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!