Tuesday, December 11, 2007

halfway there

I'm done with spanish, and as of 12 minutes ago, history. All that's left is theology (ugh, my hand is going to hate me when I finish that one . . .) and geology (which won't be easy, but I have Wednesday and Thursday to study for it and it's pretty simple stuff to study. Plus, it's actually pretty interesting). And then I'm done! The end is so close. Right now, I'm going to study for theology and sell my history textbooks because I don't want to see them for one more second.

Sunday, December 9, 2007

how I spent my saturday

Tonight, I finally went to a Calvin Improv show. I was really impressed. They were so talented and funny. I had a great time.

I am also studying for finals. I can't wait for it to be 4:30 on Tuesday. After that, I will just have Geology, and I will have two whole days to study for it. I'm much more worried about Spanish, Theology, and especially History. Christmas break has never looked so good.

Sunday, December 2, 2007

hair update


Due to popular demand, here is a new picture of my hair. Last night, Aubrey dyed my hair and Meredith straightened it. I couldn't get a good picture showing the color difference, but there is a difference, trust me. With my hair straight, my new haircut is more obvious and easier to see.

Saturday, December 1, 2007

a pleasant surprise


Friday night, Calvin showed Hairspray in the auditorium, and I was surprised at how good it was. It was just the right kind of musical, and nearly every song was enjoyable. Also, not only was it just a good old fun movie, but there was a decent amount of substance in it. All in all, it was a fun time and a refreshing diversion from regular everyday life. Not to mention that the soundtrack is wickedly catchy =).

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

new hairdo

Meredith cut my hair about 30 minutes ago. And I really like it. I always forget about that great feeling you get after getting a haircut. Well, I have that feeling right now. I love changing my hair--it always makes my day special.

Update: Andrew, this one's for you. Also note that Meredith and I decorated for Christmas and hung lights around our window. I love our room =)

Update again: The picture up is my new haircut. It's really hard to see, so y'all will just have to wait until Christmas to see it in person.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

life this november

Whew, it's been awhile since I last updated this blog. Life has been pretty crazy recently. I had a religion midterm yesterday, and geology and history midterms on Friday. All I can say is that I'm ready for a nice break. I've already started to enjoy it, because I don't have anything due until Monday.

Andrew visited the weekend before last, and we had a lot of fun. It was good to see someone that I knew before I came to Calvin. Besides just getting the chance to hang out with my older brother.

Meredith and I recently bought a futon, and we love it. It makes naps and watching movies so much more convenient. Not that we need our favorite pastimes to become more convenient, but it is nice to be able to invite people in and offer them a place to sit down that isn't our beds.

One of my favorite things on my floor is the free box. There's a box in the coffee kitchen that people can put their old clothes in. Needless to say. I have become best friends with this box and I have gotten several very cute things from it. That's about the extent of my life right now: homework, naps, hanging out with people, and finding free clothes.

Update: I tried to post this over a week ago and aircalvin hasn't been working on gmail and blogger. It was most frustrating. But it's fixed now, and it wasn't my fault that it's been so long since I updated.

Thursday, November 1, 2007

halloween=fun. registration=not fun.

Yesterday, I celebrated Halloween for the first time ever. I didn't put much effort into my costume, I just put Christmas socks on my ears and went as Dobby. But I went trick-or-treating around my dorm, and I got quite a bit of candy--and I got some vitamins from people who didn't have candy. It was very fun.

I registered for classes today. Well, not exactly. My friend Aubrey registered me because my time to register was during my geology lab. I only got into one first choice class (Spanish 102 woot woot). I also got into my second choice English 101 class. But I couldn't get into any math or philosophy classes. So I got into a math I know I will hate and fail. Something exciting though, I petitioned to get into Kevin Corcoran's philosophy class (recommended by everyone that has taken him and the one and only Andrew Bailey). A junior in my geology class told me to email the professor directly when I petition for a closed course. So I wrote him an email, and he wrote me back to say that he'd love to have me in his class and he'll do what he can to let me take it. So hopefully, I'll be taking that.

And I'm 18 today. How exciting is that?

Sunday, October 28, 2007

extra little miscellaneous tidbits and snippets

This has been a very busy week. During Academic Advising, I spent extensive time at the library, doing homework in general, and at the end of it, Meredith and I rearranged our room. We went from thisto this (and no matter what I do, I can't get this picture to flip on blogspot).So far, we are quite happy with the setup. Eventually, we'd like to get a futon, but every futon store we visited had gone out of business. Really, though, why does Michigan's economy have to suck right now?

Friday night, I went to the Forest of Fear (it's like an outdoor haunted house) with my dorm. It was very fun, and not too scary, so I enjoyed it. I jumped several times, but it wasn't too bad. I was actually in the front of the group, and I thought that the front would be the worst place to be, but actually, the actors always targeted the people in the middle of the group. I'm sure you can imagine my relief. Once we got back, we went to the masquerade ball, which was also quite fun. I went as Mrs. Hamburglar. The good thing about going as something unusual is that no one else as the same concept. There were quite a few pirates, fairies, cowgirls, and Jack Sparrows. And I didn't have to buy anything for my costume, I found the whole thing in my closet. That's the way to do halloween.

On another note, I can't wait till I can reduce my meal plan to just 10 meals a week in the dining hall. I like to go there for dinner, but I always seem to forget to go at other times. Besides, I much prefer to just eat in the coffee kitchen or my room. And I always feel guilty for wasting meals on my plan.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

advising break

Well, it's Academic Advising week, and everyone has Tuesday and Wednesday off. Initially, I thought this meant an extra weekend. I was wrong. I have so much homework to do these next two days. But at least it will give me a chance to catch up. I have been trying to figure out classes for next semester, and it's complicated. Plus, I'm one of the last groups of people to register. Someone decided that the A-D people are always first, so this year we are last. Oh well.

Here's a change of topic: my new favorite things are my wellies. I picked up a pair of rainboots last week. They are black with white polka dots, and they are so comfortable. Plus, they keep my feet (and pants!) cozy and dry. I'm even tempted to wear them indoors, they are so comfy and fun. Besides, they are a much better alternative to something along the lines of Uggs.

Monday, October 15, 2007

a surprise & a lament

It seems that I've been doing a great many things I never would have pegged myself doing these days. Last weekend I went hiking. This weekend, we had our dorm retreat and I slept under the stars on a boat dock with one blanket in 35 degree weather. Voluntarily. Am I going crazy? Maybe. All I can say is that I am constantly surprising myself. Who knows? I'll probably end up buying a tarantula next week.

On a quieter note, I went to the Apple Store on Friday, and my ipod is broken for sure. I had that ipod for over four years. It was a very good friend of mine. And it will be missed. When I was at the Apple Store, all the guys at the Genius Bar crowded around and peered at my ipod in awe of its excellent condition. They had a hard time believing that an ipod could look that great after four years. The upside is that I get 10 percent off a new ipod if I recycle my old one. Birthday present, anyone?

Thursday, October 11, 2007

something inspiring from spanish class

Here's a video my professor showed my class to inspire us and give us new ideas for how to use Spanish in the real world. It's pretty much hilarious.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngRq82c8Baw

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

no autumn for teresa

So apparently, Grand Rapids has no autumn season. As of Monday, the temperatures were around 89-92 degrees with full humidity. This morning, however, the temperature was right around 41, with a high of about 47. I've never experienced such a dramatic drop in temperature, from it being too hot to see straight, to bundling up and regretting wearing flip-flops outside. Pretty soon, it'll be snowing. I can't wait, but I almost miss not having fall. The trees are losing their leaves like crazy, but the temperature swing has been too dramatic, so most leaves haven't changed color much. It's sad, but anything is better than that disgusting summer weather we were having.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

sand dunes and steeples

Yesterday, I did something that I thought I would never do. I went hiking. In the sand dunes. For 8 miles. It was not fun. Well, it was so miserable that it was actually fun when the hike was over. I went with my geology class for extra-credit, and I am never doing that again. I had never realized how depressing sand is. Once you get into the middle of sand dunes, you can't tell how far they stretch on, and it all seems hopeless. And the Silver Lake sand dunes are the largest freshwater sand dunes in the world, so they did stretch on quite a ways. Also, hiking in sand is very unrewarding. You take one step, and you only end up half as far as you stepped, because the sand slides so much. Quite a few of the dunes were already at their angle of repose, and thus, as soon as we stepped on the sand, it began to avalanche. But I survived. And learned to never do that again.

And on an unrelated topic, so far, church-hunting has been quite disappointing. Westminster Presbyterian was terrible, Creston CRC was too small, and Mars Hill was wildly over-rated. On the plus side, I went to Ada Bible this morning and really liked it. I'm not sure if I want to go there permanently, but it's definitely the best I've seen so far.