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.

soon.

Finals finished: 1.5 / 3
Pages written: 21
Pages total left: 16
Pages in Spanish left: 10
Days until my birthday: 2.5

This morning I woke up with a sore throat, and last night I found my first gray hair.

aslkdfjalkkksdlfjaksfjlaaaaaaaaaaaa

143 milligrams of caffeine

One out of three finals finished and I am hopped up on caffeine. Or should I say... AMP-ED UP. That's right, I'm practically mainlining Amp energy drinks.
For some reason there's a warning on the can which reads:

This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Good to know.

incidentally, the number 9 in binary is 1001.

Trivia and margaritas were a winning combination last night. Though our team (Henry, Sam, Andrew, Kate and me) didn't place, we did do pretty well. My proudest moment: correctly guessing that the lacrimal gland is in the eye, purely based on knowing the word "lachrymose". YEAH.

Our team name was "The Golden Monkeys", what we thought was a throwback to the best show of all time, LEGENDS OF THE HIDDEN TEMPLE. Unfortunately, after wikipediaing it today, turns out that the Monkeys were green, and there were no Golden anythings. At least we didn't go with the Purple Parrots. Those guys always lost.

Teams assembled in the 'Sco.

"Think! None of the rest of us know binary!"

A very weird blurry picture of Kate.

Sam and Kate.

Henry... dancing?

Margarita night at Agave.

Fooood.

We play Apples to Apples a lot.

Because it's hilarious.

And sometimes confusing.

Moon.

Somehow Henry always ends up back at our house.


[ADDENDUM]
Just found this on youtube (I do work sometimes too, I swear!). I totally forgot how that guy would always come down from the ceiling and stuff. That must have gotten old for him real fast.

BASSOONERY

Nothing relieves finals stress and simultaneously boosts Christmas cheer like Bassoon Christmas. Bassoon Christmas is the best (the only?) Oberlin holiday tradition — every year about a dozen bassoon majors put on a little wacky concert in the lounge of the Con, and about a hundred people pack into the space to hear them perform all kinds of silly carols, sometimes with the aid of kazoos. Today there was free pizza and cookies to accompany the lovely music, so I was totally there. When the bassoonists take requests, there are often Connie jokes that I don't understand. There is usually some singing along. And there is always O Berlino.

Yes, that's right. Oberlin has its own Christmas carol, and it is sung to the tune of O Tannenbaum. Everyone knows this (or learns this) and everyone sings along and it's very heartwarming. The words go like this:

O berlino O berlino
Berlin o ber lin oberlin
Oberlino berlin o ber
Lin oberlin oberlino
O berlino O berlino
Berlin o ber lin oberlin

Creative, I know.

I've been trying to do at least one fun thing every day, to break up the monotony of finals. The other night it was Andrew's concert:
They are... completely insane.

Tonight it's probably going to be TRIVIA NIGHT, if we can get a team together. "Cash prizes" was really the draw for this one. And of course, margarita night.

Oh man, that's potentially three fun things for today, if I'm counting Bassoon Christmas, which I am. I better get to work!

This is me procratinating.

And this is me in a womb chair in the library. Even though there is still one more week of classes left before reading period and finals, everything about life at Oberlin has become a little bit more tense and a little bit less happy. The campus reeks of procrastination, denial, and stress cigarettes. Just now, I heard the girl in the womb chair next to me crying. She calmed down after a little while, only to get worked up again while frantically flipping pages. Yep, that's finals for you. I haven't devolved into tears (yet), but I have resorted to carrying fruit around with me and giving in to occasional 20-minute power naps, since I've stopped eating and sleeping regularly.

Right now my biggest problem is that I haven't really been working on honors, and I have a meeting with my advisor in... 1.5 hours... and I have not a whole lot to show him. BUT, after honors is placed on the back burner after this week, I can focus my three 12-page final papers. Next week I need to write an average of 4 pages a day, and then finals week just 2 pages a day, and then I will be a-okay... I hope. Who needs a drink.