october twenty-eighth

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I’ve always hated carving pumpkins. I don’t have a problem with pumpkins in general–they’re festive. They remind me of colorful leaves, near naked trees, and well worn sweaters…and who doesn’t love pumpkin bread? I’ll never forget my first pumpkin bread experience: Barbara Jean’s, 2001. So I guess you could say I’m a pumpkin advocate. The word itself is even fun to say. But who in their right mind would enjoy cutting them open and digging out the goop? It’s like a variation on heart surgery–only we do it for fun. This year, for the first time, I won’t have to participate–and I won’t miss it. I’ll spend Thursday evening reading a good book by the fire, thank you very much.
The fires have started, by the way. The southerners are excited about the sorry excuse for snow we’ve had thus far and lobbied for the wood to be brought in a bit early this year. The warm flames and the decorations leftover from the Ahl Hahl Fahl Bahl (those clever oles) have made the lounge much more attractive. I’m spending much more time there these days. I suppose that has something to do with my roommate’s absence (she was on an orchestra tour last week) but also with my determination to branch out a bit. So far I’ve been successful; I’ve made some friends. My favorites, Alex and Jorie, are quite the characters, to say the least.
Alex is tall. He’s a giraffe in a John Guari costume. We usually sit together in our religion class. He does an excellent job of asking the difficult questions. We often each lunch together afterwards and chat about such things. I love the stories he tells me about his dad. My favorite is the one about “messy night.” When Alex was growing up, his dad instituted bath nights as “messy nights” at dinner (i.e. no hands allowed). We’ve talked about instituting messy nights in Stav Hall if we can generate enough support.
Jorie’s just crazy. She likes to jump around and “wear tables.” Yesterday she challenged me to a cotton ball eating contest. We each managed to stuff 17 of them into our mouths without choking. We’ve decided to repeat the experiment another time with something that tastes better. Like marshmallows. Mmmmmm.
Bettina and Nicole live next door. They like to listen to the same song over and over on repeat until they get tired of it. This is usually a week long process–then they move on to something else. Fortunately for me, every once and awhile, they have a “best of” day, and play ALL their favorite repeated songs…that’s all right, though. I’m a fan of those two.
Classes have picked up a bit. I made it through midterms without too much trouble, but since then my workload has significantly increased (even though I’ve finished inline skating…would you believe it?? My skating grade has gotten me off to a good start, though–I’ve got a 4.0!). I’ve got papers, papers, and more papers to write. I’m finding that I have to “settle” with most of them. I’m writing a credo for my religion professor–I got an early start on that one, because I’d like to spend some serious time on it. It will involve a lot of thinking but consequently, a great deal of self discovery. Sounds cheesy, I know, but very, very good.
Recently, I’ve had some spectacular visitors. My friend Alison stayed overnight the day before midterms started. I made her do the entire dorm’s dishes, but aside from that I think she had a good “prospie” experience. Last week, I got to go to my cousin Karl’s cross country meet in Owatonna. It was a great day for running–and it’s a beautiful sport, really. Then this weekend, I saw both Alicia, a friend from church, and John, my poetry buddy. And even more visitors to come! On Thursday, the Northfield kids are coming by the dorms to trick-or-treat. I’m in town today to pick up some candy–and to benefit from the coffee house ambiance, of course. You have to get here early if you want a muffin. I made a mental note.
I’ve learned a little more about Geoff Gorham (a.k.a. “Dexter”). He LOVES Canada. He dedicated our last philosophy class to her queen. He’s definitely a proponent of the monarchy. Oh, but if any of you Rosevillers plan on voting Nov. 4th, he’d like you to vote for his wife for city council, even though he doesn’t understand the crazy election process in these here United States….I’m beginning to wonder if his wife made him give up coffee. His Starbucks mug has been replaced by a water bottle….and finally. He doesn’t like to erase. And that goes for college professors in general. They all leave bits and pieces of indistinguishable words and letters all over the board. It doesn’t bother me–it’s just something I’ve noticed.
I’ve got a lot of work to do. Thanks for sending your letters and drawings. I’m sorry to those of you I didn’t get back to–I have a new system of organizing my mail that should take care of that. I hope you all are doing well and keeping warm. I love you and miss you.
Anna