped over when I was setting up the pillow/wood arrangement. So among the two larger pieces of shiny black painted boards, there is a glaring bare plank of poplar, with traces of primer and glossy black paint at the edges.

Subsequently I swore a lot in annoyance. Then I swore a bit in resignation. With a final "God damn it...." I went and got the primer and started repainting it. I was so frustrated I forgot to take a picture of how foolish it looked to show you all. Darn. You can't see evidence of my fail.

So instead of having a finished lapdesk this evening, I am still hunched in an awkward twist while I attempt to recline on the sofa and type with the computer on a footstool. It overheats really easily, so I can only have it on my lap for a few minutes, otherwise I get burned and it gets damaged. The lapdesk should be done by Friday evening.

Grr.

At least I finished putting all the squares in my blanket together. I just need to put the border on it and make the seams more secure. It's very heavy, and will be warm once I get the seams tighter. It's more of a blanket to put over a comforter (I forget what those are called) than a lap blanket or anything, but it'll be nice on a cold lonely February night. (I won't have any cold lonely January nights, because I'll be in Europe! Woot)

So, my three crafty projects: lapdesk, blanket and work desk are almost done. Just in time, too. I start moving Saturday.

Inglorious Basterds and Crime and Punishment

Yay! I finished Crime and Punishment! It's took soooo long! That's right. 4 "o"s. It must be long.

: )

(that's what she said?)

All sexual innuendos aside, it's a great book. Just a little slow. I had a few trepidations about undertaking this book. I've heard a lot of good things about Dostoyevsky, but not one of them were for the ease of reading and comprehension. While I certainly did not grasp all of the intricacies in the book, it was still moving, enlightening, fascinating and entertaining. It's about Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov, a poor destitute college dropout during the 19th Century who kills an old pawnbroker and her sister. And the rest is about how he struggles with himself and others. It's very interesting. In one scene, while I was riding the bus, I started crying. I typically don't cry while reading, so this must be a good book. Highly Recommended.

Today I also watched the Quentin Tarantino movie Inglorious Basterds. It was really really good. If this film had been done by any other director, it would have been highly disturbing and unpleasant for me to watch. however, Tarantino has a way with the gore and violence that most directors cannot pull off, and couldn't even if they tried. It's a very historically incorrect WWII movie, in which Brad Pitt leads a team of Jewish American soldiers deep into occupied France to scalp Nazis and generally terrorize the German army. Ends pretty epically. Normally, I abhor historical incorrectness, but it's Quentin Tarantino and it's really damn obvious that it's incorrect (rather than the typical "let's tweak history and pass it off as fact" that a lot of movies have) so I forgive him easily. Good, entertaining movie. I don't think there were any characters I would choose to emulate in my life, but none of the characters are presented as role models, so that's okay too. They're just presented as awesome and bad-ass. They're shown as the war heroes who no one in their right mind wants to be. If you're Mom, don't see it. You wouldn't like it.

If I had a nickel for every time I changed my major, I'd have a nickel.

I am 2 weeks away from entering my Junior year at St. Olaf. I have decided on my majors (Sociology/Anthropology, Political Science and Women's Studies), and have been for well over a year. Now, however, I am thinking about what could have been. I would have worked a Statistics concentration in there. I enjoy it and am considering pursuing a career involving research.

I would drop the Women's Studies major into a concentration in order to add stats, but the only reason I am majoring in it officially is to take the Senior Seminar, which sounds like a really interesting class and is only open to majors and not concentrators. Gender studies fascinate me, although I dislike the idea of Women's Studies and Feminist Studies. I would prefer a balance of gender perspectives, which is what the seminar discusses. Ergo, I am majoring in it.

I wish I could have a statistics concentration. It would open up doors. Ah well. Maybe I can take undergrad classes while working on my masters. Speaking of which, time to start studying for my GREs! : T (that's a "trying to look excited but really scared shitless" face).

Ah, academia. : )