Ye Olde Spring Semester

Indeed, it's that time of year again. In with the old, out with the new... wait, scratch that, reverse it (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, anyone?). Break resulted in a few things for me (you all know how I love lists!):
1- Unparalleled (at least in my immediate family) skill at Pin Ball


2- Many trips to the movie theater (Charlie Wilson's War, Juno, Atonement, etc.)
3- Quality and bountiful family time (Hey everyone!)
4- My first Christmas in a new home, an experience at times both odd and wonderful, but overall interesting and fun
5- Happy times with friends back home (board games galore!)
6- A visit to Chicago to see a few friends (including a good friend who's abroad all year... hey, Agnotti!)


7- A week of nothing after New Year's... I was more than ready to come back!

After that week I traveled with a group of more than 20 other Beloit students to the American College Theater Festival that was held in Milwaukee this year. A crazy 5 days full of plays (I saw 7) and workshops and competitions. My friend Daisy and I were in charge of getting the hotel and all that jazz, and I'm happy to say that everything went well. It was a blast and I really loved spending some quality time with a gaggle of insane, fun-loving, theatre people. Next year it's being held in Saginaw, Michigan. Who's excited?!

Now we're into the second week of the spring semester. Cray-cray, as my friend Emma would say (a slightly mutated form of the word crazy). I am pumped for this semester, though. I'm taking Human Biology, International Politics, Burning Sapphos and Laughing Medusa (a class about poetry and sexuality), and creating a special project with my friend Angie focused on the theory side of Theater of the Oppressed. Meanwhile, Kappa Delta is half way through our recruitment process, Voodoo Barbie's first show is a two weeks from Friday, and I'm already late in turning in my tour availability slip for Gold Key. Oh, and I'm taking voice lessons now. Crazy, cray-cray, insane, maniacal, sleep deprivation, friendless... these words come to mind when thinking about my schedule. Which isn't actually all that bad... just constant.

I can already fast forward (in the movie that is my life) to my last blog of this semester:
"I was right, folks. It was hectic, and I barely survived. But it was worth it. Have a good summer and hopefully I will meet some of you in the fall!"

But there's still quite a bit to do before then.
Here it goes!

TETRIS!

A friend told me about this the other day, and I thought I'd share it with you all.



This weekend we had a snow/sleet storm here that, unfortunately, forced me to cancel my plans to visit Chicago. A friend of mine was directing a show that only played the weekend, so hopefully it was taped. The good news is that the weekend turned out to be lovely anyway. I went to brunch with some Kappa Deltas and then we went on a quick Christmas shopping trip. The evening consisted of Lord of the Rings watching (including pulling my life-sized Legolas cardboard cut out out of my trunk, placing a Santa figurine jauntily on his shoulder, and hiding him (creepily) behind the festively decorated tree... actually, quite like this google image I just found... that's odd),

going to TKEs Kontiki party (complete with live regge band), and the Outdoor Environmental Club's Talking Heads party, where they only play Talking Heads music. Last year so many people attended that their wooden living room floor looked like a trampoline from everybody dancing on it. The crowd managed to break four crossbeams before the entire group was forced to migrate to a new location. Not quite as much excitement this year, but still an energetic evening. I think quite a few people were sticking close to home because of the weather. I myself fell down TKEs front porch steps, so I can see the aversion. Thankfully no harm done and I was able to laugh at myself... along with the few other people outside, after they had helped me up, of course.

:)

Have a happy day tomorrow!

Busy- the new idle

I am back from a successful (in terms of eating much delicious, home made food) and festive Turkey Break and have every minute allotted to something or another from here until next Wednesday.

Don't let anyone ever tell you college is restful. Right now, the hardest part is finding time to sleep! It gets hectic around this time every semester, so one would think I'd be used to it by now. Papers, exams, performances, homework- the various presentations of the culmination of a semester of learning, barreling down the home stretch before winter break. As of right now, there are only 11 days of class, 21 days total, until the residence halls close. The reason why those two numbers are so different is because there's a six day period allotted for finals after classes stop meeting. It's broken up so that classes end, then there's a study day, two exam days, another study day, and a final two exam days. Beloit does an excellent job of spacing out tests to make sure no one feels too overwhelmed, for which I am extremely grateful. If you have an approaching test of your knowledge gathered during this semester, in whatever format it may be, I hope it goes well.

Let it be, let it be...

Things I would like to do in my lifetime:

-Be a part of a protest (like a million person, over run D.C. type of protest)
-Own a talking bird
-Ride a bike along the Underground Railroad trail


-Meet a president
-Live for an extended period of time in London

(I think this is the first female BeefEater in 1000 years)

-See the Great Wall of China, the Great Barrier Reef, and the Pyramids of Giza
-Invent something useful (like a shoe horn)
-Breed a new type of dog

(This is a puggle! It's a pug/beagle mix!)

-Create an award winning recipe
-Get lost in the jungle and find my way out again (like Bear Grylls!)


-Befriend a wild animal


-Use my History major later in life!

I like that most of these have to do with animals or traveling.
What do you want to do?

The Smell of the Kill

I went to a play last night titled "The Smell of the Kill".

It was held in the smallest of our theatres, the Bunge, and people had to be turned away because it was so well attended. Jordana Berk '08 directed it and two of my good friends, Daisy Donohue '10 and Michelle Casali '08, were two of the visible three person cast (two other actors were voices off stage and many other talented and amazing people were involved, and I can't wait to spend more time with them all at the upcoming American College Theater Festival). The show is about three women that have gotten together for an evening every month for 12 years because their husbands were friends in college. They are not particularly close, however, and throughout the course of the play we learn that all of them are extremely dissatisfied in some way with their husbands and their lives. Hilarity and mounting tension ensues, and they all have a decision to make when their husbands get accidently locked into a meat locker. It was very well done and completely entertaining. There's nothing like a dark, female-empowering comedy as a way to broaden one's horizons, get one laughing, and escape one's busy day for awhile.

Madness in Admissions!

Warning! Shameless plug for Beloit below- proceed at your own risk:



I walked into work about 15 minutes ago and one of our dedicated admissions staff was on the phone with a prospective student. She sounded concerned and was asking questions such as, "Are you near a McDondalds? A Road Ranger? No? Ok..."



I was slightly confused but decided I would ask questions when I came back upstairs after a trip to the bathroom. When I returned, seven admissions staff and Gold Key coordinator (and fellow blogger!) Alex Catalan had all materialized and were hurrying about, trying to print things and looking up directions to a bus stop in Kenosha, Wisconson. It turns out that said prospective student had accidently gotten on the wrong bus at the airport (which is easy to do, so please double check when you visit!!!!!!!) and was now located about an hour north of where she wanted to be. As soon as the admissions counselors knew where she was, they hopped in a car and are racing toward Kenosha as I type! That, my friends, is committment! A harrowing tale of a daring rescue- thanks, admissions staff! We love you!

The reason for all the on hand staff members (they are wonderful, but not present in the office 24/7) is because it is the last of our Autumn Visit days tomorrow, and there are over one hundred perspective students on campus! That's 8 percent of our student body! A big thanks to the Gold Key coordinators for running this all- it is a HUGE task and you do an incredible job every time.

Oh, Beloit. Sometimes I am overwhelmed by my love for thee.

This weekend was a whirlwind of fun and games, followed by work and more work. Unfortunately, that's the way the cookie crumbles. This weekend was of particular note for a few reasons:



My parents came to visit, and they brought my dog! My dad took all the pictures in this blog, and this one details the fall colors beautifully. While here we went to the football team's last game (which they won in overtime, 16-13!!!!!), an art opening at the school owned gallery down town, and a modern dance show about disabilities called From the Limb where they met a large amount of the members of Theater for Social Action, including Dan, Angie, and Sophie, who were all at the dance concert in the row ahead of us. Exciting stuff!



Emma Ramsbottom '10, Liz Ziner '10, and Megan Armstrong '10 accompanied us for dinner at the Atlanta Bread Company.



This is the crowd at the Voodoo Barbie performance that evening (the reason for my parent's visit). The woman in the foreground is Ms Judy Ziner, Liz's mom. Liz is in Voodo Barbie with me and her parents surprised her by going to the performance.



Jon Verkler and Travis Robinson during an improv game called Oxygen Deprivation. One has to stick their head in a bucket of water while two other people perform a scene. When the person in the bucket can't hold their breath any more, they start banging the floor with their hand to signal that they need to get out. Then one of the people in the scene thinks of a reason to leave and they take over for the person in the bucket, who them has to think of a reason for entering the scene while being wet. This is Jon being relieved by Travis in the middle of the game.



This is Voodoo Barbie (counter clockwise, starting with the bottom right corner: Daisy Donohue '10, Emily Edstrom '10, Liz Ziner '10, Caitlin MacDougall '10, Travis Robinson '08, Lincoln McLain '08, Jade Daugherty '11, Amelia Buzzell '10, Betsy Huggins '10, and Jon Verkler '11). We often perform during Presidential Weekends and other scheduled visit days, so keep an eye open if you do!