Good Old Northwest Welcome

On coming home we've been welcomed to the Rose City by presents, sparkling lights and ... snow! Well... a little snow. On our way home from church it snowed just enough to cover the road and dust the trees - and make me rather giddy. Snowboarding trip Saturday! Eeee!

Snow, SUVs, and Airplanes.

Tomorrow we arrive in Portland, where we will spend the remainder of our wonderfully long Christmas break. It's been snowing in Portland recently, we've heard, so we attempted to pack accordingly.
It will be a rather long day of traveling starting with a two hour drive to Charlotte. We'll probably drug ourselves up with caffeine. I certainly will have to if there is any hope of me staying awake, or, more importantly, being a nice person. Modern transport is amazing: we can somehow have a long day of travel and still plan to arrive in Portland at noon.

Side note: we too Mom and Dad Schreck rock climbing today and they did awesome! It was so fun.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Sports Center

The longer I live in the South, and the more time I spend with Josh and at his house, the more I know about sports. Of course, all the talk for the last few days has been steroids. We're getting a little tired of it, but I thought this quote was funny.

Jon [Stewart]'s theory on steroid usage in baseball: "In this country, a man is innocent until proven guilty. Everybody - whether it's the young, wiry Barry Bonds of 1986 or the current Barry Bonds, who looks like he ate two of the first guy."

Christmas in 307-A

With all of us being gone over the actual holidays, my roomies and I didn't make much efforts at making our apartment festive.

Here are some of the snowflakes I decorated with:

And my little "tree":


Some of the packages I've received have also added to the general cheer: a cute Christmas mug from my mom, chocolate advent calender from Rosie, and Christmas card from my grandparents.

Gothic.

I'm having a bit of a Gothic evening:

Coffee
Making art
Candlelight
Mozart's Requiem
Washington Irving











It's quite lovely.

/train

I am so excited for the Timberline expansion! It feels like years since I've hit new terrain. My only question is what the new lift is going to be nicknamed. The Jeff Flood Express Chairlift is a bit of a mouthful.

And Now for Something Completely Different.

Jacques-Louis David.
We learned a bit about this man today. We learned how he was a political chameleon and how that saved his life, how he was the nephew of Boucher, all that important stuff. My professor was humorous, as usual, but he really didn't even need to bother - the images are funny enough. Usually when I think of David, I associate him with the masters, appreciate his skills, etc. But today it was just funny.

Here is his self-portrait, painted during his brief stay in jail after the Revolution. I'm pretty sure this is where Zoolander got his look.
This piece is called "Paris and Helen". It was commissioned by a count someone or another, brother to King Louis XVI (I'm getting really good with keeping my Louis straight these days), is a mythological story and all, but that doesn't really interest me so much as what Paris is wearing. Sandals, scarf and gnome hat! WHAT in the world! Seriously, it kills me. I just sat in class and laughed.

Candycanes are Yummy.

Well. I suppose I ought to make an attempt to welcome December and the Christmas season and all. It is a lovely time, but I am doing my best not to think about it. That is, until finals are over. I would love to only think about Christmas - read Isaiah and Luke, sit in front of the fire and the tree, bake cookies and wrap presents. But for now I'm going to write write write until my fingers are callused, my brain is numb and my back is cricked.
My hope comes in half hour breaks I allow myself whenever I've almost accomplished something.
I'll be glad for a time that I am not thinking about Latin American conquest, teaching methods and Woolf.

Alright, I'm Complaining

Grrr.

So my dance prof decides to dictate our essay questions to us today, keeping us after class, all because she didn't have time to type them up. ALL TEN OF THEM. Seriously. Most profs give three essay questions at most. She wants ten. And she wants them by next Thursday along with our dance reviews. Are you kidding? Even three questions would be a hassle with all the other stuff I have to write and prepare for. It is so pointless, especially when she doesn't even grade them well or read them. And we have to research the stuff because she didn't go over it very much in class. So it is just an enormous waste of time. The midterm was the same.
I do not have time for that! Arrrr.
But today the important thing is that I make it through my Modernism final. (Which I still don't understand.)

Rare Sighting

I wish I were in town for this! You should check it out if you're on campus...

The Art History Student Association is proud to present the screening of the art film Basquiat this Friday, November 30th. This event is free for all PSU students and will hopefully include a light snack at the nacho bar!

What: Art Film Screening of Basquiat
Where: SMSU 298
When: Friday, November 30th from 7:30 to 9:30 PM

All PSU students are invited and we encourage you to attend this movie about a graffiti artist from the streets of New York in the 1980s. The film features such actors as Gary Oldman, Benicio del Toro, and David Bowie as Andy Warhol.

Location: The Smokey Mountains

The Grove Park Inn and the Biltmore Estate

Thanksgivin'

Food and Fam...

Post-Thanksgiving Post

Lunch today was turkey dinner number three.
Turkey dinner number one was eaten at the Grove Park Inn, in Ashville, NC on Thanksgiving day. We drove up that morning and were greeted by "lots of snow". Lots of snow according to the Schrecks, natives of South Carolina. So lots was actually a few scattered flakes. It was cold, though. Actually cold. And I, the one who should have known how to dress for the cold, hadn't brought the right clothes. I hadn't really brought enough clothes, either. So I stole Josh's scarf and drank lots of hot tea.
Turkey dinner number two was last night here in Columbia. While it had been lovely to spend Thanksgiving eating and relaxing rather than cooking, Mrs. Schreck missed her Thanksgiving cooking experience so we had more of the goods! Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and, of course, pumpkin pie.
Today, turkey dinner number three, was leftovers. Yum.
I am extra, extra thankful this year.

Coolest Ever.

So my sister is awesome! And on top of her usual awesomeness, she sent me a very cool postcard yesterday, and a thanksgiving card and present today! The gnome lip balm is my present. I love it. Whenever I move I smell beeswax and green tea.

Discovery.

"'It's as good as the real thing! cried Dora.
--'Nothing's as good as the real thing,' said Peter. 'It's odd that even a perfect imitation, as soon as you know it's an imitation, gives much less pleasure. I remember Kant says how disappointed your guests are when they discover that the afterdinner nightingale is a small boy posted in the grove.'
--'A case of the natural attractiveness of truth,' said Michael." (from The Bell, 1958)

While searching for articles about Virginia Woolf and Mrs. Dalloway, I came across one that compared Mrs. D with a novel entitled A Severed Head, by one Iris Murdoch, of whom I have somehow managed to prance through life never having heard of. But now I have, and I also discovered an interesting looking film biography of her starting Judi Dench, Jim Broadbent (soon to be Prof. Slughorn), and Kate Winslet - what a cast.
My curiosity has been sparked.

Gym Rats

The Green Problem.

Fall is Here

[A little late]

Carolina Fans

...Were not completely disappointed this weekend. Not if they went to the Friday night Carolina vs. Kentucky game, that is. Football, as they know it around the rest of the world, is not a lost cause at USC. Josh and I met up with Rob and Lydia at the last soccer home game and stayed through till the Gamecocks beat the Wildcats 2-1 in overtime.
Saturday night, however, at the American Football game, the fans were a little crazier, the stands a little louder, and the final score a whole lot worse. When Josh and I left and ran into this crazy guy, we were down by 20. I heard it only got worse.
To leave things on a brighter note, here's Carolina about to score their second touchdown:

Secondhand Conversation.

So yesterday I was walking across campus and, as usual, there were some guys walking a few paces behind me having an audible, rather - loud, conversation. (People here don't seem too concerned with privacy - prime example? a woman not 50 feet away from us in the parking lot yelling on her cell at her S.O.) What made me chuckle, though, as I made my way to class, was their topic (and hearing the adamant chastisement of peers).
This is what I heard:

"You know what? You gotta throw those things away - you are gona have cancer by the time you're like, 40. No, no - you wont: you'll have tar in your lungs. So much tar that when you try to get up and walk you'll sound like this *kaahhhck glehack hack kag*. And do you think that's attractive? No! No it's not attractive. And when you marry Lisa and you can't quit - wait, you won't marry Lisa. No one will marry you! You'll have to find someone else who smokes and that is not attractive, is it? That's right!..."

You heard the man! Quit!

I Had to Re-organize

My grandma and grandpa sent me a big package of food, so now my little cupboard is chock full.
Rock on.

Harvest Festival: Trunk or Treat

Yet Another Cultural Experience

...Waiting in line for two hours for ticket to a football game.

This morning I headed up to the Russel House at 10:30am to get in line for tickets. Usually I wait maybe 5 to 15 minutes. Today, it was almost 2 hours. This year the tickets have been running out around 1 or 2pm, but getting there at 11am is no problem. But as I got in line and saw the mattresses, coolers, chairs and trash, I realized people had been camping out. I heard people in line talking about friends who had gotten up at 7am to get in line. A girl in front of me was skipping a test for this, and lots were skipping class.

But even with all the students crazy and willing to do anything for their tickets, and news crews walking around (I think they wre there about the fire in NC where 6 USC students died), the line gets a little boring. Thankfully I had Tracy on the phone for half an hour. Then my roomie Sydney got in line with me, and a little later Josh, though he was only able to stand with us for about 45 minutes, minus a few when he went and grabbed lunch. It was crazy cold out (maybe 50 degrees, which is cold for us) - we can finally wear scarves, boots and hats. Some people saw the sunshine, thought it was warm, and threw on shorts and flipflops. You are allowed to bring two student ID cards, so I was able to hold Josh's when he left for work.

When we were almost there (had about 45 min left) a guy came by and mentioned that he saw there was only one box of tickets left. I was getting all nervous because so many people had been cutting in line with friends, and most people were carrying two IDs. I had observed from very early on that the line was oddly growing rather fatter than shorter. But we made it. And even if they had been out of tickets we would have had to stand in line anyway to get our cards swiped to get us into the lottery for tickets to the Clemson game.
Being a football fan is complicated.

I can now see why everyone here hates Spring semester because there is no football - that's all people care about here. At least Josh and I are two of the 8,000 students who will have one less boring Saturday.

I

They went to sea in a Sieve, they did, In a Sieve they went to sea: In spite of all their friends could say, On a winter's morn, on a stormy day, In a Sieve they went to sea! And when the Sieve turned round and round, And every one cried, 'You'll all be drowned!' They called aloud, 'Our Sieve ain't big, But we don't care a button! we don't care a fig! In a Sieve we'll go to sea!' Far and few, far and few, Are the lands where the Jumblies live; Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a Sieve.

II

They sailed away in a Sieve, they did, In a Sieve they sailed so fast, With only a beautiful pea-green veil Tied with a riband by way of a sail, To a small tobacco-pipe mast; And every one said, who saw them go, 'O won't they be soon upset, you know! For the sky is dark, and the voyage is long, And happen what may, it's extremely wrong In a Sieve to sail so fast!' Far and few, far and few, Are the lands where the Jumblies live; Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a Sieve.

III

The water it soon came in, it did, The water it soon came in; So to keep them dry, they wrapped their feet In a pinky paper all folded neat, And they fastened it down with a pin. And they passed the night in a crockery-jar, And each of them said, 'How wise we are! Though the sky be dark, and the voyage be long, Yet we never can think we were rash or wrong, While round in our Sieve we spin!' Far and few, far and few, Are the lands where the Jumblies live; Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a Sieve.

IV

And all night long they sailed away; And when the sun went down, They whistled and warbled a moony song To the echoing sound of a coppery gong, In the shade of the mountains brown. 'O Timballo! How happy we are, When we live in a Sieve and a crockery-jar, And all night long in the moonlight pale, We sail away with a pea-green sail, In the shade of the mountains brown!' Far and few, far and few, Are the lands where the Jumblies live; Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a Sieve.

V

They sailed to the Western Sea, they did, To a land all covered with trees, And they bought an Owl, and a useful Cart, And a pound of Rice, and a Cranberry Tart, And a hive of silvery Bees. And they bought a Pig, and some green Jack-daws, And a lovely Monkey with lollipop paws, And forty bottles of Ring-Bo-Ree, And no end of Stilton Cheese. Far and few, far and few, Are the lands where the Jumblies live; Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a Sieve.

VI

And in twenty years they all came back, In twenty years or more, And every one said, 'How tall they've grown! For they've been to the Lakes, and the Torrible Zone, And the hills of the Chankly Bore!' And they drank their health, and gave them a feast Of dumplings made of beautiful yeast; And every one said, 'If we only live, We too will go to sea in a Sieve,--- To the hills of the Chankly Bore!' Far and few, far and few, Are the lands where the Jumblies live; Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a Sieve.

Rainy Friday Food.

Apparently there is no such thing as Tomato Rice soup in the South.
And from the looks of it, Andy Warhol wasn't even aware it existed, either.
Oh, but it does. People are just missing out.
I didn't want to have to miss out this year, so I'm cooking rice and heating tomato soup at this very moment.And I plan to scald my mouth with it, while staring out at the rain.

Rainy Friday Recipes.

After inviting Josh over for breakfast, I stopped and considered the lack of breakfast foods in my cupboard. Just finished off the cereal... there's one banana... 3 yogurts... a part of a cheese croissant. Not that promising. Then I thought of my baking ingredients and asked him if he wanted scones. Finding no milk and old eggs in the fridge, I thought again.

We ate scones made of flour, oats, sugar, salt, baking powder, chocolate chips, and peach yogurt.

They were great.

Rainy Friday Tunes.

Mouthwash
(Kate Nash)

This is my face, covered in freckles with the occasional spot and some veins
This is my body, covered in skin, and not all of it you can see
And, this, is my mind, it goes over and over the same old lines
And, this, is my brain, it's torturous and analitical thoughts make me go insane

And I use mouthwash
Sometimes I floss
I've got a family
And I drink cups of tea

I've got nostalgic pavements
I've got familiar faces
I've got mixed-up memories
And I've got favourite places

And I'm singing uh-oh on a Friday night
And I'm singing Uh-oh on a Friday night
And I'm singing uh-oh on a Friday night and I hope everything's gonna be alright
And I'm singing Uh-oh on a Friday night and I hope everything's gonna be alright

This is my face , I've got a thousand opinions, but not the time to explain
And this is my body and no matter how you try and disable it, yes,i'll still be
here
And, this, is my mind, and although you try and infringe, you cannot confine
And, this, is my body, and even if you try and hold me back there's nothing
that you can gain

Cause I use mouthwash
Sometimes I floss
I got a family
And I drink cups of tea

I've got nostalgic pavements
I've got familiar faces
I've got mixed-up memories
And I've got favorite places

And I'm singing Uh-Oh on a Friday night
And I'm singing Uh-Oh on a Friday night
And I'm singing Uh-Oh on a Friday night and I hope everything's gonna be alright
And I'm singing Uh-Oh on a Friday night and I hope everything's gonna be alright
Uh-Oh-Uh-Oh-Uh-Oh-Uh-Oh

Water and Leaves.

[More from Fall Break]

It's called a "writing spider"


I had never seen so many turtles so big.