Halloween Hassles

I’m sorry I’m so late this week; the last few days have been full of unfinished to-do lists, and I’m only just now catching up to what I usually would have finished on Thursday. The weekend is finally here, though, and with it a chance to get caught up and prepare for next week’s deadlines – all from my cozy room with a cup of hot tea beside me and a scenic rainy day out the window.

What happened to this week? Well, the first thing was my commissioning physical, which required a trip to Portsmouth that took all of Tuesday morning and some of the afternoon. You’ll be happy to hear that no red flags came up, so as of now I shouldn’t need any waivers to join the Navy. It was a long trip and ended up being a sort of scavenger hunt around the medical facilities to collect all the right paperwork from the right people, but everyone was very nice, although I’m still not used to having people twice my age call me ‘ma’am’. Tuesday, though, is usually my day to study, since I have fewer classes, so I lost a lot of time that I’m now having to pay back.

Then there was my problem set for logic, a class that is definitely getting harder as it goes along. I actually enjoy problem solving and proofs quite a bit when I’m not on a deadline, but they’re very frustrating when you’re running out of time. It stands to reason that, if some object is borne a certain relation by every object, then every object bears a relation to some object, but you have no idea how difficult that is to prove, especially when you’re short on sleep and have already been staring at these sorts of things for three hours. (I wasn’t the only one having trouble, though; they extended the deadline by two days because everyone needed more time.) So Thursday evening, my other main study time of the week, was derailed by that unexpected behemoth. I ended up turning it in Thursday evening and then dreaming about it all night, including one episode where I somehow saved Batman by finally writing the proof correctly…

 This was probably due to the fact that I decided to celebrate Halloween, and the end of my workout program, by trying out a comic book for what is possibly the first time in my life. It’s simpler with Kindle, though, because it will sequence the panels for you, so you don’t have to worry about missing anything or figuring out what order to read things in. I’m not hooked, but it’s not a bad way to wind down after running to and fro all day.

The Halloween parties will start tonight, I suspect. Pfoho had its own party last night because – drumroll – the strike is over, and our dining halls are up and running again! Everything is back to normal, and normal never tasted so good, although the strike did give me an excuse to go to IHOP with a friend for lunch the other day, as well as causing Pfoho to host some sort of food-centric events nearly every day to tide us through.

Christian Impact is still going well. I led a Bible Study on Wednesday, and we had some good discussion. On Tuesday we experimented with singing part of a song in Spanish for FUEL, and it looked like people enjoyed it, so hopefully we can do more of that sort of thing in the future. Also at FUEL, one of our leaders served as our speaker and led a guided reading which helped me take a breath and calm down in the middle of all the craziness.

Last but not least, Autumn weather has finally arrived – cold and rainy – and it’s time to ratchet up the winter apparel again. I’m still holding my full winter coat and boots in reserve, though; I probably won’t pull them out until it starts snowing, which should be a while yet. Well, I say a while, but I’m still trying to process the fact that it’s already the end of October. Happy Halloween, everyone, and good luck with your deadlines! 

Pictures:

I did have lots of time to take pictures of fall scenery...

 Raindrops make everything magical:

 We did have some days of sunshine:

 And then there were the other days...

 The view from Widener Library across the Yard:

 The happy sight of our re-opened dining hall, decorated for halloween:

Marines and Movies

                Sorry I’m a little late this week; I had midterms Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, so it’s been a little busy around here. The past few semesters I’ve had far more papers than midterms, but this time around I had exams in five out of six classes. On the bright side, I’m not constantly writing essays, although I do have a couple I need to start (and of course there’s always my thesis lurking in the background). Also, the scores that have been trickling in are better than I expected, given the trouble I’ve had concentrating on my work.

                It’s a generally accepted fact that college seniors aren’t good for anything after Spring Break; senioritis hits hard as the transition to real life looms closer and closer. For ROTC seniors, though, the break comes even earlier, when we receive our service assignments. Suddenly, I don’t see myself as a college student anymore; I see myself as a young professional, and college is only a step along the way. Of course, I already knew that theoretically, but in the past week my perspective on college has changed.

                It’s not a bad thing, I don’t think, just a shift in priorities. My ROTC classes suddenly seem much more practical and important, while my General Education classes, while still interesting, don’t seem very applicable. This is perhaps amplified by the fact that, while I only have class for a few hours per day, I’m never through with ROTC; texts and emails pop up at all hours, night or day, with instructions, reprimands, or invitations.

                Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, either. On Wednesday night I had a lovely dinner at the Wardroom Club of Boston; the Vice President is affiliated with our ROTC unit and invited a couple of us to join her there. There were plenty of opportunities for networking, especially now that I have my designation as a SWO (N) and can be sorted into a specific community. The guest speaker’s spot lasted until 9 o’clock, but he was speaking on American military policy and the Middle East, so it fit me like a glove. I didn’t get to bed until midnight, which is extremely unusual, but I’m glad I went.

                I actually went to bed at midnight last night as well, due to yet another social event, which lasted until 10. The TFs for my history class on the Roman Empire organized a movie night with pizza and Quo Vadis (Christian historical fiction written in the 1890s; I read it in middle school and loved it. The movie was alright, too, if a little long: we started it at 6:45.) College events have always lured students with food, but it’s become much more prevalent in the wake of the strike, although by now, we’ve become fairly inured to the new arrangements.

                Last weekend consisted mainly of midterm review, but we did have a one-time Saturday battalion lab for ROTC to listen to the stories of a USMC veteran from Iwo Jima. He talked for two hours straight, but he had a lot worth saying; I think most of the students would have been willing to stay longer. The stories ranged from amusing to heartbreaking, but no one was bored (although a few people were very sleepy; it was right after lunch.)

                Other than that, not much to report. For PT last week we played handball, which was a good change of pace from our normal calisthenics. I managed to turn my ankle minorly, and then turned the same one again going down the stairs later that day, so I’m having to wrap it and let it rest for a while. It’s nothing that doesn’t happen at least once every few months; from past experience, it should be fine in about a week, provided I don’t hurt it again.

That’s about all I have for you; I’m going to go back to mustering up the willpower to work on my thesis this afternoon. Best wishes!

Pictures:

The weather has been warm and a little humid; it feels like early summer outside, not October. The leaves have begun to change, though, and there's always something beautiful to look at.

 I sometimes forget how lucky I am to live here, in these beautiful buildings.

 I managed to get back from church before it rained.

 Cambridge Commons is complete with fall colors and family fun:

 They decided to do construction on the walkway leading into the one Quad house that still has a functioning dining hall. It is bad that my instinctual response when I see this is 'challenge accepted'?

 Care package!

 If Harvard ends up under siege, my mother has me covered:

 Between long hours inside studying and my need for caffeine, my tea supply has taken quite a hit:

Running Behind, Looking Ahead

                Well, it hasn’t been a very eventful week, but there are definitely some important things to say. Due to Columbus/Indigenous Peoples Day and Yom Kippur, the weekend was long and relaxing, but the rest of the week has made up for it. I contributed some to the problem by procrastinating, which means I still have plenty of time in which to do things, I just have to go at them a little harder now. (But at the moment, I'm procrastinating again by writing this blog instead.)

                I did get a good bit done on my thesis over the holiday, and I’m starting to find a clearer sense of what I need and where I’m going. I have a busy weekend between Saturday lab for ROTC and midterm reviews (I have two midterms next week). Extra-curriculars have also been a flurry of confusion and correspondence, for no particular reason. It comes in rather sporadic waves. I suppose I prefer the occasional firehose to a steady influx, though; it gives you time to relax in between.

                Health-wise, I’m doing pretty well. You (and the Navy) will be happy to know that, as of this morning, at least, I do not have tuberculosis, and I have the paperwork to prove it. I also got my flu shot yesterday; I happened to go to dinner with Helen when our health services were providing them in the dining hall.

                The dining hall situation as a whole, of course, is still kind of a mess. Our dining hall is closed, so we have to go to another dorm to eat. We’re having the same few dishes in slightly different combinations between meals, and I guess they don’t make very many of them, because between your getting firsts and seconds on food, the main dishes may have changed. As one would expect, we’re chronically short of bread and peanut butter, but we’re making do.

                Okay, a few exciting announcements, one mild rant, and I’ll finish up:

                I’m still exercising almost every day, but between the strike and reaching my goals, I’ve eased up a good bit on my diet. Between getting back from cruise this summer and now, I’ve lost about 5 inches from my waist and dropped my body fat percentage about 12%, to the point where if I lose any more fat, I’ll be too lean. However, I haven’t lost any weight; I’ve gained it all back in muscle. So this is my official announcement of having reached my goals in that area; on to phase two!

                Secondly, yesterday was a very nerve-wracking day for all the NROTC seniors in our unit. First they sent out the billets for next semester. As hoped, those of us with large billets this semester will have greatly reduced responsibilities in the spring, which we’re all celebrating. In high school, people cried when they didn’t get large ROTC billets senior year. In college, they ask who wants to be battalion commander, and people avoid making eye contact.*

                Then, right after we received our billets, they sent out service assignment – that is, the Navy told us what we’ll be doing for the next five to ten years. I’ve been selected for SWO(N), pending my interview, so I’ll talk more about it when and if I’m accepted. For now, know that it was my first choice, and I’m pretty happy about it. You can tell we’re at the MIT unit; almost everyone is doing something very science-y, although it would take too long to explain what.**

                And now, an unrelated rant: I probably watch too much superhero-themed TV, but I’m getting frustrated with the continual use of the phrase ‘godlike powers.’ As generally/philosophically defined, godhead consists in being the “maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible,” the “maximally great being,” omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, omnibenevolent, existing eternally “by necessity of his own nature,” embodying and exemplifying all eternal ideals.

I mean, sure, Thor’s hammer is pretty cool, and Supergirl has laser vision, but… I fail to see the comparison. And please, Star Trek, don’t get me started on the incoherence of a so-called omnipotent being who can have his power taken away; you’ve kind of missed the entire concept. And I’m going to just stop there before I get carried away.

Best of luck with your weekend activities, and talk to you soon!

*To clarify, this is, as usual, a tongue-in-cheek generalization, to be taken with a grain of salt.

**We have EDO, SWO(N), and multiple NR, if you know what any of those are.

Goals=met.

It rained all weekend; it wasn't so nice when walking to church, but it was lovely for staying in and studying with classical music and hot tea.

The fruits of my labor on Monday. This is not all the books. Not even close.

Back from my morning workout:

The strike in Harvard Square:

This squirrel was nice enough to stay still for my picture.

It was National Coming Out Day, so the dining hall made a cake.

A calm moment before class:

A not-so-calm moment before class. This is some sort of rally for the strike in front of University Hall. The protesters were chanting 'no justice, no peace.' You can see why they've locked the doors.

Midterm Mayhem

                It’s not as bad as it sounds; my midterms are fairly spread out this semester, although I have one in every class, and multiple in some classes. I never have that many at one time, but once they start, they never really stop until finals period. I’ve had two this week – Government and Naval Science – plus a history paper due, but Monday is our holiday of the semester (besides 3 days for Thanksgiving), so it balances out. Yom Kippur is also next week on Wednesday, if you’re interested.

                Last weekend wasn’t much fun; I came down with the same cold/allergy hybrid I get every semester, usually brought on by stress. I’m still a little snuffly, but it’s much better than in previous years, and I think it’s on the way out. The cold snap has also yielded a little, which is probably helping. They’ve turned the heaters on in the buildings, and it’s pretty chilly when you get up in the mornings, but you don’t need a coat by midday.

                What else has happened this week? In Roman Empire we’ve gotten to the Caesars; we’ve had everything from Julius Caesar’s assassination to Nero and Vespasian in a very short period of time. The account of Nero’s life in particular was very disturbing; I’d never looked at it in great detail, but it influenced a lot of books I read when I was younger, and it’s what comes to mind when I think of decadent absolute power: everyone trying to entertain one fickle, self-infatuated man who’ll kill you or knight you at the drop of a hat.

                The Commander of US Cyber Command and the NSA, Admiral Rogers, came to speak at MIT for lab on Wednesday morning. The talk was interesting, although it would have been more interesting if I’d gotten a full 8 hours’ sleep the night before. It’s interesting to compare the VIPs that come through our ROTC unit from time to time. With some exceptions, generally visitors in the flag officer ranks don’t stand on ceremony, although visiting lieutenants have been known to do so. Of course, we insist on it anyway.

                In other news, the water that’s supposed to be delivered to my door monthly finally arrived, after several delays and a refund for the first month’s lack of service. Last year I had two cases of water bottles; yesterday, I showed up to find an entire water dispenser waiting outside my door. It even heats and cools the water – I was very excited. I’ve also finally been brave enough to make (microwaveable) rice and beans in my room, and they actually turned out well, even if my room now smells permanently like seasoning.

                The main event of the week on campus, however, has been the strike by our dining hall workers. I don’t know enough about the issue to comment, but it’s made eating in the dining halls a little more difficult. The management is still providing food, but there are far fewer options, and some of the dining halls are closed, so those that remain open (like ours, thankfully) have to absorb the extra people. On the plus side, the dining halls are open longer now, and there are fewer tempting things to splurge on. It’s a strange dynamic; if you looked at what everyone was advertising, you would assume that everyone was one big happy supportive family, but obviously something’s wrong, because – well, they’re still striking.

                I’m looking forward to the three-day weekend; I’m still having a hard time pushing myself into being productive, but I should have time to get a good amount done on my thesis (at the moment I’m just slogging through secondary sources) and get ahead for next week – and get some rest in. Happy holidays, and see you next week!

Pictures:

Everything's still warm and green outside. It's tourist season.

 Sometimes, Harvard students are very impressive. Other times...

 The strike: there are signs everywhere and so police officers everywhere.

 Harvard Yard and University Hall. In order to go in and meet with my thesis adviser, I had to go around the back and give my name to the security guards.

 My water!

 My bookshelves are a little... overwhelmed at the moment. I have several additional piles around the room.

 Hot tea makes everything better, especially on cold mornings.