When you're perfect in every way. I can't wait to look in the mirror, 'cause I get better looking each day!"
I can identify with this song so much.
Well, today is Easter. It's kind of hard to contrast mentally with last Easter when I was still in Irkutsk. I suppose the dates don't exactly match up, but the general time frame is still the same. Last Easter it was still cold and snowy, and I remember Igor's family invited me to spend the night with them. It's interesting that Easter here is more of a morning event, generally involving a sunrise service or morning church service, followed by lunch and Easter egg hunts. In Russia the most interesting events happen at night. The most devout people spend an entire day and night in services, but I only went for an hour or so.....mostly because I'm not Orthodox, and I lock my knees, so standing up for hours and hours wasn't a smart idea. Inside the church everyone crowds together holding lit candles (seems dangerous to me, but Russia never was one to be much concerned with safety) and listening to a priest recite prayers. I suspect it's sort of like what happens here -- most people never go to church except for the big religious holidays, so on those days the churches are completely packed. At midnight (I don't actually remember if it's at midnight, but it seems like a logical time) everyone left the church and stood outside. Then a couple of priests come out and led a procession around the church (I believe 3 times). I found it somewhat funny that there was a police officer stationed in one spot to make sure that no one fell into an open drain while walking around in the dark (it seemed like an awful lot of foresight for Russia). After the solemn candlelit procession, everyone stopped and gathered around the priests, who then led the gathering in a chant about the fact that Christ had risen. After that we went back to Igor's house (while the more devout returned to the church for more services). There we had a long meal that lasted until about 3am. The whole family got together and ate, toasted, talked, and exchanged gifts. Then Igor and I stayed up even later watching some movie on tv and then soccer. It was a pretty good Easter. I probably should have written about it sooner so that I could remember more, but sometimes it's annoying to take time to write about things when they happen..it feels like you're wasting the time that you could be using for more interesting things. It's weird to think that Igor is dead. I still can't decide if I want to remember these memories more or forget them completely because of it.
Today, in contrast, is bright and sunny and almost uncomfortably warm. I woke up late and then had lunch with Kendra. To our pleasant surprise, the cafeteria workers at McClurg had hidden Easter eggs, and we found a few of them. It always feels strange to be away from home on Easter, but I guess in reality it's been 4 years since I was home. For a religiously affiliated school, we sure don't get much time off for holidays. In celebration of the day we went to the library and got a movie to watch later, and may or may not spend some time outside enjoying the weather (the couch is awfully comfy..I'm content to enjoy the weather via the window).
Yesterday I had my last regatta ever...at the collegiate level at least, I suppose that there's always the possibility that I could join a club later. A lot of people asked me if I was sad that it was my last race, and I answered them all with a "NO!". I'm pretty glad that crew is over, but yesterday did make me wish a little that there was more time. My first race was with my regular boat, and we improved dramatically from last week's regatta. We ended up 4th in our race and just missed finals...but that was probably the perfect position to be in, because if we had made it to finals we would have had to row again. I think that with a couple of more weeks and some coaching we could have done even better. I'm the only senior though, so perhaps the boat will stay together and that can be their project for next year. My next race was in a "mixed 8", which means that you put boys and girls together. Not all regattas have this category, so for us it was more of a fun/experimental race. None of us had any high hopes because we'd never rowed together before (I'm not sure why, we already knew who was going to be in the boat). We had a somewhat shaky row up to the starting blocks and practiced a start or two for the heck of it (it's hard enough to start with 4 rowers who are used to each other, we were pretty sure that there was no hope for the 8 of us). We get there to find that all the other teams are pretty jovial about this event too...although I think that they had at least practiced a few times together. After some jostling about to get pointed the correct way (the wind had picked up by then, which makes it very hard to stay straight in your lane), we were off! When you're going backwards it's very hard to tell where your competition is at...especially when you're a club sport who practices 2-3 times a week vs. a varsity school who practices twice a day and you are pretty sure they are way ahead of you. There were 4 boats in our heat, and 2 shot ahead of us in the beginning..but one was behind us the whole way. They looked like they were struggling quite a bit (especially since the water was insanely choppy by now), but I just figured that they weren't very good rowers. I guess we weren't actually that far behind the other boats though, because at one point our cox shouted "You're almost there, and it's not as embarrassing as you think it is!". We got 3rd in our heat...and as it turns out, 3rd in our race (there were 2 heats), meaning that we medalled! Our time was a 7:37..which isn't THAT fast in the whole scheme of things, but it's certainly faster than I've ever rowed (it helped that there were boys with us). The winning boat had a time of 7:06 and the other was about a 7:10, so we really weren't that far behind.
I also got some of the glory that I've felt that I've deserved since I'm the only senior who has stayed (my freshman year there were at least 20-30 of us, and of those 20-30 I'm the only one who has remained). The coach/team gave me a Sewanee sweatshirt and a little necklace with an oar on it. So, I came away with a medal, a sweatshirt, a necklace, a shirt from the event, and an overall feeling of satisfaction with my races. I'd say that's a pretty good way to end a 4-year athletic career. I've been unspeakably irritated with crew before, but I've had some really good times too, so I'd say that overall it was worth it.
As always I have a ton of homework to get done that I don't want to do. Comps are looming ever nearer, but more frighteningly so is my honors thesis. However, it's a beautiful Easter afternoon, and I am going to watch a movie instead of thinking about that.
Happy Easter everyone!
Here is a song for you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn1Qolv4ntQ
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9mpDAJOPac
Well, I've already told enough people (who read this) that there's no reason to beat around the bush (that's an odd expression..) --
I GOT THE FULBRIGHT!
This is GREAT news for many reasons:
1) I had no backup plans
2) It's a paid trip to Russia for a year
3) I can officially put off applying/thinking about grad school for another year
4) I have an answer for when people ask "What are you going to do after graduation?"
In typical Fulbright fashion I've only found out the bare essentials so far. I don't know which city I'll be going to or when exactly I'm leaving, but I do know that I must: complete college, get a very in-depth physical done, and attend orientation in July.
For those who don't know, what I received was the Fulbright ETA (English Teaching Assistantship), which is a highly competitive government-sponsored program that will send me to Russia for 10 months to be a resident English speaker. Basically I help an English teacher by giving presentations on various aspects of American life and by conversing with students...however, from what I've heard from others who have received this, I think I'll be doing a good deal of actual teaching too. In my spare time I'm supposed to get involved in the community, have a personal project, and essentially be awesome and make people love America. I think I can handle that.
Yesterday started out rather, for lack of a better word, "blah". I woke up at 5:45 am to drive Kendra to Nashville for an interview because I'm an amazing roommate. When we left it was dark and so foggy that I could barely see 20 feet in front of me (typical Sewanee weather). To fortify our bodies for the long day ahead, we made a quick stop by the Waffle House. They overcharged me for my eggs and toast, but I let it go since the waitress was new and we were in a hurry. The first hour of the trip was pretty uneventful. Kendra and I listened to bad pop music and focused on staying awake......which was made pretty easy by the next event. I'm always wary of semi-trucks and pieces of big machinery, so I was cautiously (yet hurriedly) passing an oversized construction vehicle (whose purpose I can't even guess at) when all of a sudden I heard "BLAM!!!" and a puff of smoke enveloped the right side of my car. I swerved instinctively to the left (but not too dramatically) and hit the gas. My first muddled assessment of the event was that someone had simultaneously shot a rifle and thrown a brick at my car. In actuality, I had had the dubious luck of passing the vehicle right as one of its 12-18 tires blew out. Luckily the only damage to my car was a tiny chip in my windshield.
Then, in Nashville we discovered that mapquest's directions were completely wrong. Just so you know, exit 46B doesn't even exist. We eventually corrected the first step, only to find that the second step was also wrong (should have taken a left instead of a right). To confuse matters even more, in the center of Nashville there are two roads: Rosa Parks Blvd and Rosa Parks Ave. As far as I can tell, they intertwine at random. At one point the road literally looked like this: --\__ (with a stoplight in-between). In keeping with our usual luck, the only person that we found to ask directions from was from out of town. However, he did give us a cute, but completely useless, map of downtown Nashville. We should have arrived 15-20 minutes early, but instead Kendra finally made it to her interview 2 minutes late.
On the way back I decided to be productive and get my oil changed. I stopped by Wal-mart figuring that I could get lunch and do a little shopping while I waited. Wrong. Apparently I chose oil change rush-hour and the current wait was 2 hours. That was definitely more time than I could handle loitering in an unfamiliar Wal-mart on 3.5 hours of sleep, so I skipped the oil and shopped instead. There was a small glimmer of good fortune when, as I was holding the first aloe-containing lotion that I found (to treat my sunburns from my last regatta), and elderly lady gave me a coupon that she had for it, since she didn't plan to buy it. Saved me 55 cents.
In Monteagle I decided to see if the automotive place changed oil. It turns out that they do, but Tuesdays they have sales on oil changes, so I was advised to come back the next day (today). Dejected by my lack of productivity and my waning energy levels, I halfheartedly decided to check my mail. I knew that it was a bad habit to check my mail every day in expectation of receiving word about the Fulbright, since I was sure that I wouldn't find out anything for another couple of weeks. Even worse, I'd done some online stalking and found out that acceptance and alternate letters came in a big manila envelope, and denials come in small envelopes (You should never know this ahead of time! It would just make you instantly depressed if you got a small envelope). However, I automatically drove to the post office. Low and behold, stuffed into my mailbox was a large manila envelope! I made myself wait until I got back to my dorm to open it (I needed to compose myself in case I was just an alternate). After I hesitantly opened it, I quickly scanned the first couple of words and found "congratulations" and "accepted". Phew.
Out of habit I checked my mail again today, and now I have a mystery package. I'm a little skeptical though, last week I had a mystery package too, but it turned out that it was for Adams Conrad and not for me. Seriously, how does a 2000-something school have another person whose name is so close to mine?
Comps (comprehensive exams to graduate) are in a couple of weeks, I need to write my honor's thesis, write some other papers, and do a whole lot of paperwork and studying.....................but instead I'm blogging. At least I did laundry tonight.
Forecast for spring break:
Speaking of.....did you know that spring break starts tomorrow? Yeah, I can't really believe it either. I've known that it was so soon, but it seems that I've mostly just ignored that knowledge since I'm not prepared at all. I need to do laundry, and pack....and study for my last midterm and eat dinner and go to orchestra. Sometimes there just isn't enough time in the day. Good thing I have a washing machine at home!
I reluctantly took my Art of Diplomacy midterm today. I apparently ignored the fact that midterms are upon me as well, since I only allowed myself an hour to study (even though I'd had all of last night and all day today). I think I did alright. Not spectacular, but hey, who cares? IT'S PASS/FAIL!
I'm still debating on if I want to take my french horn home or not. As far as practicing goes, I need to, but as far as traveling goes, I have no desire to deal with the hassle. I also don't think it would be monetarily worth it -- the size is just unusual enough that it wouldn't fit in an overhead bin, so I would have to check it, pay another of those ridiculous fees, and risk damaging my instrument. My french horn isn't the grandest model ever, but it's still a good $800. Am I just trying to find another excuse not to practice? Probably. I guess I'll just go to orchestra tonight and see how it goes. Maybe someday if I ever get rich and I still play the french horn then I'll get one of the fancy ones with the bells that screw off (meaning that the case is square-ish).
I wish that the year would just chill out a little. I'll be glad to graduate, but I'm not ready to do all the work that's waiting for me between now and then. We are now beginning the perilous slide into the end of the year: finals, comps, and papers -- OH MY!
I'm still waiting to find out any news about the Fulbright. I've heard from various sources that most people either find out in March or April, so we'll see.
I thought about this thing called "5 second movies" today....
Here are some good ones: Titanic, Rocky I-V, Star Wars II
This is just a very brief blurb since I absolutely must leave in 15 minutes, and there's no way that I can speed blog anything meaningful.
I just tried an experiment: Can one practice the french horn in one's dorm room without feeling self-conscious.
Necessary materials:
1 french horn
1 mute
1 down winter coat
1 mid-weight cotton coat
1 set of music
1 laptop
Instructions:
Place mute inside french horn. Wrap bell in (down) winter coat. Repeat with mid-weight coat. Use laptop as a music stand.
Blow air into the french horn at 1/3 pressure. Play tentatively. Question whether the sound is piercing all surrounding walls. Question whether french horn playing is louder than a hypothetical itunes selection. Play Russian music on itunes slightly louder than usual while simultaneously practicing Yoda's Theme song. Mentally compare. Feel uncomfortable. Put french horn away and write a blog (quietly) instead.
Answer: It is impossible to play the french horn in a dorm room without feeling self-conscious....unless one suffers from a general lack of embarrassment.
It also doesn't help that I absolutely HATE when people listen to me practicing. Practicing is for myself, concerts are for other people.
So anyway, we're playing music from Star Wars in our next concert, which turns out to actually be challenging. I think I may just have to take my french horn home for spring break. Great.
(photo stolen as usual)
This is a scene from last weekend. Scenic, huh? It's interesting how the most stressful of events can appear so calm in photographs.
Last Saturday my crew coach decided it would be a good idea to journey down the mountain (away from our sadly frozen Lake Dimmick) in order to have an all day rowing session. The lake pictured is "Tim's Ford", a rather picturesque lake in the town of Winchester, TN. The location seemed ideal at first: close, large, not frozen. However, it soon became obvious that few crew teams have ever rowed here before. Take a closer look at the dock. Now look at the boat. Can you see the problem yet?
How about now?
Once we (amazingly) maneuvered the 90 degree angle of the dock, we discovered a 2nd problem. Do you see those absolutely pointless spikes on the dock?? In order to avoid them you must lean perilously over the edge of the dock with your hands outstretched, and then lower the boat carefully to the water (the dock was about 2 times higher than usual as well). Honestly, I thought we were going to impale the boat...or just outright drop it. If I haven't mentioned it before, that boat is !@#$ing heavy. In reality each person probably has about 25-30 lbs of weight to carry, but it's a very large, very unwieldy, very expensive 25-30 pounds. And it's over your head most of the time.
I don't even row in that boat. I just helped carry it out of the goodness of my heart...and a general mistrust of freshmen.
Oh, there was also a small crowd of boaters standing on the bank watching our little misadventure.
I'm also starting to become germophobic. Every time someone sitting next to me starts coughing or sniffling I want to push them away (but without touching them), and then go take a shower. Usually I just settle for trying not to breathe in their general direction and scooting as far away as possible. I've had a very tenacious cold for the last 1.5-2 weeks that I was FINALLY starting to get over. However, it seems that I, being the trend setter that I am, was one of the first to get sick, and now the rest of the school is starting to catch up. I'm terrified that I'm going to get over my cold, and immediately catch a new one. These fears are in no way unwarranted either! The day before yesterday I had finally gotten to the point where I only needed to blow my nose once in the morning, and once at night (at first I could go about 20 minutes), and I overall felt perfectly alert. Then, starting sometime yesterday afternoon, my throat became incredibly sore and I started getting a headache. It was bad enough that I vowed if I didn't wake up feeling absolutely perfect, then I was just going to roll over and go back to bed.
This is a lame note to end this on, but people have come home now and I've lost the will to write.
Watch this:
http://vimeo.com/2809991
As most of you know, my 22nd birthday was last Friday. As fun as a trip to waffle house would have been, my suitemates and I decided that an escape from the mountain was in order. It turns out that 3 of the 4 of us have January birthdays....and the 4th's conception date was in January (which I'm sure is more information than any of us ever wanted to know). To celebrate this most hallowed of months we got tickets to a mystery theater(I mistakenly called it a musical theater in my last entry) in Chattanooga that included dinner and certain birthday embarrassment..most likely in the form of singing. Everything was great -- the timing worked, the show was supposed to be good, and we were all excited.
Then, on the morning of January 29th (my birthday), it began to snow. And snow. And rain. And sleet. And rain some more. And snow a little. And then rain some more..............and then freeze. The end result looked something like this:
I can't take any credit for these photos. I stole them all from facebook because I am a loser and didn't take any pictures. It's a good thing that I have artistic friends!
Anyway, needless to say, we didn't make it to Chattanooga on Friday. The last 22 years have been great, and I really didn't fancy dying on my birthday. Especially not for a mystery theater.
In reality the roads were probably fine, but you never know about these southern drivers (dear all who are from the south who read this: Don't hate me. I've just lived around snow a lot and I don't trust y'all). The police dispatcher would also send us e-mails like this every few hours:
"ALL ROADS ARE SNOW AND ICE COVERED AND VERY HAZARDOUS!!!!!!PLEASE REFRAIN FROM DRIVING IF AT ALL POSSIBLE.
EXPECT DRIVING CONDITIONS TO BECOME EVEN MORE HAZARDOUS AS THE TEMPERATURE DROPS."
That is a direct quote. The university is so small that the police have nothing to do and therefore mostly issue parking tickets and alert us to weather conditions. They also really really like capital letters.
In lieu of watching the mystery theater, we watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in the room and ate my massive birthday cupcake/cake (my suitemate recently acquired a cake mold that is the shape of a large cupcake). Since the movie is a million hours long, that took up the better part of the evening.
Then I decided to check my e-mail. In the middle of my frenzied quest to purge my inbox of police weather updates and facebook notifications I spotted something intriguing: an e-mail simply entitled "U.S. Fulbright Program". I was a little hesitant to open it, since I was pretty sure it was an e-mail letting me know if I had made it to the semi-finals of the Fulbright ETA selection process. I would have really hated to get bad news on my birthday. Luckily, it was all good news! Whether it was birthday magic, a good resume, or a combination of both...I MADE IT!! The way it works is that 30-40 people make it to the semi-finals, and 20 receive the assistantship. Now all I have to do is wait anywhere from February to May to find out if I will get an assistanship (I really hope that I do. I am not in the mood to think up an alternative life plan for this upcoming year).
Monday (yesterday) I had my Russian interview. I mentioned last time that is was supposed to be on Saturday...however, it seems that they had some scheduling conflicts, so they moved it to Monday. Overall it went pretty well; I understood all of the questions and answered most of them. I also found out that the interviewer's son plays the French horn. I'm hoping that this gets me some brownie points, since the French horn world is a small and close-knit one. There was really only one problem: the call was from Moscow, and it seems that they got the time zone mixed up. I was expecting a call at 8:20 am, and as such I dutifully set my alarm for 7:45 so that I could make sure that I was up and coherent by the time that I had to have my interview. However, promptly at 7:20 am my phone rang. I jolted awake, caught the phone on the 2nd ring, and let the adrenaline rush carry me through the next 15 minutes. I was actually quite impressed with myself -- I went from deep sleep to speaking Russian in about 5 seconds, and I don't think that the interviewer noticed.
In true senior-year fashion, I've decided to extend my slackerly ways and make 1 of my 3.5 classes pass/fail. I do have some sound logic behind this though! Right now my GPA is hovering at about a 3.7. I'm pretty confident in my other 2.5 classes, but the 3rd is a new subject for me -- "The Art of Diplomacy". Usually in subjects outside of my major I work really hard, but still end up with a B or an A-. I did some math, and I determined that the risks of dragging my GPA down with a B far outweigh the benefits of getting an A. Grades are a competitive business you know....you've got to play the game right. Additionally, this means less stress for me, and I do so hate stress.
Well, it's quite late and I have class semi-early tomorrow, so I should go to bed. I think I've covered everything of recent importance.
On a final note, here's a quote from the blog "Sleep Talkin' Man" (if you can't guess from the title, it's a blog that the wife of a chronic sleep-talker keeps)...I feel like this all the time:
"So many little people. Pet them on the head. pet pet pet pet pet...."
as well as:
"No, not the cats. Don't trust them. Their eyes. Their eyes. They know too much."
