It all started with a Google search for a slightly more in-depth definition of "periphrasis," because for once, dictionary.com's terseness just wasn't enough.
It ended up being a multi-hour jaunt through Wikipedia, learning more than I ever needed to know about rhetorical devices, speech impediments, and autism spectrum disorders.
It is for situations like this that I both love and hate Wikipedia, in fairly equal measures. I got no studying done, nor did I begin my midterm paper that's due on Wednesday. However, I did find out that there is a name for the way I don't say my 's'es quite properly—it is a (slight) lateral lisp. Fascinating.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
malaria
So, there was a blood drive today. I signed up for it a few weeks ago, and then I was a little worried, because I had to get that tetanus shot and I wasn't sure if that would disqualify me from donating.
Well, turns out a tetanus shot is okay (as long as you don't show any symptoms, which I didn't), but my trip to Costa Rica in March is not, and I shouldn't have been allowed to donate when I did in May. The reason they didn't catch it was because both the places I stayed are not malaria-risk areas. However, we traveled by land through malaria-risk areas, which the lady then didn't ask about, and I didn't think to say. So, I'm ineligible until next March.
On the one hand, I understand the need for rules like this, and the fact that they can't make any exceptions, etc., etc. On the other hand, we drove straight through, in a closed car with the windows up. I can say with 100% certainty that I did not get any mosquito bites during the journey. It's a bit frustrating.
Ah well. Guess the vampires at the Red Cross will have to wait a bit for my malaria-tainted blood.
Well, turns out a tetanus shot is okay (as long as you don't show any symptoms, which I didn't), but my trip to Costa Rica in March is not, and I shouldn't have been allowed to donate when I did in May. The reason they didn't catch it was because both the places I stayed are not malaria-risk areas. However, we traveled by land through malaria-risk areas, which the lady then didn't ask about, and I didn't think to say. So, I'm ineligible until next March.
On the one hand, I understand the need for rules like this, and the fact that they can't make any exceptions, etc., etc. On the other hand, we drove straight through, in a closed car with the windows up. I can say with 100% certainty that I did not get any mosquito bites during the journey. It's a bit frustrating.
Ah well. Guess the vampires at the Red Cross will have to wait a bit for my malaria-tainted blood.
a declaration
As of the end of fall term, I will have achieved junior status. This means I have to declare my major before the end of term.
There's really no question of what to declare; I've known for awhile now that I want to do creative writing. But putting it on paper makes it so official. I'm not some aimless first year wandering through my classes anymore; I've got a purpose and a goal.
In some ways, that thought is very pleasant. It does have a certain sadness to it, though.
My mind is wracked by ambivalence.
There's really no question of what to declare; I've known for awhile now that I want to do creative writing. But putting it on paper makes it so official. I'm not some aimless first year wandering through my classes anymore; I've got a purpose and a goal.
In some ways, that thought is very pleasant. It does have a certain sadness to it, though.
My mind is wracked by ambivalence.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
epic adventure
It was a Saturday afternoon early in October, the weather still ridiculously warm for the season. I'd just finished my allotment of studying for my World Music midterm the coming Tuesday, and Sara, Dan, and I were melting in a heat-induced stupor, trying to decide what we should do with the rest of our day.
"We should have an adventure," Dan posited.
I raised my eyebrows and replied, "What kind of adventure, Dan?"
"I dunno. An epic adventure."
There was a brief silence while we considered this statement, and then someone, maybe it was Sara, said, "We should go to Lake Michigan."
So we did.
We went to dinner early, woke up Tasha, grabbed some snacks from the c-store, and started out of town. There was a bit of a hitch in the beginning, as there always is with this sort of thing: Sara's car was making a strange rattling noise, and we, being calm and reasonable teenagers, were worried it might to explode, fall apart, or otherwise cause us serious bodily harm or death. So I called my mother, saint that she is, and described the noise to her, and she, being a genius as well as a saint, correctly diagnosed a loose muffler, which ailment we verified and then, deciding it was not a life-threatening condition, opted to continue on our quest to put our feet in Lake Michigan.
We arrived in downtown Chicago shortly after 10:00 PM and managed to find a free parking place quite close to the lake shore. We then played in the sand, waded in the lake, looked at the few stars we could see (being in the middle of Chicago and all), and contemplated the immense black void of lake and sky before us.
Then we drove through a pretty sketchy area, a not-too-sketchy area, and into the western suburbs, which are very large and suburban and odd.* There, we met Dan's friend and her friend, and we went to a Denny's at something like 1:00 AM, and found that Denny's has exactly no entrées that do not include meat. So I got a Western burger, sans burger, which ended up being absolutely delicious, in a Denny's-at-one-in-the-morning kind of way (which, let's be honest, is often the best kind of way).
Then we parted ways with our new friends and piled back into Sara's car to go home. Sara drove the whole way, and the rest of us slept or dozed or looked at the stars. Once we got away from civilization, we could see quite a few of them, as well as the moon (a lovely crescent, with the dark part visible—so cool) and a really bright planet (we think it was Venus). It really was a gorgeous night.
Meanwhile back in the car, Dan was curled up in the front seat with Sara's teddy bear, and it was both hilarious and adorable. I think Tasha was asleep for a good portion of the trip also, but it was dark, and I couldn't tell for sure. I dozed in almost exact 15-minute spurts, as is generally my habit when I'm comfortable, and stayed up to make sure Sara stayed awake the last half hour. And I have to say, props to her for the driving; there aren't many drivers in whose cars I can sleep half that well.
We rolled back into Galesburg sometime around 5:30 AM, having completed our epic adventure and achieved our quest. It was probably the best time I've had so far this year. I love these people.
*I'm sure there's nothing really all that odd about West Chicago, as suburbs go. I'm just not used to suburbs in general, and therefore they all seem immensely sprawling and empty and odd to me.
"We should have an adventure," Dan posited.
I raised my eyebrows and replied, "What kind of adventure, Dan?"
"I dunno. An epic adventure."
There was a brief silence while we considered this statement, and then someone, maybe it was Sara, said, "We should go to Lake Michigan."
So we did.
We went to dinner early, woke up Tasha, grabbed some snacks from the c-store, and started out of town. There was a bit of a hitch in the beginning, as there always is with this sort of thing: Sara's car was making a strange rattling noise, and we, being calm and reasonable teenagers, were worried it might to explode, fall apart, or otherwise cause us serious bodily harm or death. So I called my mother, saint that she is, and described the noise to her, and she, being a genius as well as a saint, correctly diagnosed a loose muffler, which ailment we verified and then, deciding it was not a life-threatening condition, opted to continue on our quest to put our feet in Lake Michigan.
We arrived in downtown Chicago shortly after 10:00 PM and managed to find a free parking place quite close to the lake shore. We then played in the sand, waded in the lake, looked at the few stars we could see (being in the middle of Chicago and all), and contemplated the immense black void of lake and sky before us.
Then we drove through a pretty sketchy area, a not-too-sketchy area, and into the western suburbs, which are very large and suburban and odd.* There, we met Dan's friend and her friend, and we went to a Denny's at something like 1:00 AM, and found that Denny's has exactly no entrées that do not include meat. So I got a Western burger, sans burger, which ended up being absolutely delicious, in a Denny's-at-one-in-the-morning kind of way (which, let's be honest, is often the best kind of way).
Then we parted ways with our new friends and piled back into Sara's car to go home. Sara drove the whole way, and the rest of us slept or dozed or looked at the stars. Once we got away from civilization, we could see quite a few of them, as well as the moon (a lovely crescent, with the dark part visible—so cool) and a really bright planet (we think it was Venus). It really was a gorgeous night.
Meanwhile back in the car, Dan was curled up in the front seat with Sara's teddy bear, and it was both hilarious and adorable. I think Tasha was asleep for a good portion of the trip also, but it was dark, and I couldn't tell for sure. I dozed in almost exact 15-minute spurts, as is generally my habit when I'm comfortable, and stayed up to make sure Sara stayed awake the last half hour. And I have to say, props to her for the driving; there aren't many drivers in whose cars I can sleep half that well.
We rolled back into Galesburg sometime around 5:30 AM, having completed our epic adventure and achieved our quest. It was probably the best time I've had so far this year. I love these people.
*I'm sure there's nothing really all that odd about West Chicago, as suburbs go. I'm just not used to suburbs in general, and therefore they all seem immensely sprawling and empty and odd to me.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
calm
So, September was apparently a bust month for blogging. For me, at least. Hey, cut me some slack, I was mourning the death of summer break.
Anyway, here I am, back at school, and despite my many peevish complaints, I really do love it here. Words cannot express my utter delight at having a house full of friends instead of a dorm full of random people or some other housing nonsense. It's definitely a very different experience from living in the either the quads or the townhouses last year; we have bedrooms that are just that: bedrooms. We can hang out there if we want, and sometimes we do, but we can also be in the living room, the kitchen, the front or back porch, or just sprawled out somewhere on the lawn. There are so many options.
Of course, living in a house with ten friends and seeing them so very often does have its downsides. We've got our fair bit of drama floating around, and it can get pretty nasty sometimes. Anybody who knows me at all knows how I feel about drama: I just won't do it. But it's still kind of odd hanging around the periphery of a lot of awkwardness and unpleasantry, and sometimes it gets upsetting. I think that's partially why I haven't blogged in awhile; I keep feeling like the biggest things on my mind are mean or gossipy issues, or things that aren't mine to tell. I mean really, there's not that much fascinating stuff to write about in the first month of school. But I've decided, as I always do, that I'm not going to let it get to me. As I said, none of these are really my issues, and insofar as they don't concern me directly, I'm not getting involved. I'd like to think that at least most of the people living in this house have the capability to handle themselves as mature adults and can manage to work out their issues enough to keep the peace.
Anyway, enough of that blather. It's a gorgeous afternoon; I've spent most of it reading peacefully in the quiet sunshine in my room. Now I'm hungry, and I'm going to dinner. Self-determination is a lovely thing.
Anyway, here I am, back at school, and despite my many peevish complaints, I really do love it here. Words cannot express my utter delight at having a house full of friends instead of a dorm full of random people or some other housing nonsense. It's definitely a very different experience from living in the either the quads or the townhouses last year; we have bedrooms that are just that: bedrooms. We can hang out there if we want, and sometimes we do, but we can also be in the living room, the kitchen, the front or back porch, or just sprawled out somewhere on the lawn. There are so many options.
Of course, living in a house with ten friends and seeing them so very often does have its downsides. We've got our fair bit of drama floating around, and it can get pretty nasty sometimes. Anybody who knows me at all knows how I feel about drama: I just won't do it. But it's still kind of odd hanging around the periphery of a lot of awkwardness and unpleasantry, and sometimes it gets upsetting. I think that's partially why I haven't blogged in awhile; I keep feeling like the biggest things on my mind are mean or gossipy issues, or things that aren't mine to tell. I mean really, there's not that much fascinating stuff to write about in the first month of school. But I've decided, as I always do, that I'm not going to let it get to me. As I said, none of these are really my issues, and insofar as they don't concern me directly, I'm not getting involved. I'd like to think that at least most of the people living in this house have the capability to handle themselves as mature adults and can manage to work out their issues enough to keep the peace.
Anyway, enough of that blather. It's a gorgeous afternoon; I've spent most of it reading peacefully in the quiet sunshine in my room. Now I'm hungry, and I'm going to dinner. Self-determination is a lovely thing.
Monday, October 1, 2007
OUCH!
↓THIS THING stabbed my foot. IN. MY. FOOT. Right through my shoe. See?→
Okay, so I'll back up a minute here. Sara and I went for a walk last night, because it was a lovely evening and we felt like taking a stroll around the 'burg. We went north on Seminary and ended up going rather farther than we'd expected (all the way to Fremont St., actually), and then we went back home via Academy. A grand total of 3.5 miles, according to Google Maps.
Anyway, during the eastbound portion of our trek, I managed to step on the monstrous bolt in the above picture, which punctured my flip-flop and the bottom of my left foot, necessitating a 15-block limp back to the house to fetch my wallet and then a 1:00 AM drive to the emergency room for a tetanus shot, during which I crushed the life out of Sara's hand.
And I ended up fifty dollars poorer, with a sore foot, achy arm, and unfinished journal entry for the class I ended up skipping today because I was too damn tired to go to it after being up so late last night. Oh, life.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
