Identity Crisis

That's what I'm dressing as for Halloween. I'm not having one. Just to be clear. Also it's what I'm dressing as assuming I can actually get some "Hello my name is..." name tags. In the meantime I thought I'd share some of the identities I'll be trying on/sticking all over my body. See if you notice a common thread.

In no particular order:
Hermione, Ginny, Buffy, Winifred, Willow, Cordelia, Luna, Molly, Rose, Martha, Amy, Rory, River Song, Donna, Jack, Micky, Harry, Neville, Angel, Eloise Midgen, Xander, Wesley, Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All, Inigo Montoya, Rowena, Cimorene, Ender, Valentine, Petra, Morwen and Sarah Jane.

There may be more, there may be fewer, but this is the list so far. Basically I'm also going as a huge dork, but that's no different from any other year.

Pumpkin Ice Cream

Today the dining hall served pumpkin ice cream. I love pumpkin ice cream because to me, this symbolizes the fall season, particularly Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving because it will be the first time I'll be seeing a lot of my family since arriving at university (and if it wasn't for parent's weekend two weeks before that it would be my first time seeing my parents since arriving). But before I can talk about Thanksgiving, I want to address Halloween.

Halloween is on Monday. I plan on dressing up and I encourage everyone who reads this to dress up as well. The current plan is to go as an identity crisis (dressing in black and wearing multiple name tags with different names upon them), thought I may change my mind. Either way, I will also be eating a boatload of candy. And the best part? Mom and Dad can't stop me. I just need to make sure I don't go into a sugar coma. That would be bad. Really bad. Anyway I'm excited for Halloween. The chemistry department puts on a huge show where lots of things get blown-up and set on fire so I'm excited for that.

So after Halloween comes Thanksgiving. Scratch that. After Halloween come a few more weeks of classes, the next round of midterms and then Thanksgiving. There shall be turkey. And sweet potatoes. And other deliciousness. And I will be home for it all. It's weird to think that for most of my classmates this is the first family holiday potentially spend away from home this year, while I've already missed out on two holidays (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur). The gist of it is that I'm excited to be home for a holiday and see my family. Especially since after I return to school, I have only two more weeks until winter break. Unfortunately, those two weeks are reading week and finals week.

Homecoming

Today is my school's Homecoming Game. I've never really been the biggest football person. I went to zero games in high school. To be fair, my highs school didn't have the greatest school spirit. The Homecoming dance my senior year was canceled due to lack of interest. This is why my dad finds it hilarious that I go to Northwestern, a big ten school. He also finds it funny that I actually show school spirit. However, despite my new found school spirit I still have yet to go to a football game. Today, that changes. I am going to the Homecoming Game today. In honor of this, I am going to explain football as I know it. Comments in italics are my friend Kate who knows football like some one who actually watches it. Because she does. Comments in bold are my response.

Teams want to get touchdowns. Touchdowns are worth 6 points (impressive, first fact is right Yay!), but they can get an extra point after if they kick the ball through the goal post things (Really Kara? Things???? You actually got the name right, so admit your awesomeness. I am awesome. Also, they can technically get two extra points if they make a two point conversion, but I don't want to confuse you). Touch downs are scored by getting the ball all the way down the field into an area that's painted a different color (Endzone....do you really not know what it's called?I really didn't. Shut up.). Someone has to be holding the ball when it gets there though, they can't just have it land there (Correct theoretically, although explained like an imbecile. Hey! It was correct, that's what's important.). Teams can also score points by getting a field goal. This is worth 3 points. I think field goals have something to do with kicking. There's also some way to get 2 points but I'm not sure what it is (Are you referring to a touchback?Quite possibly. Let's just go with yes. You of course have no idea what a touchback is, but it occurs so infrequently that I won't confuse you by explaining it...you' don't really need to know what it is.  I'm just impressed you remembered enough about what I told you to know you can get two points.  Good job!  "A" for effort.....not).

Games are divided into four 15 minute quarters, yet the games themselves take about 4 hours to play because the universe has a weird sense of humor (That's why my friend likes rugby: football without the stoppage. Also, less safety equipment for more violent manly fun. She's a girl, btw). Teams get possession of the ball for 4 downs and they want to move 10 yards forward during that time (Yay!). Depending of something, the number of yards can go down or up, but it's usually 10 (Come on.  Penalties are something you should understand.  If you do something bad, you have to go backwards.  If the defense does something bad, you get rewarded and go forward.  Simple enough.  Also, I mean, you always have to make 10 yards from where you start with the ball on the first down, so I will say that this is technically an incorrect statement). Sometimes teams can steal possession (Fumbles and interceptions....how do you not know the names?  Do  you even know what a fumble or an interception is???? Yes. Don't answer that.....Too late. A fumble is when they drop the ball. An interception is when you catch the other team's pass).

The main guy is the quarterback. He calls the plays and lead the huddles (And throws the ball....and has an earpiece in his helmet so the coach can call the plays....Having an earpiece in seems dangerous. What if he gets hit. Couldn't it rupture something?). Football huddles were invented by a schools for the deaf so the other team wouldn't see them signing fyi (????? It's true I swear!). There are also other roles, like running back and left tackle but I don't know what they do (Haha, don't worry, most people don't know what they do.  I mean those are more generic, so assume tackles knock people over, and running backs run with the ball....but knowing what position does what is superfluous knowledge. So I'm not dumb for not knowing it then.). Some people get tackled sometimes and can get really badly hurt. This is bad (The end.....).

I swear, I'm smart about other things. Kate didn't want to bore you guys by mentioning all the rules to football that I forgot, which are many, I assure you.  So just bear in mind that this is still a narrow version of football as I know it.  Also, take note that Kate wrote the last two sentences....and this one too.....

Update: We lost. But I had fun anyway.

Midterms

It's the first midterm week. What's that you say? First? Isn't there just one midterm per class? NO! There was one last week, two this week (as well as a host of paper as and lab reports). Then just before Thanksgiving Break it happens again. Basically, I'm eating a lot of ice cream. And procrastinating by writing this so I don't have to do homework. Or study. Or other things I need to do. Basically, this weekend's post will wither be a happy shiny "I'm done with midterms yay!" post or I'll spend the whole weekend asleep and will forget to write it. It's pretty much a toss up.

My Disappearing Roommate

I have my room to myself this weekend. I also had it to myself last weekend. And the weekend before that. My roommate tends to leave on the weekends to visit family and friends. At least, she claims that's what she's doing. I think there may be a more interesting explanation. I think she doesn't exist during the weekend. I think a witch put a spell on her that makes her disappear during the weekend and that's why she's not here. It's clearly a much more logical explanation than that she's visiting friends and family who live nearby so she can sleep in a real bed and eat real food. She claims that she will be here next weekend. Maybe she gets a reprieve from the witch's spell once a month. Maybe she's figured out how to break the spell. Maybe there's no spell at all. I guess I'll find out.

hogwarts

I'm starting to really enjoy using mystery seeker to figure out what to write about for these posts. It told me to write about Hogwarts. I'm not going to object to that.

Hogwarts is a school of magic located in Scotland near the village of Hogsmede. It has several protection charms to keep it safe from muggles. It is a castle. Notable alumni include Albus Dumbledore, Tom Riddle and Hermione Granger. Harry Potter would be on this list except that he didn't actually graduate, though I suppose one could count his final year as one big pass/fail independent study.

I wish that I had received a letter to Hogwarts when I was turning eleven. That would have been amazing. However, I have instead made do with reading the books an obsessive number of times, criticizing the movies for getting things wrong and going to wizard rock concerts.

I was unable to get into Pottermore early unfortunately, so I haven't been officially sorted but I think I am a Ravenclaw, and hope to be sorted there when I am allowed onto Pottermore (I'll keep you posted).

Hogwarts is a place that invites people who, in the outside world are a little different and allows them to have a home where they have something in common with everybody else. This environment helps to remind us that no matter how different we may seem, we are more similar than we think. At the same time, not everyone gets along perfectly at Hogwarts, reminding us that just because we have one thing in common doesn't mean we are exactly alike.

Hogwarts is the most amazing place on earth. May everyone find their own Hogwarts one day.

horse. cow.

I didn't know what to write about so I asked mystery seeker. It told me to write about "horse. cow."

I like horses and cows. They can both be very cute but very smelly. I used to do horseback riding and I enjoyed it a lot. I haven't done it in a while though. Cows are yummy. I have never milked a cow, but I think I would like to try. I have been drinking more milk lately though, which I think is good.

I'm sorry, I know this is kind of a sucky post, but I wrote something. Also I have this thing called homework. They do that in college. I should go do some more.

Funny College Stories Part 1

I plan on making this a feature of my blog. Not necessarily a weekly feature, but a feature. There will be more than just this one part.


The theme of these stories is drunken behavior whilst completely sober. The first story at least would be less embarrassing had I been drunk.

1. Today in the dining hall I was walking to put away my dishes. I had two bowls, a plate, a glass and a water bottle. All were empty except the plate had a heap of rice on it because I had discovered that I didn't actually like the rice they were serving that night very much. I had stacked the dishes so the the bowls were nestled and the plate was on top. I was holding the glass and water bottle tucked in the crooks of my arms and was gripping the bottom bowl. I was walking behind a friend and arguing about whether an actor was alive or dead (I was right that he was alive). Anyway, I slipped or skidded or stopped or something and the plate flipped over sending rice flying everywhere. The plate hit my friend's ankle then the floor. But it didn't just hit the floor, it kind of vibrated loudly. I reached for it and some nice guy picked it up first and handed it to me (thank you!). Basically I accepted it, thanked him and ran off after my friend. So, that happened.

This one's more funny than embarrassing.

2. I had to meet a study group at 8 in the library, about a 10 minute walk from my dorm. When I left my dorm at 7:52 I noticed that a Safe Rides car was waiting outside the door. I went over to the driver's side and knocked on the window. The driver said nothing but waved her hands weirdly. I opened the door to speak with her. Immediately she said, "No you sit in the backseat." My only thought is that she thought I was so drunk that I wanted to sit and drive with her. I quickly explained that I was not drunk, but lazy and wondered if I could get a ride to the library. As the actual car passenger got in the driver explained that I would need to call first to actually use Safe Rides. So not only was I mistaken for a drunk, I had to walk to the library.

Anyone want to share their own funny or embarrassing college stories?

The Wedding of River Song

I am very happy right now. This week's episode was amazing. I loved seeing the world where all of time was happening at once, "Don't Feed the Pterodactyls" was great as was Winston Churchill "informing" the Doctor of downloads. I liked how they flashed around with the Doctor getting the different bits of information, I especially loved the idea of electric chess. I had heard that Dorian was going to be back and I assumed it would be a scene taking place before his beheading, but I liked how they did it, and also how they implied he would.could be back again.

I liked how they interspersed scenes from Impossible Astronaut into the episode until it all changed. I liked how they made it seem like Winston might have been ordered by the Silence to kill the Doctor, until they showed the Doctor with a weapon of his own. Alterna-Amy and Alterna-Rory were awesome. "What's Captain Williams first name?" "Captain."

When Rory was standing alone to hold off the Silence, even with his eye piece malfunctioning I was just so... For a second there I really thought they might kill Rory for real. Especially when the Silence referenced him dying multiple times (seriously are they ever going to explain that?) I got a little nervous. But then Amy came back for him!!!!!!!! And I loved her scene with Madam Kovarian. "The Doctor isn't here." And then when she put the eye patch back on "She didn't get it all from you." Chills. I had chills.

As one of my friends who watched the episode with me noted, the line "We got married and had a kid. That's her." is a lot more reasonable in the 'all of time at once' universe than in our normal one. I like that Amy and Rory end up together no matter what.

The wedding was very sweet. "I need a strip of cloth about a foot long." Bow ties are cool. River:"What am I doing?" Doctor: "As you're told." Then they got married and the universe went back to normal. I had the question of whether the Doctor actually loves River or if he just married her because he had to, but I think the end of the episode indicated that he really does love her back. "Her days in jail, but her nights, that's between us."

So the big twist. I loved how the Doctor managed to escape his own death. That beat where he walks away from the offer of help and then pops back. I'd heard people speculate that he'd use a Ganger and I was pleased that he didn't. I also think that what they did was different enough that it isn't a potato/potahto situation.

Amy and River at the end was very sweet. I liked the moment when Amy realized she's the Doctor's mother-in-law. "Dad, I think Mummy needs another drink."

I like that the Doctor is trying to go back to just being an adventurer who helps out. It gets back to the heart of the show while still acknowledging the history of what he's done. I'm curious if they are going to have people report "Doctor sightings" similar to Elvis sightings. I wonder what's going to happen when he again runs into a major enemy, like the Cybermen or the Daleks.

Finally, the question hidden in plain sight. Doctor Who? I think a lot of people expected something along those lines to be the question but they did it very well. It reminded me a bit of how they did the reveal of who River was. It had been leaked what her identity was but they revealed it so well that it didn't matter that we already knew. I'm looking forward to Christmas.