The Snake

My first regatta* has come and gone faster than you can say "Quinsigamond Lake." Go MHC Crew!
*not including the Head of the Riverfront in which I just tagged along

Sport Graphics should be uploading pictures from the race fairly soon so you all can ogle at double chins and expressions of pain. I'll be the one in the furry hat furiously yelling into the mic.

In other news, it's Sunday night and tomorrow is another start to another workweek. The weekend has gone by so quickly, partly due to the fact that I spent a large part of it sleeping. But that's okay because I got a lot of reading done today which is quite an accomplishment especially because the material was rather dull. I also have no sense of motivation or focus to do homework.

This is going to be a good week, I can feel it!

#YDKWYMUIG

It's fall. The leaves are changing colors, the temperature is dropping, you find yourself wearing a little bit more everyday, and there are a lot of geese.

It is 2:16 and I'm taking a break from leisurely reading Imagine: How Creativity Works. (Funny how that works out, huh?) I dozed off for a while but when I woke up, I found myself looking at this:

My view of the world at 2:16 on 10/10/12

So there I was, sitting in my chair and suddenly I longed for warm summer days on the beach spent reading. I'll admit that there's nothing notable about that revelation. Of course people long for summery days in the fall/winter, and vice versa. But it really hit me that you only actually appreciate things once they're gone. Or rather, #You Don't Know What You're Missing Until It's Gone. I don't believe #YDKWYMUIG will catch on any time soon... quick, mass hashtagging on Twitter!

Just think about it. This is the first time I've been away from home for an extended period of time (more than a week) without my family (or a car) and I find myself longing for so many things back home that I had always taken for granted. Like the MTA; everyone back home spews angry thoughts about it, but it's much more favorable than taking hour long bus trips to the next town over.

Anyway, that's pretty much all I had to say. That, and I do not like bowloaders. An inexperienced coxswain in a bowloader with 4 inexperienced rowers is the actual equivalent of the blind leading the blind.Also, unevenly distributed pressure makes me look like an idiot swerving across the entire river. I now appreciate rowers who can go straight without steering implements.

P.S. I disregarded the "Please Do Not Adjust Temp" sticker on the thermostat in the library and moved the gauge to the warmest setting and it's still pretty darn cold. That sticker is useless. So is the thermostat.

Things I Miss

"Once you've lived in New York City, nowhere else can compare"

• Artichoke pizza
• Rafiqi's Halal
• Spice
• Street vendors
• H&M
• Red Mango
• Kung Fu Tea
• Flushing Pho
• The living room couch
• Being able to not do work and still pass class
• Reading for pleasure
• 9:00 Cereal
• Truck food
• Cheap nonsense
• Eating whenever I want to, not between scheduled dining hall hours
• Union Sq.
• Bumming out
• SUMMER. I miss summer.

Now that it's cold out, I have absolutely no desire to step outside. The life of a homebody.

5- Minute Update

Just a quick catch-up before I fully delve into my analytical paper on Starbucks...
1. I miss the warmth. Brb while I go install heat lamps in our room
2. My blog post about the Girls' World Forum should be published on the Girl Scout website soon (it's only three months late)
3. Fall break is nearly over! Team practices resume tomorrow morning, and we'll be on the river in the afternoon too.
4. Slowly compiling a mental list of things that I need to get/do/see upon my return to the city
5. I'd like to discover the world's one true Giffen good.

5k

We did our first two race pieces this morning. Please allow myself to list all my emotions: scared, nervous, overwhelmed, anxious, thrilled, excited, determined, motivated, proud, and relieved. I was a gibbering mess. It was great, but I am so nervous for our regatta next Saturday...

Travelled to Holyoke to make a Target run and afterwards we went to Whole Foods to grab a slice. While we were graciously nomming on our pizza, the fire alarm went off. No one reacted at first, so we continued to enjoy our snack until customers realized that it was not a false alarm and employees practically pushed us out the door into the freezing rain.

Sometimes I miss science classes because I've always appreciated that they're logically explained and solidly determined. There are right and wrong answers and right ways to come to certain conclusions and there are no gray areas, and I kinda like that. You're not asked to write about your feelings (or lack thereof) and homework assignments don't ask you to delve into your inner being. I kinda miss doing math... not that I actually did math homework in high school (or ever). But I like the idea of writing out a process that comes to a single solution... #nerdingout

Enjoy your Fall Break, Mount Holyoke! Don't party too hard.

Few and Far Between

It's official. My self-diagnosis proclaims that I, indeed, have a fever. Just kidding. I haven't gotten one in years so I don't even remember what it feels like to have one. Sure, I pressed the back of my hand against my forehead, but my hand was cold, so what good is that? Isn't your forehead supposed to be warm to begin with? How the heck am I supposed to know at which warmth I can declare myself near-dead?

If I could get the answer to any question I've ever had in the world, my question would be: How the heck did I get sick and who the heck gave it to me?! Seriously though.

I hope that tomorrow's Mountain Day so that I won't miss any classes. I like my Monday/Wednesday classes. Thursday would be a lovely option as well. Hmm... I guess that means if I'm stuck in bed recuperating, I can't climb the mountain and get free swag. Oh well, I have three more years.

I figured out how to request a book from another library, so I asked for IMAGINE: How Creativity Works from Amherst. The thing about this book is that it's not in production anymore because supposedly, the author falsified some information. But I've always wanted to read it, and now I have it! So I shall germify it and enjoy it while in bed.

Je suis très malade

When you get sick, your order at Uncommon Grounds turns into "I'm sick, I NEED a hot green tea in the largest size you have. And I'll have two."

This bout of illness calls for isolation from all persons, places, and things! Just kidding, I'm paying for college. Every able body should just not come to class. I must enforce a 5-foot bubble of protection from all human beings.

With Mountain Day, this is a 4-day week! I'm crossing my fingers for Thursday. Plus, October break is this weekend, so we have Monday and Tuesday off from class! But we're rowing all day on Tuesday, so I guess that makes up for it. I wasn't planning on trekking up the "mountain," but the possibility of fun goodies is a way better incentive than ice cream. Plus it's only a mile. My immune system can handle it.

I made my biweekly visit to my mailbox and found a lovely postcard of the Statue of Liberty.