Shabbat Shalom

Today was my first visit to a synagogue in over a year. The last time I went was when I took a class on Judaism when I was a sophomore. My reasons for taking the class were because it was to be taught by a Holocaust survivor, and because it satisfied an elective requirement. Who knew that that class would lead me to where I am right now?

Since my reasons for going to services were much different this time than they were before, I was a lot more nervous. I kept wondering if I was allowed to read stuff out loud when the rest of the congregation did, and if it was ok to touch the scroll with the prayer book. I wasn't even sure if it would be ok for me to eat afterwards, because I didn't bring any food to share.

I did stay for lunch, and am so glad I did. I met a lot of new people, though I mostly tried to stay close to people I know from intro class. After I left, I was a little less than stoked to return to school, which is, honest to God, redneck central, so I kept on driving. All the way to Tennessee. I stopped at an overlook, hiked up to the top (easier said than done in a peasant skirt and glorified ballet slippers) and sat up there for a long time. This area might be backwards, but it is so beautiful. I got to see the last of the colored leaves. During peak, the mountains are almost blinding. Brilliant reds, yellows and oranges, everywhere you look. Everyone should come here at least once in their life, just to see the leaves in the fall. It is totally worth it.

Why can't I have a weak stomach?

Ok, that isn't a question that a lot of people ask. But after spending two hours this morning, elbow deep in fetal pig guts, I would kill to be the squeamish one, instead of the one who always has to do the nasty stuff because no one else will. When Biology started, the teacher gave us all the impression that there would be no dissections. And yet, there I was at eight in the morning opening up a baby pig while the stench of formaldahyde nearly knocked me out. Not to mention having to put up with my very freshman lab partner. "Pig wiener!!!!!"

*WARNING: Stop here if easily grossed out. Seriously.*

See, I can totally handle looking at dead animal insides, if I didn't make that clear enough. The thing that bothers me is that I love animals and I get overly attached to them. Piggie wasn't any different than the cat I had to first skin and then dissect back in high school. Yes, I had to dissect a cat. Yes, I am still bothered by that four years later. Here's a giant example of how attached I get to animals: I remember looking down at poor little piggie this morning and thinking to myself: "This is so wrong. I bet this little critter (yeah, I'm Southern, deal with it) had hopes and dreams that did NOT involve lying on a table with her stomach cut open and her legs up in the air!" Later on when I found out she was a girl, I had to fight the urge to grab some paper towels and cover her up.

This has been my most graphic post ever. If you managed to finish reading it, go get yourself a nice treat. You deserve it.

Look Ma! Two posts in one day!

I love penguins.

My first ever E-Bay purchase involved a penguin charm bracelet.

If it was possible to keep a penguin as a pet, I would be first in line at PetSmart.

But it isn't.

So, I will now entertain my viewers (all two of you-- thanks statcounter), as well as myself, with some penguiny goodness.

I haven't been this excited about an animated film in a very long time.

Dancing penguins are big in France too!

Who'll Stop the Rain?

I like naming my blog posts after songs. It's very Grey's Anatomy-esque. Honestly, it quit raining a few minutes ago. However, I was sitting in biology, bored out of my mind when I came up with the title, and I don't want it to go to waste. So yeah, about rain. It's been mind-numbingly cold and rainy for the last 2 days. And not the normal rain. We've had the kind of rain that fluctuates between steady rain and misty drizzle. The kind of rain that makes you wonder if a different sort of precipitation will follow. 'Cause if it has to be this cold, I want to see some snow, dang it! In addition to our craptastic weather, every remaining leaf on campus has decided to part ways with its tree. A thousand little leaf bodies on the sidewalk. Enough to make one feel like they're committing leaficide.


And now for a public service announcement: Becca, leave me some comments! Please?

This Just In...

I have a newfound appreciation for:


Marching bands

and...

Leggy blondes.


Not to mention marching bands with leggy blondes.

On Culture, or the lack thereof

Going to a small college in the middle of nowhere certainly has its benefits. Having to drive at least twenty miles in either direction to find anything slightly resembling culture is not one of them. So what are a bunch of bored out of their minds college students to do on a Friday night? Organize and hold a Womanless Beauty Pageant! An hour of guys in dresses prancing around to the utter delight (and sheer horror) of their classmates. How can you go wrong with that?

The Countdown Begins

This week was early registration. The happy, oh so happy time in which all the students wake themselves at the unholiest of all hours in the hope that maybe, just maybe, they will get the good classes. Me dragging my unhappy ass out of bed at 8 AM on my only morning off certainly did pay off. I managed to get one of the last available spots in the digital photography class. Woo hoo, I will soon be able to take neat little artsy pictures of my very own. I will no longer have to rely on stealing pictures from my friends' Facebook and Myspace pages.

When I was signing up for classes, I had a nice conversation with my advisor about graduation. I have just two semesters left, after I finish up with this one. Next semester will be spent interning at the Thomas Wolfe house, and my last will be spent preparing my senior thesis. Good thing I already have a general idea of what it will be on. Immigration, or perhaps ethnic communities in the Queen City. Good Lord it better not change. I don't have time to be fickle any more. I have a Plan. A few months ago I used to think that my Plan involved sticking around for that extra semester, taking a bunch of electives, hanging out with my friends, and all that jazz, but now I don't see the point in it. Sure, I'd love to have some more time with my friends, who wouldn't? However, I chose to attend a private school that was affordable when I first enrolled, but is no longer affordable thanks to ridiculous tuition hikes. Now all I want to do is graduate, get into State's Public History program, and then find the best, highest paying job available to me so I can start paying off all this money that I owe.