Hippie science

Some excerpts from How Life Moves, one of my textbooks for Scientific Foundations:

"We have met and embodied the cell."

"After we are born, before we orient to mother or to the breast..."

(photo caption) "Children accepting the invitation to notice the sky."

Scientific, my sacrum. I read three chapters of that glop just now. As I read, I unconsciously imagined that the words were being spoken in a high, breathy woman's voice, like a narrator for a yoga video. It was profoundly irritating. Maybe it would go better if I imagined the narrator was Miss Kerry. I'd be much more likely to take this kind of groovy bullshit seriously if the person saying it was someone I respected.

Birthday festivities

Last night, we celebrated Emily's birthday. Alice made her panang curry and I tried out a recipe for aloo gobi, which actually worked pretty well. This time we made rice to sop up the sauce in the curry, which was nice as it's very soupy. Alice used a different curry paste from the one at Josie's party, and the result was much milder. I kind of missed that sinus-clearing spiciness. At the last minute, a girl from my house showed up and gave us some bread sticks she had been planning to take to a dinner party that fell through. After dinner, Erika made her famous cardamom vanilla (possibly cinnamon) cocoa and Emily made gluten-free egg-free dairy-free cake. It was quite a feast!

The preparations went off without a hitch, more or less. There was a pot-juggling moment during which I had to raid the free box to find a trivet, and came up with a really hideous bulky knit scarf about six feet long. There were those who wanted to claim it afterwards, but I think it'll have a better life as a really ugly trivet rather than a really ugly article of clothing.

Speaking of clothing, because Emily is one of the most stylish people I know, we all dressed up for dinner (except for Alice. But she cooked, so that's a good excuse). I wish I had gotten a picture of the group because we did look pretty good. My new corset made its debut (yes, Caroline, I bought a corset. Just send disapproving vibes my way, you don't have to scold me) alongside Josie and Erika's corsets. Now Emily wants to get one for Conbust. It's a disease, I'm telling you.

We made quite a picture, all crammed into the kitchen, juggling cake and cocoa and trying to maneuver through the small space. I'm used to the kitchen being the place to socialize, but Baldwin's kitchen is really pretty small, and there were nine of us in there. It was like a more delicious version of sardines. We washed up the dishes, cleaned the kitchen (which was rather a business. Turmeric does not like to leave any surface, and the stove looked sort of like we had been brewing highlighter fluid), and repaired upstairs for Apples to Apples.

No pictures this time, but it was a great evening.

HIRED.

The hits just keep on comin'. I'm working Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 to 12-:30 at Sunnyside with the oldest kids (4-5 years old). Babytimes lie ahead! Moneymaking babytimes. Life is good.

First Day of Classes

And it couldn't have gone better. I started the day with the granola Emily made me, plain yogurt, and a hard boiled egg. Then I was off to Psychopharmacology, which was ok but promised to be upsetting in the very near future. After class I killed some time in the library, met Alice for lunch, and went to Kinesiology half an hour early.

Hilarious coincidence: Alice's roommate is in that class too! I hope this turns out to be a good coincidence, because this girl saw me, clearly recognized me (we've shared some moments, Taylor and I), and did not say hi or even smile. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen her smile. What's her deal? She's surrounded by delightful people constantly and doesn't smile? Yeesh.

To resume. I had some serious butterflies about Kinesiology because Caroline told me the professor was kind of grouchy and the chances were good that I wouldn't get in, BUT (as I'm sure you've guessed by now) I GOT IN!!! The class was SO DAMN AWESOME. We spent the first half of the class talking about the evolution of people's perceptions of bodies, and the second class handling HUMAN FUCKING BONES. WHAT IS UUUUUUUUP???!!!

Then after THAT, I had Comp I. The professor is fabulous, the class seems super fun, and my classmates seem way cool. As I left Mendenhall, a lovely snow was falling: not the nasty biting kind, but the softest sort. It was an auspicious beginning.

EDIT: I also got a job interview! I applied to work at the daycare center near the Quad and got an email requesting a meeting! Everything rules!

The Future

I've been reading A Beautiful Mess for a few months now, and yesterday, I was trying to kill some time, so I stumbled over to that author's sister's blog, Food Coma. (see Blogs I Love page for links.) I actually prefer Food Coma, because the writing style is fresher, the author is a little less assured of how perfect her life is, and...well...food. I really appreciate food, you guys.

I like reading these two blogs as companions, but it's also a little strange. I know so much about these people: their home lives, their family, what they wear every day and what they cook while wearing it. (I would like to make it clear that I am not a stalker. These women blog a lot and they blog in great detail.) Still, I'm never going to meet them or have any kind of connection to them. I know this isn't a new concept but it's pretty new for me.

Getting my Granger on

I miss school so much that I just went on Moodle and looked up class syllabi and any articles and videos that we'll cover in class. Scientific Foundations of Dance seems to have a head-trippy foundation that I didn't anticipate; Unit 1 sounds like a TOK class ("How do we know we're human?") and features this video. Should be interesting.

Paper plates and hockey skates

I actually did stuff yesterday! My weeks of lethargy were getting pointless, so I finally got it up to call Loaves and Fishes and signed myself up for a few shifts.

Yesterday was my first day back. In high school, I would swing by Loaves and Fishes when I had a snow day. The weather would leave them short-staffed and welcoming extra help. As it happened, yesterday held up that tradition. There wasn't a ton of snow, but there was enough to make navigating the roads dicey.

The nasty weather meant that there weren't as many people coming by for lunch. When it's sunny and clear, there are up to 108 people, but yesterday, I think there were 70 or 80. It was a very sociable group; we joked around and had a pretty good time. The lunch was extremely unhealthy; sloppy joes (and when we ran out of that, corned beef hash), fries (and when we ran out, various kinds of chips), grab bags of candy, a cake or cookie or something for dessert. It's really for the best that there weren't many people eating such an unhealthy lunch. At least they got a hot meal and some coffee.

I like to feed people. I keep meaning to do more work with Manna in Northampton, but I went there only once, when the power went out in October. Manna serves far fewer people (as far as I could tell; it was a snowy day, so they probably have more most of the time), and as far as I could tell, Loaves and Fishes' guests are far more charming. There was a guy who told all of us really cheesy jokes, they all thank the volunteers, and some of them help clean up. The patrons are overwhelmingly male, of approximately the same age, but a wide spectrum of race and cultural backgrounds. Loaves and Fishes makes a point of serving everyone of every race, creed, sexual orientation, you name it, which is really commendable. That's why my cause is feeding people: people have varying opinions about a lot of issues, but everyone knows that everyone must eat.

Later that day, my dad and I went to a Sabres game. It was Buffalo versus Toronto, so the stadium was completely packed, and we were right in the middle of a whole bunch of Leafs fans. There was a Sabres fan from Lockport sitting right behind my dad who was very vocal, and he and I took it upon ourselves to drown out the Canadians. I haven't screamed that much since Convocation. Honestly, I'm surprised I wasn't hoarse this morning.

It was a great game. The Sabres scored twice in the first period, and just as we all thought it would be an easy win, the Leafs scored twice as well. (One was a fluke, though. Easily could have been prevented.) Also in the first period, a rogue puck hit two spectators in the head. I felt terrible for them (even though they were Leafs fans) as I saw them leave the arena, clutching towels to their profusely bleeding faces. Spend a hundred bucks on ringside tickets and get taken out first period? That really sucks.

The rogue puck made up the requisite violence for the game, I guess. I was disappointed that the gloves didn't drop, but that aside, the game was fantastic. Sabres won, 3 to 2, and on the sardine tin that was the Buffalo train back home, spirits were very high. The Sabres fans were being pretty obnoxious (they were drunk, but they probs would have been the same way sober) on the train, doing things like refusing Leafs fans entry and chanting a few off-color remarks in regards to the losing team. It was awesome, and I'm glad I got to share that experience with my dad.

If only Smith had a hockey team...

Goals

Grades were posted today, and mine were a decent pushing-off point, but I can do better. Next semester, Dean's List! Here we go!

Back to reality

My agenda for tomorrow:

1. Volunteer at Loaves and Fishes
2. Post something insightful about poverty and soup kitchens
3. Make another stuffed creature (I made a swan today that was going to be a present but instead I'm just keeping it, so tomorrow's probs going to be another fox day) while listening to This American Life
4. Finish The Hobbit
5. Make baked lentils and cheese for dinner.

My vacation has been uneventful so far. I'm not working, just lazing around, making cute little creatures out of fabric scraps, and working on my sock loom. Today I found a kickass recipe for browned butter brownies that completely rocked my world. I wanted to eat them for dinner, they smelled so intoxicating, but my mother insisted on eating a real dinner (pfffft, what's that about?), so we made pierogi. Pierogi and applesauce, with super-rich brownies for dessert. I swear to God I literally felt weighed down after that meal.

All of the relatives are gone, so the holidays are really over. My mother said I should use this time to rejuvenate and prepare for the spring semester. I really need some direction, so tomorrow, I'll write up a list of the things I plan to accomplish from now till the 20th.