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So tonight around 9:00 pm my roommate called to inform me that the power was out at our apartment. Lovely. On the way back I stopped by CVS to pick up some flashlights, then went over to my other roommate's boyfriend's place, watched Family Guy and helped my roommate with her physics homework, then decided to head back. We sat in her room in slumber party-like ambiance for about twenty minutes, then rejoiced with the rest of the block as, with a click and a whir, modernity returned to W 9th Avenue.
All the while the lighted windows of Marketplace and the Neil Student Resident Complex twinkled at us in mockery. So at least everyone knows their residence hall fees are well spent!
That's me performing in "A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant, and A Prayer" this weekend. It's the first time in three years that I've seen my name in a program, and it made me feel good, despite the very crazy week I've had leading up to it. We were all a little slap-happy by tonight's performance, but it went well. Turnout was not great tonight, unfortunately, but last night's crowd was decent. Maybe next year I'll clear out my winter quarter schedule and do something in The Vagina Monologues?
Also today: work-out, speed-reading workshop, grocery shopping, attempting to get ahead on homework. Now: sleep.
This will be fast because I really should be reading right now.
I'm back up to 17 credit-hours this quarter, but I am (so far) enjoying every one of them. I'm expecting Microbiology 520 to be my least favorite, which is not to say I don't think the subject is interesting or relevant, but that my other classes are even cooler. Mol Gen 606 seems to focus more on the cellular mechanics of genetics, which I absolutely adore. EEOB 632 (Neurobiology) is focused mostly on neuroethology (behavior), which is different from what I had expected, but should be interesting nonetheless. And my honors Romanticism seminar (H590.05) is conducted in a computer lab, which is singularly appropriate for the topic multi-modal Romanticism. Although there do seem to be a few more overly-pretentious people in the class than I would like, but that's what happens in honors English seminars, I guess.
I'm running around like a maniac between class, work, meetings, and rehearsal for MMRP this weekend. Show times are 8:00 pm Friday and Saturday in Hitchcock 131. Everyone should come, tickets are only $3 and proceeds benefit SARNCO.
Okay, I'm seriously going to do homework now.
Well, I managed to have a very productive spring break, even though it was not terribly exciting.
1. Interviewed for a summer job with Big Brothers Big Sisters Camp Oty'okwa.
2. Cooked me some yummy grub.
2. Volunteered at a Center for Child and Family Advocacy Family Night at Sullivant Elementary.
3. Got my teeth cleaned, which was kind of painful owing to my newly-discovered cold sensitivity.
4. Learned to quilt and made a cute little pillow!
5. Took the GRE and scored high enough that I do not need to consider taking it again.
6. Discovered that I cannot eat grapefruit anymore, as it interferes with the medication I'm taking. Basically it disrupts digestion of the drug, which causes a rise in blood hormone levels. The side effects are rather personal in nature, so I will not go into details, but suffice to say that I was not feeling very good for the latter half of the week. Hopefully things will get better, but just in case, I've made an appointment to see an internist and get some blood work done.
I took the GRE today and according to my unofficial score report I should be in pretty good shape for admission to grad school. Over the summer I'll probably get cracking on my application essays so that I won't have to fuss with them too much once school starts again. It is only slightly sinking in that after spring quarter I will be on my last year as an OSU undergraduate. The time has literally flown, partly a natural consequence of the quarter system, part because I have crammed my schedule full of classes, clubs, and a part-time job. I think it is all worth it, though, even the occasional bout of hair-pulling and gnashing of teeth, because the only worthwhile life is a filled and fulfilling one. My high school career was spent in relative hermitage and I was quite determined that not happen in college.
I resurrected this tidbit from my high school blog (now safely hidden from public view)...let's see how I did.
List of things I want to try in college, now that I don't have to worry about earning money to pay for it all:
Ballroom dancing: I went to one session of the Ballroom Dance Association my freshman year and quickly discovered that I am too stinkin' shy to dance with strangers.
Yoga/Pilates: Have never gotten around to this, though I took a 6-week belly dancing class at the old Union before it became a hole in the ground.
Rowing: I corresponded with the coach before starting classes but never made it to any meetings or practices. My roommate sophomore year did it for a quarter, though, only to be told she wasn't good enough, which probably means it's a good idea I didn't try.
Campus Crusade or Intervarsity or however many Christian groups I can find: I was with Intervarsity my freshman year, then settled in at Chi Alpha my sophomore year and have been there ever since.
Cooking lessons a la Iron Chef: These have turned out to be mostly self-taught, with the help of Allrecipes.com, the Food Network, and my friends as the willing test subjects for my dessert dalliances.
International cuisine: So far I have tried Indian (in London, UK, no less!), Middle Eastern, Vietnamese, Greek, variations on the Italian theme, noodle (yes, that is now a cuisine type in and of itself) and what I can best describe as crunchy-earthy-hippie food.
Volunteering: I think I want to go back to West Central and work with the kids there. I'll find a place for a car on campus, somehow...or maybe I can walk? We'll see. Well, I did end up doing a lot of volunteering on and around campus: at the James Cancer Hospital, through WOW, and as always, at my church.
--College is going to be bloody awesome.
You got that right.
I went to see BalletMet's Aladdin today with a $5.00 ticket courtesy of Unity. My ticket was originally for the March 8 matinee last Saturday...but we all know what happened that day. So I went to this bonus performance instead and enjoyed it quite a lot. It was my first ballet so I don't have anything to compare with, but I do have a little theatre experience to inform my opinions.
The set and costumes were lovely, except I'm not a fan of the Genie puppet, which looked for all the world like something out of Maurice Sendak. As far as I could see the dancers are very talented, but of course I have almost no standards for dancing ability, besides "not falling = good." One thing I did miss was the presence and richness of live music. I don't know if most ballet performances are done with recordings; I guess maybe that would eliminate the potential for musical miscues that could trip up the dancers. But I certainly enjoy the nuances of live music, and dialogue for that matter. (The few lines delivered by the Baskan Cali character were clearly and somewhat bombastically recorded.) I suppose, though, that since it is a ballet, after all, the dancing is primary and from what I can tell, it was well done.
As I am very bored waiting for my last final tomorrow (and yes, I have studied quite a bit, since I've had nothing to do since my first final Monday afternoon), I've been planning my last four quarters at OSU. By my count I have four English classes left, which works out nicely to one 5-hour class per quarter. I have three 3-hour molecular genetics courses left, each of which is offered only once a year, so that makes scheduling a no-brainer. I need Earth Sciences 122 for my master's content, so that's another five hours next fall, continuing my faux-tradition of taking geology in the fall. Then I have to take Biology 597 to fulfill my Issues of the Contemporary World requirement for my BA. (Why it's only required of BA's, I'm not sure.) I would like to take Art 342, Introduction to Ceramics (Wheel) during spring quarter. None of this puts me at over 15 hours per quarter, which is just unheard of for me. In fact, Winter 2009 I'm only at 11 hours, so I'll have to throw something else in there to be counted as full-time for my scholarships. But what?
Sports are popular filler classes. But I am not an athlete nor do I have any desire to be, I just want to be healthy and fit. I am considering Recreational Dance, Yoga, or Self Defense, but I found this particular offering intriguing: EDU PAES 250 How to Avoid Dying from Cancer Now and Later. That's a pretty audacious claim that even my genetics classes don't make! I would be curious to see what the curriculum is. (Lesson 1: STOP YOUR DNA FROM MUTATING. NOW!)
There is also always Food Science 101 (Chocolate Science) and 170 (Wine and Beer in Western Culture).
Decisions, decisions...
As of yesterday, King Avenue and High Street were clear, but the side streets of south campus were still covered with about six inches of supercompacted snow and slush. It's supposed to hit 40 degrees today, which means the already-swollen Olentangy River is going to flood rather severely.
They are comparing this storm with the Blizzard of '78, a storm of once-in-thirty-years magnitude. This means the next time it snows like this, I will be fifty years old. As much as I love my hometown, I kind of hope that I am not around here to see it, because I would like to not have lived here my entire life. Though I did enjoy playing in the snow yesterday.
PSA: Walk carefully, particularly at night: my roommate got clipped by a car yesterday and had to go to the hospital to get checked up. And get this, the jerk just yelled, "Sorry!" and drove away!! What kind of person does that?!
BREAKING NEWS: Classes cancelled Saturday at Ohio State Columbus campus
by Mary Dannemiller
The Ohio State University has announced that classes scheduled on the Columbus campus for Saturday (3/8) have been canceled. All essential employees scheduled to work on Saturday should report to work as usual. The Ohio State University Medical Center and other essential services (such as police, residence halls) will remain open. This message applies to the Columbus campus only. Decisions relating to regional campuses will be based on local conditions. The status of all other activities will be determined by the sponsoring organization. Individuals can check www.osu.edu for status on campus activities. Information compiled from University Relations.
Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle. Gordon Gee lied. He said we had zero chance of having a snow day. I am just curious as to why, oh why, they did not make that decision for today, before I had to tramp around campus with snow blowing down my shirt. I also wonder why Columbus Public does not dismiss their elementary students early, which necessitated a very treacherous and prolonged WOW visit (because we canceled the second round of visits we tried collapsing them all together). I understand that they don't want to send small children home early if no one is there to take care of them, but seriously, the PA was calling kids down to the office to be picked up by their parents left and right. Out of all the storms this winter, this one is probably the worst yet. And still I go to school.
I do hope it lets up by tomorrow, because I have a ticket to see Aladdin at the ballet. Saw the Vagina Monologues tonight, hysterical as usual. Maybe you are wondering why I am not studying my face off for finals. It is because my only real study-worthy final is not until next Thursday. And I am trying to break the pattern of life kind of sucking.
So after a universally-disagreeable February, March has come in like a lamb, which has me slightly worried about the two snowfalls we will still inevitably have this season. It is sixty-five degrees outside, which means flip-flops, crop tops, and Crocs have come out of hibernation to join the occasional wool pea coat and scarf still wandering around outside. (Of course, I did see a girl wearing flip-flops during a snowstorm, but I've given up asking questions about that sort of thing.) We are in that curious netherworld of climatic ambiguity that is so characteristic of central Ohio, but after such a brutal winter (in more ways than one), I have learned not to ask questions and just enjoy the rare 40 mph winds that do not cause my teeth to chatter uncontrollably.
For those of you interested in the namesake of this entry, Le Sacre du Printemps, is a ballet with music by Stravinsky, which I studied last spring with Seb Knowles in English 596, Music and Literature. We watched the video of this distinctly edgy interpretation in class. [Warning: Contains nudity]
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