Let’s see, where did I leave off? The weekend of April 25, Lexie and I had a road trip to visit my sister at Grinnell to see MIRAH for free. The ride was really fun and terrifying because it was raining cats and dogs as well as howling gales outside but we made it safe and enjoyed a nice meal at Grinnell with Mari. We watched some short films, freshened up, and walked over to the campus chapel where Mirah was performing. It was totally beautiful and we got front-pew-seats. The lighting and environment was totally surreal and the acoustics were perfect for Mirah’s amazing voice. She did a live performance of her latest insect-influenced album titled “Share This Place”, and there was a stop-animation film that went to each song. It was breathtaking. She ended the set with three different songs, but my favorite by far was her cover of Nico’s “Fairest of the Seasons”.

After the show we went back to Mari’s dorm and watched “The Others”, which was honestly too scary for me. We slept, and in the morning went to breakfast at a greasy spoon diner not too far from campus. Breakfast for three was under fifteen bucks and tasted delicious. We did some shopping at consignment shops in town, and saw the Grinnell College Gay Pride Parade, which was totally fabulous. I love weekends like this.

After all the excitement, we hit the road, and it was smooth sailing and country music all the way home. We stopped at the World’s Largest Truck Stop for frosties and talked the whole way back. I really like Lexie. It was a fabulous weekend, seriously!




Last week was the art/art history field trip to Chicago, so naturally I went to Cornocopia the health food store in town to load up on snacks for the bus ride. We got some granola, and my new favorite, roasted corn. They were also selling this gorgeous locally grown asparagus, which we lusted over for a bit before dediding against purchasing. Greta and I walked around the downtown area for a while stopping any place we wanted. It was a fun afternoon before the trip.

Chicago was really quite lovely, though I couldn’t help but be stressed out about my Kabuki presentation for Japanese Art History the next day. I went to sleep knowing I’d have to wake up early to finalize bits and pieces of my powerpoint, when I was awoken to…

LOUD NOISES AND SCREAMING PROCLAIMING “IT’S FLUNK DAY”!!!!!!!

Which basically meant that all my classes were cancelled, everyone I knew got covered in mud, there were mechanical bulls and inflatable obstacle courses, Abe Lincoln and Elvis impersonators parading about campus, lots of food, Lucky Boys Confusion playing at my school, and a whole lot more. We basically had the best day ever and it took days to clean the shower/suite up. Totally amazing day.

Friday I walked dogs with Greta at the Humane Society and we made a new friend named Marcus. I had a fit of bravery when I had to face my fear of dogs with a pitbull named Thumper. We had a lovely dinner at Chez Willie’s and a relaxing night with friends. Saturday we went to McDonald’s for breakfast, AND MARCUS the guy from the day before was there. Weird right? We also went to Farm King and Greta inquired about buying a goose, but I’m happy she didn’t because I heard those birds are a pain to raise. Saturday was spent doing some cleaning, but mostly laying in bed because it was just one of those day. Saturday night there was a concert in Post Lobby and I wound up making a new friend for the summer which I’m really excited about. Sunday was Sunday, and Monday went by pretty fast which brings me to today and the gorgeous weather it brought with it.

It was lovely out today and I read outside some. I also attended the Ikebana floral workshop for Japan: Art an Idea and it was so lovely. I love flowers.

Saturday April 5th was the Prairie Fire Burn at Green Oaks which is Knox’s outdoor field research station where students can come to camp, learn, and be off campus in a really gorgeous natural environment. I’d seen a prairie burn before at my high school a few years ago with my enviro class but nothing could have prepared me for how incredible the prairie burn at Green Oaks was. Kathy and I borrowed Greta’s car and got lost 8 and a half times until we ended up in the town of Victoria about 30 miles away from Knox. W e nearly gave up looking for the location of the burn until we came to a part of the road that was lined with parked cars (and a sign telling us we were at Green Oaks!). We walk about a half a mile along a trail until we found about 60 or 70 people ready for the burn wearing bandannas over their faces. As soon as we got there students and teachers began to fire up the prairie which literally burst into flames in a sort of systematic way according to how the fire was placed in sections upon the prairie. It took a little while to move, but with the help of wind and some controlled fire the prairie was up in flames and burned within a good twenty minutes. It was totally awesome to see my schools mascot the Prairie Fire in action! I took lots of polaroids and after the whole ordeal, Kathy and I stopped at DQ for chicken tenders and honey mustard. It was quite a Saturday.

The week following the burn went well because it was MY BIRTHDAY WEEK, as I like to call it. Wednesday I started my first day volunteering as a Reading Buddy, in which once I week I go to Neilson Elementary school in town and read with a third grade student. We’re currently reading American girl books, and it’s seriously a walk down memory lane for me. Wednesday night was a mandatory meeting for Kappa, which actually turned out to be a really awesome surprise event that involved BIRTHDAY CAKE for the four girls who had birthdays that week! I seriously lost it, I was so excited for birthday cake! Thursday, Greta left for Chicago to go see Oprah, which meant I was left to my own devices my last night as a teenager. Some of the students from WVKC brought a hip hop group to perform in Post Lobby and it was a totally awesome way to bring in my birthday! I went to a party after the show, and some of the performers from the show came. It was really fun talking to them about music and touring and all that jazz. On my birthday, I was woken up by Abby decorating my room with balloons, cake, and happy birthday flags! It was a great surprise on Abby and Greta’s part, and I really appreciated it. Oh, and the cake said “I AM NOT A HOBBIT”.

Classes have been going really well here these past few weeks. In East Asian Philosophy we’re finishing up our discussion on Confucianism, and I’ve really taken to a lot of the ideas concerning benevolence and moral virtue. I’ve found that I’m a more patient and controlled individual since I’ve begun studying the texts assigned, and practicing meditation this term has definitely helped me to feel more on top of things. Speaking of meditation, my Japanese art history class is going to be doing the Zazen meditation workshop sometime in the next few weeks which I’m really looking forward to. There’s nothing like clearing your mind out for a period of time, I find that blogging is sort of therapeutic in that respect.

Japanese art history is going really great. We’re well into the term with weekly student led presentations on performing arts. I’m also conducting research for my term paper on the sexuality present in shunga woodblock prints. It’s a similar topic to what I researched last term when looking at sexuality in Cezanne’s Bathers series, but this one has a completely non-Western twist to it, which is an area I’m really unfamiliar with but looking forward to discovering.

This is one of my favorite prints that I’ve looked at so far:

Statistics is going REALLY WELL considering that math and I don’t go well together. I’m nervous about the midterm exam coming up next week, but I’m fairly confident since I’ve been doing so well on the homework and quizzes thus far.

Last week was nice because the weather started to clear up bringing with it spring weather. Additionally, last Thursday was really special because my professor/advisor Greg Gilbert gave a talk on Andy Warhol at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa (http://www.figgeartmuseum.org/). A group of art history majors, studio art majors, and art professors drove to Iowa to check out the museum and support Professor Gilbert, which was really exciting for all of us. His talk was really interesting, and I especially liked his comparison of the peeled Campbell’s soup can to the Dutch still-life vanitas paintings that I researched last year for my Baroque art history course.

As far as news goes, I am working with Greg Gilbert to snag an internship at The Galesburg Civic Art Center for the rest of ther term, and I have a meeting this coming Thursday. Additionally, my big big big news is that I WAS ACCEPTED INTO THE ACM FLORENCE STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM, which means that next fall I’ll be studying in Florence. I’m really really really really excited! I also snagged an interview for the position of an Admission Suite Host for next year, which would be a really amazing experience for when I return from Florence. I have my fingers crossed for that position.

What else is new? I went home for Passover and the seder was really lovely. Dinner was lights out, and so was the desert my mom made (caramel and chocolate covered matzah). My mouth is watering just thinking about it. When I got back to campus, it was 75 degrees and sunny, and all of the flowering trees were in bloom.

Knox is gorgeous, it’s spring, and it’s EARTH DAY. What more could I want? Oh I know. Seeing Mirah play at Grinnell this weekend for free and then seeing Escape the Floodwater Jugband when I get back into town!! This is going to be a busy but lovely week! P.S. I heard tomorrow is Flunk Day!!!

Yesterday I watched a beautiful documentary on the evolution of Icelandic music that led up to the creation and culmination of bands like Sigur Rós, Múm, Björk and bands that I’d never heard of, like Amiina and Slow Blow. It was so beautiful and enriching, and all I can think about is music boxes, saws, and traveling to Iceland in the winter. I strongly suggest seeing “Screaming Masterpiece”, it is a beautiful film in its entirety.

I’m reading “What is The What” by Dave Eggers [still], and it’s one of the toughest reads emotionally. The pain it contains is comparable to a Toni Morrison novel, with the realness of Dave Eggers threaded in, and the voice of Achek Deng tying the whole piece together. It makes me sad to think I know what’s going on in the world, but to then realize that there is so much that I am unaware of. I’m ready to learn now.

I’m also reading “A Man Without A Country”, by Kurt Vonnegut which is a collection of essays he wrote interspersed with illustrations in blue ink, and it’s really just an adorable read, which is an odd word to describe Vonnegut, but the first story was just simply adorable and perfect. It felt like a close friend wrote it in an email to me.

Classes are pretty good this week. It feels like the week is going by fast and slow all at once. Kappa had informal recruitment these past two nights, and I’m looking forward to seeing if we get any new girls. I really love being a part of this, it’s really a special group of individuals, and I’m proud to be a Kappa. What else? I start Reading Buddies next Wednesday, which is a volunteer group that reads to second and third graders in the Galesburg community for half an hour a week. I meet my buddy next Wednesday, and I hope they like me!

I got my first Stats assignment back, and I got an A! That’s the best score I’ve gotten in math in my entire life. Nuts right? Tomorrow I pick a research topic for my Japanese art history term paper, and I’m trying to decide. I might go for Japanese street fashion and research the Fruits movement, or maybe look into the gender binaries associated with geisha culture, but it’s so up in the air right now. East Asian Philosophy is really difficult, and I find myself having trouble speaking in the class, maybe because what we’re talking about is intimidating. I don’t feel as though the students are asking questions that promote discussion yet either, maybe tomorrow’s class will prove otherwise?

Greta and I watched “The Notebook” on Sunday. I couldn’t finish it. This is us watching it and being friends.

April Fools day was yesterday. Pranks were pulled in the suite. Abby and Kathy filled Zac and Nick’s room with garbage bags that they blew up like balloons. It was adorable.

My birthday is in 9 days. Mom, Mari and I are going to Pittsburgh at the end of the term to celebrate me being 20 together. Thursday night we might have a spa date, then Friday we will go to a Pirates game to see the vender who screams LEMONADE and COTTON CANDY. We’re going to go to the Andy Warhol Museum, and then Sunday we’re having brunch at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water. Basically, my birthday is going to be beautiful.

I’m so happy to be back at Knox for spring term ‘08!! I had my first class of the term today which was Introduction to Statistics, and though I’m a little scared of math, I’m really looking forward to this class. Professor Schwartzman is teaching the course, and I’m confident in his ability to keep the course interesting while still challenging the class. And hopefully after this class I’ll be able to make more informed decisions about the statistics I’m faced with each day in the media and in my other classes here at Knox.

Tomorrow I have my other two classes which are Japan: Art and Idea (a Japanese art history course) and East Asian Philosophy which I’m really excited for. I don’t have a lot of experience with non-Western art and I’m looking forward to diving into an entirely new type of art history. What’s also pretty nifty is that my teacher Betsy specialized in Japanese art history, so she’ll have a lot invested in the course because it’s what she knows best. The Japanese art history is also going to tie in quite nicely with the East Asian Philosophy class when thinking about how influential religion and philosophy is over art in different regions and periods of time, though I’ve heard the professor might be cutting Buddhism out of the curriculum which could be a bummer.

Spring break was really great and as always, it went by too fast! It was definitely a welcome break after the tidal wave of finals though. I’m not going to sugar coat finals, THEY WERE SO HARD. I had two really intense art history final exams (on the same day of course) and two pretty important art history term papers. Atmosphere and Weather had a pretty tough cumulative exam, but I survived it all and got a great spring break out of it!! I went home to Chicago for the beginning of the break and was visited by one of my good friends from Kansas for a bit. I also had an interview for an internship at The Spertus Institute at Chicago which went well and was an overall really great experience. I also got to go to San Diego to visit family for five days, and the warm sunny weather was really all I needed to get my head back in the game for spring term!

California was really relaxing. I did some shopping, hung out with my family, and yes, I went to Disneyland. Disneyland was totally packed and really fun, and the best part: I SAW KNOX STUDENTS WHILE I WAS THERE!!!! In fact, I ran into one of the other bloggers, Karin while I was in line for Pirates of the Caribbean. Talk about “It’s a Small World”! When I saw them I felt like I was back at home here at Knox, and it made me that much eager to get back here for this term.

So here I am. Back at school. Stoked for the new term. My classes rule. Life is swell.

Let me just say that after the crunch of the last few weeks, I have never been so happy for it to be Tuesday. This term I’m in three classes that all happen to meet on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday which means that I have Tuesday and Thursday off. Last Tuesday I was in Chicago for the Art History field Trip, so I didn’t get to fully appreciate sleeping in and taking my time with the day (not to mention a chance to do all the laundry that has been stacking up). And Thursday I had to go to Davenport, Iowa to pick up an item I’d lost on the Chicago field trip, so again, I didn’t get to take my time with the day. But here I am, updating you with what’s been up with me these last few days.

Last week was pretty intense, mainly last weekend. I spent the entire weekend prepping for my huge 19th Century European Art History exam on Monday, which consisted of memorizing information for 60+ slides and writing a 5-7 page paper. On top of that I also had an Atmosphere and Weather test scheduled for the same day as my art history exam, so as you can imagine, it was a pretty long weekend. I got invited to attend Chocolate Fest by several people, but had to turn it down in favor of my studies.

The exams weren’t so bad though. I did pretty well on my art history mid-term, and I need to study a bit harder for Atmosphere and Weather, but my grade is going up a bit, which is a relief. This has been a really hard term probably because I’m in two intensive art history classes and a really difficult environmental studies class, but I’m getting through it and I’m loving the material that I’m learning. I’m looking forward to next term not only because it’s spring which brings with it sunshine, picnics, and Flunk Day, but also because I just signed up for my classes! I’m signed up for Introduction to Statistics with Peter Schwartzman, East Asian Philosophy which will help me with my Religious Studies minor, and Japan: Art and Idea, which will complement the East Asian Philosophy class nicely I’m sure. The classes are all new to me and I’m excited for new material. Plus it means meeting new professors and new students in these classes, which is always exciting.

It’s going to be a great term, and I’m totally stoked.
Stay warm, winter’s almost done, I think.

A lot has happened in the last few days. Our Hillel Club/ Making Things event last Wednesday afternoon was really great. We had an amazing turn out, and we were even interviewed by the Register Mail. Ben and Erica did a great job organizing the event, and the results were really outstanding. The Marc Chagall inspired event was also environmentally friendly, as we took found glass from picture frames and reused them for the stained glass windows. The process was pretty simple, which allowed for a lot of creativity and resulted in a very diverse group of windows. As we modge-podged tissue paper to the glass and wax paper canvases, we talked about our classes, interests, and of course, art. Reporters from the Register Mail hung out with us, taking in our conversations, and photographed us as we worked. The article was released the next day, and my piece was mentioned!
You should check it out here: http://www.galesburg.com/homepage/x1151552560.

After the Making Things/Hillel Club event I went back to Sellew 3 to get dressed for my pinning ceremony into Kappa. It was a totally interesting experience and I’m really excited to see where joining this new fraternity will take me. The girls are really interesting and welcoming, and the cake after the ceremony was delicious!

Saturday was iFair and I can’t even begin to tell you have amazing it was. I woke up pretty early to get some food at 11, and I’m not lying when I say that there were so many people excited to eat international food that I waiting in line for almost and hour! The food was so delicious and absolutely worth the wait. After eating, I headed over to CFA to check on the Hillel club and Making Things booths. The Making Things Booth at IFair looked pretty awesome, and Ben did a really wonderful job talking to visitors about the project and meaning of the work we created. People seemed pretty excited about the collection of windows, which we’re hoping to put on display in The Gizmo for the remainder of the winter term. After the booth segment of iFair there were the performances which consisted of songs, dance, and monologues from everywhere you can imagine. I’d say my favorite was the performance of The Butterfly Concerto from China, it was really a moving performance even though it was shortened.

All in all, I’d say iFair was a great success this year, and I’m looking forward to see what we’ll do next year!

Sunday was the Tu B’Shevat seder at Temple Sholom, and waking up early was totally worth it because seders always mean lots of food. The holiday which comes usually in the middle of our cold mid-west winter celebrates the harvesting season in Israel. We ate all sorts of fruits, my favorite probably being the strawberries or avocados, it’s a toss up. There was song and laughter, and it was really nice to leave the campus for a bit and be with the Jewish community in town. I even got offered a job as a Sunday school teacher for next year, but we’ll have to wait and see on that, I might be in Florence in the fall!

A lot has happened this week:

Catch was released a little over a week ago, and some of my photography was published!! If anyone is interested in a copy, just holla atchur girl.
Saturday was the Hillel Club Bagel Brunch, which was a total success, seeing as we ran out of bagels and everyone loved the event.
The party at The Spaceship Saturday night was really something else, involving all sorts of music, dance, basements and attics. I stayed out all night long and it took days for my ears to stop ringing, but it was really one of the most beautiful nights despite the cold.
I finished my main study abroad application essay, and if all goes to plan, I’ll be in Florence next fall studying art history and literature with a host family.
Speaking of art history, I spent three hours Tuesday in the library doing research for my term paper topic (kind of a big deal) and I picked a topic that I sort of fell in love with; Gender and Sexuality in Cezanne’s Late Bathers, totally psyched out for this.

I had a literally awful Atmosphere and Weather exam yesterday, and I kind of need to step up my game in that class, because I love the subject matter, but I’m just having a difficult time. I just want to study storms already. Hillel Club/Making Things had a really great event last night making Chagall inspired stained glass windows, and we had a really great turnout again, plus the windows look gorgeous and we’re displaying them at I-Fair this weekend at the Israel/Palestine booth. Ben, Erica, and I were interviewed by The Register Mail, the local paper in town as well as the school newspaper, TKS.

The big big news is that last night I pledged my school’s chapter of Kappa, and I’m really happy with my decision. The girls are absolutely amazing, and it was a complete honor to be asked to join the sorority. Plus, we pledged at Stewart house where Kappa was founded 137 years ago. The whole experience has been really surreal but I’m excited to see where all of this takes me!
This is Aly and I after plegding. Paloma was my pledge sister yesterday, which was really amazing since we grew up together.

What else? Tonight I had my Knox Blogger meeting, and I’ll be putting up a link to my Knox blog shortly. The meeting was fun and they gave me brand new Canon digital camera for shooting my life, funny right? I start blogging sometime this week.

Also, my radio shows start next week. I have my Pre-teen Angst show with Zac on Monday nights at 8, it’s basically anything you loved in 7th and 8th grade (lot’s of Sum41 and Blink and even some Wheatus “Teenage Dirtbag”). And then Tuesday night at 6 is my regular show Roy G. Biv, and I’m hoping to host a strictly 90’s themed show this term. The link for the WVKC website is http://deptorg.knox.edu/wvkc/ and you should all try to listen. I give lots of shout outs.

I’m really excited for my Mom and Mari to come visit me next Wednesday night.
And can you believe how Project Runway has been turning out??
First Kevin, then Kit? And then BAM, Ricky wins? Weird.

OK homework time. Let’s read about Michelangelo and da Vinci.

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“Designers, please take your stations.” - Dad being Tim Gunn

So the question isn’t “What did you do on Friday December, 14 2007?”
it’s more “What didn’t you do on Friday December, 14 2007?”

You wouldn’t believe how much you can do in 25 hours running on only 4 hours of sleep from the night before. Kathy and I woke up at 4:00 in the morning to the sound of my father’s voice pretending to be Tim Gunn. We got McDonald’s at the airport, and sat at the front of the plane with annoying couples. NYC was snowcapped as we flew over it. It was really breathtaking. We wound up getting lost in Harlem on the way to NYU and when we did finally get to Union Park we wound up killing time waiting for Esther, by spending and hour in Cosi, and an additional hour in Bed Bath and Beyond, pushing our things around in a cart (p.s. no photographs in BBB just in case you wanted to go in there to do a photoshoot). We got into Esther’s dorm and vegetated for a bit until she had to go to dinner with her parents and so we hung out with Damon and went to The MoMA to see some really big scultures and some really interesting installations. After the MoMA Damon got himself some tasty street meat, which was then proceeded by going to Bryant Park (FASHION WEEK!!!) and watching ice skaters swivel and sway which was absolutely magical and a cold 45 minutes well spent. After that, we met some guy named Jack for pizza and cream puffs, and then wound up walking around until it was time to meet up with Esther and Amalia to go out. Esther’s friends are total characters which meant we had a very interesting night out in Brooklyn, and James Murphy djing at Studio B was the bomb. I love protecting Kathy in clubs from boys and girls. Some drama went down, it was cold, and we wound up laying on couches in the basement of an old dorm until we were reunited with Esther and we slept for a whole day.

THE END.

The Bioneers Conference (Grinnell, Iowa) was life changing and I’ve absolutely positively decided to a) be an environmental studies minor, b) that we should stop eating shrimp [see http://www.shrimpsuck.org], c) that we need to make a lot of changes to our lifestyle (both at school and at home), c) that anything is possible, just make some connections and set some goals, d) florescent lights are cool, e) living locally is where it’s at, f) camping is beautiful and there are a lot more stars than I thought there ever were, g) it is our responsibility to take care if the earth, h) it is time to take this responsibility under our wing and harness our creative senses to makes this place we live in sustainable and renewable. I could seriously go on and on and on for hours, but there’s too much to type.

Basically, I want to do so much. I want to go to New Orleans and help with the relief and rebuilding efforts. I want to go to the Bronx and “Green The Ghetto”. I want to stop eating meat (including fish, shrimp is the worst you could do, and tuna). I want to make recycled art. I want to make our campus more sustainable. I want to thelp run K.A.R.E.S. next year. I want to stop buying so much. I want to eat mainly organic and as locally as I can if at all possible.

I want a lot.

Halloween (on a different note) was lovely (sort of) and in case you didn’t see it:

I was a Tamagotchi and it was the cutest most precious costume in the world!!!!

I went to Jens Lekman on Friday night at The Logan Square auditorium and he played every song I wanted to hear and more and we were dancing and he was in this white robe and his girls were perfect and cute in all their Swedish cuteness. Mexican with Maud after the show was fabulous, I’m not sorry I didn’t tip though. I love kareoke in Spanish and I love singing along.

Yesterday I went to The MCA with Brian and it was beautiful. Even the performance art was good. We had a really enjoyable time, and I’m really happy that he picked for us to go to the MCA and then get yummy thai food after. It’s like every time the two of us hang out it’s absolutely perfect and spontaneous and lovely. How do we do it?!

Anything else? I had Chinese food today and I bought a bamboo plant to put next to my orchids (Sugar Dumplin’, and Muffin Baby).

Time to drive back to school.

I love life.
New house is perfect.