Reel Love

I just went to "Reel Love," a student starred, produced, written and directed play at Sateren Auditorium.

My friend Jack has been working on it for a really long time, so I went to see him.

Turns out there were a lot of awesome people in it, and the play ROCKED.

Go see it.

About what I said about posts in January...

Oops.

Classes started yesterday, and I am feeling really happy about being here, even though I've forgotten what I am supposed to do with "homework."

Later, I will read all about the splendid Alexander the Great, some excerpts from Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" which I really wanted to read last semester, and should have read over break because it related to Mary Kingsley, and finally chapter 2 of my Intro to Queer Studies book. Mmmm.

Today, as I waked from Oren back to the Enrollment Center (stay tuned), I felt awash with goodness, the same feeling I had nearly THREE years ago when I was still just fantasizing about being an Auggie in Minneapolis, but new and evolved and enriched. :)

I've gotten to know a lot of people, and I see many of them every day, and we say hi to each other!!!

So, my deal with the Enrollment Center was that I realized my Social Science requirement couldn't be filled by two Poli-Sci classes, so I had to enroll in... MICROECONOMICS at the last minute.

Yay.
(Not Yay).

On the bright side of that though, when I got to the classroom, my neighbor and Jazz band manager was there, so I sat next to him, and then some more people I knew came and sat by me. That's something I appreciate that I wouldn't have thought about 3 years ago. Sure, it goes along with being a small school, but how great is it to build relationships with people throughout your time here, on all different levels!

Ah yes.

Break finished up really well. I went to Duluth to spend some time with Rita, her Mom and Step-Dad, and my parents came up too. We walked 6 dogs by Lake Superior, and two fell in. Rita had to rescue them. Before she left, Rita visited me here in the City, and we went to Al's Breakfast over in Dinky Town which was one of her favorite places when she was in school at the U.

Then I rested.
Now, I am all confused because it's night time, and I am kind of sleepy and really just want to play on my computer and go to bed, but I think I should hit the library.

There will Probably be lots of posts between now and January 18th

Because it's BREAK, and I am in Minneapolis.

You'll be getting an Augsburg play-by-play.

What I, Lily, do for fun.
Fun, when nothing else burdens my conscious. Oh yes.

Today, I went to Cub, loaded up with enough food to last me through break, and probably well into second semester. It weighed so much I called DPS to pick me up from the light rail, and my shoulders will probably be sore tomorrow.

Everything I need for various pastas, canned soups, and sandwiches. Last night, as I fell asleep, instead of thinking about boys like I usually do, I fantasized about all the food I was going to buy. I think I am most excited for the raviolis with sauce, and my avocados AND bacon, just like what Jacqui had at our History tea party.

Jenny says hi to my gentlereaders.
She just got back to my room, and we are super excited to put together the puzzle I bought for Erica for Christmas (we will put it back in the box, and Erica will never know the difference). We will also watch movies, and have a wonderful night, embracing the sweet frivolity of pseudo-adulthood as we wait for our Pizza-Hut $10 stuffed crust to arrive.

Happy New Year!

(allegedly)Sunny California

13 days ago, I embarked from this very room on a grand adventure.

I have since traversed the country to its lengthy Pacific Coast, and faced the conditions in the untamed North.

Now, what a wonder it is to be relaxing safe in my Mortensen apartment, with a big bowl of soup and rice cooling, and a mug of tasty tea steeping... clocks ticking, interstate humming. I can wear light, comfortable clothing, and bare feet without having to worry about getting my feet wet or dirty. The clutter is my clutter, and easily managed. OH! It is good to be back.

Los Angeles High Lights:

On Friday when I was on my own to explore Hollywood, I got off the metro and walked the wrong way all the way to some place called "Mount Olympus" where Hollywood Avenue ended! I should have figured that the expansive blocks of apartment buildings would not have yielded Amoeba Music and hip coffee shops... After finding Hollywood, and walking the right way, I really enjoyed perusing, and when Nathan caught up with me, we had warm drinks and figured I walked an extra 3 miles.

Every Museum we went to was great. I saw Van Gogh's Irises, two seascapes by Turner, a small Frida and some big Diego Riveras. I also saw some Andy Warhols. A whole room full in fact... and even though I don't hold his art too close to my heart, it was still a fine experience to see some of the originals of the posters and stamps that have made their way into pop culture common place. I saw some really clothing on display, and have decided that a fun out fit to have would be that of a French Man in the 1700s. I think the the long coat, fitted vest, and pants that buttoned around my knees would be very fetching.

After getting supplies at the farmers market, Nathan (my cousin, who I was visiting) made a delicious dinner and we watched one of the Christmas gifts he got his friend.

In n Out Burger and its delicious healing powers. YUM!

Lots of good food as a matter of fact! Thai the first night, an Ethiopian lunch (we ate with our fingers!) Fish Tacos, and blueberry cheese cake from, "The House of Pies."

A completely deserted (except for some kelp...) Venice Beach. I got my picture taken with the faithful umbrella. Wet feet.

One night, because Nathan's friend got a gift certificate for christmas, he took us out to a movie at the Arc Light Theater, which is big and fancy. We saw "The King's Speech." Both I, and Nate's friend Colin dozed off a little... At least I had the excuse of that being the day I walked too much. THe movie wasn't bad at all.

Our last full day included the In n Out Burger, Huntington Library and Museum, a visit to Occidental College near dark, a stop at "Inteligencia" coffee for warm drinks and Hipster watching, a stop at the Observatory, the fish tacos, pie, naps, and finally a visit to the "Upright Citizen's Brigade" theater for star studded comedy.

I think the Huntington was my favorite, probably because they wooed me right off the bat with their 17th century globes, John Locke notes, and original Audobon illustrations. The gardens were beautiful too, if wet and hurried.

Inteligencia was Nathan's surefire hipster zone. He promised I'd see some, and he did not let me down. I had been expecting to see lots of California hipsters, but until that night, they had remained quite hidden to avoid the rain. My hot chocolate tasted weird. Like it might have been enjoyed by the Aztecs centuries ago, but not by me with my Swiss Miss Sensibilities.

I had never had a fish taco before, and Nathan told me that the place we went could very well be the best place to get fish tacos. Pretty good!

The Observatory was windy, wet and cold, but the view was amazing. Worthy stop.

And then, the next day, we got a Japanese lunch, and then went to the Airport. Nathan's flight left at 1, but mine wasn't until 6. I could have stayed behind and checked out down town, but by then I was weary and soggy enough to just go with and wait. I like airports. I read, wrote letters, got McDonalds and had a right swell time.

I got sad when Nathan left. We didn't talk much, but I account that to us still being of a different age. Where I hung out with Claire, Nathan was always her big brother, and big brothers are sometimes kept at a distance, especially by little girls. I hope that our relationship will continue to blossom in the years to come. It won't even be a whole year before I see him again! Hooray family weddings!

My mom picked me up from the air port and drove straight home, where I spent the rest of my time until now. Home is wonderful, but I am delighted to be back.

Vespers Week

I was going to blog while my meal cooked, but I got distracted. Now I blog while contentedly munching brown rice and venison steak.

Yesterday was a lot of fun.
I will start at the beginning.

Vespers started on Friday, so after class I got on the bus to take us all to Central Lutheran. Snow had been falling for a couple hours, and the 10 minute drive took 40. I made it on time though, and I played with Brass Chamber in the entry way for the third year. I didn't play very well though.

After we were done, Steve gave us a ride back to Augsburg, which was great because then we didn't have sit for another 2 hours before going home. When I did make it back, I went across 94 to watch "The Great Dictator" with Colin, Renee, Aidan, Paul and Steve-J. After that, I ran into a friend who was visiting my neighbor, and she invited me over to play Smash Brothers. We didn't actually play for that long, probably because I am so terrible, they didn't see the point in it. I do want to practice.

These events lead up to why I stayed in bed as long as possible yesterday morning, even though I'd hoped to get some work on my biology project done. I barely made the bus at 12:30, and then spent the rest of the day at the church. Same deal this time through, only I think we played much better.

Steve brought us home again, and then I went to an Mpirg party. I didn't know it was going to be an Mpirg party. Oliver who invited me, just said that I should come, and that he'd be heart broken if I didn't. So I walked by myself all the way into the Seward Neighborhood, and to my delight, when I arrived, saw many people I already knew! Oliver did introductions, and I was soon set free to socialize. I actually succeeded too. The dynamic was very good, probably because everyone there were political canvassing, extroverted types. SO GREAT!

I made friends, and had moments with old ones, and it was fantastic.

I spent a really long time in a room talking about History and politics with an Mpirg worker, met a boy from Morris who knows Josh and who is awesome, and after an incident involving an unlocked bathroom door, vowed to hang out with Kathy for the last time (before actually doing it, after all these years!).

When the rest of the Augsburg people started leaving, I went too because I didn't want to walk back alone, and then Alex and I went to Hard Times (one hour before they closed!).

This morning I woke up at a decent hour considering the late night, and was able to do some work on biology before meeting with Hunter, and then I practiced for my trumpet Jury.

Now that I've eaten, and blogged, it is time for me to get back to work. I am going to do some reading, and if I can, I will write some of my religion paper too.

November

How do I catch up on everything since Election Day!

I will go weekend by weekend.

The first weekend in November was the National Rabbit Breeders Association Convention here in Minneapolis. My mom had a booth to sell pottery, and I went on Sunday to booth sit while she went to Owatonna. Then, Hillary came and we looked at all the bunnies. Hundreds of them.

While I still favor the noble Rex, my fondness for English Spots is growing. I think that when the time comes for me to get a house rabbit, it will be an English Spot.

The next week, I left after Religion class on Thursday to hop on a plane and go to DENVER for the National Women's Studies Association Conference with Annika, Lucretia, Gina, Christine, Murriel and Jessica Nathanson. It was amazing, and really got me Jazzed for the rest of my academic career.

This Thursday was Harry Potter day, and Alan picked me up at 8 to go get ready to see the first part of the LAST set of movies. We met up with Mitch, Ali and their friend... Laura? At Perkins, and then went to the theater. We were very early, and I ate a ton of pop corn. Eventually, Hillary was able to get tickets, and she joined us! The movie itself was good. I haven't read the book since it came out in 2007, so I was not nitpicking. I really liked it. I can't wait until the next one comes out! I might be in Australia. I wonder what that does to release dates.

Friday, Sara came down from Superior to see The Room at the Uptown Theater with some of her friends. Alan and I went too. Tommy Wiseau was there in the flesh. I had never seen the movie before, and knew nothing about it other than that it is BAD. Sara let me use her spoons to throw. Another very fun experience.

Sara stayed at my apartment that night, and then in the morning Visser and Caite picked us up to go to a Coffee Expo in Uptown. Codey had been really excited about it. The expo was smaller than last year, but I still got my fill of free tea, coffee and pastries. When we got bored, we went to Cody's work and ate delicious Thai food. Then we played video games. Well, they played video games. I worked on my Religion 200 project.

Earlier that day, I got a text message from Oliver asking if I wanted to go to an amateur trapeze show. Of course I did! We would have to leave at 7:30, and I had to get Sara safely to the Northstar train. Because of all this, I missed the Honor's play, which I am kind of bummed out about, but the trapeze show made up for it.

I really want to be an acrobat... Yet another dream. I guess I will just keep doing sit-ups until the day comes in which I need to use my formidable abdomen to hoist myself into the sky.

The show was great. We had front row seats, and everyone was awesome. The last performance even used Moulin Rouge's "Roxanne." After the show, we mingled a bit, and then returned to Augsburg.

There was ice on everything, which made for great sliding. We slid all over the foot bridge, and then, on the way back to Mort, Oliver fell on the sidewalk, so we slid around there for a while too. Once in Mort, Oliver and I parted ways, and I joined with Jenny to watch a sad movie (Friday evening, I watched "Boys Don't Cry" with QSU, VERY SAD.) I wanted to watch more sad movies, so we put in Edward Scissorhands. I hadn't seen it in at least 10 years, and really enjoyed myself.

Random sleeping patterns made last week fly by, and now it is already Thanksgiving week, so we only have three days of class.

Last night, I stayed up until 6am finishing my I believe project. I think it turned out really nice.

Now. It's 7:30. My room says that I should go to sleep now, and do EVERYTHING in the morning. Everything that I planned on doing today, which was a lot, and resulted in a few pages being read about Mendel and Genes, and then some cleaning.

I called my Mom for guidance. She said to get out of here and get more done. So I will... but I am hungry and tired. Argh.

I will try to make a grilled cheese using dinner rolls.

Wish me luck.

Election Day and other Endeavors

Election Day, Election Day!

This morning after Mary Lowe's class, Erica and I went together to vote (awww, Roommie time!). We even did some research on the candidates before walking across the foot bridge to our polling place.

This is my second time voting, and my first time voting in Minneapolis. I am very excited, though it would have been nice to vote up north where my voice might be a little stronger. Oh well. I still feel good. Voting makes me remember why I started college as a poli-sci major, and it makes a career in politics seem not as obscure. I think it would be fun to serve on local committees, and who knows!

In Ogilvie, there is a man named David Youngquist, and though I have not met him yet, he is one of my heros. He has done significant work and planning around Ogilvie's Back to the Tower Days, and through his Ogilvie Facebook page really appears to be vitalizing our community. Even more significantly, a couple weeks ago he spoke up against some bigoted gay-bashing in a very concise and respectful way. I admire his work, and will support him if he ever decides to go further.

Seeing his work also gives me hope that some day, wherever I end up, I will be able to make a difference too, and that is exciting.

~*~*~*~

October was a party.
I am now coming down from a high that lasted at least three weeks. It wasn't bad by any means, but it definitely was a scattered mindset that I am glad is starting to become more focused. At least I can tell myself that, these first days of November... we'll see what the rest of the month brings.

In October, every week was jam packed. I don't think I have ever been so exuberantly social my whole life. I went on DATES.

I think that is where my "crazy" mindset comes in.

Dates.

I had never "Dated" before. Not in the sense in which "Asking out" means asking OUT, and not like high school's "going out." Boy oh BOY is it fun. I like doing things, and I like meeting people, and I like boys... who would have thought there was an activity that satisfied all those interests!

Of course it has come with much confusion about expectation and etiquette, but I am learning, and my research on "Free Love" is providing some insight ;)

RESEARCH

September and October were angsty months - again, I don't want to put November up as being entirely different just yet- now I embark with more resolution.

I lacked ambition. My classes bored me. I didn't want to anything but sleep, doodle and explore the realm of possibility AWAY from campus. I became frustrated, and wondered where the Lily I once knew had gone... and then, with the advent of TWO research papers coming due this month, I think I have found my academic spirit again. I hope it lasts.

I haven't actually proposed these papers yet, and I know that my topics are too broad and with some discussion with professors will be narrowed.

The first is for Honors 200, religion, taking a "core belief" and it's connection to a contrasting or contraversial topic. I am taking Humanism (Which is great) and Morality. I don't know if Mary Lowe will approve of that... so maybe I could make it Humanism and Free Love... or contraception... or something. Whatever the case, I have a bunch of library books that I am excited about, and spent my morning reading the introduction to a compilation of writings by Victoria Woodhull, late 19th Century, "Suffrage, Free Love, and Eugenics." *drool

My other paper is for Modern Britain and Ireland, and is to be a biography. I have chosen to research "Lord Haw-Haw" and his traitorous Nazi radio broadcasts to England during WWII. I will use him as a point around which to study radio's affect on war morale. I think. This too is pending on discussion with Jacqui.

:)

Reading about Victoria Woodhull and her time also got me excited about my Senior thesis opportunity with Larry Crockett on the foundations of pragmatism during the Civil War. Humanism ties into this as well, and from a Historical perspective I think could be loads of fun.

Next week, I will be attending the National Women's Studies Association Conference, and I am REALLY looking forward to it. I like conferences as much as I like free air travel, hotel rooms and good company. I can't wait. It will get me really pumped for my research, and towards a goal of presenting next year either at the National Honor's Conference, Phi Alpha Theta, an ACTC conference or all of the above. Yum. It will employ many of my passions and talents and even get RECOGNIZED. Reasonable goal, I think. :)