On St. Crispin's Day (Belated)

Thanks to Katie for reminding me that Thursday was indeed St. Crispin's day. On Thursday I actually started writing a post about how fitting it was that this feast day fell on that particular day. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to finish it because I was in the midst of my own battle with a particularly nasty Anglo-Saxon paper.

Last week really was a battle for me because it was just so rotten. I missed the wedding because I not only had the paper to write, but I had two exams. It was awful. I was so upset. Not only because I missed a very special day for two people I love very much, but also because I had been looking forward to seeing my family all semester. I was so ready to get off campus for awhile and just not be an adult for awhile. I was ready to go, and I tried as hard as I could, but the day before I was supposed to leave, I realized that  there was no way I could take that weekend off. To be honest, I spent the whole weekend crying about how much I hated school because I've missed so many important family events.

Then the week started. The two exams were fine. I don't know why I worried about them, but the paper was a beast. I was practically living in the library, but I finished it six whole hours before the deadline and turned it in. It was such a relief! And now I have a whole week of normality before my second round of midterms start.

I decided to give myself the day off from homework yesterday, so I went and had some girl time at the mall. I got two amazing sweaters at H&M, as well as an adorable infinity scarf. Now I'm curled up in bed with a cup of coffee, reading the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Pure. Bliss. Let me tell you.

Anyway, I'm think that I'm going to write a music post at some point and maybe a post with pictures too. So stay tuned!

I swear I haven't been neglecting you. I've started writing about eight different posts, and eight different times I've gotten completely sidetracked. But I promise it's always for a good reason, like homework. I had one of the absolute worst weeks of my college career, and its looking like next week will be pretty rotten. But I'm only going to focus on the positive things, because otherwise I'll probably go utterly insane, leave school, and go to work at McDonald's.

I get to go home next weekend! My "big brother" is getting married, and I am so excited I could explode. It's going to be a crazy, whirlwind trip, but I'm desperate for a break from campus. I'm braving the Megabus to get there, but it was a $60 fare compared to the $1000 plane ticket. So the choice wasn't too hard.

And speaking of travel, I'll be studying abroad next semester! I cannot wait to live overseas again! I'll also get to spend two weeks in England, visiting friends and traveling. It's been ten years since my family moved back to the States, and we've never been back to visit, so this is a huge deal. I'm also planning some other trips while I'm over there. I'm definitely going to Germany and, hopefully, Austria; I really want to go to Normandy, and I'd really like to make a pilgrimage to Muro, Italy where my patron saint, St. Gerard, was born. I bet you can't tell how utterly excited I am.

I've also discovered my "thing". I absolutely love to.... Dance! I've been involved in the Swing dance and Contra dance clubs, but I've recently been introduced to two-stepping. Being a huge country music fan, two-stepping is right up my alley. I went out with some friends last night and had a great time dancing and singing country music at the top of my lungs.

Well, I've got to go finish reading Bede for my Anglo-Saxon mid-term on Monday. Have a great weekend!

Just Because

In my Anglo-Saxon England class, we've been learning about how the Anglo-Saxons liked to make up history. Yep, they just made stuff up to make themselves look good. This includes many, rather fanciful, genealogies. I was telling my friend, Greg, about this on Friday night, so of course we decided that we too should make up our own genealogies, which in 6th century England would have made us pretty cool. So without further ado, I present my Anglo-Saxon style genealogy.

In the beginning Woden begot Thor, who begot Zeus, the king of the gods. And in turn, he begot Agamemnon, who begot Odysseus, who begot the great warrior Beowulf. Who begot the great King David, whose daughter was Mary Magdalene, and her son was named Noah. And Noah begot Julius Caesar, who begot Charlemagne, who begot Grendel, whose daughter was Jane Austen. Her son was Charles Dickens, who begot Gandalf the Grey, who begot Ronald, who's daughter was the fire-haired Epiphany who reigned over all. 

 Okay, so we took a few liberties, but this is basically what the elite 6th century Anglo-Saxons did. And yes, some of them did claim to be descendants of both Woden and Noah.

In other English history news, yesterday marked the 97th anniversary of the publication of Extricating Young Gussie- the first ever Jeeves and Wooster story! If you haven't had the good fortune to read any of P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster stories, all I can say is that you're missing out. The series was also made into a rather fantastic television show starring Stephan Fry and a very young Hugh Laurie.

I haven't actually seen this episode, but the clip had me rolling around in my desk chair, helpless with mirth.

And finally, if you like free things, of if you like audio books, you should totter over to my dear Mama's blog to find a link to some really great free audio books that amazon and audible are giving away!

Sophomore Year They Said. It'll Be Fun They Said

I just got my final schedule complete with my violin lessons and chamber ensemble practices, and my main thought right now is, "What the *expletive* was I thinking?" To give you a taste of the extent to which schoolwork has taken over my life, see video.

     German is actually one of my favorite classes this semester. It's a lot of fun to speak German with my friends because it makes us feel very superior. "Can you ask me how I am in German? I think not."Actually we spend a lot of time watching goofy youtube videos and trying to insult each other in German (very challenging with such a limited vocabulary).

     Biology is another story. In fact it's quite similar to this story. My lab partner and I did indeed spend an hour peering into a microscope at some interesting little dots that turned out to be the side of our slide and not the onion skin we were supposed to be observing. It was a bit embarrassing to say the least.

    I'm also taking this amazing Anglo-Saxon history class. Basically we're reading Bede and talking about archeology. Our textbook even has pictures of random Anglo-Saxon stuff. Not only do I like looking at pictures, but it makes me happy when they mean that the actual text I have to read is shorter. Unfortunately my professor seems to have also figured this out. Ah well.

    I should probably stop checking facebook because every weekend my acquaintances talk about the lovely relaxing things they're doing,  like having fun. And every weekend I am sorely tempted to make some sarcastic comment like, "I'm having a great weekend too! Only 20 more pages of Plato to read! lol." But I don't. Every weekend.

Anyway, I'm off to get some more coffee and study German. Auf Wiedersehen!

Books My Children Will Read

1. The Little House Books
2. The Children of Green Knowe by L.M. Boston: if you haven't read this book, you need to! (Although the sequels are, in my opinion, not nearly as good).
3. Danny Champion of the World by Roald Dahl. I must admit that I have fallen out of love with many of his books as I got older. They are so odd! But Danny is absolutely superb. 
4. The Famous Five and Secret Seven By Enid Blyton: Okay, please don't face palm! I swear these books are great; they are kind of like the British version of Nancy Drew.
5. Anne of Green Gables: Of Course. 
6. What Katy Did by Susan M. Coolidge
7. The Dear America Books. 

My Place

One more day of orientation. One more day. I can make it. Correction: my buddy caffeine and I can make it. In other news, my dorm room is finally decorated and much less depressing. 

My desk area. Isn't it cute?

Yes, I have a tree growing out of my computer.  It's actually one of those wall decal things you can buy at Target. Frankly, I'm pretty impressed with it; it's like a huge piece of tape that you stick on the wall, and if you peel it off none of the paint comes off (very important in a dorm). The pink doesn't really go with the green/blue theme my roommate and I have going on, but it really warms up an otherwise blank wall. I have a white board and millions of sticky notes to appease my desire to make random lists, and, of course, I have my favorite holy pictures to keep me company (St. Gerard in the frame and the Sacred Heart of Jesus just above the stickies). The speakers are also very very important. They allow me to blast my favorite music. When I'm not studying of course.

My very comfy bed

I don't get to spend as much time in this part of the room as I would like, but it's still pretty awesome. Even though I have to take a running start before getting in to bed every night. Do you see how far off the ground my bed is?

 I bought a new bedspread this year because the one I had last year was five years old and kind of dingy. Can you believe it was only $40 on O.co? The green fuzzy blob taking over the end of my bed is a cheapo throw that I bought during camp, but it was probably one of my best impulse buys ever. I can't really justify the pillows, except by saying that I really like squashy pillows. Oh, and the yellow M&M in the middle of the bed is a Little Miss Sunshine doll that talks when you squeeze her. All my friends think it's creepy, but I love her. So there.

These are the frames that Joy and I made during our craft day. Honestly you can make the cutest dorm decor from cheap crafts supplies from Walmart. The frames were 97 cents a piece, and the acrylic paint was 57 cents. I basically just glued stuff like lace and bottle caps on to them, and it looked like I spent a lot of money. The thing in the middle is a magnet my last roommate got me. It says, "Life is a journey not a destination." I feel very inspired by it, thank you very much.

I also have a very large Brave poster above my books shelf, but that side of the room needs some attention before I take pictures to post on the internet. Oh, and I have a roommate who has cute stuff on her side of the room, but I figured she didn't want creepy photos of her stuff all over the internet. 

Exhaustion

Aren't the Freshies oriented yet? In order to get an internship credit for my orientation leader position, I have to work fifty hours this week. I've been working my tush off, and now I'm totally exhausted. I really don't mind spending a lot of time with the freshman; it's what I signed up for, but they've kept us out late several nights in a row, and it's really getting to me. Friday night there was a very loud "Welcome Party" outside my window until 12:30, and last night I had to be a Blackjack dealer until midnight. Yes, we welcome Freshman to the Catholic college experience by teaching them how to gamble at Casino Night. It was a lot of fun, but it really takes its toll on those of us who can't leave when we want to. I'm basically living on caffeine; this is just not the best way to start the school year.