So long, farewell...

Ah, the final post for the semester. While it's always a little sad to bid farewell to another half year of my college career it's also hard to be very despondent when a month of respite begins in only two days. Don't worry Blog fans. The SOIs will return in January to entertain you with the thrills and exasperation of being a Beloit student. So until then enjoy this final post for Fall '07!

Much has happened since my last post. But where to begin? Friday night was a busy one on campus. My friend and I went downtown to attend the Beloit Holidazzle after dinner. It was very spirited with all the lights, piped-in Christmas music, and free food and drink. I bought a gift for my nephew from the college bookstore and wandered into several of the little shops lining State Street. There were crowds of people down there mingling--students, faculty, and Beloiters. Even Santa Clause made an appearance. Pretty sweet. We headed to campus after a while to attend the first annual Miss Beloit pageant hosted by one of the frats on campus. Don't worry. Pageants on campus are simply a venue for student organizations to raise money for charities and for folks to humiliate themselves on stage. The girls competing for Miss Beloit were not the traditional sorority girl figure of popular culture. In fact, one of the contestants sawed a log with a chainsaw as her talent, which really says something. It was an entertaining spectacle to be sure. Afterwards my pals and I headed out to see the final Voodoo Barbie (campus improv group, for the uninitiated) performance of the semester. It was even funnier than usual perhaps because it was a veteran member's last show and they tried harder. Who can say? The rest of the weekend was work, work, work especially on Sunday when work intruded on my dinnertime. Just kidding, Bryan! Actually Bryan was really sweet and took all the SOIs out to dinner at a local fave called La Casa Grande. It was good time to reconnect with coworkers and de-stress at the end of the semester--plus we got a free dinner. Let's hear it for Beloit Admissions!

Only one more class stands between me and freedom. Being unusually lucky this semester I was exempt from final tests and only had final papers to complete for my classes. I handed in my English paper on Monday, my creative writing portfolio today, and my history paper will change hands tomorrow morning. In weaving we already put our rugs on display in the library and will just clean up the studio tomorrow and eat fry bread. Yum, yum. Now nothing left to do but pack and attend various cultural events 'round campus. I attended a friend's band concert last night and will go to the dance workshops tomorrow night. An Anthro party and friendly get together involving biscuits and other snacks will round out the fun. Hurray for December and have a great month everyone!

Hickory Dickory Dock...

Unimaginative title, I know. But I'm feeling rather uninspired tonight. Again it is snowing in Beloit and the cosmic ballet goes on. It seems as though the weather is aligned against me. Only when I have to venture out to work in Admissions does it begin to snow.

Not much has happened this week since my last post. I finished my basket in weaving class and so set about spinning yarn from some merino wool that I bought at the Minnesota State Fair a couple years back. Ah the State Fair! It seems so long ago that I was trekking around in the straw and muck of the fairgrounds eating deep-fried goodness and ogling seed art. Goodness, how I miss the prairie and my Minnesota home.*

Anyhow, today was the last 'real' day of my creative writing class so my professor threw us a party. It was so sweet! He told everyone to bring something and no one did except him which was sad (actually I brought some cookies I made on Sunday but they were getting kinda stale and so I was too embarrassed to put them out). But he brought quite a spread--crackers in the shape of butterflies, cheese and meat, clementines, and cider. If I had known that he would go all out I wouldn't have eaten lunch right before class. This is just one shining example of the dedication of professors here at Beloit, folks. They are even willing to spend their weekend beer money on students, as he put it. From here on out it will be paper-writing, filling out evaluations, and packing for me. Perhaps something wild and woolly will occur this weekend that I can regale you all with come Tuesday. One can only hope.

*Reference to a song from A Prairie Home Companion movie.

Snow, snow

It is snowing strongly outside at the moment. Walking over to Middle College tonight in the whispery hush of the snowfall I was reminded of a Mary Oliver poem entitled "Lonely White Fields." The scene evoked by the final line seemed fitting to quote this evening--"The fields swell with a rosy light and the snow keeps on falling, flake after perfect flake." That is what I'm thinking of as I look out the windows tonight. Well, that or The Shining if you prefer a more sinister take on snowfall...

There is a real pine tree in the admissions office and it is emitting a pleasant though distracting scent of evergreen.

So classes are winding down and students are winding up right now. I'm down to two more creative writing classes which is sad. We're having a party on Thursday which should be fun though everyone is supposed to bring something to share and very few students have the money/time/inclination to go buy something for class. I haven't decided whether to bring graham crackers or Cheerios since those are the only real foodstuffs left in my pantry. Well, that or dried pasta. It will be interesting to see what anyone brings. A poor man's feast, no doubt. I only have one more paper to write for my classes, which is quite a relief, and I finished up with tutoring for the semester today. The other folks in my weaving class are completing their rugs and I've woven a little basket as of Monday that could be used for keys or pennies. Our rugs go on display at the library next Monday which will let everyone see the outcome of our hard work and agony over the course of the semester. And only two more shifts in admissions are left as well! Hopefully there will be much excitement to share with you in the following days before I finish with classes and head home for the holidays. Excitement such as a snow day perhaps? Actually that never happens on a residential campus like Beloit unless the professor can't make it to campus because students simply have to strap on their boots and bundle up before going out to slip and slide on our way to class.

The end in sight

I feel like I should say something reassuring about the last two weeks of class, especially in light of the dismal reports my colleagues have made of late. However, I can't do it. It's all sad and true. Stressful, stressful, stressful even with the end in sight. I only have one more final paper to write (in addition to two short ones) but I haven't written anything yet and no longer possess the desire to do so. There comes a point in ones college career where one has to break down and admit the evil of papers. I am so sick of papers which is very unfortunate given my chosen major. Oh well.

At least I have a respite with my weaving class. No papers, no tests, just sore hands. I'm currently weaving a basket which is going well. It's hard to get started and proves pretty tough on the fingers but there is a sense of accomplishment in seeing the progress of an art project that is unrivaled by anything. I never seem to achieve the same sense of satisfaction in handing in a paper or a story asI do when finishing a rug or basket. Hmm...perhaps this is telling me something. Alright! Enough philosophizing for one night. Two weeks from today I am heading home for a month-long break from papers. I can hardly wait but first I have to get through the next two weeks. Late nights of typing and banging my head against the wall are on the horizon, folks, made all the more unfortunate given the number of exciting doings on campus during this period like concerts, movies, dances, and parties. Helps break up the monotony of studying anyhow. All work and no play makes Krista go crazy.

Thanksgiving Recap

Hello all! I hope you had a lovely holiday last week filled with an abundance of food and pleasantries with estranged cousins. Oh, and shopping too! Mustn't forget the shopping. I was going to say something akin to the message in a Charlie Brown Christmas about the commercialism of Thanksgiving and Black Friday but caught myself just in time.

Well, I certainly enjoyed my five days away from the daily grind here in Beloit. Put my final papers and semester wrap-up on hold to bask in the sunshine of familial togetherness. I left campus last Wednesday around 8:30 AM and didn't arrive in St. Paul, MN until 4:50 PM, which was amazingly quick if the truth be told. For those of you Minnesotans who won't have a car next year and wonder how the heck one gets home if your folks won't pick you up, let me break it down for you. I take the Greyhound to Minnesota and back to Beloit over breaks. There are variations on this theme of bus travel but it usually involves going south to go north which doesn't make much sense at all. Okay, so I take a campus shuttle to the Van Galder bus station in South Beloit, IL. Then I catch a Van Galder bus to Madison, WI. From there I walk back to the Greyhound station (unless a terribly friendly bus driver offers to drop you off on the corner during a red light like the last one did) and catch a bus going to St. Paul which usually arrives somewhat late at the specified destination. There is generally a lot of waiting around in bus depots too. It actually sounds worse than it is. You have so much time to do homework and get to meet lots of interesting people, which is a boon if you're a creative writing major like me. No wonder so many of my stories center around bus stations...

Anyway, the ride to St. Paul was pretty slick and I got to Minnesota early for once. The bus was crowded on account of the holiday and so I sat next to an exchange student from China who was very friendly. We ended up having some great conversations which made the time pass much more quickly and it even started to snow when the bus reached Tomah, WI which was pretty nice and holiday-ish. The fields were dusted with white and very lovely. Reminded me of a Mary Oliver poem--"Lonely White Fields." Check it out. Okay, so once in St. Paul I stayed at my sister's house and got to meet my brand-new nephew. He was so beautiful and sweet! I can assure you that I spent lots of time with him over break. Thanksgiving I spent at my grandmother's house which was fun. The day after my parents and I went shopping (but certainly not at 4 AM) and on Saturday I got to spend some time with my best pal and peruse my favorite used bookstore (it has two cats!).

The days just sped by and soon I was back on the bus heading to Beloit. I got back to campus on Sunday evening and had dinner with my friends followed by a low-key birthday celebration for one of them. And now I am back at work writing papers and compiling portfolios and weaving baskets (since I finished my rug). Ah, the life of a college student. But soon the semester will be done and I will be able to veg out at home for a month. Only 16 more days until winter break!

Feelin Like a Sophomore

I can't believe that I haven't yet written about the Sophomore Retreat! I guess I better get on that but these past few days have been a whirlwind of intrigue and dinosaurs. Please forgive an old SOI her faults, dear readers.

So anyway, the retreat was essentially a brief respite from the drudgery of collegiate life. We had to RSVP for it weeks ago and only the first 160 students who replied were allowed to attend. It was hosted at a swanky resort in Fontana, WI near Lake Geneva. And when I say "swanky" I mean that it was tacky and overpriced. They had a Christmas display in the lobby that was a little like drinking treacle--all glitter and fake snow and rosy cheeks. But the service was great. All the employees were very courteous, the food was a nice change of pace, and the rooms were impeccable. It was the perfect time to get away from campus to relax and that's exactly what I did. We had a welcome ceremony that involved forced volunteerism for Beloit Family Feud (I had to play but won a gift certificate so all was not lost). Then we broke up for a Hot Topics event where students brainstormed ideas on how to improve different areas of the college. Mine was about how to get off campus more and into the Beloit community. Others talked about recycling, energy consumption, and 'green' food programs. There was a communal dinner where each group sent representatives to present their ideas to the students and faculty and then we attended Break Out Sessions on various topics of interest to sophomores like grad school and internships and enneagrams. Afterwards we were free to roam the hotel. There were some planned activities like a dance and casino night but otherwise people pretty much did what they wanted to do like went swimming and ate pizza while watching cable in their rooms.

The next day we had another Break Out Session and mine was about yoga and meditation which was very relaxing. Then lunch and a faculty panel where we could quiz teachers and administrators about college changes. Immediately after lunch they packed us up on the bus and we headed back to campus in the rain under leaden skies to write papers about Tess of the d'Urbervilles. All in all it was a good time but entirely too short. At least we have Thanksgiving break this week. Happy holidays everyone!

Let's Hear it for Babies!

For those of you who are too young to remember the glory days of burned-out hippies teaching children to love themselves, my title is a reference to the wondrous film "Free to Be You and Me." It's also a reference to the fact that last week I became an aunt! My oldest sister had a son on Thursday so I was out partying 'til the wee hours of the morn instead of hangin' out in Admissions. Actually, I had a class engagement Thursday night but I wish that I would have been out celebrating my new nephew instead.

This week will be a short one thanks to the national holiday coming up on Thursday. I will be heading home on Wednesday, which is sooo exciting! I can't wait to see my family again and especially my nephew. My parents and sister headed up to St. Paul on Saturday to visit him and sent me pictures on Sunday. He is so cute and I cannot wait to hold him and love him up!

Thursday night I had to attend a flash fiction reading for my creative writing class. For the uninitiated, flash fiction is stories that are 500 words or less. The theme this year was dinosaurs so everyone had to write a short story about dinosaurs. My class had to provide food and drink for the event and we were all required to read aloud to the assembled group. It was actually more fun than I thought it would be. A lot of people read and the majority of the stories were really entertaining. I dedicated my story to my nephew and my professor complimented me on it after the reading, which was nice. The reading took place at Gallery ABBA in downtown Beloit which is a student-run art gallery that features pieces done by students and faculty. One of my friends actually sells earrings down there. It was a popular reading despite being off campus--there wasn't a single spare chair in the room. Some students played music at the beginning to set the mood and it was generally an enjoyable time.

The Tenant's Ballad

This afternoon my tutee was working on spelling and vocabulary-building. We were going through her worksheets and she had to answer a question concerning tenants. I think the actual prompt was to write about where a tenant she knows lives. Presumptuous assignment perhaps, taking for granted that everyone knows a renter. Apparently my tutee didn't have any friends or classmates that rented so I told her to write that her tutor is a tenant at Beloit College. Maybe a bit of a stretch but dorm life does involve a rented space, so to speak, and while we don't pay by the month we do fork over a lump sum at the beginning of each semester for "room." Funny to think of myself as a tenant of the college. Feels like something from a Jhumpa Lahiri short story or "The Graduate."

The weather is clear and sunny these days, completely unlike the November of my youth. First of all it is entirely too warm for the time of year. Temperatures in the sixties? Come now! Back in my day we already had snow flurries around this time. Granted I'm from Minnesota which some folks believe is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from Siberia but Beloit is only 70 miles south of my hometown. By gum, Al Gore was right the whole time!

My fiction class was hopping today. We had a lively discussion about several selections from the Best American Short Stories series. Actually ran out of time which is difficult to do in a two-hour long class period. It was just that interesting. Truthfully we were spending a lot of time joking around, changing the class schedule, and talking about dinosaurs. Still, it was a good time. In my weaving class I am nearly finished with my rug. Less than an inch left to go. I'm very excited to finish it and take it off the loom. The grand event should take place tomorrow afternoon. Hurray!

Revisions, revisions

There comes a time in a young girl's life when she must turn her fancy from the diversions of youth to the more corporeal world of revisions. I had a meeting today with my creative writing prof today concerning that very topic. As the end of the semester looms ahead (only five weeks, people!) these tidings become even more onerous. So you can imagine how my weekend will look--Krista stooped over her laptop, typing furtively, stopping now and then to exclaim "I've got it!" as she flips wildly through pages of manuscript.

Oh, but let me tell you about Symposium Day. I attended a morning session that focused on NGOs in India and Sri Lanka. All the presentations were very interesting and well done. I learned a lot about non-profits and potential internship opportunities abroad, which was helpful. Afterwards I met up with my friends for lunch and then we all went our merry ways with me heading back to my room to do some research--yippee, hurray!

Anthro club held a little outdoor gathering in the afternoon which was a ton of fun. We braved the cold and practiced throwing atlatls at a target set up in the field behind Aldrich. Unfortunately none of us were able to hit the target but I'm sure if a stunned wildebeest was sitting at the far end of the field, we could have grazed its shoulder. Woman the hunter! There was some danger involved with this foolishness, such as hitting a parked car, but we certainly couldn't have hit a moving target even if we were trying. In our incapable hands the atlatl was rendered 'safe as houses.'

Tuesday Night Blues

So I'm working away in Admissions tonight. It's so quiet and dark. Hopefully some prospective students join the chat tonight to mix things up a little...hint, hint. Unfortunately there's an international poetry reading tonight. Not that the event is in and of itself unfortunate but unfortunate that I won't be able to attend because I'm holding the fort together this evening from beginning until end. Ah, well. That's earning a living for you.

Today was remarkably pleasant because I didn't have any classes. This isn't so strange considering that I only have one class on Tuesdays but I had absolutely nothing to do until tutoring in the afternoon and work in the evening. I was supposed to have a conference with my English prof this morning in lieu of class but he cancelled on me due to an unexpected departmental meeting. So he says. Instead I shall meet with him on Thursday before class. Not a big deal. But since I was up at 7 AM to teach yoga my day has stretched out before me with little to keep me occupied. Other than studying. There's always that. And actually I did spend most of my time doing research for my research papers. Soon I will concoct some theses, which is terribly exciting, no?

This remarkable amount of free time is disconcerting considering that it is the middle of the week. No classes today and no classes tomorrow because of International Symposium Day. Going to class on Thursday and Friday will be painful after two days of respite. But Symposium Day is always fun. I'm planning on attending two sessions in the morning--one on creative writing and three on India. Should hopefully be interesting. Just for clarification, ISD isn't just time off from classes (though it most certainly is that too); it is also an opportunity for students that have gone abroad to bring their experiences back to campus and showcase what they learned. It's also a good chance for other students to find out what they can do while abroad on a specific program they might be considering. All in all, a win-win situation. Besides, it's a day off from class!

Haunted Beloit

Well, I hope everyone had a pleasantly spooky time last night. Unfortunate when Halloween falls in the middle of the week but what can one do, baring some radical restructuring of the Gregorian calendar, except make the most of it? I had my heart set on throwing a party in my dorm last night--even bought the foodstuffs to entice the guests--but so many people were busy with school work that schedules just didn't mesh. I did end up having a small gathering of friends scrounged up during dinner but not nearly what I had imagined. Oh well. We had fun anyway, drank cider, ate Gouda and crackers and candy, and lounged around talking about...school. You just can't escape, folks.

Later we decided to attend the anthropology club party. They were telling stories from around the world, eating candy, and generally goofing off. Good times, good times. We took a tour of the scary basement in anthro house and someone turned off the lights to the fearful delight of all. Afterwards there was palm reading (just some of the occult arts one can encounter on campus) and I finally agreed to have my future told. So here it is, Krista Eichhorst's life, all mapped out:
1. I will die in my eighties--good long life
2. I will stay close to my family
3. I will have a steady source of income throughout my life
4. I am not very creative and tend towards math and the sciences (keeping in mind that I am a creative writing major, this is terribly funny)
5. I will have to choose between two men in my life, one of whom is a current acquaintance and the other who will appear later (scary thought considering the guys I know right now)
6. I will have a normal marriage that lasts to the end
7. I will have up to eight children
8. I have only been reincarnated twice

Hmm...now that I know how my life will turn out I'm not sure that I really want to actively participate in it anymore. It's like when someone tells you the end of a movie or book and you just don't want to see or read it anymore. The element of surprise is gone. Sad, terribly sad.

But on a happier note, I just found out that I have been quoted in a scholarly journal as per an article that my FYI advisor wrote using student papers. Only a few student papers were picked for the article and she devoted an entire paragraph to my thoughts about the author Bessie Head. How exciting! Guess the palm reader didn't see that one coming...

Pumpkins and Polka

It's already the day before Halloween and to think that I don't even have a costume picked out for the anthro club party. I'll have to get on that. I guess with writing papers and reading Joyce, I just haven't had the time to scrounge in my closet for something ghoulish to wear. I think last year I was a German peasant woman. I know, really scary. But the best I could do on short notice. It seems like Halloween was a bigger deal back in the day when I was say five or six. We even had parties in class complete with games, treats, and a costume parade. Ah, well. At Beloit we celebrate with a midnight showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, a campus ghost tour, and various clubs host parties so there are plenty of ways to get in the holiday spirit.

So how about a weekend recap?

Whew! It was a whirlwind of polka, schottsch, pumpkin carving, and charades with a little trick-or-treating thrown in for good measure. Friday night German club hosted a polka dance with live oom-pah band and German food. My friends and I tried all the dishes--potato pancakes, applesauce, brats, strudel, and potato soup. Everything was pretty good and it's always nice to get a free meal once in a while so I'm in no position to bite the hand that feeds me. Then we danced, danced, danced the night away. Polka and schottsch are really physical dances--takes a lot out of a girl--but my dancing partner and I were singled out by the instructor as the couple that best represented the spirit of German dance. Pretty sweet designation, if I do say so.

Saturday I went to the farmer's market with my pals for the final weekend and all these kids and their families were trick-or-treating at the storefronts and decked out in costumes. It was really cute. But us old college students weren't left out of the fun completely. On our way to Cubs to get groceries we walked past a car dealership and the owner stopped us to give us some candy since he thought we might feel left out. Later that day we carved pumpkins at the interfaith house which was a ton of fun. Everyone was talking, drinking cider, and squishing through pumpkin guts for the seeds. Definitely a throwback to childhood right there. That evening my friends and I watched "Shaun of the Dead" and made Halloween cards to send home before completing the evening with a spirited game of charades. All in all, a most satisfying time.
Happy Halloween everybody and be sure to eat lots of candy corn!

Welcome home to the happiness hotel...

For all those Muppets fans out there, this title is for you. It has occurred to me lately that the very thing that is missing from collegiate life is Muppets. Everyone would be a lot happier if there was a little Jim Henson happening on campus. There are these ugly wall murals in Commons that kind of look like puppets but it just isn't the same.

The second half of the semester always flies by in a hurry and is disproportionately busy compared to the early half, though I suppose that is to be expected--building on your knowledge base and all that riffraff. I should really be starting to write my research papers but am currently engaged in storytelling for my fiction class. Speaking of my fiction class, we had a guest speaker today from Madison who is the head of acquisitions for the university press there. He spoke about the publishing industry--very dismal outlook, just so you know though these terribly literary types tend to be a bit pessimistic, shall we say--and his own career as a freelance writer. We asked questions and got some good info. The strange part is that yesterday I was thinking how funny it would be if I had run into him before through my Madison contacts and then today after his talk he comes up to me and asks if we'd met. Talk about deja vu! In fact I hadn't met him before but he told me I had a really familiar face. Rather bizarre.

Next week is advising week where we sign up for classes for the next semester. Always an exciting time. Hopefully the offerings will be intriguing and class times will work out in my schedule. I want to take another weaving class since this Navajo one has been such a blast. By the way, I am only five inches from finishing my rug. Hurray! I have been thinking about off-campus study a lot lately as I suppose many sophomores are. I'm not sure if I want to go abroad but it would be nice to get off campus to refocus my education and think about life after Beloit. A professor recommended I check out the ACM Newberry Library program in Chicago which sounds amazing. It is essentially a semester in Chicago that you can devote to an individual research project using the Newberry's fabulous resources. It is sort of like prep work for grad school and teaches students how to write a huge research paper (60 pages). The best part though is that you get to work at the Newberry while you are taking the course! Super exciting. Just thought I'd throw this in here in case any of you prospective students are interested in domestic off-campus study versus study abroad.

This weekend I will be heading to Old World Wisconsin with my friends as a tag-along on their class field trip. Looks like a lot of fun. Sheep, people in costume, butter churns and all that other good stuff. A chance to get off campus isn't to be taken lightly, no matter where you end up. Happy weekend everyone!

Death Rattle of the Pin Oak

Dramatic title, I know. But the perfect introduction to a discussion about fall! Hard to believe that another midterm break has come and gone. That is one thing no one enjoys about getting older. Time seems to rush by without stumbling or a pause. The trees in Wisconsin are just at their peak color for the season but many are shedding leaves with abandon. Only the oaks hold on until their leaves are curled and brittle and rattle fitfully in the wind...okay, enough about mortality and the ravages of time. And you thought philosophizing and melodrama were things you grew out of once you passed fifteen. Unfortunately it gets worse with age, not better. Wait until you are a sophomore in college. Then it attacks with a vengeance. Which is why Beloit has the sophomore initiative program--to help second year students over the hump of apathy and cynicism! ANYWAY--

I believe I left off with Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me. It was an amazing taping folks. I won't kid you. If you love national public radio, seeing the taping of a show is like winning the lottery. You can never go back to the person you were before it happened. It's like getting run over by a train of good fortune or some other terrible metaphor. I went with my friends and had a blast. I'm not the sort of person to laugh out loud during movies or anything, even if I think they're funny, but I couldn't resist the charm of Carl Kasell and the wit of Peter Sagal. Whew, what a night.

The following day I left Beloit with my friend from MN and we spent the afternoon in Madison, which is a great city. We went to a book sale, ate ice cream by the harbor, and walked around campus. That Saturday we came back to MN and I saw my family, which was wonderful. It was a beautiful drive north all sunshine and birdsong but the rest of the week was dismal and wet. What a drag. At least it cleared up on Friday and Saturday so I could spend some time outside walking on the Sakatah state trail with my dad. I didn't have too much homework over break which was nice but I got a head start on my research papers for History and English. I spent the night before my departure with my sister in St. Paul. I expect to hear any day now that I have a nephew which is really exciting but also bittersweet knowing that we won't spend any more time together before she becomes a mother. The bus ride back to campus was lovely but melancholy. I did more homework and listened to music to pass the time. The Greyhound was plumb full of Beloiters. A popular mode of travel, no doubt. So that is what I've been up to this last week. I hope everyone is enjoying their fall and spending time outdoors. Make hay while the sun shines!

Sweet, sweet Wednesday

Actually there isn't anything terribly sweet about Wednesday though its presence does indicate the middle of the week so I take that back. Sweet, sweet Wednesday hurrah!

My rug is lookin' pretty nice, if I do say so myself. I'm over halfway done with it meaning that if I finish early I can start another one. Though much smaller, I will add. My lit class was let out early this morning so I went to the library to do some research and write a letter home. A bit unnecessary perhaps (the letter, not the research) seeing as which I will be back in Mankato on Saturday but it is a weekly tradition that I cannot bring myself to deviate from.

I am so excited for Friday. I can practically taste the freedom of the open road--a mixture of candy corn and sunshine. There is nothing like the crinkle of an unfolded map and Neko Case on the radio to make a day feel like vacation. I will be done with class at 10 AM and so will have plenty of time to pack and put my room in order before my friend arrives on campus. This is a good thing because tomorrow night is the campus taping of Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me! My friends and I bought tickets way in advance and so are the lucky few who get to be present in Eaton Chapel. It sounds like wonderful fun and I always love to support NPR so it's a win-win situation for all! I'll be sure to blog about this excitement once I return to campus on October 21 so until then have an awesome week everyone!

Feelin' like Fall

Yeah, I guess I'm a sucker for alliteration though too much is certainly a bad thing. All literary devices in moderation, folks. That's my motto. This is a really pathetic introduction to my blog. Sorry. I guess you can tell it's getting on towards October Break. Onward to the exciting stuff!

I only have to finish one paper for Friday in the way of homework for my classes this week. That's pretty exciting considering that midterms are heavy upon us here at Beloit. Most of my friends have three exams on the same day so I am flying fancy free at the moment which is problematic. As Emily, my dear coworker, so eloquently said, "It's Tuesday and I feel like I've already checked out." Ditto kiddo.

Thursday in my fiction class we will workshopping my first story of the semester. Always a scary thought. My professor already lost the copy of my story that I handed out last Thursday which doesn't bode well for the commentary. I'm sure it will be even more illegible than usual. Point of interest: creative writing majors tend to have terrible chicken-scratch writing. Just a heads up. I'm already halfway done with my rug in my weaving class. Very exciting to finally see the pattern coming together. I will take a picture of it tomorrow to post on my blog so people can see that this rug physically exists and isn't some pathetic attempt to appear more accomplished and womanly than I really am.

I had my first taste of student bureaucracy last night at the Belcon meeting I am attending for yoga club. No kidding, Beloit's student government is very active on campus but with that power comes red tape and semantics. Don't get me wrong! I definitely advise getting active on campus but be aware that there are gavels and pretentious protocol that you will have to follow. Forewarned is fore-armed, I say.

Friday I only have one class that gets over at 10 AM so my break is starting really early this semester. Hurrah! My friend from Minnesota is coming to pick me up around noon and from thence we shall make our way to Madison to spend the afternoon on State Street. My college friends are coming up later in the afternoon and we shall all meet around dinner time and head over to Middleton where we are crashing for the night. Then early Saturday morning it is off to the interstate and back to the sunny shores of Mankato! Yippee!

Networking Overload

This will be a busy weekend at Beloit. Only one more week before midterm break and plenty of loose ends to tie up. I have two research papers due at the end of the semester for my classes and no idea what to write about yet. Midterm break is the perfect time to start gathering resources and thinking about structuring these papers but I need to find some direction first! Tomorrow I'm meeting with my history prof to brainstorm some ideas and hopefully I can catch up with my English prof to do the same.

I found out this week that part of my financial aid is being transferred to an endowed scholarship funded by private donors. Apparently an honor but now I will have to meet my sponsors at a reception on Saturday to thank them for donating to the school. It seems that this meeting may be a bit awkward since I didn't know they were my sponsors until Tuesday afternoon and had no idea why they were sponsoring me until this afternoon. But never pass a chance to network, my dears! And I will be doing that in tenfold this weekend. Not only do I have the scholarship reception on Saturday but tomorrow afternoon I am meeting up with an alumnus who was a history and anthropology major and is now attending graduate school at the college in my hometown which I also attended in high school through the PSEO program. There is also an alumni networking fair tomorrow afternoon hosted by the career center on campus in honor of homecoming and reunion weekend. I am planning on stopping by to chat with former English majors and see what they are doing with their lives. Hopefully not mopping floors.

Speaking of writers...I got to meet the author of a novel I read in my creative writing class today. He stopped into my class to chat with us about being a writer, editing, the underbelly of the publishing world, and life in general. Very charming fellow. He wrote the book American Youth--I highly recommend that you check it out if you haven't already. In fact, put it on your summer reading list under the heading "To read before I enter Beloit in the fall of 08." Anyway, he was very down-to-earth and funny and he gave a reading on campus this evening that I attended with my friends before coming to work. He even signed my book--a first edition and it's personalized. Ooooh....that's how I'm putting my kids through college, folks! If there's one thing Beloit has taught me, it's look to the future. Actually, I knew that before I came here but it sounded good, didn't it?

Let's hear it for toast!

So my family came for Family Weekend and we went shopping at the Target in Janesville (you will understand the significance of this if you come to Beloit) and they bought me a toaster for my dorm kitchen! This is very exciting since I have been without toast for nigh on five weeks. And let me tell you, a bagel can be disappointing and even limpid without the benefit of toasting. I tried my new toaster out for the first time this morning and it worked like a charm though with the hot plastic smell of appliances fresh from the factory. I'm sure that will fade in time.

All in all it was a beautiful weekend and a wonderful time spent with the people I love best. My parents came on Friday night and I served them soup in my dorm. Unfortunately there was a little mishap where the overheated lid of my saucepan exploded in my hand though luckily far away from my food. That's Wal-Mart quality for you. I cut my thumbs and it was a dastardly mess to clean up but otherwise everything turned out. My soup was appreciated (everyone loves a Krista-cooked meal) and it was good to be eating with my family again!

Saturday we went to the farmer's market in downtown Beloit and my dad bought me a little sunrise squash to try. They had bought one at the farmer's market back home and really liked it and thought I would like it too. Afterwards we went to the Turtle Creek bookstore where my dad browsed for a Beloit t-shirt and my mom snuggled up with some books. We ran into my friend from Virginia and her mother and ended up talking with them for over an hour in the bookstore's "conference room". I took my parents to see my weaving once we headed back to campus and then spent the afternoon shopping in Janesville and enjoying Happy Hour at the hotel. We tried out some new restaurants this weekend which is always fun. Beloit recently opened up an Atlantic Bread Co. that was pretty good--sort of like the illegitimate offspring of Panera Bread and Dunn Brothers. We also stopped at a favorite local pizza place called Tilly's. It was nice--cute atmosphere, friendly staff, and good pizza for cheap. Not too far from campus either...

Sunday morning we stopped at the Apple Hut for some donuts, apples, and cider (all fabulous, let me assure you). It was a lovely drive down country roads with trees turning various hues of gold and red. Uber fall-ish. Then my parents dropped me off at my dorm and began the long drive back to southern Minnesota. I was very lucky this weekend and didn't have a ton of schoolwork and so I spent the rest of my Sunday hanging out with my friends, eating homegrown watermelon, and watching trashy television. Since I'm such a homebody it's always hard to say good-bye to my family, but midterm break is only ten days away and then I will be back in Minnesota with my cat!

Glorious Apple Day!

Today was Apple Day at Commons, a yearly tradition that is pretty much the pinnacle of heaven in the world of cafeteria dining. Essentially Apple Day is a day to gorge oneself on delectable, fattening, sugary sweets that make their appearance but once a year. I'm talking fancy desserts not the average cookie and cobbler. And, as the name implies, there are plenty of apples which all come from the Apple Hut--a lovely little orchard just outside the city with amazing apples and donuts. If you end up at Beloit be sure to make your parents take you there for Family Weekend, or failing that, your friends' parents. That's my plan for the weekend!

It was also the Off-campus Studies Fair today complete with a billowing tent set up on the lawn in front of Pearsons and presenters for various Beloit and third-party programs. I went during my lunch hour and picked up a bunch of information on studying in India. Since Beloit doesn't offer any campus programs there I will have to check out third-party providers such as the Associated Colleges of the Midwest. I plan to sit down with the director of off-campus studies sometime next week to discuss my options and make my plans since the deadline for going abroad next year is coming up in November.

Last night I attended an informational session in the career center on finding a paid internship that was very helpful. Now I feel like I have found a ton of resources and just have to narrow the search down to companies and organizations I might like to work with. That is certainly a comforting feeling. On to cover letters!

So my parents are coming to visit me tomorrow evening. I am making them soup in my dorm for dinner which means that I have to walk down to Cub Foods tomorrow morning after classes. All I need is a potato, an onion, and some carrots but lord knows there aren't any on campus. Unless I bribe one of the boys in the dish to steal me some from Commons...after all I did work in the dish room all last year. There have to be some employee benefits--or veteran's in my case. Anyway, I am very excited to see the folks again (it has already been five weeks!) and can't wait to show them my weaving. I am getting pretty far along now--almost halfway. And let me tell you, that is a lot of time spent sitting in front of a loom. But it's so much more satisfying than sitting in front of a computer. No offense, my dear prospective students! I am eagerly awaiting your questions in the evening chat sessions. So don't be shy! Ask away.

Tuesday Update

This weekend was really low-key in Beloit. The Mexican consulate was visiting campus for a three-day conference so there was a lot more activity on the academic side of campus than usual for a weekend. I went to the farmer's market Saturday morning with a friend of mine--sort of a weekly tradition. We bought little pumpkins for our dorm rooms and took lots of pictures since it was a beautiful day. Cosmos were still blooming in the little park on State Street which was absolutely gorgeous. There was a mini donut stand this week with lots of little kids lined up to share in the sugary goodness and plenty of people with dogs in tow. It's nice to see pets once in awhile. The thing I miss the most while here on campus is my cat so it's always refreshing to see other people's pets out and about.
Saturday night was a little more exciting. I was watching "Borat" with my friends at the Russian House when a whole brigade of sirens started heading towards campus, which was quite out of the ordinary especially since it appeared to be a caravan of fire engines. Naturally, we decided to join the throngs of gawking students and find out what was up. I was especially curious because the fire engines were all parked in front of my dorm...I was really hoping that Haven wasn't on fire because that would suck, to put it mildly. But luckily it wasn't anything as dramatic as that. It turned out that some student had overloaded one of the washing machines. So let this be a lesson to you prospective students: yes, laundry is expensive but it most certainly is possible to overload the washers so just don't do it!

On a lighter note, this morning I was working on my weaving and completed the first portion of my design, which was terribly thrilling. I love my weaving class so much. It is tons of fun and I found out yesterday that I am free to use the spinning wheel in the weaving studio any time I please. I haven't had access to a spinning wheel for nigh on four years. So I will have my parents bring me some wool when they come for Family and Friends Weekend which begins this Friday. Yay for family and fiber!

Laughin' it up in Admissions

I tell you, SOIs sure know how to live it up. This evening after doing a little emailing, answering some calls, and almost hanging up on our supervisor, my office cohort and I tried out the new admissions chat feature. Soon the rest of you can join us in the glory of chatting about Beloit but first we have to familiarize ourselves with the features so we don't accidentally kick someone out or ban them for life. So naturally we proceeded to have many hilarious, insinuating exchanges that are completely lacking in professionalism and not befitting our station. It seems like the chat feature will be a lot of fun so be sure to check it out when it gets up and running sometime next week! Okay, enough shameless plugs. I'm not sure what to tell everyone that is new and/or exciting in my life since my last update but I'm sure I can pull something together. I am a creative writing major after all...

Let's see. Today I taught my second yoga class and it was just as full as the last session which was very encouraging. I seem to have accessed a previously untapped niche on campus. I'm used to teaching at a small-town recreation center where people sign up for classes and then consistently don't show up so it was refreshing to have more than two or three people present. Last night was the weekly anthropology club meeting and since I consider myself a member, despite my betrayal of the department, I attended it along with some of my friends. This week's meeting we painted terracotta pots and watched an episode of "Taboo." It wasn't completely anthropological, per say, but it was pretty fun and messy. Just thought I'd throw that in there in case anyone is interested in club life on campus...

I had a meeting last night at the career center to have a counselor look over my resume. This is my second review session so I can assure you that my resume is now eye-catching and terribly impressive. I am looking into securing an internship for the summer, hopefully working with a non-profit, and have been utilizing the career center to gain direction and resources for my search. I just have to find some companies I might want to apply to and create a cover letter to send them. Easier said than done of course but I still have plenty of time. Just a little FYI for those of you who don't know--an important part of the Beloit graduation requirements is "experiential education" which usually translates into an internship of some kind related to your intended major. Since I am a creative writing major, anything I decide to do can be construed as writing-related. This means that my search is wide open which has its good points and bad.

This weekend is the sophomore reunion dinner which is a part of the sophomore year initiative that tries to prepare second-year students for the rest of their college years. The dinner will be an opportunity to reunite with former first year initiative classmates and hear about upcoming opportunities and requirements for upperclassmen. I'm excited to meet up with old classmates and see how their lives are going. Odd but true, that first week of being thrown together really does force you to forge relationships, however tenuous. Since I met one of my best friends during FYI this dinner is sure to be pleasant, though just having a free dinner on Sunday is incentive enough to attend.

Tuesday Follies

I held my first morning yoga class of the semester today. It was a greater success than I had anticipated. I reserved the spirituality room on campus for the class, which is absolutely perfect in atmosphere for a yoga class but lacking a bit in the space department. This wouldn't be an issue, I thought, since how many people would really rouse themselves from sleep to attend an 8 AM yoga class? Apparently plenty. There were six students crowded in the room and no space for any others so I would venture to say that morning yoga is a popular item on campus.

After teaching yoga, the day was still young so I spent three hours working on my Robinson Crusoe paper before heading to lunch and my fiction class. I'm almost finished with the paper having weeded out the long rambling sentences and incoherent thoughts. Now I just have to insert the citations. Yay! In creative writing we are reading a first novel by an up-and-coming author named Phil LaMarche. So, to get class discussion going and take advantage of the eautiful sunshine today, our professor sent us outside in groups to find a scene in the book to perform for the class. I was the narrator and always feel a little silly interrupting the characters' dialogue with "he said" or "said he" but those dialogue tags are important to note. On-campus tutoring has started up again as well and so I met my tutee this afternoon at the Campus Community Outreach Center. It seems like we will make a good pair so I'm excited to get to know her better through working on math skills and the like. And by and by my day has slipped away and now I am working in the admissions office updating my blog and waiting for the calls of inquisitive minds seeking news from Beloit...

Gather 'round my friends and I shall tell ye a tale...

Hello everyone! Let me share with you all the wondrous tales of my exciting adventures in Beloit. I can't promise you stories of excess and vice (for that would be unprofessional) but I can regale you with all the wacky adventures, scrapes, and torrid love affairs that comprise the basics of a Beloit education. So here goes...

I went to an English major get-together this afternoon, arriving fashionably late so I wouldn't have to mingle awkwardly and fight my way past hungry students to the complimentary scones and tea. However, I didn't realize there would be a departmental presentation beforehand and therefore had to lounge conspicuously in the doorway (next to my fiction professor, incidentally) and feel like a fire hazard, which I most undoubtedly was. Other than my embarrassment, it was a wonderful gathering chock-full of useful information about the major and literary resources on campus as well as awkward mingling.

I procrastinated for awhile this morning, killing time before my first class by watching "West Side Story" which I had never seen before and hope to never see again (no offense to any fans out there). I was lamenting the string of bad movies I have been getting from Netflix and realized that this only started after I deviated from my Dustin Hoffman film series. Maybe someone is trying to tell me something...

This evening I started my first day of work-study in the admissions office and got to learn the lay of the land and the breadth of my responsibilities as a student outreach intern. Rather daunting but I am up to the challenge!

I can't believe tomorrow is already Friday. Only two classes stand between me and the glory of the weekend! There is a conference about applied anthropology starting tomorrow that I am really excited about. Hopefully there will be some good information on how Beloit can introduce an applied approach in the anthro department. I also hope to find time to make some apple crisp this weekend. I bought apples at the farmer's market last weekend and really should do something with them. It is such lovely, crisp fall weather too, just perfect for apple eatin'. On Saturday I am going to Madison with a friend to attend the World Music Festival. It sounds awesome and I can't wait to hear all the great music. Well, enjoy the weekend everyone! I'll post again soon.