10 Things in 2010

1. Get in shape and stay in shape.

2. Take more risks and live a little

3. Be more active

4. Visit museums I haven't been to before, like the MoMA

5. Get back in trumpet shape

6. Get closer to fluency in Italian

7. Read more books for pleasure

8. Learn to cook

9. Eat healthier food

10. Make a difference in someone else's life

Decisions, Decisions

Another joy of winter break is bluebooking. For the uninformed, bluebooking is how we Yalies choose our tentative classes for the coming semester, culling from a herd of hundreds roughly five credits' worth of classes. It is a challenge and a joy, and like a safari in digital format.

I've started this, and find it is now a compulsion. There are so many classes to choose from this semester, but it seems I haven't space for all of them. As an Italian major (which I declared about two weeks prior to the end of the semester), I need a few classes as requisites. One is ITAL 151-- "Advanced Language and Composition." This strikes me as another rehash of grammar type course but with more advanced speaking. I also want to take "Pirandello: Theater Practicum," a course taught by one of my former professors in Italian that looks to be something approaching the Best Class Ever. There's another course that I could take as well, called "War, Literature, and Politics in Renaissance Italy" that seems to be the equivalent of what I want to study for the rest of my life, but it also conflicts with most of my science courses.

And then there's the science courses that I should take; I'm leaning towards Ornithology, because it is raved about by several and seems fairly approachable, and perhaps "The Technological World" or "Movie Physics" will round off my left brain classes.

Finally, I have one or two "free" credits, in which I can choose a class that isn't strictly required. I'd like to take an art history course, or perhaps a straight English or History course. So many sound interesting, it should be a challenge to shop them.

I've worked up a few mock schedules, so hopefully it will all work out in the end. In the meantime, I can only go compulsively through OCI and look at all of my options.

The Joys of Winter Break

College gives all time a weird, warped quality. Time flies during the year at school, except whilst studying, during certain lectures, and writing papers. Time seems to crawl and fly at the same time over breaks. I've been home nearly two weeks and have spent the majority of the time sleeping, eating, and making vague noises about actually exercising, but failing to do so. Today is New Year's Eve-- I go home in a little over a week.

Yesterday I went to the Museum of Natural History in the city. It's a very different experience for me to go there now, because I'm older-- I can see how much of it is meant for kids. I visited the Silk Road exhibit, which, while interesting, didn't teach me very much about the silk road that I didn't already know. That being said, it was nice to visit a museum and be in the city for a while. I realize more and more with each visit how much I love New York, from the throngs of people to the dull roar of the subways. I hope one day I can live there myself.

Earlier in the week I went with the family to the Bronx Zoo for our quasi-annual winter photography expedition, in which my father and I square off our cameras and take pictures of animals. He soundly schooled me this time around, but I think this is partially because he has vastly superior equipment and also because I had bad light to deal with. However, some shots turned out wonderfully.

525,600 minutes

After the Christmas rush of holiday visits, now the airwaves are being clogged with year in review specials, because there isn't enough to talk about on the news.

For me, it's been a very good year. My first full year as a college student, with a relaxing summer and a tranquility of mind that I am grateful to have. I joined and led clubs, improved my writing, finished Directed Studies, and discovered my passion for Italian. I like where my life is going now, and I think I've grown a lot this year. I have closer friends than ever before, and New Haven is more home than New Jersey at times.

In the greater scheme of things, we've seen the ascent of Barack Obama, his various attempts at legislation, countless scandals and internet phenomena. It should be interesting to see what 2010 brings.

And what do we call the last decade? The 2000s? The aughts? I prefer the British-originated "naughties."

And I've gone from one sole plant to four. It's been a very good year.

And....scene.

So ends my third semester at Yale. No more libraries for at least a month!!!

Bass Lung Disease, and other tales of finals week

This is day four of the long watch at the Band Fort. We round up chairs in the library and study in the company of each other, which results in surprising amounts of productivity. I have been studying in excess of five hours every day here, and am ready for these finals to happen.

Insanity occurs, occasionally. I brought play-doh the other day and we made "finalsaurs," with each member present making their own dinosaur. It was a beautiful study break that proved to be extremely fun and awesome.

Last night there was a "Top Gun" study break, as run by myself and a friend, which was an epic success. We had lots of people show up, and it was just what we all needed to banish the "study bats," or those creatures that cause irrationality during reading and finals week.

Tonight the finals fairies are coming, but I plan on being nice and safe in Swing around then.

I can't wait to sleep and just let my brain recharge. It's long past overdue.

Nostalgia

There is something new in the courtyard of Swing.


This wonderful miniLipstick is a great way to make Swing feel a little bit more like home, and not the "Ramada Inn" of New Haven. Swing is impersonal, with long corridors of closed doors and generic modern art in the hallways; we do our best to add Morse flair to it, but I know it's just not the same. I also come to find out how far away Swing seems when it's cold out; Spring semester should be interesting while I'm in the great north up here.

I miss Morse.

Enter Reading Week

A very eventful last week of classes.

For the past three days, a crazy man holding a sandwich board and thumping a bible yelled at us to repent as we went back and forth to class. I'm a little shocked that this was the first time we've encountered a fellow like this, but disgusted by his views anyway. So was the rest of the student body.

An email had been sent out Wednesday or Thursday from "Chief Perrotti" telling us that virus-infected rhesus monkeys had escaped from the labs. Consequently, students in gorilla costumes and others in lab coats frolicked about.

I survived the Italian final and am sad that my wonderful, wonderful class is over. Not only has my language improved a thousandfold, the three students in the class (myself and two others) are like a family now. I'll never forget this class, which might have been my best at Yale so far. I want to major in Italian because of it, and other reasons, but this confirmed my thoughts.

Now we are in Reading Week, that blessed time period of not reading for most of it, and instead doing all the things we were meaning to do for the longest time during the semester. I have a jam packed schedule, but I can sleep now, and enjoy myself. It's going to be a great week.

It's had a great start-- having just come back from the HOCKEY game against QPac, in which we dominated, I am all fired up for hockey season. I lose my voice every game, and play my horn to the point of complete failure, but I have a hell of a time. There is something inherently more exciting about hockey to me, something that I think might have to do with the speed of the sport. And I take personal pride in heckling the enemy goalie with gusto.

In any case, I am tired, and picture-less, but happy to be here once again after the turkey-stuffed laziness of Thanksgiving.

And....scene.

Well, I'm in the midst of the sleep-fest that is known as Thanksgiving break, and catching up on my life, which I left in the corner whilst überweek continued. Überweek being the week prior to The Game in band lingo.

Überweek is crazy, here. A week of hours spent in Hendrie, making a prop. I wasn't even one of the hardcore ones, but I still went a bit crazy. That also might have been the paper and midterm due that week, but still, I went a little nuts. But oh, was it worth it!

The Game was a beautiful day, warm weather and sunshine. The sun was up and so were we; learning the Greatest show I've ever been a part of. The sheer epicness of the script combined with the good spirits and excitement for the day made it worth being up after 3.5 hours of sleep.

Despite a few rather, hmm, bone-headed calls on the part of Tom Williams, the Yale team played well, even if we lost in the end. It just seemed like a minor detail given the happy spirits of the attendees.

Harvard's team may fight to the end but Yale Will Win, even if it's at life rather than football.

And now I do work, catching up on reading and writing little bits of assignments. I sit at home, already acclimated to the hours of sane people, and alternate reading with TV and surfing around the web, already missing the perpetual activity of the campus I call home. And yet I need this break, to let myself decompress from the busiest semester ever.

And upon my return, it's race to the finish with three weeks left in the semester. Ah, Yale, how swiftly these Bright College Years go gliding by. I wouldn't have it any other way.

THE GAME APPROACHES

It's go time, folks.

Harvard's team may fight to the end, but

YALE!

WILL!

WIN!!

Haiku

Thanksgiving! So close!
So much time has gone by, and
burnout approaches.


Fight to the end is the theme of these next two weeks.

There's a monster in my closet....

This past weekend was Halloween, my favorite holiday. Due to short notice and lack of time for sufficient inspiration, I dressed as the game minesweeper with mediocre success. That being said, Halloween here was, as always, the best night ever, despite the rain. Festivities with candy, apples, and delicious cider abounded, and the costumes were as outlandish as ever. My favorite was a kid who dressed as balloon boy, which consisted of a box and a balloon.

Additionally, last Thursday I saw Peter Pan at the Off Broadway Theatre; it was quite good, and very enjoyable. The set was minimalist in nature, and the acting was well done for a play that was obviously written long ago; there were only a few times that the lines seemed forced, and that might have been nerves, as well.

I can only hope to see more theatrical productions in the future, because they are so enjoyable.

Now, it is Wednesday, and I have surmounted the insurmountable pile of work that I had this week, consisting mostly of a Logic Midterm which I duly conquered. This weekend: the Brown Football game, and usual band activities.

I will say, however, that I am looking forward to Thanksgiving Break, if only for the sleep inherent within it.

Haiku

Rain, rain, rain, rain, rain
all it ever seems to do
is rain in the 'Have


....Seriously.

You can dance where you want to

Friday there was my favorite event of the year. The SAFETY DANCE, brought to Yale by Silliman College, is an epic night of 80s style debauchery, a tapestry of hairspray and spandex that ends in awkward facebook pictures the next day.

I personally found the most godawfully ugly nylon jacket and had a friend tease my hair to the point of defying physics.

The dance wasn't quite so good this year, but it was still plenty fun.

Additionally

It is beautiful out.

The present tense is more interesting than the past

Last week Morse College had a master's tea; our guest was the famous Art Garfunkel, half of Simon and Garfunkel. Known for his harmonies and his red fro-like hairdo, he spoke to us about life, music, and how the two intersect. Due to my working the event, I didn't get to be there for the entire thing, but what I did see was wonderful. He was so quietly happy, happy to be alive and have the life he has; he walks across continents and joined a frat for the discounted lunch.

It's for days like that that I am so very thankful that I go to Yale.

The song "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright" was Paul Simon musing on breaking up the band, and the song "The Only Living Boy in NY" was Simon missing him.

Briefly

I'd like to thank whoever owns this:Because it makes me smile every morning.

Recharge

This weekend, my birthday weekend, has been a good one.

It began with a cab ride, speaking in Italian to cab drivers and understanding replies in French, and noticing the universals of language and music. It followed with a train ride, always food for contemplation, and then more food.

I love New York, with its sophistication and revelry in the sheer amount of people it holds seething in its arms. The weather was unpleasant, but just quietly observing the inhabitants of New York is entertainment and compensation enough. I arrived, and then we went to the Isamu Noguchi Museum, in Long Island City, one of the most industrial parts of New York. It is a wonderful space, with inside and outside meeting and mingling and having conversations. Noguchi is a sculptor that does not evoke strong emotion but rather a sense of tranquility that reminds me of reading Buddhist texts; quiet and contemplative.

Now, I sit, feeling happy and in a celebratory mood, fresh from the congratulations of all my friends at reaching the milestone of ceasing to be a teenager. I am older now; there is no looking back. I enjoy the simple pleasures of life now, but also the sophisticated bits as well; one thing has been constant, though, and that is my love of learning. Still, I throw myself into classes and enjoy the act of learning itself.

My bonsai tree is thriving; I transplanted it to a larger pot today. I cannot wait to see how it will grow!

Nel Mezzo

Midterms are in full fling here, and despite the fact that I don't have any, the papers and such are stacking up like clouds before a thunderstorm. That's to be expected, I guess, when DS isn't my schedule anymore, the planets don't align quite so nicely that there is no overlap between papers.

Italian is still the best thing around; I'm learning so much in this three person class. We can speak so well, and can use the razzle-dazzle of pronouns competently. Watching a movie once a week is also nice, in that it gives us a chance to hear someone other than our professor speak. We've recently since graduated from English subtitles to Italian subtitles, which is a point of excitement; I managed to understand most of "Concorrenza Sleale" without a word of English. Also, as the months go by, I cannot wait to go to Italy.

Fall foliage is starting to happen, and campus is as beautiful as ever. The air has just started to nip at my cheeks, but the sun is still warm. It's scarf weather, the weather of apples and wonderful food and it's October, by far the best month ever. I love this part of the season, when it's cool but not cold, but still warm enough that it's nice to be outside. New Haven doesn't have that much time in this state, so I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

Speaking of apples, I had a little cooking party with some friends yesterday, and we made copious amounts of food. In addition to gnocchi and soup and linguine, we made apple desserts of wonderful types. This was all that was left by the end:
It was a very good evening.

Haiku

Mad Men in Roma?
La dolce vita, indeed, and
I can't wait to go!


Seriously, I can't wait to go to Italy.

List

Things I like about fall here:

cool breezes
scarves
the silhouettes of leaves on pavement
apples
football
midterms and papers in the same week.

One of these statements is false.

Haiku

Security bells?
Louder, louder, louder still.
I have a headache.

also,
FOOTBALL STARTS TOMORROW.

Adventures in Paradise

Today has been one of the best days I've had at Yale so far. Thanks to the generosity of the YCC, I had the opportunity to tour "Uncommon Farms," which included a berry farm and a dairy farm. After resurrecting ourselves and leaving Yale at 8.30, we were treated to a wonderful, wonderful breakfast with this view:

Beautiful, no?

And then proceeded to pick these:
And these:
After this, we were utterly full, for everything was all-you-can eat. The apples, especially the Galas, were delicious, as were the blueberries. Afterwards, we got back on the bus and frolicked with these:And it was good. It was nice to get away from campus for a day and do something totally different from the normal routine of wake up at 11, eat, and work all day. Or, more accurately, waste time all day and frantically work a little bit.

I'm dead tired, now, but happy happy happy. And completely gorged on blueberries.

Un Viaggio

Last weekend I and a few friends made an expedition to Wooster Square, the Little Italy of New Haven. It is a mythical land of farmer's markets, bakeries, and pizza. We went to the farmer's market, and then Libby's Italian Pastry.

I love the farmer's market. It is bustling and busy and full of all that is good in the world, from dairy products to pesto to beautiful produce. All the local farms have a booth, and they sell there goods, albeit at a rather high price. That's really my only complaint of this farmer's market; it is on the expensive side.

Then, we went to Libby's Italian Pastry, which is half a block away from the Market, and there I saw the Italian bakery of my childhood all over again. Cookies, biscotti, cannolli, sfogliatelle, all that is possible is there. And it was delicious; there is nothing so wonderful as fresh-baked sfogliatelle.

And sandwiches later in the day? Absolutely. Un bel giorno, to be sure.

Quiet Thursday

A year ago, I'd be feverishly editing a paper. Tonight, I made flashcards and read a chapter of Logic. I much prefer this year. I have a feeling my posts are about to become very, very brief, but I'll try and do some in depth pontification at times. It's just now I am busy and such; it makes it very difficult to compose posts.

The view from my window is much changed; I have a pleasant mixture of the Power Plant and the Grove Street Cemetery greet me every day. It's interesting being out here, in Swing Space, if just for the fact that now I appreciate how far away it is. The jock walk (the Morse/Stiles pathway) is closed, so we have to walk Grove Street with frequency. It's nice, though, with a little park, and the cemetery is lovely.

Now that my schedule is all settled, I am starting to resume my extracurriculars, which makes me busy as a bee. In addition to YPMB and other previous commitments, I'm joining YSEC this year; currently I'm part of a task force to eliminate bottled water on campus. I think this is a worthy goal, because it's astounding how much water is given out that could be taken from the tap. Tap water isn't bad here! It's no NYC, but it's still not bad.

I also LOVE LOVE LOVE my Tibetan Buddhism course. It's fascinating, and so beyond anything I've ever learned about in terms of material; a girl raised in the Western Canon is out of her league in the realms of East Asian religion. The professor is fabulous, and it seems like a nice group of students.

The freshmen are here, and it's remarkable easy to spot them at times. I wonder if I was like that last year?

Shopping Shenanigans

I believe I might, after a few days of shopping, have a schedule. This is a momentous occasion, mostly because there are so many fun classes to take here. Despite only four classes, I'm taking five credits this semester, and will have much fun with them. They are:

1. Intensive Intermediate Italian, otherwise known as a lingual boot camp. Two hours of work every day? Absolutamente. Three students? Si capisce.

2. First Order Logic, aka DS Reunion class number one.

3. Lincoln at 200, DS Reunion number two, but with twice the amount of lecturers!

4. Tibetan Buddhism, my random class of the semester.

Will I still be enthusiastic about Italian by the end of my semester? Probably. And it will definitely be an excellent semester on all other fronts.

I am here.

At Yale, in fact, and sitting on a bench about to go to an improv show.

Rather than summarize the last two weeks, suffice it to say that it is very good to be settled in.

I have several plants this year; I can't wait to see how things go.


-- Post From My phone

Time of the Season

Well, school impends in a few days, and the summer is very nearly over. I'm fighting off mother nature and some allergies currently, but am very excited for the new year to start! My sophomore year kicks off with my participation in FOCUS on New Haven, a service project orientation for rising sophomores and transfer students. I can't wait to start it; it looks like a lot of fun and a good way for me to explore New Haven better.

There's a lot to say for the Yale Bubble; it keeps us safe and well supplied with coffee shops and thai restaurants, but it also prevents us from really experiencing New Haven for New Haven. It's a lovely city, with a farmer's market and several parks, and yet I haven't really explored it at all. I'm hoping that FOCUS will help with this.

Haiku

Sunglasses many,
Five dollars each? I think not.
Bargaining is fun.

I see seashells by the seashore.

I recently returned from Cape May, NJ, for a week down the shore. Not at the beach, down the shore. It's a peculiarity of the New Jersey dialect that we say this, but this is the way things are said. And we wait on line, thank you.

It's been a busy week; the other day my cousin and I went to the New York Renaissance Faire, where we frolicked about in costume for a day, showing off our shoddy british accents. I had a ball, there, as I always do, because being a history nerd and a lover of fun clothing, RenFaires (as they are known) combine all that I love in the world. In fact I wrote an essay or two about the experience.

The next day, cuz and I drove down to Cape May and began the beach extravaganza. It was nice out for the first few days, with beautiful sunsets and great sunshine. Cape May is lovely because it has so much history (it was like America's first resort) and it isn't as sketchy as other bits of the shore, like, say, Seaside Heights. I also enjoy Cape May because it has an old fashioned boardwalk and is a throwback to the romanticized mental images of a true shore vacation.

The best part of my trip, though, was PARASAILING. We went through East Coast Parasail and my cousins and I were brought aloft. It's amazing how quiet it is when one is up there; it's like there's nothing at all around, 350 feet up. At one point, a dolphin was sighted underneath us, meandering its way, oblivious to the two girls suspended high above.

And now I shall go collapse and start packing for school tomorrow!

Parasailing: as awesome as it looks.

Adventures in Windsurfing

The last few days have been very very hectic, so I'm a bit behind...

Later on in the week I was in the Adirondacks, I discovered that my grandparents have a "Windglider," which is a sort of cross between a life raft with no sides and a windsurfer. Now, having taken a sailing course and being theoretically red cross certified in basic sailing, I figured that windsurfing would be a piece of cake. The result:

After several falls and a blow to the head, I decided that Mother Nature had the upper hand and didn't try anymore. However, my blaze of glory did involve 20 feet without falling, which was fun.

The loon: most difficult animal to photograph ever.

Other such adventures in the Woods included the "cruise and dine" on Raquette Lake and going to "Frankie's Taste of Italy," which involved mediocre Italian cuisine under the backdrop of Godfather posters.

After a long ride home, we made it back to NJ, eventually.

Rain and a Tribute

Today, a smooth jazz combo referenced this.

It was a good day, despite the pouring rain. Ping pong has never been so entertaining.

America on Vacation, or, the Road Trip examined

Today I went to the Adirondacks in New York. The process of going involves roughly a six hour drive, and this drive is always full of entertainment. This year, in particular, is especially good, mostly because it seems that all of America is on vacation. Whether this is due to the abysmal economy or because it's a nice weekend I do not know, but what I do know is that traffic was fun and rest stops more so.

For, as one pulls off the NY State Thruway, one sees a sea of cars in a parking lot. RVs, pickups, minivans, convertibles, and sedans are all mingled, cars from every walk of life, not to mention the motorcycles that range from choppers to motortrikes. The people get out, and scurry with panicked looks on their faces towards the bathroom, completely oblivious to the car that had to stop short to pick them. There are families, couples, tour groups, truckers, and singles in the rest stop, all together for a time to prevent blood clots in their legs from forming. It's an amazing experience in diversity and makes you appreciate how different the american landscape is.

People come from all across the nation, and their dress, ease, and bearing shows this; east coasters and midwesterners all have different standards of travel wear, and I can tell you that what some people wear is fascinating.

We eat, and go to the bathroom (the nerve center of a rest area) and walk slowly back to our cars, never to intersect with these people again. I cast an eye to the dog walk area, and see the family pooch being let out to play and do other things for a moment; today, I saw a baby bulldog and nearly died of cute-overdose.

As we drive on, into the Adirondacks, the signs become more rustic, and cartoon bear and moose are everywhere. Kayaks are common roof adornments, and the air becomes cooler and more lush with the breath that pine trees and mountains give. Your car is a gateway to amazing places, formerly inaccessible, and though you may not have leg room, the trip is always worth it.

More on the Adirondacks soon.

Is it possible to get lung cancer from a TV show?

For the past 72 hours or so, I've been watching Mad Men, AMC's period drama that is a critical darling. I am utterly addicted to it.

Not only is it a drama that, despite a pace only slightly faster than plant growth, maintains interest and keeps you guessing, it is also a drama that has actual characters. This is not a drama of stereotypes; it is a first rate ensemble cast with each character having their own story, and each story intertwines. And yet, every single character, for the most part, isn't likeable. There's Don Draper, a creative genius who isn't faithful to his wife. Pete Campbell, who was given everything and is more sexist than the rest. Roger Sterling, who broke up his marriage of 25 years. And yet I cannot resist watching their stories unfold.

In addition to the writing and acting, Mad Men is a true period drama. But where some shows pander to cheap nostalgia and make fun of the era, this show is a stickler for detail. There are no anachronistic pieces, and no anachronistic situations. This is the era of the three martini lunch and a perpetual cloud of cigarette smoke around the office. Secretaries were skirts to be lifted, and infidelity was the norm. These "Mad Men," men of Madison Avenue who worked advertising magic, had gritty undersides, once you get past the chrome.

I also appreciate the fashion of the show. Men looked sharp in suits, and women looked put together and finished. Fedoras were everywhere. An era of skirts and heels and suits with skinny ties. As much as the social conventions of the era disgust me, I will say it was nice to see an age where people tried to look put together once again.

And so I hope like mad that the fedora comes back.

Haiku

Walt Disney World: So
much magical pixie dust.
It's a small, small world.

Of Yeti and Movie Stars

The next day, we woke up respectably early and meandered over to Disney's Animal Kingdom.


Oh, the humanity. More people than I've ever seen at a park were here, and they all seemed to be a large sea of t-shirts and shorts, which smelt of sunscreen and sweat. Animal Kingdom isn't my favorite park, mostly because it's the hottest, and there isn't a lot to keep you entertained. However, a relatively new addition to the park, Expedition Everest, helps-- it's a roller coaster that I very, very much enjoy. Also, the imagineers at Disney did a very good job of theming the area, down to an altar and prayer flags, which fluttered with more spirit than most of the people below them could.

We ate lunch at a new restaurant called the Yak and Yeti, and I loved it. Though pricey, it offered pho and dim sum, a welcome change from normal Disney fare of hamburgers and sweet things. Its decor was up to the same high standard as the rest of "Asia," and though it was much more Nepal, India, and Tibet than it was China and Japan, it still did an admiral job of accuracy. Though this makes me wonder whether children will ever really appreciate the true artifacts if they see fair reproductions only a three hour plane ride away.

After lunch, we staggered out of the park and had to cross the Great Pathway Desert, which is a concrete slab with no shade that is very far from the bus stop oases that we needed to reach. Despite hallucinations, we made it, and moved on to Disney's Hollywood Studios, formerly Disney-MGM Studios.

It was so crowded and so hot, prayers of doing any rides were kind of a fail. We went on the Great Movie Ride, which is a cliffs notes of the great films of Hollywood, and we went on a quest for Dug the Dog, from Up. He existed as a plush creature that spoke, but proved to be an elusive prey.

We finished the evening at Boma, an African buffet at one of the hotels. As usual, delicious, but there is always a sense of suspense when I eat there. You never know what you get there, really, until you try it, but that's fine by me. I tend to make excellent discoveries. Curried pasta salad? Yes.

Disney World, Serenity Now Edition

This past week I traveled from the grey northeast to the obscenely sunny south, to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. I and my family have visited this little patch of land more times than I can remember; we know the place very well. This was a quick trip, with enough time to go to each park, and not much more.

And so, the first post of a few:

We actually left a day early, due to the miracles of modern technology, and lucky finds on earlier flights. This was a twofold good thing, in that we got more vacation time, and we also wouldn't have to wake up at 3 am to catch our plane. So, we flew down and caught a cab to get to our special one-night hotel, the Swan.

I like the Swan; it's a nice hotel with great access and a relaxed feel. It's popular with conventions, but it's still very family friendly, though not gratuitously so. Other places, like, say, any other disney hotel, have a kid-friendly atmosphere that borders on too much at times. Case in point: all toilets in Disney World are lower to the ground than normal. But, then again, given the audience that is Disney, it makes sense. But I digress.

That night we went straight to the Magic Kingdom, where throngs of humanity all clambered around, riding rides, and ate food. It was surreal going back, after two years, with all the happiness and magic (tm) that is Disney. It was jarring, almost, but one acclimates quickly, mostly because it's nice to lose yourself in the magic. We did a few rides, namely Pirates of the Caribbean and other such endeavors. Then we ventured back to the hotel by way of Epcot and collapsed.

It was tough acclimating to the heat, at first, but after a few hours of uncomfortable perspiration I got used to it. Everyone else there seemed less content, in that they became heat-zombies by lunchtime and failed to react to any stimulus except air conditioning.

The next day, my acclimation would be put to the test.

From Within Outward

Today, I went to the Guggenheim Museum in New York. It was a beautiful day, one of the first truly hot of the year, and a great day to see a museum so full of windows. As it is the 50th anniversary of the Guggenheim's opening, a huge Frank Lloyd Wright retrospective was the main exhibit at the museum. The building, designed by Wright, was breathtaking. Based on circles and spirals, it brought its viewers up to the top, and then back down, with exhibition rooms at every turn in the spiral. I loved the light and airy feeling the building evoked, and the unique layout to a museum; most museums tend to be boxy.

I was surprised about the other works of art in the Guggenheim; I didn't expect a Kandinsky gallery or a Monet picture (a wonderful depiction of the Palazzo Ducale in Venice) to be in there.

This trip, at the very least, made me much more appeciative of the space around me, and how gifted architects can truly be.

Bubble trouble!

I saw the "Gazillion Bubble Show" today in NYC. While entertaining, it was meant for a much younger audience.

Highlights:

Bad puns, including "unbubbelievable!"
Child volunteers: "Where are you from?" "Church."
Zen and the bubble? "The bubble has a soul and becomes one with the water, where it lives in harmony." "We all have an inner rainbow."

Lowlights: Urging 6 year olds to scream loudly.

An interesting day, to be sure.

The Perfect Meal

Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma is one of those few nonfiction books that are unsettling and force open one's eyes to things one might not necessarily want to see. It follows three food chains: agribusiness (most of the supermarket), organic (in both the Whole Foods and Farmer's Markets varieties-- industrial vs. local), and extremely local (he makes a meal from things he was directly responsible for-- gathering and hunting).

Pardon the pun, but I devoured this book. Having always been conscious of what I eat (a fan of McDonald's I am not), I was not surprised about some of the practices used to increase crop production. What I was surprised about, however, was the extent to which corn has infiltrated our society; I don't know whether I can ever look at a food in the same way. In addition, I was particularly surprised about industrial organic food production-- I see organic and assume it's better, but most times there are practices that, though they slip through the USDA's regulatory cracks, are not a far cry from agribusiness. Particularly in this vein is the grass fed burger; nearly all steers are grass fed in their youth, or they are offered grass in the last two weeks of their lives. Is this the same as pastured? The answer, I learned, is no. The Omnivore's Dilemma makes this omnivore even more mindful of what she eats, and I think that this is a good thing. That's not to say I will go on a raw food diet, or a vegan kick, but I will think twice about Fritos and chicken McNuggets.

And this made me mindful of how amazing the food at Yale can be. The Yale Sustainable Food Project, which adheres to standards of local, sustainable, and preferably organic food, offers dishes with every meal. In addition, the Yale Farm, which I had a brief encounter with at an Italian study break, gives students an opportunity to put some work in on a plot of land and to take a break from the hectic reality of daily existence. I see myself going to the farm more this year, and enjoying it.

And I will also never look at the cornfields near my house in the same way again.

I Hid under the Porch...

Today I saw Up, Pixar's latest grin-inducing film. It started with the customary Pixar short, consisting of a tale about a cloud that made....special babies; it was so cute I was smiling the entire time. Then the movie began, and magic ensued. Pixar has improved on both their landscapes and their hair rendering, and I really lost myself in the room.

Also, Dug the Dog is adorable in every way possible. I highly recommend.

The Edible Garden

Today I went on a mini-adventure to the NY Botanical Garden, which was as low-key and neat as usual. It's a huge space, with every kind of plant you could want to look at, and there's always a fun theme to the gardens. This year, jumping on with the organic, local food trend, was "The Edible Garden," which was really well done; a walking tour of the gardens was set up with food in mind, and many of the gardens were redone with edible options, like Martha Stewart's Herb Garden. Also there was a small Greenmarket, with a few vegetable sellers, a baker, and what looked like a butcher type outfit; people were swarming around and buying everything from Swiss Chard to dill to garlic.

I visited the Rock Garden, which, contrary to expectation, was not quite as zen as I thought it would be. It was much more chaotic and green, with rocks more as a landscape additive than main feature. I did, however, spot a few lizards, which was a pleasant surprise.

After the rock garden, we visited the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, which, if nothing else, educated me in the way pineapples grow. It also has a wonderful water lily section with koi that I always enjoy spending time in. The water lily center is really cool-- if you dry it out, the seed pod can be a rattle. Plants as musical instruments? Heck yes.

After the conservatory, I just wandered around and took far too many closeup flower pictures. It's easy to do that at the NYBG, which has beautiful specimens, and not just flowers-- conifers are lovely too, in their own understated way.

In any case, further inspiration to have a garden of my own again.

One last thing from NYC:

This is awesome.

Cultured 4th of July, part 2

The next day, I went uptown to the Museum of the City of New York to see a few different exhibits. This is the 400th anniversary of the discovery of New York by Henry Hudson, so much celebration is to be had: the fireworks were in the Hudson this year, and the Mannahatta Project was exhibited in the museum. The Mannahatta Project is a project that looks at Manhattan's changing landscape and ecology since its discovery in 1609, but particularly emphasizes the early years. There was a fun little map where one could find a block of Manhattan and overlay what it looked like back then with its modern landscape, and then look at what the indigenous species and peoples were in the area. In addition, there were Muir Webs, which were webs that connected habitats and creatures with their dependents via lines, creating an endless network between all the species of the area.

Also at the museum was an exhibit on Henry Hudson and the early dutch settlement of New Amsterdam, which had over 400 artifacts relating to the age. This was interesting, but Dutch, to me, is utterly bizarre in its construction. A cool part of the exhibit was the exhibit itself; the walls were sculpted to be like the hull of the Half Moon, Henry Hudson's ship. Other highlights include the amateur drawings of a Beaver and Bald Eagle because they were adorable, and also the numerous paintings of Stuyvesant and other famous New Yorkers. Or New Amsterdamers, as it were.

After the museum, we went to the Conservatory Garden, which is a part of Central Park, but a designated (and enclosed) quiet area. It's divided into three parts, with a British garden, French Garden, and Italian garden. The entryway looked like this:



And it led into the Italian Garden, which looked like this:


The fountain end of it was very reminiscent of the gardens at the Villa D'Este in Tivoli, which I visited last year. The grotto effect of the elevated walkway only helped this analogy, as did the single-jet fountain.

This is a very peaceful garden, which makes sense given that it was a designated quiet area. No cell phones, no music, simply quiet and perhaps the buzz of the outside world occasionally. It struck me as a nice, quiet corner where I could sit down on one of its many benches and read a good book, or perhaps start writing one of my own. I really liked the tree-lined long pathways, which were lined with benches and gave a unique dappled light.

After the Italian garden, was the British garden, which was stifled chaos and very British. It had beautiful flowers, and a few birds and insects as well. Its best part, however, was its fountain, which was dedicated to "the children of the city." Part of it was a birdbath, and there were quite a few sparrows frolicking and enjoying themselves. I had a good time watching them.

The last garden there was the French garden, which evoked Versailles and other such large, expansive gardens, with the centerpiece being a fountain of three little nymphs playing in the water. Overall a very beautiful garden, and a very beautiful day.

Cultured 4th of July, part 1

This 4th I went to NYC, mostly for a momentous cookout on my aunt's patio. However, this weekend ended up being a very cultured weekend, starting with a family trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.


It was relatively quiet, as most of the city was a ghost town this weekend; sunlight and holidays are a potent mix that give most the itch to go away. And so, we jaywalked across Park Avenue with no issue, which really only happens never. In any case, our destination of choice was the rooftop, which has a different outdoor installation every summer. This year, Roxy Paine's Maelstrom:


This was quite a fun exhibit, because we could climb all around the branches of this large metal structure. There were something like six concepts behind the art, but I only remember trying to decide whether this looked more like a nervous system or a fallen tree. It was fun to frolic around, taking pictures from all manner of angles, and just enjoying the sunlight. After we finished looking around on the roof, we went to look at a new exhibit on Medieval drawings, which was fascinating but a huge change of mindset from modern art to medieval. I enjoyed them as well, particularly the "family tree" which was a tree with head and feet that delineated the relations of several generations of a family for inheritance purposes.

I love the Met; it's one of my favorite museums due to the variation of experience had with each visit. One day is not enough to cover the Greek and Roman galleries alone, so each time I try to go to a different part of the museum. My favorite section is probably the Greek and Roman galleries, because the light is perfect for photography, but I also have a soft spot for the Egyptian wing, just because the Temple of Dendur is amazingly cool.

After we finished at the Met, we walked back and watched the fireworks on TV that night.

Morse

I was going through some pictures of my beloved residential college, and suddenly got very nostalgic. I never realized how much I loved it until I got all stirred up staring at its beauty. Yes, it might be considered one of the "ugly" colleges at Yale, and yes, it might not look like it's straight from Harry Potter, but I appreciate its uniqueness. In a campus that looks like Lyra Belacqua's Oxford, Morse (and Stiles, but mostly Morse), offers a refuge from turrets and spires and creates a "home," separate from the rest. There is something to be said about living in a place that looks different from your workplace, and Morse offers that.

Going into Swing Space this year, I wonder what it will be like, and how the "homelessness" we're going to experience will affect us as a college. I believe it will bring us closer together, because we need to make Swing our own; whether that means battleaxes in the hallways or stuffed walruses remains to be seen. Our new freshman are still struggling to accept the fact that they're not in a pretty college; I hope, for the sake of Morse, they will be like us and love it more than ever. Morse, above all, is its people first-- I love all the Morsels because they're all great people, and we are truly close as a class. Swing Space will merely make us closer.

So, the last thing we need for total Morsel domination? Better cheers. My friends and I agree that a cheer referencing the Beatles would be best.

I am the walrus! Cu cu cachoo!