A Day of Reckoning.

That's right: 3 tests in 3 hours, followed by a 3 1/2 hour lab, which begins with a quiz. Boy oh boy--what a day. It seemed inconceivable that such a cluster of foul things could really exist, but they did. And here I am, alive and... not too bad, I reckon.

It started with me feeling like this:

Utterly trapped by my own dread of the three hour long exams, followed by the tedious and stressful Chem lab.

By the time I had gotten through the three exams (One in each class: Atmosphere, Ocean, & Climate change; Chemistry; and Biology), I rather felt like this:

As though my brain had somehow escaped and was sitting on top of my head. Odd.

By the time I got through lab, i felt more like this:

Yes, those are raspberries in a blender.

Now I am working on getting back to feeling like this:



Young, care-free, and holding REALLY BIG FLOWERS.

With a nap, it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Good Words

"Worry is reverse prayer."

-Joan Logghe

What People Whistle

I hear many different things being whistled outside my window, which overlooks a small green space bordering the pathway to the gym and the bookstore. Today: The Girl from Ipanema and a Beethoven minuet for piano.

So: What's going on? I'm taking NOTHING but science classes this semester, I kid you not. Having decided to be an Environmental Studies major instead of an English major, I have to get some rather unpleasant (by my standards) classes out of the way--Chemistry, Biology, labs... I was taking an English classes, but it was just too much, so I had to drop it (labs, which I have two of, are only worth half a credit, though you spend at least three hours in them a week, and do lab reports, etc--foul). Alas! Hopefully this will mean I'll actually have time to read books, though. Other than my textbooks. Granted, I am taking a class about atmosphere and climate change, which is very interesting.




Meanwhile, I've been singing with the Slavs, baking cookies (chocolate chip-walnut and oatmeal; banana chip ones are in the works for this weekend), going to the farmer's market, which is much bigger this year, I'm glad to report (though nowhere near the size of ours at home!), and RIDING MY NEW BICYCLE!!

Having class only on Science Hill this year (that far-off bastion of labs and classrooms) means a bit of a walk. Not a bad one, by any means, but if you have to be up there by 9:30 am three days a week, having some wheels is a very appealing thought. I asked around, went to a bike shop, and finally found one on Craigslist, a lovely turquoise Diamondback, from a man who lives in Guilford, about 25 minutes from here. As it happened, he had jury duty in New Haven the day after I inquired about it, and thus was able to bring it to me. Gosh Darn!



I've also been going to the farm, enjoying flowers, burning miniature Zozobras, and trying to figure out what The Cupcake Truck is. (I found out: followthatcupcake.com )

Year 2 at Yale

So--I'm ba-ack! I'm all moved into my new digs in Morse College (mascot: Walrus) thanks to the help of my good and gracious mother. My room, unlike last year, is not located directly above the noisiest street in New Haven, and is about twice as big. Which means that I can actually have three chairs in the room. I am on the first floor this year, and my East-facing window gets sunshine in the morning and looks out on a perfect circle of trees.

The latest big news is that I have decided to change my major (I'm fairly certain) to Environmental Studies instead of English. I'm already pretty excited about it. This means that I'm taking Chemistry, Cell Biology, and a class called Atmosphere, Ocean, and Climate Change. Cool. I'll also have one English class still, and two labs. Oh boy--this is different for me, but I think it will be fine. My thought is that this major is the best way to incorporate my interest in food and agriculture into my studies.

Speaking of food: Since last I wrote, I: Made cookies, drank Thai Iced coffee with my mother, and made a chocolate cake with raspberry coulis, which was an unreal color, for Graham's birthday (26 on the 26th! Happy birthday, darling.) There were plenty of things in between all that, like a drive up to Taos, a walk through Indian Market, and an encounter with a VERY LARGE tomato worm.






A thunder storm just passed through, a few rumbles and perhaps 20 minutes of rain. The weather has been very pleasant. My mother and I ate at the Cuban restaurant tonight, which is SO GOOD. Walking back, I heard a rythmic tapping coming from somewhere, and then the sounds of a chime. As we rounded the corner by Atticus bookstore, we came across a young man playing the digeridoo, to which he had affixed a chime and a wooden frog sound maker. The ringing of the chime followed us all the way down the street.