Month: October 2008

When I sat down in Dante’s Classical Sources on Thursday, Fr. Howard placed a box of cornflakes, a container of raspberries, and some napkins on my desk. Everyone in the class was extremely confused by the mini-breakfast adorning my desk, so Fr. Howard asked if any of us knew what type of berries he had given me. We all exchanged blank stares, and Eric poignantly replied, “Dante berries.” Fr. Howard then informed us that raspberries are also called Garden of Eden berries, and he thought that raspberries were an appropriate meal for me because I’m deciphering the last four cantos (including Dante’s entrance into the Garden of Eden) of the Purgatorio. And this is just one reason as to why I love the Jesuit experience! Come to think of it, raspberries actually are somewhat formed in the same way as Dante’s Mount Purgatorio…

Anyway course enrollment booklets were distributed to all students on Friday. I can’t believe that we’re already at the halfway point of the semester. Next semester’s courses were actually posted on-line at the beginning of the week, so Carrie and I got a head start. I thought that I had planned next semester perfectly, and then I found out on Friday that I was accepted into the College Honors Program. While I’m excited about that, my acceptance threw a monkey wrench into my plans for next semester. One of the requirements of the Honors Program is that I have to take two honors program seminars, and one of them must be taken in my sophomore second semester. So, at the moment, I’ve whittled my courses to six or so. One of the honors seminars offered next semester is the Ideological Destruction of Art, and Professor Ellen Perry will teach it. I am going to wake up at 6:30 a.m. on enrollment day just to make sure that I will be in that seminar! By the end of next semester, I will hopefully be finished with my common area requirements and my readings courses for my English major. Bah! Why does Holy Cross offer so many amazing courses?! 

This weekend was Family Weekend. While my parents were unable to attend (don’t worry; they’ll be visiting in about a week or so!), I wasn’t an orphan. My friends’ families graciously adopted me for dinner on Saturday night. I spent most of my weekend working in Kimball. Why, you ask? As an incentive to work this weekend, we were paid time and a half. While the dollar is now stronger against the pound, I really do have to start saving now for a year abroad! So, even though my family couldn’t make it, this weekend certainly did turn out all right! Oh, yes, except for the fact that I haven’t really finished any of my readings or applications. Hmmm…about that…

Until next time!

When I tell people about my proposed concentration, usually blank stares greet me back. Inevitably, someone will ask, “What are you going to do with that?” Well, Fr. Howard made an excellent point today as to why Classical and Medieval Literature is still important to know in the modern world. We’re just arriving at the Malebolge in the Inferno, which is where the fraudulent, both simple and treacherous, are punished. Fr. Howard pulled out a copy of the New York Times from September 29th and read an article that discussed the fraud and greed that have wreaked havoc on Wall Street. He then said, “Doesn’t this sound like Capernus?” It most certainly did. The very events that riled Dante are still occurring in our modern world. Literature is just a different expression of the same human experience, and that’s why I love it so much.

In other news, I submitted my College Honors Program application today. Now that that’s out of the way, I really don’t have any major projects (other than a couple of scholarships) for the next week. My class schedule is extremely different from a majority of the students on campus. Typically, the week before Columbus Day weekend is laden with tests and papers. However, that was last week for me, and now I just have to read. I guess that I’ll be taking over a lot of shifts for my Kimball Captain friends who need some extra studying time.

Speaking of Kimball, “Guess The Juice” didn’t go so well. Sean forgot who picked what mixture, so we really had no way of proclaiming a winner. I think that the next game is going to be ABBA karaoke. When “Dancing Queen” started playing on the radio, nearly all of my workers (including me) began to dance and sing along. Just another proof that old cultures have an odd way of permeating the subsequent cultures!

Today, I had a marvelous food escapade. As first-year students, we weren’t allowed to use our dining dollars at Crossroads until 6:00 p.m. during the week. Because of that rule, I didn’t really explore all of the options that Crossroads has. Tonight, I needed to get something quick to eat, but I didn’t want my staple from Crossroads (a chicken parmesan sub, if you were wondering. Yes, I do know that it’s probably terrible for me, but it is oh so delicious!). There’s another part of Crossroads with which I had never experimented before tonight. Oh, my eyes were opened to the divine jewel that the Deli and Salad station is! You can design your own sandwich or salad, and you have your choice of artisan breads, amazing fillings, and luxury salads. For instance, I had a baby spinach salad with mandarin oranges, chicken, walnuts, almonds, and poppy seed dressing. Words cannot express the dances my taste buds were performing. I am going to have to mention this jewel on my tours now! Good-bye, dining dollars…

Speaking of Epicurean food adventures, I have a funny story about work at Kimball. Every morning, the captains assign jobs to their workers. Well, simply assigning or asking for personal preferences becomes extremely boring very quickly. So, I decided to have a contest for job selection. The challenge? Kimball Pick-Up Lines. Every worker had to create a pick-up line related to a Kimball job. The example I gave them was, “I have to use my hot gloves to ‘catch’ you.” (‘Catching’ means taking the dishes out of the dishwasher, so we have to use thermal gloves because of the hot temperatures.) Well, that game didn’t go over so well. One of my workers (and a freshman year blogger!), Melissa, looked at me, and asked, “You do realize that it’s 7:00 in the morning…right?” Oh well. I thought it was fun. Tomorrow, I’m planning to do “Guess the Juice.” Ah, the power that a Kimball captain wields is fantastic! Muwahaha!

Memo to self: Do not drink coffee. It makes my blog entries simply ridiculous.