WT3: OBERLIN GOES TO WASHINGTON

So last week, Henry, Virginia, Kate and I went to Washington DC for INAUGURATION. It was fantastic. If election night was the best night of my life, inauguration day was definitely the best day. I will get right into the pictures:


We decided at about 1 am on Monday to leave at noon on Monday. We didn't get going until about 1 pm, and got to Ben's around 8, so we made good time.


There were eight of us in a seven-person van.


The morning of inauguration, we didn't leave Ben's house until about 9:30, but we utilized the relatively crowd-free bus system to get down to the mall.


There was a huuuuuge crowd walking to the mall. It was about a mile walk from the bus stop.


We finally got to the Washington monument at about 10:15. We spent the next hour finding a good spot, which was pretty hard to do.


But in the end we were in front of the Washington monument with an awesome view of two jumbotrons...


... and the Capitol in the distance.


After doing a little hoedown flag-waving dance (during which a circle of spectators gathered and took pictures of us), we posed for this lovely shot — even though we have no idea who that guy on the left is.


We all went a bit giddy after the ceremony.


Kate took this super-cool shot.


After walking around the monuments a bit, we went to Ben's mom's workplace to watch the parade. We were really tired from all the walking (and from getting 4 hours of sleep the night before).
Later that evening, we played a lot of ROCK BAND... a lot.


And then we had a celebratory night at the bar.

Here are a couple videos too, courtesy of Kate's camera:

The tail end of everyone singing goodbye to Bush.




ROCK BAND.

WT2

Last night we all went to a party on Woodland, and as we were walking back, it was -22 degrees with the windchill. Not 22 degrees. NEGATIVE TWENTY TWO DEGREES. Especially after being in Spain for the bulk of last winter, this seems like the coldest weather I have ever experienced. The first floor of our apartment is essentially unlivable because of how cold it is down there (I saw my breath in the kitchen the other night). Our pipes froze yesterday, and some plumber guys came to fix them. When they left, they said that they'd fixed everything but the kitchen sink because they "couldn't find the pipes". Call me crazy, but I think if anyone CAN find pipes, it's a plumber. Who else am I supposed to call to find pipes? GLSAJDFK. In addition, they left our faucet partially dismantled, the pieces all over the counter, and now instead of just getting cold water like we were before, we now get NO water from that sink. Fantastic.

Besides the cold, it has been quite lovely in Oberlin — there's about a foot of snow on the ground, and now at least it's not too dangerous to be driving. We have had several car adventures, one to Cleveland to go to some music stores, and one the other night to Amherst to visit Blue Sky, the wonderfully sketchy 24 hour diner.

In other news, I am nearly done with my DC application, AND! I got invited to interview for the New York job! Only about one out of ten applicants is ultimately accepted to the DC program, and I imagine the New York one is similarly competitive, but at least I got past the first stage. Anyway, I'm pretty confident in my ability to teach a sample lesson, do a writing sample, and participate in group discussions, which are all parts of the interview. It's still a little nerve wracking to think about, though.

Here are some pictures of the last few days:
Everyone agrees that Titanic is a classic.


These balloons are really, really popular.


Party in the kitchen.


EVERYBODY BUNDLE UP!!


The newest additions to my art collection, courtesy of my first graders.

WT1

A little more than a week into winter term, and it has been lovely and productive so far. Fortunately and unfortunately, most of my friends are here for the month. While this means that I am never bored, it also means that my dance card is full and Gilbert Blythe can't get a waltz in. (In this metaphor, Gilbert Blythe is my honors project.) Just kidding. I've re-read OHYOS and some other short stories, and I've written a few pages. I also finished my resume and a job application.

AND we — the Frontstreet Boys — came in third place last night at Boy Band Trivia Night at the 'Sco. It was a little bit of a let-down because for the first two rounds we were in first place (the last round killed us), but I was still happy. Last time we didn't even place, so I'm hoping our trajectory will continue and that we'll win a couple weeks from now.

After trivia night, we stopped by Ally's to play Taboo and drink champagne in honor of her birthday, and then we made the mile+ trek to Matt's house for a weird garage party.

There is talk of going to DC for inauguration day, and if that is going to be a possibility for me, I better get back to work!

Here are some pictures of our rearranged house:
It was a little dark.


Henry, a balloon, and a keyboard.


What a lovely house.