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...