the dynamic duo.

If you, the reader, know me at all, you are aware I am pretty much obsessed with my sisters. It's true. Theres no denying it. Annie and I got to spend much quality time with each other this weekend. It was epic to say the least. I cant wait to see her again in two weeeeks. Yayyyy.

Richmond is for Lovers.

I came home this weekend for fall break. It was wonderful. I saw people I love, got a ton of free starbucks coffee (be jealous now), read a great book, and got to go to HOPE on sunday. It was truly a great weekend.

On top of all those fun things, Claire V. and I travelled to the Folk Festival downtown. It was the most perfect fall Saturday afternoon. Plus it was at/around Tredegar Iron Works, which is probably the coolest place ever for Civil War fanatics. Yeah, I was pretty much in heaven.

Robin Hood and Study Habits.

So when I ventured to Starbucks this evening for my maple macchiatto, I was pleasantly surprised to find, that instead of taking your normal name down (to print on the cup, so as to not get drinks mixed up), I was asked to give the name of a fictional character, preferably disney. Of course, I went straight to my favorite, Robin Hood. My barista was excited because I was innovative by being the first Robin Hood of the night. So then, I wait around and they yell out "Grande Maple Macchiatto for Robin Hood." I then laugh to myself quite a lot, run into Dani, and make her go through the process as well. She was Elmo. I laugh some more, we both remark how this event made our nights and then we ventured to the library. It was memorable.



So I've been trying out this thing people call "studying." I have been to the library TWO times in the past week. Yes, count it, one-two. And I've realized, that people actually go to the library. I was wondering for quite some time where all my friends disappear to during the week, why, its the library! I have seen more people while wandering around like a nomad through the stacks and cubicles than I normally ever do on a given night at DHall. What a unexpected and wonderful surprise! One of my friends actually took a triple-take, and dropped his backpack in awe when we saw me there tonight. And he's not the only one, other people just laugh when they hear Dani and I go to the library. Oh well, we are trying to change. (As a reminder: I do love books and reading and being a nerd, but not in this library. Its dark, resembles the 1960's a bit too much, and feels somewhat like a dungeon. There is nothing fun about this place. However, give me a Barnes and Noble, and I will never leave.)



But we probably should stop going together. We end up passing notes the entire time. Most of it is illegible scribbles, but it still gives me a bit of a diversion from the endless pages of John Locke that was (and still is) beckoning me, creating a cloud of a burden that will not depart. Gahhh. What to do. I guess I should go finish this up and learn "to do whatsoever [I] think fit for the preservation of [myself] and others within the permission of the law of nature." Thank you, Mr. Locke for those words of infinite wisdom.....

On being a Nerd.

So the past few weeks can be summarized by the word "blah." It isn't a good thing, it isn't a bad thing, its just kinda mediocre. So maybe that it isnt good makes it innately bad, but I don't think so. Because life isn't always sunny and wonderful. Sometimes you just can't avoid the "blah."

Anyway, the blah-ness of my current disposition ended on Friday. I was a part of the General Education Student Conference, where I got to spend my afternoon presenting a paper I wrote last year in front of a panel of students, faculty, professors, and family members. Until I actually stood up to give my presentation, the conference was a forboding nuisance. It required much preparation and practice and actual work that was not fitting into my already overwhelmed academic schedule. So why would I accept to do? just because?

But then I stood up in front of the room, and realized how utterly excited I was to be able to give this presentation. So there I was, standing in front of all sorts of foriegn faces, wearing quite the professional burnt orange colored corduroy blazer (somewhat resembling either a professor or, as I heard many times later, a thirty year old mother who would send her kid to nature camp), talking about the unappreciation and undervaluing of teenage girls in today's society, and I was just so happy. And then afterwords, the crowd got to fire questions at us and we had to answer with the knowledge we had, and as fast as we could. It may have as well been Christmas morning. The School even hosted a "Gala Banquet" for us that evening. And while the "key note speaker" left much to be desired, I felt like I was thriving within the world of academia. I love it! I love learning, I love sharing what I love, and I love love love scholarly ambitions. Call me a nerd, call me a loser, whatever.

That day, and the fact that my parents were there, that my mom and I may have shed a tear during my presentation, and that I got to go to barnes and noble last night and drink a maple macchiatto, have put me in the greatest mood I've been in in quite some time.

I'm going to go read now...(for fun).

take thisss.

If you happened to be sitting at my table during the first portion of the Business and Ethics Seminar in Prague, and witnessed the calamity that was the discussion of "Justice," I want to let you know that I just finished a paper whose prompt was, interestingly enough, "What is justice?" And if I knew the man who decided to grill me about the nature of justice and mercy and other boundless questions, I would send it to him with a really mature tagline like "Yeah THIS is why I am 'back in school' BOO YA. "

I am kidding of course. However, that situation did work its way nicely into an opening anecdote in my introduction. Simply hilarious...now.