By the way...

I have now finished my first semester of grad school! There was a lot of stress in the final weeks, and now much rejoicing at having free time again. Since I completed my work I have been busy hanging out with people who are graduating and leaving. A full post of the end of semester activity and thoughts will be written later, perhaps during my three and a half hour layover in Minneapolis on Monday.

-Kim

Personality test

The other day, Dianna forwarded me a link for a personality test that her writing center boss had sent around to the staff. It's short, and therefore questionably accurate (it couldn't decide for sure if I was a 5 (Investigator) or a 9 (Peacemaker), but when I took it again and thought harder about one or two questions, it finally made up its mind about me.) It does seem to be fairly accurate, though. The proof is not so much in the description of a single personality type (of which this particular test lists only 9) but in its description of how different personality types interact. Read below for what it says about 5 (Investigator) and 7 (Enthusiast) and be amazed at how accurately it describes my friendship with Dianna.

free enneagram test

Enneagram Type Five (the Investigator)
with
Enneagram Type Seven (the Enthusiast)

What Each Type Brings to the Relationship:

Since they are both thinking types, Enneagram Fives and Sevens both bring a lot of mental energy and appreciation for ideas to their relationship. Their approach is complementary and reciprocal--each one brings something that the other does not have. On the positive side, Fives bring depth, clarity of observation, insight into the objective state of affairs, independence and self-reliance, and often a wonderfully, off-beat, whimsical sense of humor. It almost goes without saying that they have quick minds and love knowledge and intellectual pursuits. Sevens bring quickness not only of mind but of spirit--ready to do almost anything at a moment's notice, from going to a movie to booking an around the world trip, from moving the furniture across the room to moving the home to another state. Sevens are independent, although they like to have a few people around to join in the fun and to add to the celebratory, happy feeling that they are always looking for in their lives. They tend to be generous and extravagant, optimistic, gregarious, and outgoing with strangers, often the life of the party.

Fives tend to be somewhat more frugal with money and resources, seldom spending much on themselves (unlike Sevens). Fives also tend to be private and taciturn around strangers, although they can be very funny once they get to know you and feel secure. Fives ground and deepen Sevens, giving them permission to take themselves and their interests more seriously, to focus their energies, and to stay with things until they pay off. Sevens get Fives to try new experiences and to make more social contacts. They may also run interference for Fives in social settings. Both like conversation and ideas and they love to explore new realms together. In short, this is a mixture of opposites with different attitudes about how to enjoy themselves and how to be fulfilled in the world. Fives say: "Life is short: don't expect too much." Sevens say: "Life is short: try it all." Both attitudes are true and can usefully balance the other.

Christmas Lights

It's that season again! Decorations are going up on houses and streetlights all over the country! Last weekend, driving back with Katie to the train station, we passed four houses that were so done up in lights the Grizwalds would be jealous. If only I could have been fast enough with my camera...

But do not fear, the Christmas light extravaganza is still available in this post, just in smaller form. This past Wednesday was the Festival of Lights on the Simmons residence campus. Each dorm competed to have the most creative, beautiful, shiny and inclusive decorations. Yes, inclusive--it's still our buzzword. Our dorm, being North Hall, decided to become the North Pole. Of course, the end result was more of a generic mish-mash, but it was still pretty. There were snowflakes all over the place, lights inside and out, and a Christmas tree in the corner. to evidence the group participation of the dorm residents, a bunch of us sat in the decorated lounge watching the Rudolph Christmas special when the judges came through. That one has always been my favorite, though Charlie Brown is in second by the very smallest of fractions. Anyway, the judges consisted of Simmons faculty and staff, and one of them is an old man who has long grey hair and beard and actually looks like Santa. He dressed up for the night, which was great. We didn't really have a chance of winning, but it was fun to actually participate, since apparently our dorm hasn't done so in the past. Here's the best picture I could get of our outside decorations.



After the judging, we went to dinner in Bartol, which was completely transformed for the evening. the tables were rearranged and had white tablecloths, and the food stations were all serving the same traditional holiday food. There were also tables on one wall covered in cookies we could frost ourselves. It was great.

From there we made our way down the street (cutting through the Harvard Med campus to save time) to The Squealing Pig for an end of semester party for GSLIS students. It was a small turnout, but it worked for the size of the room. We stayed pretty late playing trivia against other teams in the bar. Apparently they do trivia every Wednesday, as well as hosting live Irish music on Thursdays. This is the sort of place I may have to go back to, should I run across friends who actually have time to go out. The best part was that the appetizers were free, so we had wings and fries to keep us going while we worked our way through the trivia. And let me tell you, there is nothing better than playing trivia with a bunch of librarians...even if some of them were a little "happy" by the end of it. Our team was in second place until the final question, which we missed. The final tally put us in fourth, but it was a great game. We did beat the other two librarian teams, so that's saying something.

Here's a picture of the pub.


And here is half of the trivia team. That's Alex on the left and Tetima on the right.

-Kim

Snowflakes

I have just escaped from the vortex known as hall council, where I spent the last hour and a half cutting snowflakes out of coffee filters. Tomorrow is the hall decorating contest, and a couple of people seem to think it's actually worth trying to beat the undergrads. I know we don't have a chance, but I figured I'd pitch in anyway. They'll spend the rest of tonight and tomorrow afternoon turning North Hall into the North Pole. Pictures will be taken, and they may even eventually be posted for you to see!

Well, it's been quite a week or so since I last posted. Two weekends ago I saw several USF professors and a Broadway musical, just not at the same time. Theology profs Hiigel, Gregg and Lierman were in town for a national Biblical studies conference. I bumped into the first two at service at Park Street, and joined Katie in meeting up with Lierman the next day at the Prudential Center. Good times, hearing about what's going on at USF this semester and trying to explain to Dr. Hiigel just what it is that I've been doing out here. Sunday afternoon I caught a matinee of "Spamalot," on tour off Broadway. Absolutely hilarious! I have no time for a full review, but I loved it, and it was well worth the price, even to sit in the nose bleed section.

This week has also been busy for schoolwork. I wrote an entire research paper over the course of Thanksgiving break, and am about half done writing/editing a group paper for my technology class. There's never an end to it...

Thanksgiving itself was pretty great. I stayed at the dorm, and a bunch of us cooked together and had dinner in our RD's apartment. And we stayed there all day, through lunch, dessert, two movies, dinner, second dessert, and all manner of conversation and relaxing. It was a great way to spend a holiday.

I also got to see Katie again last weekend. On Saturday I took the train out, and she met me at the station to get lunch and then wander the largest mall in the area. But on the way back, I got squashed on the subway! I had managed to grab a single seat right by the door, and as the car filled up, there were lots of people standing around me. Well, a couple guys didn't make it out of the car at their stop and were rather upset about it, and I guess someone grabbed an emergency break, because the whole train lurched to a stop, and the guy standing closest to me was thrown forward. But, since he was holding the pole by the door, he ended up swinning around and squashing me against the side of the car. I'm just lucky his coffee didn't spill all over me. Nobody got to get off the train, and we got moving again only a moment later. The moral of this story is to never touch the emergency break unless it's a real emergency!

It seems like every moment of my days are planned out now. Today I tutored and then did work in the library, then had a SCoSAA meeting, then had class, then got roped into decorating. And tomorrow I have class, then I'll work in the library, then I'll help decorate again and take pictures, then we have the end of the year GSLIS party at a local Irish pub, with free appetizers and a raffle. So yes, I'm going to that. Oh yeah, and I have a paper and a presentation due on Saturday, another project and presentation due on Wednesday, and a small project and unrelated presentation/panel discussion on Tuesday night. And I still have to finish my application for the summer internship I'm interested in. Plus, I'm working two extra tutoring shifts next week as a favor to my fellow tutors. At moments this feels overwhelming. But, one huge paper got turned in tonight, and my archives group project is now finished. I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Thank goodness!

I can't wait to go home and have a real break! It's been too long since I've been able to do something totally fun and relaxing without feeling guilty about it. I've had too many weeks with every minute scheduled so I can get everything finished on time. I've had too many evenings hunched over my keyboard with my shoulders tightening up every minute (even the swimming hasn't quite helped that, and neither has the new shower head with optional massaging setting that was randomly installed a few days ago). I want to come home and see the people I miss and get to hug them, not just hear their voices.

I don't mean to whine, it just sort of came out that way. After all, it's not that much longer before I'll be able to breathe again. For now I'll just have to be the stereotypical anime heroine and "work hard and do my best!" until all this has been dealt with.

-Kim

Garment District

Today I had the unexpected pleasure of thrift-store shopping. I spent my morning at the Writing Center, having volunteered to cover a shift for one of my coworkers. Afterward, I had lunch in the Fens (main campus eating place) and found some of my dorm fellows at a table. As we were dispersing, Christina mentioned that she and a friend (also in the archives program) were going shopping at a thrift store in Somerville. Well, I had to ask to tag along! So Christina, Marta and I excitedly hopped on the T to go in search of bargains.

Our first--and only planned--stop was the Poor Little Rich Girl store at Davis Square. There were fun things there, but it was more vintage than thrift, and we left without buying anything. Mostly, we tried on hats, since both Marta and I were looking for warm winter hats. Alas, nothing was to be found in our price range. We looked around for another thrift store we thought was in the area, but to no avail. At this point, we decided to head to the Garment District, which was almost guaranteed to be a success.

It was only a few stops down the line, but a long chilly walk from the station to the store itself. By the time we got there, we were more determined than ever to find warm hats to wear for the trip back. But first, we attacked the dollar-a-pound pile on the first floor. I'm serious about calling it a pile, too. they really just throw the clothes on the floor in a heap and let you dig through it. I'm not even sure how they differentiate these clothing items from the vintage stuff they sell on the upper level. Granted, some of the things in the pile are not worth even that small price, but if you look hard enough, you can find real treasures. I managed to come out of the pile with a pair of dressy shorts (which I can wear to look professional this summer), a retro-esque cardigan (yes, mom, I broke down and bought a cardigan), and a sweater made in Ireland of 100% merino wool (very warm and classy). All of this totaled only $3.40. Granted, sweaters are rather heavy, so if I had chosen other items the total would have been much lower. After selecting these things and leaving them behind the counter for safe-keeping, I headed upstairs to browse the "nicer" racks. I ended up finding a beret-type hat that's actually warmer than I thought it would be. Yes, I bought it. And yes, it cost as much as the rest of my items combined. But that still means my total for the trip was less than $7, which is rather impressive, if I do say so myself. I also considered some nice brown shoes, but they were a half size too small and would have been problematic. All things considered, I'd say it was a good day. Here's the hat I found:


-Kim

COF Orchestra Concert

It finally came! Or perhaps I should be saying "it's finally over!" It's hard to say in these instances. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time playing in the COF Orchestra, and I'm eager to do it again next semester. At the same time, it will be nice to have at least one free Thursdya evening before the end of the semester.

The concert seemed to go very well. We had issues with the second movement of Beethoven's Fifth, but I think the fourth movement made up for it. And the best part about all of this was that people came to the concert! The undergrads had their parents there, which fleshed out the crowd quite a bit, but I had a few people who came just for me. A few of my neighbors down the hall came, and Adam said it was good and was wondering about our next performance, which made me rather happy. (We don't perform again until spring semester, so it's going to be a while.) And even better than that, Katie came! I've been meaning to get up to see Katie at her seminary, but haven't gotten it accomplished yet. So this was the first chance I've gotten to see her all semester since they day I moved in. It was great, and we ended up talking about profs we missed (especially in the theology department), which probably confused my RA who sat with us in the cafeteria. That's right--I brought Katie and her roommate to Bartol Hall for dinner, and they survived. In fact, they were impressed by the number of options in comparison to the seminary cafeteria. I suppose I should be grateful that Bartol is as good as it is.

Here are Katie and I after the performance. She's almost dressed to join the horn section.

I'm pretty sure this photo was taken while we were warming up, but doesn't it look like we were playing feverishly fast?



Katie was also kind enough to take some video of the final piece. Don't worry, the picture won't be sideways the whole time. This is really just a taste, but it's the opening of the first movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, which should be familiar to everyone. Pay attention when the camera shifts to the concertmaster--he plays with a lot more passion than the rest of us. Katie said it made her tired just to watch him.

-Kim

The Reality of Hope

The podcast is up! You can now follow the provided links to the sermon delivered by N. T. Wright, Bishop of Durham, in Park Street Church this past Sunday. It is well worth listening to. In fact, I'm listening again as I type this, and I am being impressed again. We all needed to be reminded that not only does hope exist, but we as Christians *are* part of the hope of change in the world. The sermon is based on the text listed below--you can follow the link to read it before you listen to what he has to say.

Colossians 1:9-23

"Christian Hope in a Confusing World"--N. T. Wright

good news

Mom's surgery this morning went just fine. She now has a new hip joint, and as soon as she gets healed up she'll be running marathons! Or perhaps just going to school without pain, but that would be miraculous enough. Thanks for your prayers, they've done wonders.

Right now I'm getting rather stressed about the end of the semester and am distracted by a number of things that I don't feel like going into here.

On the bright side, tomorrow night is my orchestra concert! Katie is coming, so I finally get to see her again. Hooray for friends! Now I should probably take a few minutes to practice the wonderfully difficult music we'll be playing tomorrow night. Quite a few people from my dorm will also be coming, thanks to some posters I threw together to hang up in the dorm. The orchestra itself has only been advertising by word of mouth apparently, so I have no idea how big the crowd will be.

-Kim

Surgery

Many of you know this already, but this Wednesday, my mother is having surgery to get a new hip so she can walk without pain again. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

-Kim

recap

It's been a busy week. And at the same time, not so busy. Mostly, this week has been a time to relax punctuated by unique opportunities. Allow me to recount them here.

The first event was a trip to Salem last Sunday with a group of fellow grad students from my dorm. The following pictures offer a taste of what I considered to be the best parts of Salem. It actually seems like a rather sad little city if you spend enough time there. It's completely a tourist trap, running off a single gimmick (does this sound like anything familiar? possibly west river?). And the sad part is what it is remembered for. Yes, the witch trials happened there, and yes, it was a tragedy that shouldn't be forgotten, lest we repeat scapegoating behavior. But the city of Salem has done a lot for the US in the past, including being one of the major shipping ports of the coast in the hey day of American shipping. One of America's great writers, Nathaniel Hawthorn, also came out of Salem. But all people remember is the witch trials--and not even the trials so much as the association with witches. It's a strange thing, really, that at the same time as we memorialize those wrongly executed during the hysteria (in a monument that really ought to be labeled better so people don't assume it's a vacant lot), the city has been permanently associated in the minds of Americans with real witchcraft. I would have thought that since the general assumption today is that those executed were innocent (no doubt we're convinced more by "The Crucible" than strict historical fact, but that's beside the point) we would associate the town with not having witches. But instead, enthusiasts and wiccans alike flock to the place. Everything in town has to do with witches, and most of the touristy shops smell funny from incense and offer various amulets and herbs purported to make one successful in love and other aspects of life. The first such shop was amusing, but the next 47 got progressively more annoying. Thankfully, I was not the only one in the group who was interested in seeing more historical sites.


Ironically, Salem is already decorated for Christmas. I rather enjoyed the juxtaposition of this sign by the witch dungeon. Here they charge us eight dollars to see a reenactment of a trail that was carried out by a bunch of mannequins and two women arguing. In the basement they have reconstructed a model of the dungeon the accused were kept in, which was full of more creepy mannequins.

After eating our sack lunches on the wharf, Christina and I took a tour of the Friendship, a reconstructed merchant ship from the early 1800s. We also got to see the customs house where captains would register their cargo and pay taxes. Also, Nathaniel Hawthorn apparently once worked there as a clerk, which he uses the first chapter of The Scarlet Letter to complain about. There was only one other person on the tour, so our National Parks guide gave us extra time and attention, which was great. Here's the ship:

After our tour, we went to the oldest candy shop in America, where I bought some traditional recipe molasses stick candy, which I still haven't tried. Our next stop was the House of Seven Gables, also made famous by Nathaniel Hawthorn. Unfortunately, this site also charges admission, but we didn't feel like paying twelve dollars, since we had less than an hour at that point anyway. So Christina talked the girls behind the counter into giving us stickers and letting us onto the grounds just so we could go to the gift shop. Even though we had promised not to tour the buildings, there was no reason not to take pictures of the outside. So here it is, Nathaniel Hawthorn's House of Seven Gables:

The house he was born in is also on the site, having been moved there sometime in the past.

So, all things considered, Salem was an interesting place, and I wouldn't mind going back again so long as we stuck to the historical sites. Perhaps next time I'll actually go into the House of Seven Gables, or visit the rather random Pirate Museum.

My next big event was Thursday afternoon. I believe I already mentioned that I was going to take a field trip to Mount Auburn Cemetery with SCoSAA. Because the trip had been rescheduled from last week, a lot of people had to cancel, and it ended up only being three of us who got the tour. It was great. We didn't even see half of the place, at least not closely, and I would definitely go back again in the spring. The site is absolutely beautiful, because it was designed to make the existing trees and the monuments work together. The result is breathtaking--I can totally understand why people would want to have Sunday picnics there. It is designed to be very peaceful, to allow for and inspire reflection not only about departed loved ones but about our own mortality. And the statuary on most of the monuments is incredible. The first picture is an example of a "curbed" family plot.

And here is one of the statues I was talking about:

It was cloudy the whole time, and began to rain just as we were getting back into the car, so we had perfect timing.

On Friday I went swimming for the first time in a couple months, and it felt great. At the same time, the water was turned off in my dorm because something was flooding in the basement. thankfully they got it dealt with quickly this time. In the evening we had a movie night and discussion in the dorm. There have been instances of hate speech on the residence campus lately (more details provided later, I don't feel like going into it right now), so our RA showed us a documentary from the 90s that consisted of eight men of different ethnicities talking candidly with each other over the course of a weekend. Of course, what they said was almost overshadowed by what they were wearing, and they were all in the same class as far as fashion sense--all of the men had flamboyant neon patterned shirts.

And today, in the midst of off-and-on rain showers I made my way downtown to the Boston Antiquarian Book Fair, where I spent the afternoon gawking at beautiful old books and manuscripts that I would never be able to afford in my lifetime. I saw first editions of Tolkien and Lewis that would bankrupt me for a single volume, let alone the set, and more famous works that cost more than my college education. The 1928 edition of Candide illustrated by Rockwell Kent is valued at $25,000, and I saw it today. I also saw, under glass and brought over by booksellers from England, a set of first edition Lord of the Rings, valued at $80,000. By the end of it all, I couldn't even focus on what I was seeing. However, I collected a great many business cards and free catalogs, so I can continue to drool over the rare and valuable volumes available. Coming back, I got absolutely soaked. I wasn't wearing my rain boots, and in order to avoid walking into trafic, I had to step through a puddle that turned out to be much deeper than it looked. It will probably take a couple days for my shoes to dry out comletely.

This evening I attended a production of the Simmons Theatricla Society entitled "May the Farce Be With You." It is a superhero comedy, and it was performed by a bunch of girls and one random guy. The budget is clearly limited, but the actors and audience were all enjoying themselves. A couple girls from my program were in it, and I'm glad I could see them perform. Emma was a very good gibberish-spewing alien.

Now it's off to bed--tomorrow N.T. Wright is speaking at church, and in the afternoon a few of us are going to the MFA to listen to a talk about a new exhibit. Actually, we're invited to hear one of the workers practice her speech about the exhibit, but I'm looking forward to it.

-Kim

sleeping in

I've been having trouble getting up in the morning this week, probably because I've had fewer things to get up for now that my internship has ended. In order to help me with this, God sent a riding lawnmower and a big noisy truck that may have been compacting leaves or transporting said lawnmower to park below my window at 8:00 this morning and make an awful lot of noise. I suppose I shouldn't be too annoyed, since it did make me get up pretty much on time for only the second time this week. Though, it's hard to care much about keeping a schedule when my earliest commitment (other than trying to get some homework done) is at 12:30. Most weeks I would be starting my shift of tutoring at this time, but today I am headed out on a SCoSAA (Student Chapter of the Society of American Archivists) field trip, for which my tutoring schedule had to be changed. We're headed to the Mount Auburn Cemetery, which is one of the oldest in the area, and prettiest (people used to have Sunday picnics there) and even today you have to pay a fee to get in. We get in for free today, which if why I'm going. The site is also one of the few cemeteries anywhere to have it's archives on site, which we will also tour. It should be a good time. I'll try to post pictures of it within the next few days, along with a short recap of my trip to Salem last weekend.

-Kim

Registration

Just a quick not to tide you over: I got the classes I wanted for spring!

I got to register Friday night at 6:36pm--a completely random time, I know--and I was all set to push the button as soon as my clock changed. Apparently the school's clock is a few seconds behind, because it still wouldn't let it go through at first and I had to try again. But then it worked. I was actually nervous, because the section of cataloging I wanted only had one seat left in the class, but I got it.

So, next semester I'll have cataloging on Tuesday afternoons with a professor who the vast majority of my neighbors recommended. It's an intense class, so I'm glad I'll have extra time next semester to devote to it, what with not having an internship and all.

I'm also still going to have a Saturday morning class, unfortunately. I mean, I really wanted to take the rare books class, I'm just less than thrilled that it meets on Saturday. But, the professor works in the field full time and can only teach that day, so I guess I'll just have to deal with it. After all, I'm already used to having class then, so it shouldn't be to hard. And I'll be learning about rare books, so I should be more eager to get up and go.

My third class meets on Friday mornings and is taught by my adviser, Jeannette Bastian. It's on archives, history and collective memory, a topic she has written on numerous times. Her book, Owning Memory: How a Caribbean Community Lost Its Archives and Found Its History (Contributions in Librarianship and Information Science) , looks especially fascinating. I don't think it will be required for the course, but I would love to read it before the class begins. Unfortunately, it's insanely expensive on Amazon, but I think I can get it for a discount on the SAA (Society of American Archivists) website, now that I'm a member. At any rate, it should be a fascinating class, so I'm really looking forward to next semester. Now I just need to finish this one well so I can come home for a break!

-Kim

Sermonizing

This week is the annual missions conference at Park Street Church. Sadly, I don't have time to be involved in any of the extra events throughout the week. However, I was in church this Sunday, when the whole thing was kicked off in grand style with an amazing sermon from Stephen Lungu, International Team Leader of African Enterprise. Basically, what he shared with us was his own testimony, but it was one of the most powerful I have ever heard. This man was in a street gang, knifing people by the age of twelve and only attended the church tent meeting where he was saved because he intended to blow it up. It's a long message, and his accent makes some things he says difficult to understand, but it is well worth listening to. I think Dianna and Berty would especially appreciate hearing this man's amazing story.

You can access an audio file of the sermon here, along with an archive of previous sermons.

And as long as we're on the topic, I'll be sharing this link again in a few weeks because N. T. Wright is going to be speaking at Park Street in just two weeks. That's right, be jealous. But don't worry, you'll be able to hear what this amazing theologian has to say only a few days after I do, when the church's tech guys upload the podcast.

And if you'd like a taste of what my usual preacher sounds like, check out October 26, "City of Truth," it was especially good. That was also the week Sherwin was here, and I think he would agree that this sermon about telling the truth in love was both solidly grounded and well delivered.

out of the past

Today I finished my internship at the Congregational Library. It was an interesting day. First let me explain that at the start of this internship I was given two small-ish projects to complete that were supposed to take the full 60 hours required for my class. They were a collection of correspondence, which I've mentioned in a previous post, and a collection of church records dating from the 1780s to the 1950s. The second collection was more challenging in the variety of formats of documents, but I was really getting into the groove of arrangement by then, and it didn't even slow me down. I finished the first project in three and a half days and ran through the second one even faster, in only two and a half days. My supervisor was definitely surprised. In fact, for the last hour of my time on Friday and for my entire eight hour shift today, she had to find other things for me to do to keep me busy.

(If you've been paying attention and doing the math for my 7.5 hour days [including half hour lunch breaks], you'll realize I'm actually not up to the full 60 hours yet, but am sitting at 52.5. My supervisor decided that it didn't make sense for me to come in and putter around on my own while she is on vacation all month, especially since I've already proved I can do what was required of me.)

She ended up giving me a box of random items the librarians had pulled from their stacks and decided to give to the archives. My job was to look at each folder of materials and search the catalog for a collection it might fit with to be added to. If no such collection existed, it would become a new "small collection." Today Jessica showed me how to create catalog records, and I made several new entries for the items in the mystery box. In the end, only four folders contained items that could be added to existing collections, the rest had to have new records created.

And yes, I finished this last project before 5:00. I ended up spending my last hour just talking to my supervisor about archives, Simmons and vaguely related topics. She's going to be on vacation in Mexico by the end of the week, so she didn't feel much like working either. In the end, she let my go twenty minutes early just because there was no point in my sticking around. And she gave me gifts. I left with a load of three used, but still usable small-size acid-free storage boxes which will be great for properly storing the collection I have at home of my grandmother's love letters from grandma during WWII. She also gave me a catalog for archival supplies so I can order the rest of what I'll need (acid-free folders and mylar windows for photographs) to properly take over my role as family historian, though I think I'll stick with just the one project for now. Taking the subway home, clutching the awkward boxes on my lap, I realized what a nerd I am for getting excited over boxes. I must be going into the right profession. Oh, and Jessica wrote me a great recommendation letter for a summer internship I am applying for, which was very much appreciated.

I'm actually somewhat disappointed I won't be working in the archive anymore, bot I really need the time now for my other projects, which seem to have snuck up on me while I wasn't looking. But, Jessica said I'm allways welcome as a volunteer, and I can come claim as many boxes as I want from the "used" pile, so I may end up taking her up on both of those counts sometime in the future when I have time to spare again, say, after I finish my degree. For now, my focus needs to be out of the past and back in the present, working on the now rather intimidating volume of work to be completed before Thanksgiving.

-Kim

planning ahead

Today a girl came in to the Writing Center who didn't want to be there. Her professor had told her to come, so she came, but she had no idea what we really did or what sort of help to ask for. Tutoring sessions like this are the hardest to deal with, no matter the quality of the writing. I'll take the worst writer in the world who actually wants to improve over an average student who has been forced to come. Interestingly enough, my other session today was with a girl whose professor was offering extra credit to students who came to us for help. The attitude was better with this one, so I really didn't mind, but I have to wonder what professors are thinking when they make assignments like this. Have they told their students what the Writing Center does, or do they just assume every student already knows about us? More importantly, do the professors all realize what it is we do here? The other tutor and I opted for signing the draft that was brought in as proof the student had been there, since we have no other way of letting professors know who has been in and who hasn't. I think it would have been better if professors had warned the Writing Center that their students were going to be required to come in, just so we could be ready for the sudden influx and demand for evidence.

Not that this is a new experience for me. Occasionally, the USF WC was treated the same way. However, the system here has been a bit more professional with most other things thus far, and I had hoped the trend would continue. Obviously not. Look for a future post with more information on how the WC operates. I know at least two of my readers would find it interesting, but I don't want to take the time for that today.

I'm actually at work at the WC right now. My 3:00 appointment was canceled, so I should be free for the rest of my shift to get my own homework done. Right now I am staring at a very long list of things to do for next week. Most of the work will be done on Saturday, since tomorrow is essentially full, with eight hours at my internship and the dorm Halloween party in the evening.

We've been getting ready for the party since last week. Last Friday we began decorating the main lounge, and more decorations have been added since. On Tuesday I went on a shopping trip with my fellow hall council members to get supplies for this and future parties. As treasurer, I probably should have paid more attention to exactly what we were getting, but it was hard enough keeping track of the five people, let alone what went into the cart. Still, going slightly over budget on this trip isn't such a problem, since some of the supplies we bought are for the Christmas party, and therefore from our larger budget. Our RD drove us to a Christmas Shop store about a half hour away, and then to a grocery store on the way back. It's a very good thing we didn't try to take the train for this trip, because we managed to completely fill the trunk of the car with what we bought and had trouble getting it all into the dorm in one trip when we got back. We bought serving trays, decorations, plates and napkins, candy--all kinds of great stuff. The Christmas Shop is a great store that has way more than just Christmas stuff. I actually did a little shopping of my own and picked up a fleece throw blanket for only $3. Good times.

The same day as our shopping trip my evening class was preempted by an archivist's career panel on campus. It was actually very helpful, even though I won't be looking for a real job for quite a while yet. However, I learned some things that should help me present myself better when I apply for summer internships. Yes, I'm already thinking about that. One that I've heard of already (through Harvard and actually funded, so I wouldn't be going broke for it) has an application deadline in January, so I've got to be working on it. I'd really like to do this one, and not only because the stipend would cover my living expenses for the summer. It's through Harvard, which sounds impressive (until you realize that Harvard is so huge, the number of students they are forced to employ makes the distinction rather more mellow for those who live here), and it's museum work. I would be working at their archeology and ethnography museum preserving hand-drawn maps and other paper documents. I think it sounds fun. And guess what? The archivist who I would be working under was at the career panel. So now I know what sort of resume and cover letter should get her attention. Now I just need to get my references in order and visit the Career Resource Center so they can show me how to put together a CV and tell me whether I have anything worth mentioning in one.

-Kim

the best weekend

This past weekend was a much needed break from school. Well, mostly. I still had my Saturday morning class, in which I actually had to give a short presentation, but as soon as that was over I got to leave my school books behind and spend my weekend with Sherwin, who came all the way out here from South Dakota just to spend time with me. This long-distance relationship thing really is hard sometimes, and we needed a little face time to remind ourselves why we thought this idea was worth pursuing. At least, I needed to be reminded--all this stress and schoolwork can be terribly distracting, after all. And yes, he is worth the trouble.


So besides spending hours gazing into the eyes of the amazing Sherwin Gilbert, I used this opportunity to play tourist and dragged him all over this city that is my temporary home. Okay, we didn't cover the whole city, barely a fraction of it, but it was enough for a good taste. On Saturday we wandered through the Boston Public Gardens, which would be even more beautiful in the springtime, I'm sure, but the fall foliage made an impression as well. This park is home to the semi-famous Make Way For Ducklings statue, which we had a bit of fun with.


This next photo is just a city street, taken from the vantage point of some church steps. The city is beautiful at any time of day, but I think dusk is especially enchanting.


Sunday was sunny, and after attending service at Park Street Church, we walked the first half of the Freedom Trail and took in some Revolutionary history. Don't think I'm morbid or anything, but I especially enjoy the old cemeteries and all the old tombstones.


All in all, it was an amazing weekend, a great chance to have some fun and catch up with each other again. I haven't been happier since coming out here. Of course, now I miss him even more, but it's really only a few more weeks before winter break.

Which reminds me, even though I took the weekend off, the rest of the world didn't. I am now entering the truly busy part of the semester, and will be devoting even more time to my studies in order to get all my work done. When I find time, details will follow.

-Kim

Writer's Block

The veracity of the above statement may be debatable, considering how often I blog now in comparison to months past. After all, blogging is writing. But it's not the only sort of writing that I want to be doing.

The Friday right before my Jersey trip I met up with my friend Caleb for the first time in almost a year. He's been traveling through South America having a grand old time while I graduated USF and came out here. We could only get together for about two hours because of my schedule, but that was enough time to go to a little coffee shop in Cambridge and catch up. He has some amazing stories about his travels. And, somehow he was productive at the same time, coming back here with drafts of short stories and novels, character sketches and plans for more books. I've got to admit, I'm kinda jealous. My first book has been done for quite some time now and is still being rejected (I got another rejection two weeks ago from an agency Dianna suggested), but for some reason I have been unable to get any momentum going on the sequel. And I don't have anything else to work on, either. It's a total dry spell. Sometimes that bothers me, and sometimes I figure getting through grad school is more important anyway, so I shouldn't worry about it.

I started writing this post ages ago. I meant to publish it before I went to Jersey, but that obviously didn't happen. And guess what? I got another rejection letter today. That makes 13 official rejections so far and about as many who just never responded. At least this one came on nice stationery. And now I get to find a new agent to be rejected by. On the bright side, not having an agent means nobody is pushing me to get the sequel written so it's ready to go when this first one proves to be wildly popular.

I've actually been thinking lately of moving in a different direction. Since coming out to Boston I've encountered the seeds of a few ideas, but they're more of a sci-fi bent than fantasy. Still, it would be fun to try. If I every get spare time again we'll see how that works out. I've decided to do my reference final project on the science fiction and fantasy genres, which should give me a chance to do personal research in the process of completing the assignment. We're supposed to create a "pathfinder" for our chosen topic and share it with the class. Essentially, this means finding every resource in the library related to my topic and creating a snazzy list, as well as using library resources to choose new books that our library doesn't have but should consider purchasing to provide more coverage on the topic. It's due on the last day of class, so there's no way I'm starting it yet--all my other big projects are due before Thanksgiving. Still, it's something I could do little by little. And when I'm checking out the sources to see how much information they provide, I'll be taking my own notes on what is already out there and just how my new idea would fit in. Perhaps by Christmas I could try writing something? We'll have to wait and see.

-Kim

spam and pie

It's been quite the weekend. And when I say "weekend" I mean the last four days--there's just not a better way to refer to it. On Friday I made my way to the library around noon and stayed there until dinner time. And yes, I spent all this time working on a single reference assignment, the same one that sent me to the Dead People Server on Thursday. Actually, no, I also spent some time working on my technology project. Each member of my technology class has been assigned a"tech. term" to define and share with the class in the form of a wiki page and short presentation. Guess what word I'm doing? "Blogging." How sweet is that? I barely had to do research. Building the wiki page took quite a bit of time, though, since I included links to various professional blogs and blogging services as well as sharing the history and impact of blogging. I would provide a link, but only my classmates have access to the site. Friday night I was a total nerd and played both Scrabble and Settlers of Catan with a couple of my neighbors. Good times.

Saturday was also spent at the library. I find I get more done there than in my own room, not to mention the fact that most of my reference homework requires me to physically access the reference section. Anyway, my technology class Saturday morning was short because of our midterm, so I got the the library by 10:30. And yes, I stayed there all day, with only two short breaks. I left around 7:00, when my eyes were going too fuzzy to focus on my archives research.


Sunday was a glorious break. After church I took a walk around town to scope out some of the spots I want to visit next weekend with Sherwin (he'll be here in four days!). In the process, I discovered a used book shop that is full to the ceiling, but not organized terribly well. Even so, I spent a good bit of time there. And I passed a small theater that gets traveling Broadway shows. Apparently "Spamalot" is going to be in town the weekend before Thanksgiving. I'm currently trying to get a group together to go. Tickets won't be cheap, but I think I'm allowed one big indulgence for the semester. Besides, it's cultural (*wink*). The rest of my afternoon and evening were spent ding absolutely nothing. I had tea and watched pointless television and just took a break. That was the point of locking myself in the library the previous days, after all.

Monday was another full day at my internship. My first project is almost completely done now. I typed up a draft of a finding aid, and I will be editing it on Friday. Yes, Friday. My schedule now consists of two full days a week, meaning that I will complete me required hours by the beginning of November. I'm pretty sure I'm the only person in my class who will be done so soon. So for the next two weeks I'm extra busy, but after that I'll have even more time for my semester projects, which seems like a good idea. You know, I think I really might be able to do this archival thing as a career. Even though I spent eight hours on the job yesterday, it didn't feel long. Of course, it helps that the entire staff had a tea and pie break in the middle of the afternoon, which is an uncommon occurrence. Still, it's the documents, not the pie, that keep me excited to spend time there.

-Kim

Out on the river, and through the woods...

In the past four years, Columbus Day has never once helped me out at all. Since USF didn't take the holiday off, it was just another day (and Native American Day at that, thanks to South Dakota deciding to be ultra-sensitive). But this year, it mattered. I don't have a class on Monday to be canceled, but I do have my internship. And guess what? The library was closed for the holiday, so I had a long weekend--long enough to head down to New Jersey to go sailing with my aunt Myrlene and uncle Eric.

It's great to have at least some family nearby. Granted, it took six hours on a train and then another hour by car to get from Boston to their house, but that's still relatively close as compared to, oh, say South Dakota. Here is my weekend excursion, told in photos.



First, the train ride. I'd just like to say that all of New England is beautiful. And so is rural New Jersey, for that matter, I just didn't get any pictures of it. My Amtrak train, while not necessarily the cheapest travel option, was an incredibly comfortable and easy way to make the trip from Boston to NJ. It took six hours, but my seat was comfy and there was an outlet to plug in my computer. I ended up not using my laptop much on the way out (I didn't do homework at all until the return trip, but don't worry, it all worked out). Instead I spent my time looking out the window and finishing the latest Terry Pratchett while listening to show tunes on my iPod.


Again, the countryside is absolutely beautiful. You can't see fall nearly this well in the city. I feel it, though--the weather is getting a lot chillier lately.


This river was somewhere halfway between Boston and NYC. I'm pretty sure we were passing through Connecticut at the time.


The train pulled into Trenton precisely on time, just before 9:00pm. Aunt Myrlene and Uncle Eric were at the platform waiting for me. It was hard to tell how long the drive from Trenton to Bayville took. We stopped about halfway there to have a late dinner at a country diner that had antler chandeliers and live music performed by a guy in a corner with an acoustic guitar. Sadly, my camera was in the car at the time...

On Sunday Eric and I skipped church (even though Myrlene is the pastor!) to compete in a sail boat race. Have any of you boaters in my readership been in an official race before? This one was pretty short, but it was fun to have the experience of trying to time everything just right to reach the starting line when the final buzzer sounded. And boy did Eric keep us busy! (Eric's friend Igan was on the boat as well--I went sailing with two old men) We tacked so often I barely had a chance to take any pictures. I was in the role of "winch wench," cranking in the jib every time we tacked, so my arms were pretty tired by the end of the day. The one photo from this first race shows the sad fact that we were in the rear of the pack the whole way. (By the way, this was all on the Toms River and partly in the bay, never all the way out to the ocean--that would take to long for a race)


After the race we came back to the yacht club for lunch. Here's part of the dock where we tied up the boat. Eric tells me that the Toms River Yacht Club is the second or third oldest in North America. I find that rather impressive.


After lunch we ran the second race. Sadly, we didn't do too well in this one either, though it was much closer. Myrlene was able to join us for this second race, which gave us another set of hands to share the work, and gave me more chances to take photos. Here you can see half the fleet coming back toward us long before we reached the buoy that was our goal. Their sails are spread to catch as much wind as possible because they are traveling with the wind. It's actually slower, and it feels like you aren't moving at all when you sail this way, because you can only move at the speed of the wind. Also, it makes the sails look like pope hats--it's a fleet of underwater popes!


Before we reached the buoy and turned around to head back toward the starting/finishing line, we decided to change sails. Myrlene and I got to go up to the bow and get everything ready, and when Eric let down the working jib, the genoa was all ready to go up. We lost very little time during the process and made up quite a bit of ground. The only problem with the genoa is that it's so big it's hard to see around from the wheel. to deal with this, Myrlene took up her position watching for other boats on the water.


We really did make up some distance on the other boats. Just look how close we are to catching the two in this next photo. The wind was really lightening up, though, and not helping at that moment.


After the race there was a cocktail party and an award ceremony. In spite of the fact that we were the last boat back in both races, we were awarded 8th place out of nine qualifying boats. Apparently there are time adjustments in sailing races that worked out in our favor. Usually Eric does better--last week he came in third. Afterward, we had to sail the boat back to tha marina, but the wind was nearly dead. So we made very slow progress. I was at the wheel so Eric and Igan could put away all three sails we had been using, so the extra time was actually helpful for them. And our progress was so gentle, I had time to photograph the gorgeous sky. This photo doesn't even do justice to how purple the sky was.


And in the other direction, the sky looked like this. It's better in real life, with the motion of the water throwing the light in all directions. The ripples were throwing roads of orange across the water, and pushing them away into the black. Sigh...


The next day I made friends with the chickens. Well, I fed them, at least. Have you ever had a chicken peck seeds out of your hand? It was an entertaining experience. Here's rooster, slighly less regal since his tail hasn't grown back since his most recent round of molting.


And here's Gracie, a wonderfully sweet dog who woke me up both mornings with a wet nose and a doggy kiss. If I had wanted to be up that early, I wouldn't have minded so much. Still, she's a very good dog, so we took her out to play to make up for the fact that she hadn't been able to come racing with us. On a normal day, Gracie would go out on the boat, but racing is a little too demanding to have that extra distraction on deck.


At a little park on the bay, we made friends with a seagull. And by "made friends" I mean Gracie didn't scare it away.



This story is rather animal heavy, isn't it? This last photo is a cormorant that has taken up residence in the pond at Myrlene's church (Morning Star Presbyterian Church). We stopped out there before lunch because last time I was out to visit, the landscaping hadn't been finished.


We had lunch at the Sand Castle Diner, a favorite place of Myrlene and Eric's. After that it was time to get me back to the train station in Trenton. We arrived to discover that my train was going to be an hour late. Although, we were told that sometimes trains aren't quite as late as posted, so we went down to wait on the train platform. Train stations are much nicer than airports for seeing someone off--Myrlene and Eric were able to wait down there with me until my train finally came in and took me away.

The ride back was a bit different than the ride out. There were actually more distractions, but I was determined to get my paper written (it was due the next evening). Somehow, in spite of the fact that I was constantly distracted by random conversations and the cheesy violence of "Rambo" on a computer screen across the aisle, I got a draft done in less than four hours. I even impressed myself. The train pulled into the station at 11:30, and I caught the subway back to campus with no trouble. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but there was actually a good number of normal people out at that hour.

The rest of the week has also been a big push to get through homework, but I'm glad I took the weekend off to go to Jersey. Breaks are essential, and spedning time with family and time on the water was a great restorative for my soul. Being back in the city on Tuesday, I was struck again by how loud it is here, and the fact that it often smells funny. I guess I had just gotten used to it, but spending time in a rural area for a few days had reminded me what the world can be like if it isn't all paved and crowded.

-Kim

I see dead people...online

It may be bad form to write a post about something random before posting on my weekend trip to New Jersey, but this simply had to be shared. In my reference class we're focusing on different types of reference sources every week, and right now my assignment is focused on biographical sources. Most of them are generic and straightforward, but one is rather unique. Here's what it says about itself:

"The Dead People Server is a database of interesting celebrities who are long dead or newly dead. They may be "retired" or spaced. DPS tells you who has really Rung Down the Curtain and Joined the Choir Invisible, and who's Just Resting. To help the terminally confused, I've built a Quash Those Death Rumors page."

Our assignment was to browse through the lists of who had died in certain years, and list five who we considered "famous." A few of the entries I chose made me sad, because I was reminded that so many amazing authors, artists and actors are no longer with us--Isaac Asimov, Roald Dahl, Dr. Seuss. But the longer I searched, the more names I recognized, the more I wanted to keep searching. It became morbidly fascinating. Check it out--you'll see what I mean.

Dead People Server

I think the most interesting part of this whole thing is that this site was given to me as a credible source for research. I suppose it's pretty accurate, but the way the site is built, they really don't take themselves that seriously...

-Kim

I love getting mail

Twice this week I have been blessed with surprise packages from people. I think there is nothing better for making a person feel loved when far away from home than taking the time to send something. Phone calls are great, too, but packages take planning.

The first one came on Tuesday. It was from Kevin, but I wasn't able to determine that until after I found the packing slip with the gift message, as the box had been shipped from ThinkGeek. He sent me a bookworm! A yellow, plush bookworm that is adorable. In fact, it falls into the category of "so ugly it's cute." I don't know if you've ever seen anything like that, but trust me, there are a lot of little animals that belong in the category. My bookworm, Skushi, is one of those creatures.

The second package came today. I was incredibly surprised to see the email from the mail room telling me to come pick it up, especially since there was no indication of the sender, as there sometimes is. This box was from a group of amazing USF-ers (pronounced "us-furs"). So Ashley, Dustin, Lauren, Liberty, Liessman and Sherwin, thank you! Even more than the chocolate and other munchies inside the box, seeing those names on the return address label really made my day.

It's good to have friends.

-Kim

Mushroom Princess

I have joined the ranks of the mushroom people. After traipsing around last week in the rain and getting very wet and almost sick, I decided to order rain boots from target.com. Today, they finally arrived. Now that I'm prepared, it probably won't rain again for a while, but I am so ready!

Behold the awesomeness of my rain boots!



-Kim

recent distractions

For your reading and listening pleasure, here are a few things that have entertained me in the last few weeks and either kept me from working or maintained my sanity, depending on how you choose to look at it.

Some of you may have already read this post from Stuff Christians Like (a site linked on the sidebar, if you hadn't noticed), but it's worth sharing again. I know USF isn't technically a "Bible College," but as a Christian institution, it has a similar stigma, so the idea should resonate with all of you.

#403 Stuff Christians Like/Stacey From Louisville Cooperative for the Preservation of the Integrity of Bible College Love Super Quiz 2008

And for the library nerd that I am, I couldn't read this entry on Timothy McSweeney's without sharing.

Dudes, Did You See the Library They've Got Here?

And I found new music I like, by a Scottish singer-songwriter named Ally Kerr. I actually found him because they use his "Sore Feet Song" as the theme song of an anime I've watched a few episodes of online. It's good music. You can check it out here.

My morning, Stuff Christians Like style

Have you ever choked on communion wine? It's pretty much the most awkward thing that can happen in church. Well, maybe not the most awkward, but it's pretty high up there. Well, it happened to me today. You wouldn't think it would be possible to choke on the tiny amount of grape juice they put in those little finger cups, but somehow I managed it. I'm pretty sure it just went down the wrong pipe.

It probably wouldn't have happened except that I was trying to hurry. I know, I know, the Lord's Supper isn't supposed to be about speed, but when you're in a large church service and you suddenly realize that sitting in the middle row has backfired and made you the last to receive the elements because of a weird process that involves passing the plates in the front and back at the same time, you tend to panic and worry that you're holding up the service for everyone else who has already finished communing and wants to go home for lunch and a football game. Maybe this means I'm too self-conscious, but the pressure to be quick is there. So instead of sipping politely my thimble serving of juice, I quaffed the blood of Christ like people take shots in the movies and passed the plate as quickly as possible. Maybe that fits under partaking in an unworthy manner or something, because it didn't work out so well.

But what could I do about it? The whole church was quietly reverent, and I had the irresistible need to cough. It's bad enough coughing during any other part of the service, but at least then people assume it's because you're sick, not because you got communion juice down your windpipe. But the coughing was unavoidable. At least I didn't notice any of the ushers giving me weird looks. Next time I'll try to make sure that doesn't happen.

As long as we're on the topic, is it bad that I was temporarily distracted by the form of bread they gave us? I've had communion at several different churches, and they all do it slightly different, but this was a first. The break came by in rounded cubes about the size of sugar cubes and was kind of chewy. It was also sweet, and i spent most of the time waiting for the cup to come trying to figure out what it tasted like. The closest thing I can come up with is a scone, like the plain ones Dianna made last year.

You know, the whole service today kind of baffled me. The text was Zechariah 8, but he kept going back to chapter 7 and not really covering anything new. Now the pastor's position on fasting is more clear to me, but we didn't really cover any new ground. Apparently he felt the need to recover the material in response to congregational comments after his sermon two weeks ago. Well, they can't be winners every time.

Next week I'll be at my aunt Myrlene's church in Bayville, NJ. I'm really looking forward to that trip. I'll only be with them for a couple of days, but time spent with family is always well spent.

-Kim

Orchestra

Last night was the first rehearsal of the Colleges of the Fenway Orchestra, of which I am now a member. I had my audition two weeks ago, and it took all of one minute for the director to make up her mind about me. Everyone got the same treatment, I'm pretty sure. But she must have been impressed, because I am now playing first violin for the first time since high school. Granted, I've only had one year of playing in a real orchestra between high school and now, but it still feels rather odd to suddenly be one of "them" again. I'm sitting at the last stand in the section, but I'm the outside player, which means my stand partner has to turn the pages (good for me--I hate that job) and I am completely exposed to the audience.

It took forever to get rehearsal started, what with sorting out music and seating and all of the complications of a first rehearsal. We've apparently double in size from last year to a nice 70 member group. The music is going to be tough to get ready for our November 20 concert (take not Katie, are you free that day?). We're playing Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito, and Georges Bizet's "L'Arlesienne" Concert Suite. I think our spring program will be a little lighter--I've been told last year they played the theme form Star Wars.

Of course, now that I have a group to play in again, I need to look at taking better care of my instrument. Apparently the trip out here and change in climate was not good for my bow--I lost five hairs last night alone just in tightening the bow to play. And I lost two more the last time I had it out to practice. But, there's got to be a place in Boston that can re-hair it for me. I just need to do a little research. I also dropped my rosin on the floor, but there's a big enough chunk left that it should last me quite some time, so I don't think I'll be replacing that just yet.

Rehearsal felt long, even though it was almost an hour shorter than it will usually be, just because of our delayed start. I haven't played that much all at once for a few months. I guess I'll have to work on getting my stamina back if I'm going to make it all the way through Beethoven. At least it's fun. Last night we pretty much just read all three pieces without going back to work on the trouble spots. The point was just to get a feel for the music so we can practice on our own. Our director even took it all pretty fast, even though we were sight reading. There is no "tempo de learno" here, apparently. Still, since we've only got six rehearsals before the concert, it makes sense to just push forward. It'll be hard work, but it will be worth it.

-Kim

Congregational Library Archive--week 1

Today was my first full day at my internship. And I do mean a full day. I was there from 9-5, just like all the paid employees. Of course, I'll only be doing that once a week, but still, it makes for a very long day when you aren't used to it. Although, in the end, it didn't feel like eight hours. In the middle of the afternoon the 2:00 seemed to go very slowly, but the total didn't feel too bad. I'll take that as a good sign that I may have actually chosen the right profession.

The collection is fascinating. I'm working with a single box of correspondence between the members of the Andover Theological Seminary class of 1877. Most of the letters are in fact addressed to the group at large and were sent in a circuitous route from member to member for nearly 20 years. When the letter made it full circle, the writer would remove his old letter (and send it to their "archivist" who I believe is responsible for keeping the letters from certain individuals in envelopes together and making my job much easier) and put in an update on what had happened in his life since the class letter had last been through, usually a year previous. I won't go into more detail here, because I would probably ramble on for hours.

The only downside to this job is also the upside. My supervisor pretty much showed me how to start, gave me a stack of supplies and left me alone to work. So I spent the entirety of my shift alone on the second floor of the stacks at a small worktable. (Well, she checked in on me a couple times, and other workers wandered through to get things off the stacks, but essentially I was alone.) By the end of the day I was just about talking to myself out loud just to deal with it. Talking about the letters, at least, but still, talking to myself is not the most professional way to act on the first day.

Taking the train back at 5:00 was a lot better than coming into town at 8:30 in the morning, which was great, because I was tired and really wanted a seat. On the way in this morning it was crowded and hot. I was actually sweating. But at the library, at least in the stacks, it was cold. I ended up putting my coat on for the afternoon--next week I'm bringing a sweater.

-Kim

Mushroom People

It rained all day yesterday. And it looks like it will continue for the next couple of days, so I get to look forward to having my feet permanently wet and cold until Tuesday. At least I have the mushroom people to distract me.

Who are the mushroom people, you ask? Bostonians with their umbrellas. Everyone actually carries umbrellas here when it rains, unlike at home, where people tend to just run and hope they stay basically dry. It most certainly has to do with the fact that her in the city, everyone is stuck walking several blocks to get anywhere, no matter the weather. So we carry umbrellas and hope to keep at least our upper bodies dry.

But it takes more than an umbrella to make a mushroom person. I've also noticed that a large number of female college students, and even some adults favor wearing rubber rain boots in gloriously bright colors. (I'm considering getting some myself, this wet feet thing is no fun) The boots really do come in every color and pattern imaginable, which makes the wearer look that much more like a cartoon character. Now, put those boots on a girl barely five feet tall and hand her an umbrella big enough for a family of four, and you have a classic mushroom person.

I actually encountered this girl in my wet walk back from Northeastern yesterday and couldn't help smiling at the resemblance to Toad, of Mario Bros. fame. Tall people with small umbrellas are mushroom people too, but this girl must be the queen of mushroom land.

-Kim

Sunday

Today is my sabbath. I haven't always been good at keeping a day of rest in my schedule, but I've decided it's something worth taking the time out for. And since Sunday is apparently the only day of the week without school commitments, it will be my day of rest, my day to put aside the stress of grad school and the busy distractions of the academic life. My self-imposed rule is that on Sundays I won't work on anything with a due date, i.e. homework of any sort. I'm the type of person who can get so caught up in the things I am required to do that I lose perspective on why I'm doing them. Perspective is something I don't want to lose. If I lose myself in the busywork and forget the ultimate goal of this degree I'm working on, I'm more likely to get frustrated and even doubt my choice in coming here. And of course, there will be much more life coming after I finish this two-year jaunt in academia--I can't forget that either.

This morning's sermon was about fasting. For some reason it didn't connect with me at all during the service (it took until I had a nap and a cup of tea), but now I've got something to take away from it. I don't know that I agree with everything that was said this morning, but the important part was that it's not about going through the motions. God didn't want the Israelites fasting merely "out of habit", but out of a genuine focus on him and the object of their grief--in the instance mentioned in Zechariah 7, the destroyed temple. I'm going to expand that idea and say that in all areas of our life, just going through the motions is not a good idea. Whatever we do, we should know why. And, for us Christians, the why is always connected back to God and how we are called to serve him in this world. So taking one day out of the week to step back and remind ourselves of that truth can only be beneficial for doing his will cheerfully through the rest of the week. (Hey, that's probably why he told us to do it)

At any rate, no work will be done today on my part. Blogging, however, is not work, though I seem to have run out of time for catching you up on the adventures of the weekend. Tomorrow I must get up early to meet with the supervisor of my archives internship at the Congregational Library.

-Kim

Employment! And Sharks! And Bears! Oh my!

This morning I got the call from the coordinator of the Simmons Writing Center. It's official--I will be a tutor this fall. I get to work on campus, and the pay rate is actually very good. So even though it will only be about eight hours a week (the schedule is still in process), I will be making a decent amount of spending money. So, thanks to everyone who was praying for something to come through. Of all the possibilities, the writing center job was going to be the best for scheduling purposes, so I'm glad it worked out. It's not library work, but since I'm also dong an unpaid internship at an archive, I figure it's fine to earn a paycheck in something outside my field for now. Just having something is such a blessing and a relief.

To celebrate the job, I went for a swim. Actually, I did that yesterday, too. On the residence campus we have a great fitness center with an amazing pool. Well, for lap swimming anyway. We don't have slides or anything like that. But we have an 8-lane, 25m pool that is available for students to use for free during much of the day. At other times, the swim team uses it (the only sport we have for which the mascot of "Sharks" is really appropriate), or they rent it out to local daycare/swim lesson groups. I had intended to make use of the pool for my exercise (since the rest of my life, being academic, is largely sedentary), but hadn't gotten around to it until this week. Being in the water feels so good, I can almost forget I'm exercising. You know, the one thing the Stewart Center was really lacking was a pool. USF should do something about that.

Last night was college night at the Museum of Science, which meant that anyone with a college ID got in for free. Well, I like free stuff, and I would probably never pay to go to the science museum, so we decided to check it out. Chris and I met Tetima at the campus library when she got off work, and the three of us treked across town together. Thankfully, this trip didn't involve switching trains, because we were traveling at rush hour. And most of the crowd was students, all getting off at the same stop.

Upon arriving at the museum we were pleasantly surprised to discover that not only could we look at the exhibits for free, we could get free tickets to the various shows playing. So we took in a 3-D movie and a laser show as long as we were there. The 3-D movie was entitled Fly Me To The Moon, but we didn't realize just how literally they meant it. It actually involved flies going to the moon. Three animated fly children, in fact. So weird. But rather entertaining. There were far too many exhibits to take in, but we did spend some time looking at the math section, "backyard physics" and an interactive display on models. Actually, all the displays were interactive. We also wandered through a room with stuffed animals behind glass. The one animal out in the open was a black bear, which I couldn't keep myself away from. Picture to follow. On the level above that was a room with displays about human physiology. That was fun too.

The last thing we did at the museum was see a laser show in the planetarium. It was all set to music by Queen. Yes, we chose this over the other options. It was actually quite fun, although during one song they had a near-constant giant spiral that made me woozy. They played most of the classics, starting with "We will Rock You" and "Bicycle" and ending with "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We Are the Champions." The show was 40 min long, so the music just kept coming. Some of it I had never heard before or hadn't realized was Queen, including something about Flash Gordon and what Chris insists was the "Highlander" theme song. It probably was, since the recurring image was a giant sword. Although, the images during "Bohemian Rhapsody" really didn't seem to fit. It was birds. Just random birds sitting in trees or fluttering about. Every other part of the show made sense, but the birds puzzled me. And I was disappointed they didn't play "Don't Stop Me Now", because that would have been awesome with lasers. Of course, half the fun of the show was the random associations I have with Queen songs that not very many people understand. As soon as the show started, I felt the urge to watch "A Knight's Tale", which, by the way, is still the most amazing anachronistic action comedy I've ever seen. And, any mention of Queen makes me think of "Good Omens" and giggle to myself. If you haven't read it but appreciate British humor and the apocalypse, you need to make time to read it. Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman writing together--what could be better?

But I digress. The museum trip was definitely worth the trip across town and loss of an evening that would only have been spent doing homework that got done in time anyway. After we got back I was approached by the RA, Peter, to be conscripted onto the North Hall Council. Apparently we don't get money for activities unless we have an actual council with officers. So now I'm treasurer of a group that will only probably have funds, and limited funds at that. It shouldn't be too bad--I would have ended up helping with activities anyway, and now I have a cool title to put on my resume: Treasurer and Staple Queen. The second one probably won't appear in print again, but it was a condition of my acceptance of the position. We've been making more bulletin boards, and my stapling skills have been in much demand. At least as treasurer I only have to keep track of the money--apparently my neighbors have already decided I'm trustworthy. And meticulous enough to do a good job and probably drive them buggy, but they'll learn that soon enough.

Why are these posts always so long? I don't mean for them to be, but so many interesting things keep happening at the same time. Here are a couple of pictures from our time at the museum. I didn't think to bring my camera, so these are courtesy of my new friend Chris.




Here I am with Tetima, waiting for the 3-D movie.



And I made a new furry friend as well.

-Kim