October 11, 2006

And today is a rainy Wednesday. I just finished my first essay for my major tutorial. I meet with my tutor today at 5 and I am a little nervous b/c this guy is pretty intense. He expects us to read 4 newspapers each day AND write papers. What I have been discovering lately is how much work actually goes into living in a house that YOU have to keep clean. Also, we cook our dinners each night and while I have no doubt that the return on that both financially and socially is worth it; it does take time. This fact fascinates me. I had my first bout of working last week. Somehow it turned into 4 days straight but I am okay with that b/c it means less work this weekend and since I will have two essays due this time, it will be easier to work less. Also, on Saturday we are going on another excursion, this time to Blenheim Palace. As for my personal excursions, next month I'm going in to London for a concert by one of my favorite bands, Modest Mouse. Also, I have decided that for my birthday I am going to go skiing. I can get a cheap flight on the internet and my housemate Diana has been helping me figure out how to work out details for getting around and booking things online. THis leads me into answering Aunt J's question about my housemates. Diana is another politics major and this chick is I-n-t-e-n-s-e!! I try to not even get her going on politics b/c it takes some time. She is from Arkansas and knows how to get all sorts of wound up! She is the backbone of our family dynamic. She does a lot of the cooking (and she is good at it) and has a lot to do with us having clean floors. Jennilee is another girl from William Jewell. She is a music major and I love listening to classical music with her b/c of all the tidbits she imparts. She and I have a lot in common. Mainly on matters such as our passion for corduroy pants and chacos. Our bikes are also the same. And our morning alarms are set to the same radio station. She works in the music area of Blackwell's Book Store. We have fun when we go out together but I think she too is just starting to get the hang of this whole "household maintenance" bit so that causes some tension in the house. Bryan, our housemate in absentia, is our one guy. He has the room on the downstairs floor whilst the rest of us live upstairs. He is an English major and has a job as a security guy at the Union (a student association with a library and everything). He plays the guitar and is really chill. When he is here he sits in the living room strumming away and we all find various excuses to be on the main floor, either in the living room or kitchen, so we can listen. He has not been here much for the last few weeks though because he is talking to one of the other girls in the program and he is over at her house most of the time. Last night it was our friend Emily's birthday and so I took my harmonica and the guitar over to another friend, Lisa's, house and we practiced a serenade for her. Then we went to Emily's house and stood outside the kitchen window and played for her. It was good fun. Other than that I ride my bike a lot and try to be outside when it is not raining. Let me know how you guys are doing. I think of you all and pray for you daily. Bethany