Preparing for Hell Week

So it's been a good few days. Thursday ran on a Monday schedule this week, so I've essentially only had an hour of class (anthro) on each of the past three days. Speaking of which, my anthro professor actually brought in his [lime green] bullwhip like he promised at the beginning of the semester and cracked it at the end of class. You'd think it would be sort of lame, but no--it was freaking awesome. Totally made everyone's day.

In general, I also feel a bit better about my life now since I've gotten my paper topics figured out, and I've gone to the library to take out the books I needed which happened to be as many as I could carry (didn't help that it was raining Wednesday afternoon and my open bag also had my laptop in it). I probably should have taken the T that day, but what's a mile walk with 15 pounds of books and an umbrella tactfully held in your already full hands...

In other news, I helped out with the Honors Program reception today which was nice. I basically just spoke with prospective students and their parents, and I have to admit that I really do enjoy that kind of stuff. In fact, lately I've been thinking about a possible career in education administration, but of course it's just a thought and I'm not worrying about that at all right now. Anyway, I also found out that two other people I know will be living in the Honors House next year, and they're both really cool so I think it will be a good house.

Today I also attended the Freshman Resource Advisor Spring Welcome which was actually pretty fun. We did that icebreaker where you have a picture on your back and you have to guess who you are based on what people tell you. They used Disney characters, and it was cool because the groups were organized by movie as well, so after the initial icebreaker you had to find others who were in your movie and that was your group. Overall it was actually more fun than I expected and everyone seems really nice. Granted, I already knew a lot of the people who are doing it, but I'm definitely excited to be a FRA. I get to have my own litter of Terrier pups! Hah.

Anyway, that said, today is probably going to be my last day of fun for a while. I need to read four books for my English paper this weekend, and I'm already behind schedule (not that scheduling things ever actually works for me). Apart from that, I have an anthro test to study for, a scene to rehearse, and a history paper to write. Ugh!

So here we go! Let hell week begin!

Marathon Monday

Almost there!

I have to admit, the Boston Marathon is pretty cool. They shut down the street, everyone is cheering, and the runners absolutely love it. This picture was taken from Kenmore, so they had a little less than a mile to go from here. Of course, the Kenyans and Ethiopians have already finished by this point, hah.

Boston actually wasn't the shit show I expected it to be today, but then again I didn't get drunk/high myself or really go anywhere far. Apparently, on the way out of CityCo, my roommate was accosted by someone frantically shouting at her to get her hand off the railing (we deduced that he was probably hallucinating something). But other than that, none of us had any obscene encounters.

In other news, the FreeP got word about a murder involving a BU student. The next step was for the news editors to call the assignment editors to get on the story. What happens next is that Coco (who reports for the FreeP but was out at the time) calls Jooles (who's in the dorm with us), and Jooles comes out of her single to tell us that a BU student was murdered (not true) or something along those lines. At first, I think it's a Marathon Monday related incident, but we google it and the national news is reporting that the police have caught the "Craigslist killer" (which was somewhat ironic since we were talking about it last night). In case you're not familiar with a story, some guy has been running around meeting prostitutes he finds on Craigslist and killing them. Creepy, eh? Turns out he's a BU med student, but the details are still fuzzy. I guess we'll get more information on it tomorrow.

But what a way to end the day, right?

Relay for Life

The lights went off. We all stood silent on the track. Listening.

We looked around. There were luminaria lit up all around the track, to symbolize the spirits of those who had lost the battle, to show that they were with us. There were also some in the stands that were arranged to spell out the word "HOPE."

A speech. Then more silence.

If a parent of yours had died, they asked you to crack the glowstick you were given and step forward. The sound of glowsticks cracking filled our ears for a few brief seconds. It was like rain hitting the roof when a lone raincloud passes through. It takes you by surprise. Suddenly loud, then suddenly soft. Then silence again. You could see the yellow light emanate from random places in the crowd. Then the lights moved forward.

If a grandparent of yours had died, they asked you to crack your glowstick and step forward. Eyes down, I squeezed mine in both fists and asked Izzy to come with me. She nodded, cracked hers, and followed me forward.

Aunt and uncles. Other family members. Friends. People.

Eventually everyone stepped forward, demonstrating how it has affected all our lives.

Glowsticks in hand, we proceeded to walk around the track. Round and round. The longer we went, the more dispersed we became. We eventually filled the track, creating a halo of light. It undulated gently as people kept moving forward. Individually, the lights floated like fireflies in a meadow in summer.

I grasped mine close to me. Somehow, it suddenly felt like I was carrying something precious.

Eventually, we deposited the glowsticks in four "luminaria" boxes with cutout designs and words. As the light shone through, one could see that they read: Celebrate, Remember, Fight Back, and Hope. I debated for a moment. Then I placed mine in the second box and continued walking.

As I reached the other side of the track, people were still depositing their glowsticks. It was an interesting sight. There was no longer a halo. Instead, like the luminarias perched around the track, each light in each person's hand became a spirit in my eyes. And as the spirits floated and moved forward, they looked as if they were on a journey, our bodies used as vessels invisible in the darkness. Then as the lights finally disappeared, it seemed as if they had all crossed over. I looked down. We had just escorted the souls of the dead.

Eventually, Izzy and I followed others and removed ourselves from the group. I laid there on the campsite in the company of my teammates and looked up at the ceiling. I listened to the music. Then I closed my eyes as the complex slowly lit up and the event resumed.

Hitting the Town

My cousin and I had a very special visitor come to Boston for a few days. She arrived on Thursday and from then to today we've just been having a blast.

THURSDAY: I had an anthro exam on Friday so it was actually one of those few Thursdays where I wasn't not doing anything, otherwise I would have just hung out with them and had fun. Of course, I didn't let it completely stop me from going out, and so I still enjoyed a [second] dinner at Fin's with them. (I know, I'm a fatty.) But oh, how we love sushi...

FRIDAY: After my class, we took her to the dining hall for lunch where the food was actually quite good (and prospective students were aplenty, which explains it). Then we went out to Newbury and met up with my cousin's friends. We hit a few stores and then went to H&M, which was a bad move on my part since I went on a complete spree through the store. They had to help me decide which things to leave behind! (I am not a shopaholic. Really...) Afterward, we headed out to Quincy Market, which was my first time there since my visit during Orientation week. It was nice this time around though since I got there late last time and the stores were closed by the time I finished dinner. But anyway, we got to walk around inside the buildings (there's so much food, I had no idea!) and see street performers, well, perform. After a couple hours, we headed back to campus to freshen up before heading out to Newbury again for dinner. We ate at this cute little Italian restaurant named Bottega Fiorentina. It was absolutely delicious and decently priced, a place I definitely made note to visit again soon. After dinner, I was going to go back, but my cousin's friend made me go with them to see The Knowing, and I ended up calling a couple of my friends to join us. Let's just say the movie was both ridiculous and intense.

SATURDAY: We went to go get dim sum at the China Pearl in Chinatown, though we left late so my cousin had to leave for her dance lesson before we could all eat. Afterward, I took our guest to the Galleria to go shopping again (where I managed to exercise some restraint). We spent a good few hours there before heading back to campus, where we got Starbucks and relaxed in my dorm until my cousin got back. When she called, we headed over to her place and then out to dinner from there. The three of us and my cousin's friend decided to eat at Shabu Zen, a hotpot restaurant, which was okay but expectedly a little pricey. We did something a bit embarrassing while we were there, but it was funny nonetheless. We went to Super 88 (this Asian marketplace) for bubble tea after, and then we headed back. (Oh, and as a side note, the NCAA hockey finals were last night, and BU won in an AMAZING comeback.)

So yeah, today the four of us had brunch at Bertucci's before she had to head back home. I have to admit, it wasn't as great as I expected, but at least I've finally eaten there. But anyway, after that we finally said goodbye and parted ways, my cousin went with her to South Station, and I went back to my dorm to catch up on work.

And here I am now. Not much different. With the exception that, after this weekend, I am now significantly poorer than before. Oh dear...

Top of the Hub

Boston as seen from the top of the Prudential Tower.

So this was hands down one of the coolest nights I've ever experienced. Yesterday was the night of the first annual CAS Formal, and it was absolutely amazing.

Tasty hors d'oeuvres, delicious deserts, and a breathtaking view, all for twenty dollars.

Not to mention the great music and the fact that my friends and I got to dance the night away.

Then afterwards we went out to T. Anthony's... even though it was 1 AM. Yes, we walked to West for pizza, and no, we weren't even drunk. I was glad though. It was my first time there (I'm never in West!), and even though I thought it was ridiculous to walk so far for pizza, I'm happy I went. It was still really busy when we got there, and when "Living on a Prayer" came on, everyone broke out into song. I thought it was so great.

Anyway, to make a long story short, we ended up staying until closing, took the BUS home, and crashed. It was awesome. Hah.

24-Hour StressFest

So two weeks ago I was assigned this really complicated paper in my English class. Basically, the task was to write a description of Mansfield Park, the country house in Jane Austen's book of the same name. But it's not that simple. You see, the idea was to first find and use the details Austen described about the house (as scattered in the book as these details are). But since it can't quite possibly be enough to construct a complete picture of the house, secondly, we had to use this textbook-like book about the history of country houses to supplement her details. But that's not all! Thirdly, we had to go to the library reserves to take out these books that are basically detailed records of the features of almost all (if not all) the country houses in England... and imitate that author's style.

Yes, so because it was so complicated, for once I actually did not wait until the last minute to start this (in fact I started this past Saturday). But regardless, I still couldn't manage to finish the paper until 11:30... this morning. So yes, I did skip my two morning classes again, and of course I feel like crap for it.

It didn't help that housing selection happened last night. My appointment was near the end of the day too, so I had to endure an entire day's worth of delays. (My appointment was at 8:36, it's supposed to be a six-minute process, and I left the building an hour later.) But seriously, it was so hectic. First you arrive 10+ minutes early to wait in a frantic mob. Then they call your number and so you rush forward thinking that it's time, only to stop a mere five feet ahead of where you started because you've suddenly discovered yourself in a line. Then after you've waited in line and they check your housing slip, you again think it's time, only to be directed towards another waiting area where you have to wait to enter the selection room. Then once you enter the room, you have to wait for a housing person to become available so they can find you a room. And then, after you've found something and confirmed it, you have to wait for your confirmation pages to print out. Only then can you leave. (Gah!)

Granted, I did have a pretty good housing number (13,501, when it ranges from 12,000-17,000... Izzy got 16,000 something). I also somewhat spontaneously found myself a roommate, and so I pulled her into housing with me. The only bad thing is that we happened to run into this really belligerent girl we knew from the ski trip, and she was also pulling someone into the Honors House. So yeah, the four of us sat there in the waiting area, and we're all wondering who's going to get called first. Then surprise, surprise. It wasn't us, and they took the last of the two doubles available. It's okay though because my friend and I got the first floor triple and it's a suite. It's a little more expensive than a double and now we have to worry about who the third girl is, but I know it's a very nice room. And the house itself is absolutely gorgeous, so I'm very excited.

Life definitely has it's ups and downs. I'm especially excited for the next couple days. I have no lecture tomorrow, so as of the dismissal of my last class, my weekend has begun! More on that later! Ahhh...