Month: February 2008

This week has had its ups and downs. Take a look at the following examples:

Down: My Latin class officially finished translating Cicero’s Pro Archia.
Up: My Latin class is now translating Virgil’s The Aeneid.

Down: I have the flu.
Up: Lower Kimball started stocking my favorite Greek yogurt, so I can stay in the room for breakfast if I don’t feel well enough to go down the hill.

Down: It’s cold.
Up: It’s snowing!

Those are just a couple of examples. Carrie is also sick, so I started calling our room the Infirmary.

I cannot believe that in a week and a day, I’ll be back home for Spring break. This semester is flying by so quickly! Hopefully, I won’t have the flu by then.

The dictionary defines “cacophony” as a “harsh, grating, or discordant noise.” Yes, that word is the only one that suffices to explain what woke me up yesterday morning at 4:30. At first, I thought that it was the alarm on my iHome going off. However, I knew that I had set the alarm for 6:45, and I had also programmed it to wake up to my iPod. I rolled over and saw Carrie out of bed and putting on her coat. I thought that that was a strange sight, until I saw the flashing lights. Then I knew –  the fire alarm was going off.

So, all of the kids living in Hanselman shuffled (more like sleep-walked) outside, and waited while the Worcester Fire Department came in and found what had caused it (someone was cooking an omelet and forgot about it. No, I’m not really sure why someone was cooking an omelet of all things at 4:30 in the morning.). When they determined that it was safe, we were all allowed back inside. At 6:45, my iPod alarm did go off, and “Burnin’ Love” started to play. Later on in the day, Carrie’s shuffle started to play “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” Talk about ironic.

Today hasn’t really been all that eventful. I have an Intelligence paper due on Tuesday, and it’s assigned length is seven to nine pages. I’ve been organizing and writing that paper all day. Tomorrow, I get to work at Kimball and then study for my Latin test that is on Monday. I guess it’s only fair. I did have an extremely fun weekend last week. I’m currently writing this paper at Cool Beans, and the view is definitely distracting me!

I’ll try to update as much as I possibly can this coming week, but I don’t think I’m going to have much time.

There is only one bad aspect about having a Jesuit as your professor. Your class will never be cancelled. Don’t get me wrong; I love Latin with all my heart, but the weather yesterday was just not pleasant. Most of my friends’ morning classes were cancelled because their professors couldn’t drive to campus. When your professor lives on campus, there’s a very slim chance that he won’t be able to make it.

Everyone on the hall made valentines for each other, but I think that Carrie’s was the best one I received. It’s a French cabbage, and says, “Mon petit chou!” No, it’s not just a random cabbage. In French, “mon petit chou” is a term of endearment. It’s similar to “honey,” “pumpkin,” etc. (That’s your French lesson aujourd’hui!) I was so excited that I taped it to my International Relations spiral.

Well, I have to start on my work. Next week, I have a Latin test, a US Intelligence paper due, and a FYP paper due. I’m not too excited for that week. The week after that doesn’t look too bad – I have a Latin paper and an International Relations midterm. Okay, so it does look bad. But, at least I’ll be going home for the week after that. I can’t believe how quickly this semester is flying by!

Hey everyone!

This past week was actually quite fantastic. I was extremely busy during the school week. I had to turn in a paper for International Relations on Thursday, and I had to finish translating Pro Archia for Latin by Friday, but it was all worth it for this wonderful weekend.

On Saturday, all the FYP-ers and the FYP professors headed off to Walden Pond in Concord, as we’ve been reading Walden for a common reading. I first studied Thoreau in my junior year of high school, and I’ve wanted to see Walden Pond ever since. It was a beautiful day to go see it too. It had snowed the previous night, so the pond was frozen. It was excellent timing because all the sections had just finished reading the chapter called “The Pond in Winter.” Reading Walden is such a wonderful experience in of itself, yet actually seeing where he lived just added such a wonderful element to the entire experience.

After we visited Concord, we went to Cambridge to go and tour the Peabody and Fogg museums. Of course, most of us stopped by Mr. Bartley’s Sandwich Store for an excellent lunch.

On Saturday night, Haley and Jess hosted a “Recycled Goods” party.
Everyone had to make costumes from reused goods – newspapers,
magazines, bubble wrap, etc. I re-used one of my dance costumes (it
counts!), but Haley and Jess actually made dresses out of bubble wrap.
It was a great time!

Right now, there are winter “squalls” going on. The temperature is
dropping quickly,  and more snow is expected until Tuesday. Needless to
say, after ten o’clock mass, I’ll be curling up beneath my blankets
with a cup of hot tea and a book. Call me a nerd, but that sounds like
a perfect ending to a perfect weekend!

Well, I wish I could write this entry with a happy tone. However, my beloved Patriots decided to let me down during the last minute of the Super Bowl. My spirits are quite dampened.

Right now, Carrie and I are playing Boston-related songs to revive our spirits. Someone is blasting “New York, New York,” and we’re trying to keep the spirits of the hall up.

Okay, enough for the melodramatic sports affairs. This week went quite well, despite the past four hours. I spent this weekend with my aunt and uncle in Plainville, and then I went down to see my grandmother in New Bedford. It was great to see some family for a little while.

I’m quite sorry about how pithy this entry is. Hopefully I’ll have a more energetic one for tomorrow. In the meantime, here are some pictures from our Super Bowl party tonight.