Happy Birthday Grandma!

I just wanted to wish you a very happy birthday Grandma! I love and miss you and will see you at Thanksgiving!

It snowed today.

I went to church this morning. It is Reformation Sunday and all, so it was a big deal. They broke out the incense. And we sang A Mighty Fortress is our God. Yay Martin Luther! So, we walk out of the service and notice that it is snowing outside! Not the good kind either. The rain/snow mix that is cold and wet and disgusting. I am looking forward to the snow, in good time. Not now. Maybe by Thanksgiving? Who knows. But I am still hoping autumn sticks around. I like that one! Also, it is 35 degrees right now and freezing in our house. I am sleeping with 6 blankets and 3 sweatshirts tonight. I’m not sure whether or not the roommates believe in turning on the heat yet. My fingers have yet to warm up from this morning, leaving church. I’m looking forward to work tomorrrow afternoon. I know my boss’s office is a sauna. I miss the house from last year. The heat magically rose from our landlord’s area on the bottom floor. It was warm in my room all the time! (I am seriously doubting this house has any insulation.) 61 on Thursday? I’ll take it!

Today I fell in love with the Fall.

When I walked out our front door this morning the first thing I noticed was the pumpkin next to the stoop. Or what is left of the pumpkin I should say. The local squirrels have claimed the thing as their own and ate a hole right through to the center. I had to make sure the squirrel sitting inside of it ran off before I opened the screen door, however. The nearest bus stop is a short walk away, and as I made my way down the street I noticed the leaves falling gently from the trees. I was listening to the beautiful music of the Icelandic band Sigur Ros, and the sounds mixed with the sight of the leaves was perfect. It was a crisp October morning and I had my coffee and was on my way to a class for a two hour discussion of the literature of George Eliot. Life is a bit hectic with dealing with all the homework and studying I have to finish each day, but I have to keep reminding myself that right now, I really cannot complain. I have concerns for the future, as anyone does, but I am content with the way things are happening right now. Last week I looked up possibilities for spring courses and found some really cool ones. I will miss the learning environment of college, but at the same time I will be ready to finally grow up and be on my own entirely. I take pride in earning my own way in the world. Who knows what will happen in the years ahead. But I do know that Autumn in this state is gorgeous. Cold weather and all.

A Typical Sunday.

These days, my Sundays have become routine. Normally, I will wake up around quarter to nine so I can get ready for the day before Meet the Press. I have time to watch at least the first half of the program before I drive over to church for ten. I get to watch the main guest’s interview at the very least. I miss Tim Russert every week. I keep thinking of what his insights would be about this election. He would have had so many views on the outcome and I am positive his enthusiasm would have overflowed over every new breakthrough. Today Tom Brokaw interviewed Colin Powell about his endorsement of Barack Obama. After church I come home around 11:30 and either take a nap right away or make coffee and eat lunch. Lately I’ve been walking to campus (which about 35 minutes at my pace) to read in the student union. I feel like I get more accomplished if I go somewhere for the specific reason to read. I sit there for a few hours, just to make sure I have some homework finished. (All of the work I do this semester is reading it seems.) If I take a nap before I go read I’ll be at the union until 7 or so and come home to eat dinner and watch Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters. If by some miracle I am not tired and go read right away I will come back around 4 and watch football or baseball. (If it is the Twins or the Packers.) Sometimes the specifics vary, but it is generally the same thing each week. I’m a creature of habit. If I find a specific walking route, I won’t change it for a long time, if ever. I suppose this helps me actually get homework done on the weekends. I always have high hopes for getting so much accomplished homework-wise, but all of the sudden Sunday comes and I have yet to read a full chapter. Now, I’m off to go read.

History Readings on Metro Transit.

I take the city bus everyday to campus. I live much farther than I did last year, so generally walking is not an option unless I have 45 minutes to spare. I don’t mind the bus, and usually it is on time and consistent. It gives me extra reading time each day. If I am feeling extra productive, I can get 50 or so pages in (depending on what I am reading) on a given day. These days are usually the ones where I have to take the campus bus to one of my classes. Then I am on a bus four times a day, for about an hour and a half depending on traffic and the number of people getting on and off the bus. I have learned this semester especially how to use my extra time wisely. I have a book ready in my hand almost at all times. Sometimes I have to wait five, ten, sometimes even fifteen minutes for the bus to arrive, which gives me even more time to sneak in a page or ten. I know how to effectively tune people out, and people don’t normally bother me. BUT, I am taking a course on Nazi History this semester and have 6 books dealing with the subject to read. I have to admit I feel a tad bit self-conscious when holding a book with the title, “The Nazi Conscience” on it. Or, “The Nazi Seizure of Power,” “Germans into Nazis” and “Hitler’s World View.” Now, I am finished reading these books for the class already, so it isn’t much of a problem anymore, but I have been the recipient of a strange look or two the past seven weeks. (Yeah, this is the seventh week of the semester. After next week it’s over halfway done. What?) Because I ride the bus in the areas of a college campus, I assume my fellow passengers understand I MUST be reading this nonsense for a class. And it isn’t primary sources from actual Nazis that we’re reading. It isn’t like I pull out “Mein Kampf” next to them or anything! They are merely the historian’s perspective on specific issues. Like how in the world did the Nazi Party actually gain all that power? (It has a lot to do with all the right catalysts coming together. Like the Great Depression and the general feeling of economic uncertainty. The Nazis happened to give the people the answers they were looking for. They just didn’t keep all those campaign promises in humane manners.)

I read a lot.

I know I am an English major, but my reading load for this semester is ridiculous.  If I stack all my books I bought for classes this fall together, it’s about 2 feet tall.  I average about 700 pages a week.  (Sometimes it is more, sometimes less.  Last weekend it was about 1000.)  The 12 novels, 6 history books, one textbook, and literature anthology are heavy reading.  Literally.  Typically, I read a novel for my own personal gratification during the school year.  Not this semester!  I barely have time to glance at the cover of my Sports Illustrated or New Yorker each week and I never read the school newspaper anymore!  I used to attempt the Sudoku puzzle or Crossword in the back of the paper, but it is too much of a luxury these days!  I keep up with reading news on CNN’s website, but other than that, it’s been all about British Literature and Nazi history.  This sounds like I am complaining, but in reality…I love this.  All weekend long I will be curled up on the couch or in my jammies in bed reading.  This weekend it’s finishing Jane Eyre and Emma and starting Middlemarch.  Also I need to finish my Nazi readings and make flashcards for the midterm on Wednesday.

Goat Curses Are Real!

I feel as though I’ve posted something similar before…

Was it only a year ago?

http://themusingsofachild.wordpress.com/2007/10/07/rip/

Grown-ups

Looking at the word “grown-up” is strange.  It looks odd when you think too much about it.  I know I often muse on the topic of my impending college graduation, and not wanting to grow up entirely just yet, but last night I had a revelation.  I went to a party hosted by two of my friends from my dorm freshman year.  Well, they’re more than just mere acquaintances that happened to live on the same floor as me.  Emily and I were roommates and Kat lived across the hall.  I have to believe in fate in some way because knowing the two of them has made me a better person, in my opinion.  Emily and I were not randomly placed together as roommates.  The university had a “roommate search” on their website and we emailed one another after finding that we answered the questions on the survey the same.  We found out we had a lot in common and decided to put each other’s names down when applying for housing.  It was random that Kat lived across the hall.  Most of the people I call my friends here in college I met during our first year.  It is true that the friends you make in the dorm will likely stick together throughout.  The point of the story is that while at the party at their house, I came to realize that I am glad I found such intelligent friends.  It felt like a real “grown-up” type of party.  We are all over the age of 21 now, which makes things different altogether, but the people we spend our time with tell a lot about a person.  I was able to have converstations with a couple different guys about literature at the party.  Now, I don’t think of myself as an entirely superficial person, but I do have standards with whom I spend my time with.  Reading is very important to me, so finding common ground with others on that is appealing.  I consider all my friends to have some sort of “substance” to them.  People are more than what’s on the surface.  Once you get past the initial fascination in the looks department, conversation becomes important.  I suppose it isn’t that everyone needs to read all the time and talk about literature.  But finding friends with similar interests is helpful.  I am blessed to have so many people in my life who I believe will change the world for the better.  We get along because we think the same things, care about the same issues, and shared the same experiences.  Now that we are approaching the end of this era, I am happy to have met so many intriguing people.  One of my regrets of college was not being able to study abroad.  But now that a lot of my friends have returned, they have many interesting stories to share.  It was cool sitting around the table at three in the morning listening to conversations in Swahili.  I think we’ve come a long way from just starting out three years ago.  Who knows where we will be a year from now, but I have the feeling that reunions will always be in the works.  Doug tells me that the relationship between me and my best friend of 18 years LeAnn is grown up.  Mostly because while we may not always call one another or hang out on a regular basis, when we do we pick up where we left off.  Nothing has changed.  I moved away from my hometown in eighth grade and now almost eight years later, we are going to the same university.  Actually this is the first time we’ve ever attended the same school.  But the few times we’ve stayed in touch with one another over the years apart have brought us closer in my opinion.  I have faith that the people I am blessed to call my friends will never be more than a phone call away.