February 22nd

What is this thing? What does it do? It was just chilling out in front of the music library tonight. I think I'll name it Peter.

I need to sleep.

February 21st

On the trails behind Horsebarn Hill, there is an abandoned ski lift. The rusty pulleys (Ali called them something specific, but I don't remember it, and she doesn't read this anyway so I'm just gonna call them pulleys) on rusty poles and the rusty generator at the top of the hill are the only things that remain. The poles are lining the left side of the path in this picture.

February 19th

I was sitting in the guys' room when one of them lamented our lack of Balderdash. I said that I did have Balderdash, I just hadn't brought it down to store in their room, but if they wanted to play sometime, they could just call me and I would bring it down. Molony and John each preceded to call me, while I was sitting across the room from them, to ask me to get Balderdash. I went upstairs to my room and grabbed the game. When I opened the door to their room, they were counting out paper money and placing it around the Office Monopoly board that they had set up on the table. I was almost convinced they were actually going to make me play the stupid game when Cameron was kind enough to tell me they were messing with me (once again).

This is one of John's Balderdash cards. The acronym was B.H.M.A. The actual answer was Bald Headed Men of America. John's answer was Blind Hermits with Massive Alzheimer's. I couldn't get through reading the card I was laughing so hard.

February 18th

I've noticed these before. They're on every floor in the stairwells of South. I've never really given them much thought, and up until now I'd just assumed that they were for people in wheelchairs to use to call for help getting down to a lower floor. I'm not entirely sure WHY this seemed like the obvious function to me. South has an elevator after all, so I have no idea what business a wheelchair-bound individual would have entering a stairwell in the first place, never mind who would be expected to come running when they pushed the Help button, or what the rescuer would do once he or she got there. I suppose that if one WERE in a wheelchair, and one DID manage to get into the stairwell, the lack of a blue door-opening handicapped button might prove getting back inside the hallway without falling backward down a flight of stairs rather difficult. Of course, the distinct absence of a blue button ought to have signaled to the individual that this was a bad idea in the first place, that and the fact that the sign plate by the door clearly says STAIRS. It's even got braille on it, so the blind handicapped people have no excuse either. But I digress.

I noticed the little black button labeled CALL. It's not like an elevator call button with a little fireman's hat embossed on its shiny face that clearly indicates where that call will go. No, this call button has a number pad. Which brings me to my next quandary. Clearly this panel is supposed to be used for more than just calling 911, because who's going to take the time to dial when they could just push the big red emergency button? So what I want to know is, could I use this panel to call ANY number? I am so tempted to try this, but I fear that pressing the call button may set off some kind of alarm or something. And I assume that the number dialed would get recorded somewhere, and I wouldn't want the call traced back to me.

Maybe the call button is there so that the handicapped person stuck in the stairwell can call someone to chat with while he or she waits for someone to come to the rescue. I'm gonna go with that.

February 17th

Agents James Bond themed dance tonight, and Mouseboy and I got all dressed up to go. He then noticed Steph's calendar, and just had to strike a pose.

February 16th

These are an amazing Valentine gift David gave me. They are halves of double stuffed Oreos with Hershey's kisses, almond slivers, red frosting dye stuff, and maraschino cherries. They're MICE!!! The eggs are caramel Cadbury eggs, which I love. Also, there were many more mice than this, and one more egg, but I already ate them.

Let me tell you how I devour my mice. First, I pull on their little tails until their bodies detach from their heads, and I eat the cherry. Then I pluck off their little ears and munch on the almonds. I pop their little heads in my mouth and enjoy the Hershey goodness. Lastly, I eat the Oreo, creme side down, and savor the newfound deliciousness that is Oreo with maraschino juice. Best Valentine's Day dish ever.

February 15th

All the snow melted, and resulted in a TERRIBLE FLOOD! Just kidding. Actually, this is just the light reflecting off the hard shiny surface of the snow in the quad. But it kind of looks like a lake. Anyway, I thought it was really neat-looking.

February 14th

Valentine's Day! The clouds this morning were one large white block across the sky, creating a stark boundary between white and blue. Kinda neat.

This was the best Valentine's Day ever. My wonderful David came up to see me, and we went to see Gnomeo and Juliet at the Mansfield Movieplex. It was an adorable movie, and it was full of excellent references. There was a POWERTHIRST PARODY even! I can't begin to describe to you how ecstatic I am about that.

So, I realize that I failed to post a picture yesterday. Life goes on. If this blog becomes work, I am perfectly happy to abstain from posting on Sundays. However, I'm still enjoying the project. So don't expect me to get lazy any time soon.

February 12th

This one's for you, John. Admittedly, I did not take this beautiful specimen of photography. Today was lovely. I went to a photo shoot for a friend's senior art project, and got to wear a wedding dress. The theme was the New Jerusalem. Yes, I did take photos at the event. Yes, I could put one of those up for today. But this one is just so breathtakingly gorgeous, how could I post anything else? We played Rock Band tonight, and my friend, who enjoys stealing and systematically dismembering people's cell phones, pilfered my camera and snapped a bunch of pictures without my knowledge. This is me being a good sport about it.

February 11th

Today was packed with awesome. This morning was One Ton Sundae, for which you wait in line outside and pay one dollar to scoop as much ice cream and toppings as you want into a sundae bucket. The ice cream is in a huge cart, and it was so awesome. Here is me, Cameron, and Steph enjoying our spoils. Mmmmm. I actually managed to eat half a bucket-full, without regret.

Tonight was the RUF Winter Dance Par-tay. It was amazing. At one point, someone passed out feathered and furry bright colored boas as well as plastic hats and some wigs! It's really nice to go to a dance party and not see anyone grinding, and have everyone cheering for everyone as they show off their moves, lol. So much fun.

February 10th

I was grabbing things from my closet when I noticed writing on the back of a belt hanging up on a hook. It says "GENUINE SNAKE". I have never noticed this before, nor would I ever have guessed it wasn't fake. Cool, but strange. It was made in Taiwan. I guess they have really blue snakes in Taiwan.

February 9th

There is so much snow, heavier machinery is being used to clear it away. And they're running out of places to put it. Last week I saw a dump truck full of snow driving away from Gampel. Today I saw this backhoe outside the music building, shoveling snow from the teacher's lot and bringing it all the way over to the South A yard. It's interesting and unsettling at the same time to think that something so simple and innocent as snow could slowly overwhelm the campus. Maybe this is what it felt like to be in the dust bowl...well, okay, so it's definitely nowhere near how bad that was, but maybe you get what I mean?

February 8th

Darn, two minutes after midnight. So close.

Tonight was the first night of Advanced workshops this semester. It's going to be an interesting semester.

This is a picture of pictures I have hanging in my dorm room. Actually, they are calendar photos which I found on a very old calendar. I don't even think it was MY calendar. But I really liked the pictures, so I took them and put them up on my wall. I've never had posters or anything like that. I've always just posted pretty pictures or interesting newspaper articles on my walls, and I'm perfectly happy with that.

EDIT: So apparently this blog runs on West coast time, because it said I posted this at 9:05. Good to know.

February 7th

This is a picture of a maintenance crew shoveling snow off of the roof of the gym. This past week, I saw them outside of South, moving along the sidewalk as a group, slowly chipping away at the ice and shoveling it from the path. It gave me an odd feeling, reminding me of the workers in The Other Side of the Island who never spoke but went about their tasks like drones. From what I've seen, the crew is composed of short people in bright blue or yellow vests, and they emerge from the woodwork whenever duty calls. Maybe it's bad of me to think that's sort of creepy, but it makes me so uneasy to realize the extent of the "Us-Them" mentality that exists here. Students walk by without a nod to their existence. No one stops to say hello or thank them. They are Others, here to do the menial jobs that make our days safer and more pleasant, and yet we completely take for granted the shoveled walkways and de-iced steps that are the results of their hard work. Or maybe I'm just over-thinking this.

February 6th

SUPER BOWL! We were rooting for the Green Bay Packers, and they won! A good time was had by all. Following super bowl 45 was a new episode of Glee. I wonder which shows we watch now will become classics that our children will watch in the future. Will Glee make it? I'm gonna bet no, as much as I'm entertained by it.

February 5th

One of my friends had to run home to get some things, so I volunteered to accompany him on this mini-adventure. His car has a crack in the windshield that cuts through the tinted strip at the top of the windshield, and it makes the tint look brighter blue while the rest is a sort of aqua green. It was drizzling very slightly out, and as we drove I snapped a picture. At a quick glance, it looks like a bolt of lightning.

My David is coming up today, and we're going to go contra dancing with a bunch of friends tonight. I can't wait!

February 4th

So, I failed once again to get a picture today. My day was crazy busy. The morning started off very relaxed, but then I learned there was an Agents show today rather than Saturday, so I went straight from class to that. Then I came back, rested a very short time, went to dinner, and ran off to prepare for ONE Night! One Night, where the Son is visible. One Night went really, really well. God is definitely at work on this campus!

This is the Nathan Hale Inn. I noticed icicles hanging from the roof, and they didn't catch my eye until perspective kicked in and I realized just how huge they must actually be.

February 3rd

It's cold outside, but it sure is beautiful, and I wish I could get a better picture of what I see out there. Click on the photo to enlarge it, and you can better see what I saw. This tree is covered in ice. It looks like it's made of crystal. So long as the temperature stays below freezing, the ice should stay put. This is my only reason to want it to stay so cold, but my desire to keep this beauty around for a while longer trumps my desire for this snow to start melting and things to warm up a bit. By a lot. In other news, there's rumor of more snow next week. When will it END??

February 2nd

Second snow day in a row. Actually, it was a "wintry mix" that poured down from the heavens today, so I can sort of understand Jay Hickey's side of it. Sort of.

This evening was clear, and I walked outside through the South C (aka Snow, heehee) courtyard. The trees are sheathed in ice, ice that covers every individual twig, glistening in the lantern light. It is so beautiful. Usually I would refrain from calling the walkway outside the dining hall "magical," but tonight, it came pretty close. Taking pictures at night, with a simple digital camera, I cannot do the sight justice. My pictures of the trees were unclear and orange, so a snapshot of one limb of one tree will just have to do.

February 1st

No school today, and I'm certain we won't have any school tomorrow (though I'd be very glad to be wrong). Snow days are great, but having a bunch of snow days bunched together like this really stinks.

Feeling frustrated with the world? I suggest investing in a little dancing wind-up toy. My David gave me these three, on different occasions. I got the blue one first, and as soon as I wound it up and watched it dance, I couldn't help but smile. Sometimes when I'm really down or angry, I wind-up the toys and just watch them, and they make me happy.

It's interesting how such simple things can cause so much joy. I guess if small things--like a perceived slight, or not finding a parking space--can cause hurt and frustration, it makes sense that simple pleasures also exist that can turn one's mood around. It's sort of silly, if you think about it, how quickly our emotions can shift. It raises the question: to what extent are we in control of and responsible for our own emotional state?