On Being a Kid

So I'm currently with my parents visiting my cousins who live near Vassar.
(Needless to say, my semester's done. That's cool.)

There's my sweet young aunt, my funny young uncle, and their three boys ages 6,8, and 11 who are all funny, super-smart, crazy, and total sweet-hearts. I love being around all five.

Last night, I slept on dinosaur sheets... This morning I played 2 on 2 basketball with them and made some sweet 3-pointers!

In other words, I'm adopting the life of a 9-year-old boy, and I love it. It's something we should all get back to sometimes--it's simple. The rules of life are simple. Don't steal the ball when it's not your turn, try hard, laugh a lot, run around, and sometimes you've just got to have a wrestle fight in the grass even if some people don't like it.

Being around the three boys reminded me just how much kids are real people. I think as we get older we tend to forget that.

This afternoon they were fascinated by my digital camera (hell, it fascinates me too--uh, I mean, "well," not "hell"; I can't sweart here!) and I let them use it and take pictures (close-ups of my feet, anyone? sure!). Then I took a few videos of them with the video function and they watched them over and over again.

I love these kids, basically, and I'm glad I have the privilege of watching them grow up and growing up with them--or I guess now I'm growing down.

And it's good.

I hope everyone is either finishing exams/papers well or enjoying their first few days home. Take a risk, be wild, act like the kid you still are. 18 or 19 means nothing.

-aRCHEL

It's that time again...

Time for exams.

Last night was fun, with the midnight breakfast (I was more interested in the company than the food), the naked run (ha!), and the fire show. It was a fun time to hang out with various friends.

Needless to say, the incident in the library was frightening, and my roommate was there and came back quite shell-shocked. Here at Blog9 we sincerely hope that he will be okay, and since do not wish to propagate any rumors there will be no speculating or discussion of the incident.

On a lighter note, today I'm going to study for a while, then I have an exam from 5 to 7, then I'll have a victory dinner with some friends. Then one more exam tomorrow and I'm finished for the semester... Ahh... Otherwise, I'm looking forward to stealing my roommate's Glamour magazine to read on the quad!

Good luck with exams!
-aRCHEL

Miscellaneous tidbits grabbed from my brain

I've discovered that I really really like cutting hair.

I also really like playing guitar.

But not these things at the same time.

Anyway, I'm going to the Minstrel's concert tonight, which should be funny, enjoyable, and not too long. It's at 9:00 in Sanders.

I finished 28 pages of papers this week. Oh boy...

I'm really tired! I'll take care of that...

Yeahh, Okayy, get crunk!

-aRCHEL

world news? no.

So I receive the NYTimes afternoon update things so that I stay on top of what's going on in the world. They have this extra thing where if something big happens they send you an extra email.

I didn't get anything about the cyclone that's leaving tons of people dead.

I just got an email regarding Uma Thurman's stalker.

How ridiculous is that? I really don't care about Uma Thurman, sorry dear.

Anyway, classes are over, but I still have choir rehearsals, a 12-page paper that is yucky, and 2 finals. Ugh.

I hope you are all enjoying the nice weather and no more lectures.

-aRCHEL

eugenics and room draw

Last night I participated in a heated debate with three other friends on eugenics.

It was a fascinating discussion, and I'm glad we had it--my views on eugenics have definitely evolved and it's not even a topic I'd really thought about before.

In addition to learning about this, I also learned about the character of my three friends who participated. It's quite telling how loud they speak, how they address people, how they visibly react emotionally. It was quite topsy-turvy at times.

Amazing though, quite a wonderful discussion.

In other news, room draw is over! My friends and I stayed until the bitter end to keep everyone company as they whittled down the choices. I'm very satisfied with my room--it's not ideal, definitely, but it's pretty ideal for me. I'm not too picky. (Bigger isn't always better. :P)

Anyway, no matter what happened last night, everything WILL turn out just fine. I promise. Pinky-swear? Yes.

- aRCHEL

Convocation, Freshman 15, and self-exploration through paper- and song-writing

Today I had no classes. I was in the convocation choir, meaning that I had to sit through the entire convocation. The main speaker... Some interesting points, yeah, but SO long! It was pretty insane.

Sam Charner's speech was my favorite because it was the most natural. I never really like convocations because it's a bunch of educated people reading literary-sounding things.

My favorite part was singing Gaudeamus. :) And sitting next to one of my closest friends.

I went to to the freshman 15 show in UpC. It was pretty cool, though not so tremendously organized. My favorite parts were Scout's rap (fucking amazing!! mad props!) and Nina Vyedin's guitar-playing. She's really amazing and if you haven't heard her play you're really missing out. She writes her own songs that are more professional than professional ones, but she's too much of a good person inside to compare herself to others like that and be as conceited as she has the right to be.

Right now I'm (obviously) writing this post before going to sleep... I wish I didn't have to get up for an early class tomorrow because otherwise I'd be staying up late writing my fucking fascinating psych paper that I love and writing songs... I'm currently writing my first song on guitar and it's really exciting. :) The psych paper is convincing me even more that I need to be a psych major! Preferably related to abnormal and physio psych.

Goodnight to all, and to all a good night.
-aRCHEL

One door closes, another opens.

So Dido and Aeneas is over. I've spent a lot of time and brain space on it in the past semester, especially in the past week.

It's been a wonderful experience and I really loved just about every minute of it.

And as this door closes, the door of the rest of the semester continues to open. I've got this amazing paper to finish, and then another one to take care of (a total of about 30 pages by the middle of May), and of course exams to study for.

I'm looking forward to this week, this weekend, study week, and the two weeks at home/travelling before I come back to Vassar for the summer... And of course I'm looking forward to that quite a bit as well.

Well, it's time to work on that paper now. I hope you are all doing well with your work or, if not, having a lot of fun on this rainy day for relaxation.

-aRCHEL

COLLEGE: small cute animals, research papers, and humor/love/sex/death

These rabbits are pretty amazing. So. Cute.

You know what I want?
A BAG OF PUPPIEEEEES!!

I want to lie down in a small room full of two-week-old daschund puppies and have them walk into me.

So I'm writing this massive paper for a class and I'm LOVING it. Like, seriously, I'm so into this paper it's ridiculous and unnatural--but I guess I know what my major is now...

By the way, I'm in the music department's production of Dido and Aeneas, which is really awesome. You've got your humor, love, sex, death... What more do you need in a show? Seriously, though, come:

Friday 8pm
Saturday 3pm, 8pm
Sunday 3pm

See you there, or square...
-aRCHEL

Sometimes/Always

Sometimes I feel really inadequate.

Sometimes I feel incredible.

Always I wonder who I am.

-aRCHEL

Community Shuttle

So I went to NYC today and I took the shuttle on the way back. At first I was stressed out because it wasn't coming, then I remembered that 3:30 to 4 is the off-time. Then when it did come at about quarter after, it came to a different place than I was expecting and I ran to catch up with it as it was pulling away.

Phew!

But aside from all that, it was really cool (literally, too) to have an air-conditioned, CLEAN bus taking me from the train station after a hectic day back to home, aka Vassar. The driver was super nice, and stopped the bus when he saw me in the mirror running like a headless chicken.

So that was sweet.

And I'm thinking that some time I'm going to take advantage of the shuttle and go to some grocery store and buy some things to make something baked and delicious. I'd definitely ride it more often now that I know how it works.

I hope you are all out enjoying the weather. Or, if you're from Antarctica perhaps this isn't your cup of tea.

-aRCHEL

Huh? blaklkjdlfkj....

I feel like I've inadvertently offended some people today, and I don't like this feeling.

Also, I got an 84 on a test which isn't horrible but still I was hoping for over 87. Bla.

But I wrote a page of a research paper, which is great.

This weekend... insane. It's going to be crazy crazy crazy busy. SO many things to go to and do. I'm a bit overwhelmed, actually.

I'm a bit out of my brain at the moment, so sorry if this post is spacy.

Hopefully everyone is doing well...

-aRCHEL

I was M.issing I.n A.ction

MIA was crazy.

Crazyyyyy...

It was my first 'real' concert, and we got there early so we were second or third from the front for most of the time. Unfortunately, it was also my first time in a mosh pit with music louder than I'd ever been exposed to, and I was really freaked out. I also had the dubious pleasure of interacting with my roommate while she was drunk, which I don't usually do. This was fun until later when I referred back to something important we'd talked about and she didn't remember it at all.

The first part with the dj was fun, though. Some not-so-violent pushing, my accidental groping of a male friend's ass on several occasions, and the ability to pretend to pass out and not fall over because I was so tightly packed in. The dj was really good. I'd have liked to have him in a Villard room dance or at least everyone more spread out in the dining hall so that I could dance for real (I love dancing and free-styling, but not that awkward shifty stuff you do when you're so crowded in).

moshpitpushingNOISEbangbangshovepushfallinggg...fallingshoving%$#@*&NOISENOISEowchheythat'sminepushingshovingfalllllllllingupdownbackandforthNOISEowchbangbangbangshshshshshshssssssss
Frightening, really.

MIA's and Rye Rye's dancing was super sexy. I want to imitate it some time. But probably not in public because Vassar people don't really dance like that. It was oh so sexy, though.

I'm off to the dc for some fascinating, varied, healthy food. Just kidding. But I really do like the dc. Just so you know.

-aRCHEL

It's all about YOU

It's strange to no longer be that girl who never had a boyfriend, who boys never showed interest in, who didn't actually know what it meant to flirt or play footsie or what exactly was the process of making out.
The boyfriend thing was always a huge deal to me. I wondered what was wrong with me that guys weren't interested--it seemed that everyone had already had their first kiss or boyfriend or reciprocated crush.

Then I came to Vassar and discovered that there other girls had just as much experience as I had--complete with the desperate crushes, worries about self-worth, etc. And once I discovered this and made amazing platonic friends and learned to like my body (even with OR without clothing) I was gradually learning that some guys did, in fact, notice me, which was simultaneously wonderful (it feels good to have someone be attracted to you) and slightly unimportant (I was more satisfied with myself, so I didn't need a guy's validation to quite the same extent I used to).

And now I'm in a relationship that evolved naturally out of a wonderful friendship. The courting period wasn't without its difficulties, and the now-official relationship is real-life great rather than magical Disney movie happy ending--after all, if it were a happy ending then the movie wouldn't be still going on, right?

I work to prevent myself from leaning too much on the relationship but also from doing the opposite. I don't want to be dependent on being in a relationship just the same as I accept anyone's need for social comfort.

I really enjoy this struggle, to be honest. I appreciate having the opportunity to worry about whether I like him too much or whether everything's ok with myself.

The moral of the story is, love yourself genuinely and other people might just like you, too. And if they don't? Well, that's sad. But you love yourself and that's what makes the difference.

-aRCHEL

??? Huh?? (@%#*%!!) ????

I feel clueless today, like I've just moved here from another culture where the customs look the same but are actually completely different.

I'm overreacting, underreacting, baffled by my psych paper, accidentally deleting my original blog post (which was really good, but I guess it's gone forever since Gmail decided to screw with me).

Sorry for the emo-ness, by the way. I'm hoping that it will all disappear soon. Sometimes you just need to be emo, you know? Luckily today and yesterday it's been a sad/angry/lack-of-sleep emo rather than an depressed/dead emo, although that's how it usually feels at the time.

I'm going to the hip hop thing hosted by the ASA tonight at 8. It should be good. Then perhaps a movie and INC. Or perhaps none of the above. I'll see how I feel.

Whenever I read INC (International Noyes Conspiracy) I think of InterNational Concepts, which is this fake-designer clothing brand.

Wow, I'm negative today.

+ 1 + 1 + 1 + 1.... etc. Hopefully that will help. I'm closer to zero now, at any rate.

I hope you all revel in your inner happiness while the rain comes down outside your window.

And hopefully this post made at least a little bit of sense (even if it doesn't make any cents).

- aRCHEL

Dorms!

Big news!!

I just heard got the scoop from one of my friends who is involved with housing...

Davison is no longer going to be shut down! Instead, they will be doing the messy work over the summer and then finishing surface work and bathroom and hallway renovations during the year.

This obviously clears up all of the housing worries--every sophomore will have a single who wants one, and suite draw will obviously be much less crowded.

Amazing, right?
So happy right now. :)

-aRCHEL

NM stands for...

Not Much

No! Mine!

Nebulous Memory

Nice Man

Naughty Message

Now Mellow

And other things. But for the most part I'm just going to say the first one:

Not Much.

But today was great anyway. I have a part in a show I'm in, a dance class was enjoyable and relaxing, it is beautifully foggy today.

I'm off to the dc in a bit... (I've gotta say, I really like the dc...)

I hope everyone has a fabulous week--and yes, busy, stressful, and crazy can count as fabulous.

-aRCHEL

Excitement and Existentialism

So I'm sitting here in my room relaxing with my guitar after a few hours of classes this morning. I may or may not finish some easy homework before heading off to various activities tonight.

Most of all, I'm ridiculously excited for this weekend!!!

I wish there were a Villard room dance, but oh well... The mug will have to do to satisfy my grinding requirements for the weekend, plus there's the amazing 20s night in UpC, which will be awesome (I have a dress!) as well as lots of concerts, shows, and time doing absolutely NOTHING with friends. :)

I really don't have to much to say, at least nothing that wouldn't completely let everyone know exactly who I am... Mostly I'm just gonna say that I'm happy. Impatient and feeling a bit like an adolescent boy, but mostly happy and ready for what comes my way.

Today at lunch we had a mini conversation about existentialism, and it confirmed my belief that I'm an existentialist. You know, if I do badly in one class, it's not the end of the world. If I budget my time well so that I can spend time doing nothing or Facebooking or sleeping a lot, then I'm not going to let myself feel belittled or guilty by the people who lose sleep over work. I've said it before, but every single thing we do is NOT a waste of time. Everything we do is valuable.

I am myself.

The end.

- aRCHEL

Guide to Girls

To a lot of guys, girls are very confusing. So I'm going debunk any myth of confusion.
Here is a partial guide to what girls like:

1. All girls are different. Get to know the girl and ask her what she likes. End of story. :)


I'm so glad to be back at Vassar. It's a relief. I feel like it's home now for real.
I'm ready for more time with friends tomorrow, and also some time with myself.


P.S. Girls aren't really all that different, though: Cuddling, investigative hand-holding, your arm around her, some sort of communication every day, random texts when you are reminded of her by something, your forearms, your talents, you occasionally being completely out-of-character, whatever part of your body you think is the worst, verbal reassurance of their beauty/value/appealingness, a bit too much affection at times, your jokes, when you show vulnerability, dancing with you, some spot on you where her head fits perfectly, the way you mysteriously smell good, massages, you making fun of her, you wanting to be only with her, something you do that you don't even realize you do... basically, YOU. Be yourself and ask her what she likes, and make sure she knows exactly how you feel about her and (if there's a relationship) how you feel about the relationship the relationship because it's not just guys who don't pick up on these things. And by the way... Girls' brains never turn off. It goes with the territory. And most girls remember everything. Ergo everything that happens just keeps getting rehashed,rehashed,rehashed... Just keep that in mind. :)


- aRCHEL

Do I have a life?

Q: Sometimes I wonder if I have a life.

I mean, I communicate with my family and friends via email and Facebook, so it's not that I spend hours and hours on the computer every day, but I get on quite often for short amounts of time, so it looks as though I'm on nonstop. Why don't I hang out with friends from high school, you may ask? Well, I have two friends from high school. I hung out with them once this break and we actually ended up sitting in a coffee house (THE coffee house, actually) for nearly 4 hours talking. This was lovely. But they're coffee-house friends, not bedroom friends, or (anymore) school friends, and so I see them during my breaks when we go out for coffee once. I recently shocked a Vassar friend by telling her that, contrary to what I may seem like at Vassar, I don't really have a substantial body of friends at home. Not that I have enemies--basically everyone likes me--I don't really have actual friends aside from these two.

This probably sounds like a sob story, and I guess at one point in my life it would have been. But the reason I'm writing this is to talk about how now I have closer friends at Vassar than I've had my entire life, and I'm so grateful for them. Now that I'm a whole person on my own, they make me even better. For the first time, even guys have been interested in me for more than friendship (like, for real, not the sleazy guys who yell at me from their cars). I love all my friends, and I can't wait to see them again. They make the less-fun parts of life--like class, homework, going to the doctor, and being randomly down about life--so much easier to get through.

A: Yeah, I have a life. I make it because I am a complete, valuable person, and my friends make it for adding to my well-being.

Really, though, I think everything has value--Facebook stalking, video game playing, dozing off, reading, volunteering for child refugees from third-world countries, doing absolutely nothing, making out, writing emails to people, and doing pushups. So what is "having a life"? I don't think it's whether what we're doing with it has value--since everything has value in my opinion--but instead it's whether what we're doing (or not doing) makes us satisfied with ourselves.

I leave early Saturday morning for Vassar, getting in just a few hours after dorms open.

I can't wait.

- aRCHEL

I'm a college girl in a home world...

Sorry for the lame song reference.

I'm noticing differences about myself since having started at Vassar. The first is one that I'm guessing many of us have noticed: I swear now. I don't swear in my house out of habit, but occasionally when I'm surprised it slips out, for example today I was driving with my family (they think I still need practice driving... Ah, parents :P) and I didn't see a pot-hole in the road: "Fuck!--Ahahaha oops!"

I'm also more laid-back, if that's possible since I'm generally fairly frenetic. I notice more the social dynamic between my parents and it's making me learn things about how I want to be when I grow up if I get married. I go with the flow much more on unimportant things, which I didn't use to do, yet on the important stuff I don't let it walk by the way I used to. I'm definitely impatient to get to Vassar, but each passing break has marked an increase in my tolerance for not being where I want to be at that exact moment.

At Vassar, however, I still have some impatience issues to work on...

- aRCHEL