Finishing my Flex Points

My meal plan came with $150 for the vending machines, which at the start of the semester seemed insane. Who could possibly spend that much on vending machines? As the semester wore on I did spend a decent amount, pop tarts were my only breakfast option when we had home games, and while I know that bottles of water are wasteful, the tap water here tastes like iron. I didn't use all of my money though, not even close, and as the semester drew to a close I realized that I had better get spending (They don't roll over any leftover money, it's just gone.). I had been intrigued by the condoms in the vending machine all semester. They come in a flat, white, rectangular box plainly labeled "Condoms" and if nothing else I wanted the box. They were also the most expensive thing in the machine, so that was good. I opened the box, and to my delight they come in a variety of cheerful colors! CWB bought a lot of condoms too, but refused to trade them like POGS the way I wanted to. The whole flex points system seems very wasteful to me, but it was undeniably fun finishing my card. I had $.40 left though, so I guess Geneseo wins.

Stress

I think it's cruel and unusual to give me a new roommate during finals. Just in case my brain wasn't imploding with stress, they needed to throw that sweetener into the deal.

Mail

The bad thing about not being able to open my mailbox 90% of the time is that I don't get important stuff in time to do anything about it. The good thing is that all my mail piles up. I actually got into my box today, and I had a TON of mail! Junk mail, Christmas cards AND Halloween cards, tuition bills from October, and GLOVES! I was so excited about getting gloves I made a bunch of snowballs, laughing at nature's new inability to make my hands cold.
The stupid date party is tonight. Big Tree even shaved, he got a haircut. They're cleaning the house! C.L. is taking D.S, and I'm being very excited for them and not at all a dog in the manger. I honestly think I'll have more fun sledding on dining hall trays and hanging out with N. than I would if I went, especially if I went with The Marine. Ew.

Losing the Perfect Roommate

L. is perfect. I've loved living in Steuben with her. She's really funny and nice, she introduced me to her friends in the hall and even invites me to hang out with them sometimes. We like the same music and tv shows, she even reads The Superficial and isn't annoyed by my really obnoxious ringtone. She is a gem. I'm so sad that she's going abroad next semester. She made me feel more at home in this room in a couple of weeks than I did for most of the semester when I lived with F.N. and N. in Jones. It'll be up to me to make the room homey after she leaves, cuz a lot of the nice touches, the rug, the curtains, are going with her. It's been really fun though, and I feel like she taught me some important lessons so that roommate #4 will be less likely to hate me. Friendliness seems to be key, who would've guessed? I wish L. was staying.

Snowy Day

I'm a terrible judge, but we have what looks like almost a foot of snow. It's very pretty, though it means my jeans are always soaked to the knee, and because I don't have gloves here my knuckles turn blue when I go outside, making it look like I've been punching people. It actually feels a little fake, I don't feel like I've been here long enough for it to snow. I didn't have any class this morning, so I'm pretending it's a snow day until two when I have class. I'm going to devote my time to working on papers, but maybe the illusion of a holiday will make it go easier.
In other news, Friday is the boy's rugby team's date party. I heard about it from a rugby wife that is going, and it completely depressed me. The guys will flirt with me when I'm there, but they don't think about me afterwards at all. I don't even want to go, but the idea that none of the guys asked me was sort of sad. Then, this morning when I checked my facebook, I had a message from The Marine, asking me to the party. If watching "A Clockwork Orange" last night hadn't completely cheered me up, this would have. Now I can feel ok about not going because I was asked and declined. I love the way things work out.

"Are you a pharmacist?"

"No."
"Well...do you know a pharmacist?"
"No"
"Well ok, have a great night then"
*hangs up phone*

What the heck was that?? I feel like there are three possibilities: A. someone was prank calling me (though I don't know who would think that was funny, it was just odd) B. someone mixed my number up with a drug dealer's and gave out my number by mistake C. I'm getting spam calls on my cell phone. None of these possibilities are appealing.

History of Siberia

WHAT WAS I THINKING???

I'm rejecting my nickname

I don't even want to go by Tux. I'm throwing the beads away, and getting "Caroline" on my jacket. I also don't want "The Big O" for my nickname. If people can't come up with not stupid things I don't want any part of this. I'm really disappointed by this. I wanted a sweet nickname, but better to not have one then to have a stupid one.

In all my years of breeding rats...

So I was initiated yesterday. It wasn't that bad, it was pretty anti-climactic actually. There were wacky highlights, breaking into several off-campus houses and apartments looking for porn, dizzy bat races on a hill, toothpick lifesaver races, chubby bunnies, and getting our nicknames. My nickname is pretty stupid, and I'm disappointed. The one girl on the team that I really dislike picked it, and it isn't affectionate, she isn't laughing with me. I'm Canadian Tuxedo. It isn't the end of the world, I've already shortened it to Tux, but I wanted a cool nickname.
Afterwards there was a party and we christened our new pong table, then went to the IB where I got on as over thanks to Jesse's ID. Colin was working the door, but he let me in anyway which was very nice of him. I would have been surprised if he had blown me in, but I still appreciated it. M.A. wasn't there, which had been my entire motivation for going, but I had fun. Marie and I found various boys to dance with, one of whom had the worst breath I've ever smelled, and we stayed until closing.
And now I'm a vet. We're ordering jackets later, but I think I'll get "Caroline" on it instead of "Canadian Tuxedo."

Registration

For all those people that scoff at the benefits of Camp Weona, I now have proof that it was a valuable networking experience. Wednesday night I was IMing Butter, when somehow the subject of his friend Paul came up. Because I am a facebook fiend, and because Paul goes to Geneseo, I friended him, assuming that would be the end of it, and I would be one facebook friend the richer. To my surprise, Paul and I began messaging, and hit it off, chatting for a couple hours. When the topic of registration came up, Paul (who is a senior and so gets to register super early) offered to hold classes for me. So, thanks to Butter, so thanks to Camp Weona, I now have the perfect schedule. (Monday/Wednesday/Friday next semester I have Stage Musicals, Child Development and Abnormal Psychology. Tuesday/Thursdays I have Reading as a Writer and Elementary German.) I also have the offer of rides back to Buffalo, and someone to go to the hockey game with tonight. I'm pretty jazzed. Camp Weona is now aces in my books.

Unfair

Why is it that I get sicker when I opt out of drinking? Yesterday was the rugby 40 run, and not, as I had hoped, a scavenger hunt. We all met at the field at 5:20 last night, and because I don't get the rugby emails I was wearing sneakers, but not running stuff. We did a few warm ups, handed over our phones, keys and swipe cards, and started off towards Main street at a jog. When we got to Main street we ran around to the back of a bar and Leigh told us that we were doing the song run, that we would stop at every bar in town and learn a song. Since it was early evening on Halloween however, the streets were swarmed with small children tick or treating, forcing us to sing behind the bars and not in front, like bawdy Christmas carolers. There are a surprising number of bars in Geneseo considering there isn't a drug store. We learned a bunch of songs that I had heard, but not really known including "Yo Ho", "Twelve Days of Rugby", and "Jesus Can't Play Rugby." After we had visited all the bars we ran to the Meadows where the rest of the veterans were waiting for us. We serenaded them with a rousing chorus of "We Love You Veterans" and then they started handing out 40s. Halloween or not, 40s race or not, I did not want to pound that much malt liquor on a Wednesday evening. Because they never force us to drink, Leigh handed me a two liter of pepsi. Jill and Erica don't like beer, so they had mixing bowls of mountain dew and vodka, and Oakes got a liter of diet coke because she has diabetes. I ended up splitting my two liter with Alex, but that is still four servings of soda, about 600 calories. The vets counted down and the race began. I don't know if anyone reading this has ever tried, but attempting to chug a liter of soda is really really painful. I had tears in my eyes it hurt so much. Vets came by and helped me drink it, but my stomach was killing me, even though i only drank the equivalent of one of our large drinking glasses at home. I drank it really fast, which was the problem. The other girls that had cowboyed up and had the 40s were pretty drunk several of them threw up)and the vets took care of them, getting them food and driving them home. I went back to my room and chilled on my bed until it was time to get ready for the party. In all modesty, my costume was great. Everyone liked it, and I had a ton of fun wearing it. I didn't stay at the party long, but a lot of people complimented me on it, and walking home I ran into some rugby guys that I don't know very well, and they thought it was really funny. The scrum cap really pulled the whole thing together.
R. thought it was appropriate to have a million people pre-gaming in our room when I got back, so I went into the lounge and watched "The Nightmare before Christmas" while people carved pumpkins. Sha had said they weren't going to be in there for long, but an hour and a half later when they still hadn't left I was getting pretty mad. I actually thought about getting the RA, but didn't. She would have gotten a warning, but not kicked out of housing, so then I would have to live with two really pissed off roommates that would possibly kill me in my sleep. Instead, I really passive aggressively sulked. Her friends eventually got the picture, and they finished their beers and went elsewhere. I would feel bad, but I've made it really clear that I don't want people drinking in our room. They spilled beer on the rug and now it smells like a brewery in here.

A whirlwind of activity

I changed my major to psychology today, which turned out to be much easier than I had anticipated. It should be processed by the time I register for classes too, which is great. I need to get in touch with my new adviser and set up a meeting, and I need to find some classes that I can obsessively monitor on knightweb as they fill up with upperclassmen. For the time being though, I'm taking a short (and hard earned) break to toast my new major with an iced hot chocolate. Mmmm...

Best week ever

I volunteered today, which was a lot of fun. the kids are really cute, and they all wanted to hold my hand and give me hugs. Tomorrow is a lecture on the evils of hazing, then rugby people are meeting for dinner and then I'm watching "House" at Nicole's. Wednesday is Halloween, and I actually have a good idea for a costume. I also have my advisement, and some psych extra credit, plus there's a rugby meeting/possibly scavenger hunt. There's a party too, and the IB is letting eighteen year olds in. Thursday is another rugby dinner (we've been missing each other) and Friday is open, but there's a superhero party on Saturday. I'm pretty excited.

What could be better?

N. told me today that instead of getting a suite next year we could all get a townhouse. We would get modified meal plans, and eat dinner together on Sunday nights, and it would be just like "friends." Most importantly, living in a townhouse means no RA checking under the bed for fur turtles. I would pretty much need to bring Lancaster to live with me. It wouldn't be unfair to her, she'd have plenty of space, I'd take really good care of her, and we'd be together. I miss her. I would want to get some sort of cuddly pet, and I don't like rodents. G. has a snake, I want my kitty. I also don't think it's a good idea to get a kitten, especially because D. would want to Name it B.D. Wong. Litter box training would suck too, and where would it go on breaks? Clearly, I should just bring Lang to come live with me.

My first proof

It's nothing to be proud of. We took the first part of our test on Wednesday, and I had never successfully done a proof by myself before. This was reflected in my grade. I have a chance to pass though, so I am devoting this weekend to logic. This tiny, baby proof is just the first step. We have a lot of grades in this class, so hopefully this test won't hurt me too much. Right now I'm trying to keep my goals within reach. I have two hours until practice (our last practice this season) and I plan on using them for studying.

I want to go camping

I'm too old to do SCA, and I don't really want to work on another chain gang...er trail crew,but I really want to go camping this summer. I want to go back to either the Cumberland Gap or the White Mountains and revisit my work sites, hike the old trails, and just show off these places that I really like. I already have the backpack, which, as Emily points out, commits me to a life of outdoorsy-ness. New Hampshire is closer, it's only like nine hours away, but I feel like the road trip element only sweetens the deal. Nicole and Chelsea are moving to camp the day classes let out, but I might make new friends. I'm joining the Outing club as soon as rugby ends, so maybe I'll make some nice hippie friends. I really want to go though, I'm scanning craigslist right now, looking for cheap tents.

Ms Kiefer

Last year in Theory of Knowledge we had to write these journal entries that related to the Ways of Knowing, or how our lives tied in with ToK. Everyone hated doing them, and would just pull random stuff out of the air, usually right before class. One day in desperation, not knowing what to write about, I wrote about college name recognition and snobbishness at City Honors. I was as guilty of this crime as anyone, and I still thought that what college you went to decided what kind of life you would have. I said in my journal entry that I really wanted to go to Geneseo (a lie), but was bothered by people's snooty attitudes about it (the truth). Ms Kiefer actually pulled me aside to encourage me to go to whatever school I liked, and not let other people's opinions bother me. She told me that Geneseo is an excellent school, and when I was accepted she sought me out to congratulate me. I always felt guilty for not telling her the truth, and I also felt like it might have been karma that landed me here. She was the type that would have pull with the Fates and intercede for me, trying to get me where I said I wanted to go.
I wish I had sent a card. I should have called, or kept in touch while I still could have. I hate that I can't join the facebook group. I'm having a lot of "Tuesdays With Morrie" guilt. She was one of the best teachers I've ever had, I should have told her that. I should have thanked her more often. She was such an amazing person, I'm lucky to have known her.

Logic

I don't know how to do my homework, so I have to skip volunteering tomorrow and go see a TA. This is pretty frustrating because 1. I really wanted to volunteer (I'm going to be working in a nearby preschool). I've been looking forward to it since my TB test came back clean 2. I've known that I wouldn't be able to do my homework since we started this unit, but I kept putting off getting help 3. I won't be able to start volunteering next week because of Fall Break, so it'll be another two weeks before I get to start. I could have gone and seen the TA after class, but I'm trying to put school first. I don't want to get into bad habits like turning homework in late. I want to get involved, but not so that I can't get my work done.
Logic is a lost cause for tonight, but as penance for being a bad student and volunteer I'm going to study psychology and not play on facebook or visit The Marine. (He's in Brodie playing piano and it is very tempting to go visit.) My music is going off, I'm closing my laptop and totally focusing on studying. I'm incredibly furious with myself, but maybe I'll learn something from this.

What am I going to do?

I just realized that I'm going to be totally on my own tonight. Chelsea and Nicole are going to camp for the weekend and Jill and Erica are leaving for Fredonia tonight. I made a list the other day, of all the people I like here at Geneseo. It was about forty people long, but that doesn't mean a whole lot if the handful of people I actually spend time with is gone. I can like some people without feeling comfortable being alone with them. The boys don't have a game tomorrow anyway, so they'll all be going out, so even hanging out with The Marine seems unlikely. I guess I'll just hole up in the library and make psychology flashcards to study in the car tomorrow, but I don't know what I'm going to do about dinner. Eating breakfast by myself is nice. I like to go to the library and get a half pint of skim milk and a muffin and read the Buffalo News. Eating dinner by yourself is sad though, it suggests that you don't have any friends.

They've stopped de-tripling

Just kill me now. I was thinking last night that there are four S's that roommates should always respect: Studying, Sleeping, Sickness and Sex. These are the times when they need to be extra respectful and recognize that it's not just their room. For example, if someone is, oh I don't know, IN BED WITH THE LIGHTS OFF AT MIDNIGHT ON A THURSDAY maybe they're trying to sleep and you shouldn't go around slamming the door every two seconds. Maybe you should get what you need from the room in one, quiet, considerate trip, and then quit being so loud and obnoxious. Maybe.
I know I'm not perfect, but I always respect theses S's. I also offer to take their garbage to the trash room if I'm going, I share my newspapers, and I don't eat brownies on their beds, dropping crumbs all over the sheets. Weird right? I'm never on their beds. My friends are never on their beds. I play This American Life kind of often, but not the same episode, and they're always watching tv, so we're even on the sound pollution score. *Grinds teeth*

The perfect fall break

I would hang out with rugby people on Thursday night and go to the IB and dance to blow off steam from acing my psych test on Wednesday. Friday night I would hang out with Chelsea and Nicole (If Nicole's entire high school class hasn't arrived yet, I'm not sure of their schedule. If they're here I would just chill with Chelsea.) Saturday is game day (just like in the song) so we'd beat Hamilton thanks to my stunning rugby skills, with my parents looking on proudly. My parents would then either be in suspended animation for an hour or two, or they could wander around campus or something while I went to the after game drink up, and then they would take me home. We'd all go to Coles and Jack would be there and he'd be very impressed by my college rugby chops. Then I'd go home and shower and visit with my family (and my kitty) and do laundry just bask in being at home for the rest of the break. It actaully works just as well if you swap the drink up with a boy's rugby game, and that would eliminate the parent issue. Sounds pretty perfect, right?

her hair is black and her eyes are blue

It sounds like South Buffalo in my room.

I separated my shoulder

Sometimes people need to be judged on their one offs, and I know that saying I'm not a Thirsty Thursday kind of person is pretty meaningless if I've gone out for the past two Thursdays, but when the options are either go out or sit in my room on facebook, I'd rather go out. Yesterday was tough anyway, because I went to see the trainer and was told that I can't play rugby for like two weeks. Colin says I can come back at the end of next week if I feel up to it, but that's still a lot of rugby time lost.
Last night was kind of pointless, but it was fun pointlessness. The girls' rugby team was having a party with Sammy's (the "smart" frat) but no one showed up, so it was really awkward. The Sammy's guys had all dressed up according to the theme too (a theme that girls' rugby had picked no less) and Marie and I hadn't dressed up. Surprisingly enough, wandering around a strange house filled with semi-drunk guys in cardboard Spartan military uniforms isn't very fun. Marie and I left after maybe fifteen minutes, figuring that we had done our part, and that if no one ever wants to party with girls' rugby again, at least it isn't our fault.
We were ready to call it a night, but we ran into a rookie from the guys' team on the way home and he invited us back to the Rugby House. I wanted to see The Marine, and Marie was bored, so we decided to tag along, just for a few minutes. It wasn't really a party, there was a keg, but there's always a keg. The boys were just hanging out, and so we chilled there for awhile, talking to the guys.(Not drinking. Going out on Thursday is not the same as drinking on Thursday. It's a school night for pete's sake.) It can be fun or annoying hanging out with drunk people when you're sober, and this time it was fun. Rugby parties are so much less sketchy than frat parties because it's impossible to know all the frat boys, but I'm getting to know most of the rugby guys. They're more interested in each other than girls, and things are really laid back and fun. They like to tease, but they aren't mean. Marie and I ended up staying for kind of a long time, everyone who doesn't live in the house was gone. (mostly because B.T. was hitting on Marie and kept holding her up as we tried to leave.) It was a fun night, and I actually ended up having breakfast with The Marine, so it didn't even matter that he hadn't gone out. He's going away this weekend, but I'm happy with the way things are developing. Slowly. He has a daschound too Mum, so I'm sure you'd like him.

This woudn't be an issue at Smith

I only think about boys. Geneseo is like 70% women, but it still seems like the place is crawling with boys, and it's very distracting. In class, at meals, at practice, I need blinders like a racehorse. It's fun, but it's exhausting, I actually have to make some small effort to not look like a slob.
So the whole pedometer experiment was pretty pointless. I wore it all week, but i guess I didn't wear it in the right place. When I got my activity report there were entire days where I didn't take a single step. I guess those were the days that I just chilled on the floor, not even getting up to eat or go to the bathroom. Plus, they weighed us, and so now I'm boring everyone with my body issues.
I'm doing a load of wash right now that is just two pairs of rugby socks. That sobbing sound you're hearing? That's Al Gore.

I'm jealous

Chelsea's new double is sweet. I want a whole closet to myself, and shelves and a bowl of apples. I don't hate Jones the way a lot of people seem to, but it wouldn't really bother me if I was de-tripled out. I'd like to stay in this area if possible, but even that isn't a huge deal if my loving parents come to help me move the way Chelsea's did.
The previous post seems to be a typo. Oops.

"I like you"

I'm not going to get my hopes up. At the same time though...

Rugby Mountain Day

I have new spikes. New-ish, at the very least. I got them at the very tail end of my last spring season, and that was only like...four months ago. As it turns out though, they suck. the spikes are really loose, I tighten them every practice, but by the end they're coming out. Today when i got to the field i discovered that yesterday, unbeknownst to me, I had lost a spike. i searched my bag, but it wasn't there, and I can only guess that it fell out during practice, so I'll never see it again. It really wasn't a great way to start practice, and I was very out of sorts as we did our laps and dynamic stretches. My mood only got worse when the four captains all showed up in street clothes and announced that they were injured. Leigh was in a sling, it was very distressing, especially with our first game on Saturday. They gathered us together and were giving this little speech, when Leigh's face broke into a grin, she flung off the sling and announced that instead of practice we were having a social. We all immediately piled into cars and drove to the captains' house, and had a party! I have school stuff tonight, so like a big dork I couldn't drink, but it was still fun. We sang rugby songs! I was telling CWB today that I never feel really happy here, like, I'm happy, but it's never, whoa I'm HAPPY. The social was really fun though. I was actually HAPPY to be there, and HAPPY to be on the team with these girls. Clearly, rugby is the best sport ever. I have to go to a study group now, but there's just something about a surprise team celebration that makes me want to work now. I'm all motivated and really glad to be here.

Dreary Saturday

Weekends are the worst in college. The campus feels so empty, and the days are so long. Even nice moments, like running into friends for breakfast and having iced hot chocolate don't feel as nice as I had hoped they would. I based my idea of what college would be like on what I thought Emily's college life was, which was based on her blog. I don't know if Smith is nicer than Geneseo or Emily is just a good writer, but I'm never really happy here. I'm rarely unhappy, but I hate this numbness. I'm trying to fill my time with studying. My classes aren't terribly challenging, but I hope that just translates to a lot of A's.
The entire campus feels grimy, like the combined sweat and breath of every person on campus has condensed all over every surface. Even showering makes me feel dirty. Sitting at my desk, eating raisin bread, listening to This American Life archives and copying my psych notes over into my Willow-like colored pen system should be a fun way to spend a Saturday. Emily would make it sound glamorous and collegiate. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but something isn't right here.

Thanks Dad

Now I have Blue Oyster Cult stuck in my head. Just in case my life wasn't Long Island-y enough.

Long Weekend

I got to thinking as I wandered around the empty campus, lonely as a cloud, I'm not a country girl. I don't like living in a place that smells like cows. Not a vague whiff now and then, not a subtle hint of cow, it smells like a cow is following me around campus. I need to be around people. Lots of people. I don't need to know them, just having busy, productive people around motivates me. I need more of a town than just one tiny stretch of main street. This isn't working out. If I was at Barnard I wouldn't care about being alone over the long weekend. There's stuff to do in the city. Even just walking around in the city is more interesting than walking around here. There's nothing here. This long weekend is a sign. I don't have any homework really, I only just started class and we haven't really gotten started yet, but I'm going to study all weekend. I'm going to get straight A's and I'm going to get involved and I'm going to apply for a transfer and get the hell out of here. It's 12 in the afternoon on a college campus and the only sound is crickets.

My first week

I've been at school for a week now. It has been ok, I've been homesick and bored and overwhelmed, but I've also had fun. I like most of my classes. I like my living situation, and even suggested the three of us do something all together like a living unit getting lost in space. I have some weekend plans, there's a foam party tonight that I'm going to. (What do you wear to a foam party?) I'm trying. I want this to work out. I figure if I make it through this weekend I'll be fine. There are things I miss about home of course, but I don't want to go home. Except maybe to do some laundry and have some decent juice.

I'm online!

I apologize to LCA for accusing her of being involved in the disappearing paper scandal of 2007. I was totally out of line and I jumped to a stupid conclusion.
This laptop is amazing. I am in love with it. I could easily see myself being late for psych I am so thrilled to have a computer. At the same time, I know I have to be on time, so I'll cut this short.

Adirondack Adventure Paper

I have now written this paper twice. I wrote it at home and almost all of it was deleted (maybe people shouldn't close windows that I leave open LCA). I wrote it on a school computer and it was deleted. The third time had better stick or I'll just take a zero. I killed two hours today writing this stupid thing only to have it disappear, I don't have time to write and rewrite. My professor was telling us today that people tend to put papers off until they get a mythological five free hours. I don't have five free hours. I could make time to write it in different sittings if I had a computer that would save my work, but I don't. This means my paper is going to be written Thursday night and mailed Friday morning, the last possible day it can be mailed. You could say I was procrastinating, but even though this is true, it has been a team effort to make this a frustrating, infuriating ordeal with the end result of a crappy paper. I would like to thank all the little people who put off ordering my computer until two days before I moved in, and who closed documents that don't belong to them. I couldn't have gotten where I am without you.

Rugby

I've been playing rugby for the past three years, but suddenly, now that I'm faced with College Level Rugby I'm beginning to doubt myself. Practice last night was amazing, we ran drills, we practiced ball handling, it was fun. The captain seems great, all of the girls seem great. My only problem is the coach seems to think I'm too small to be a forward. I told him I play second row and he put his hand on my head and sort of laughed. I'm not that short! I can't be a back. There's nothing wrong with backs, lots of my friends are backs, but I'm a forward. Clearly this means I just have to work harder and dazzle him with my wicked mauling skills. Second row might not be in the cards, but I could hook maybe. Lee (the captain) says anyone can play flanker, so maybe I'll get to play there, but I definitely have a lot of training ahead of me.

Convocation

Last night was convocation. We had had our "Into the Wild" book discussions earlier in the evening and I had been pleased about my group. It wasn't our orientation groups the way I thought it was going to be, it was a random mix. I knew a couple of people however, there were a couple of girls from orientation, and a boy from City Honors. No one especially wanted to talk about them book, and that aspect of the conversation broke down pretty quickly. It was a nice way to kill some time though, and I learned a little about the people in my group.
The lawn was a mob scene after we were let out. The entire freshman class was there, as well as some family members and upperclassmen. I found a seat between CWB's friend Grace and a boy that I knew from a CEPA photography workshop. As I waited for the program to start I turned in my seat, looking back into the crowd. I was surprised at how many familiar faces I saw. There were people from the book group, there was a cluster of CHS alum, I saw camp friends, and Adirondack Adventure people. It was amazing. Looking out at the lawn Geneseo seemed huge, but looking back at my classmates it seemed just right. The procession started, and the professors filed in wearing all of their academic regalia, and I knew that this could be home.

Getting Started

I haven't shared a bedroom for about five years. There have been vacations where EGA has slept in my room, and I have had friends sleep over every now and then, but for the most part my bedroom has been my private space since EGA went to college and LCA moved into her old room. Getting a triple has been quite a shock. I've lived with strangers before, at camp and in SCA, but that always felt ephemeral, those living situations all had pretty short shelf-lives. Dorming is different. I could tell myself that it won't last forever, but a year is a long time to sit grinding your teeth because a roommate is clipping her nails on the rug. (Not that my roommates have done that.) I know I'm not easy to live with, I can be messy, I think I might snore, and I shouldn't be trusted to cut people's hair, even though I love to. This past summer, tenting with Basia, I constantly marvelled at her patience with me and my quirks. I hoped my roommates would be equally patient, but learning from my mistakes, I decided to confirm that they had already finished Harry Potter and not offer to trim their bangs, just in case they aren't similarly saint-like and attempt to smother me after I inevitably slip up.
Basia was easy to live with, but I felt confident that I would be able to be patient with my roommates, or at the very least, internalize my rage. I've lived in tents with girls for weeks on end without any horrible issues. There have been flare ups, flip flops have been peed on, but nothing so terrible that I don't think back on them now without smiling. I trust people to be good deep down. I have an open mind in that I don't believe my roommates are actively evil. (Their accents on the other hand, are proof that there is something terribly wrong with the world, especially as they are starting to rub off on me.) It seems like you can be friends with anyone, and living in a tiny space does bring people together. Basia and I would always shower at the same time when we went to Camp Dodge. We would talk and unwind and steal whatever toiletries were left in the shower house. There was a jar or Bert's Bees lemon and poppy seed facewash that we especially loved. There were times in the woods that we would just sit and talk about how nice it was, and how we couldn't wait until we got to use it again. I bought it for college. It smells great, it's really refreshing, and it reminds me of Basia and how nice it was living with her. I use it in the morning as a reminder of how patient and kind she is, and how I should be just as tolerant of my roommates as she was of me. Every morning after I wash my face I put my living situation into perspective. It doesn't matter if people leave their jeans on my bed, they aren't hurting anything by investigating my perfumes and body sprays, and most college students do go out to frat parties, so I shouldn't care if they keep later hours than me. I'm lemony-fresh, and totally willing to accept them as they are. Now I hope they are as forgiving of my early bedtime, giant jade tree and fondness for Thistle and Shamrock.