Sidelines

Well, my name is in print again. The Simmons College literary magazine, Sidelines, is coming out this week. Actually, the launch party was tonight, but due to complications with the printer, the actual magazine won't be distributed until Friday. Rather lame. It made the editors scramble, as well, since the contributors who were expected to read their work hadn't been told to bring their own copy of the text. This included me. So before the event they were rushing about to get everything printed off for us, which made the whole thing start late. Then, it turned out that they hadn't actually printed mine, so they had to go back for it in the middle, and I ended up reading toward the end instead of at the beginning.

Actually, I kind of hijacked the event. They expected me to read only a selected portion from the story, but I told them there wasn't really a good spot to stop. The prose editor backed me up, and I got to read the whole story. People even laughed at the right moments, which made me feel pretty good about it. I was horridly nervous, but people said afterward that they couldn't tell. I guess that's a good thing. The editor and another student told me afterward that they not only loved the story, they were impressed by my delivery. They said no one else could have done it justice, and I tend to believe them. Someone not acquainted with the story wouldn't know where to pause for the laugh lines or how to give the waitresses the proper personality.

The story was Inspiration Diner, which I actually included in my senior English portfolio at USF. It's been tweaked slightly, but the story is still the same: Jordan, the writer needing inspiration comes to a diner run by the nine Muses and has a very unusual dinner. I wrote the story just for fun, playing with archetypes and puns, and I think it's the playful tone that makes it appealing.

When the magazines arrive on Friday, I'll have to grab a stack to share with the family!

-Kim

a weekend outdoors

This really deserves multiple posts, but I used up all my free time away from the computer, so every cool thing that happened this weekend will be thrown together in a single post.

Friday:

Simmons randomly decided we needed to have a cookout instead of running the dining hall as usual. The food was actually really good, which surprised us. The music, not so much. I guess it was supposed to be a fundraiser for a charity of some sort, but they were never very clear about it. There were a few bands, but the quality wasn't so good. I'm pretty sure the groups were chosen based on which Simmons girls with connections to the planning committee had boyfriends in bands rather than on appropriateness of music or actual skill level. Not that I'm complaining, but Parker House and Theory last week was much better. David and Josiah came over to share in the free food, and I got to show them around the res campus, which was rather fun. Even better, now my friends here know that they really do exist and are great fun to hang out with.

Saturday:

Simmons Cup field day. All year the dorms have been collecting points for various activities and competitions, and it culminated in a day of standard outdoor competitive events. Our hall made the best showing in dodgeball. This may have been because we had four guys on the team but the undergrads are pretty intense too. Of course, our boys may have gotten a bit rough. Chris had the most amazing hit of the game, which would have won it for us if it had just been a bit lower. Not only did he hit the girl in the face, the force of the blow caused the sort of reaction rarely seen outside of the movies. I hadn't realized that physics actually worked that way, but apparently Hollywood isn't making everything up. When the ball hit the girl in the face, she flew backward, almost gracefully, and her sunglasses arced through the air, landing several feet behind her. It was beautiful, and Chris will never live it down. Especially since I got such an amazing picture of him launching the fateful throw:

We ended up getting second place in dodgeball, mostly because the Dix team wouldn't come to the line of scrimmage and play fair. The other activities were a bit milder. I took a bullet for the team and did what tey called a pie eating contest, which was actually finding a piece of gum in a pie tin of whipped cream and blowing a bubble, all without the use of hands. There are no pictures, and I like it that way. The event I'm pretty certain we won (though they still haven't emailed the official results) was the judging of the t-shirts. I'm not just saying it because I was largely respondible for the design, but our shirts were definitely the best ones on the field that day. Several of the undergrads had sayings that were borderline offensive, which I know was taken into consideration. Here's the back of ours, with the front logo shadowed behind the text:


There was another cookout that night, but the food wasn't quite as good as Friday. Except the corn--the sweet corn was great.

Sunday:

Went to morning service at Park Street as usual, with the intention of walking back the long way to get my legs in shape for the charity walk next weekend. But then I found out that Keith and Kristyn Getty would be giving a worship concert in the evening. They are the amazing Irish couple behind the modern hymn movement, specifically the ever popular In Christ Alone.

So instead of walking home, I walked along the river instead, down the Charles River Esplanade, across the Harvard Bridge, along the other side of the river past MIT then back across to the Boston side. The river is gorgeous, and I intend to spend quite a bit of my free time there this summer.

The concert that evening was also amazing. The Gettys also have a band they bring with them, including an incredible fiddle player who's Canadian, not Irish, but must be from the Nova Scotia region by the way she plays.

Here's the man behind the words himself. When I told him I was from South Dakota, he told me the band once got stuck at Mount Rushmore for two days. I wish I could have gotten the whole story, since I'm sure it would have been great.

-Kim

the boys are back in town

David and Josiah have finally made it out to Boston! They got into town on Sunday, but I didn't get to see them until today. Since I have Tuesday mornings free, I met them at the Prudential Center for ice cream. It was also free cone day at Ben & Jerry's, which was a great excuse to get together. I tried their new Peanut Butter Cookie Dough flavor, and it was delicious. David wanted to go through the line again, but we didn't think that was a good idea. We could have walked to one of the other nearby locations, but instead the guys showed me where they're staying right now. It's a tiny third floor walk-up above a FedEx store just a few blocks from the Pru, and I'm pretty sure I could find it again if I tried. They plan to move to a better place as soon as they find employment, which will hopefully happen pretty soon.

I couldn't stay at their place very long because I had to be back on campus for class at 2:30. They offered to walk me back to the T station, which was very gentlemanly of them, but on the way it started raining--absolutely pouring. I had an umbrella, but they didn't (even though I told them before they moved out here they would need one). I'm pretty sure they were going to make that purchase as soon as I left them. Oddly enough, it wasn't raining by the school when I got off the T. Go figure. But it did rain all evening and is likely to again tomorrow.

Cataloging was actually pretty good today. I didn't think learning about Library of Congress classification and Cutter numbers would be interesting, but it really made sense to me. At least, more so than when we talked about Dewey last week. We were doing in-class exercises at the end of class, and I got to leave class early because I was the first one done. Joudrey saw me sitting there not working and asked if I was done. I nodded, so he had me bring up my answers so he could check them. Since they were all right, there was no reason for me to stay and wait for the rest of the class to finish. That made it a good day. I just hope he doesn't think I'm going to be a cataloger now. Because I'm not. For me, cataloging is like math. I may understand it and even be pretty good at it if I give it my full attention, but it's not what I want to do with my time.

Speaking of time, I really don't have much of it right now. So here's a quick weekend recap:

Friday--Led discussion in Collective Memory and confirmed that my professor (and advisor) still doesn't know my name (this makes me miss my professor friends at USF who would never have let that happen). The art show opening was a success--we actually had a decent turnout

Saturday--Colleges of the Fenway carnival on the Simmons Res Campus--lots of free stuff, including a concert from Parker House and Theory, who have made it onto my list of bands to watch.

Sunday--A series of frustrating events led me to go to Christina's church instead of my usual service at Park Street--I enjoyed the service, and their building is absolutely beautiful.

Monday--Boston Marathon. Apparently it does come pretty near campus (Kenmore Square), but I couldn't watch because I had to work at the library. Go figure.

Now I leave you to dive back into my Collective Memory project on King Arthur--it's due this week and we have quite a bit left to do. Somehow we'll make it.

-Kim

Easter Sunday

My time in Boston has been one new experience after another, and today was no exception. I was a bit bummed out that I couldn't see any of my family for the holiday. Home is too far away, and my Saturday class meant that I didn't have time to make a trip to New Jersey to see Myrlene and Eric. So, measures were taken to ensure I wouldn't miss out completely on family holiday traditions.

On Monday, I received a package from my parents. They had told me they were sending my allergy meds, but the box that came was far too large and heavy to just be nasal spray. Inside was an Easter bag of candy, which I've managed to ration pretty well so far. There was also a fuzzy little chickie that makes cheeping noises when its belly is squeezed.


Today, I went to Easter services at Park Street Church, as usual. The service was a bit more of a production than usual, with the full sanctuary choir, the Park Street Orchestra (which I have to find a way to become a part of) and the Park Street Brass performing multiple anthems. They also sang the Hallelujah Chorus, inviting the congregation to stand and sing along. Having read through it before (though not performed vocally--I think that was a combined band and choir piece when USF did it), I sang along with the alto line and managed to do pretty well with it. That was pretty fun.

After the service I walked through the park to see how the spring flowers were coming along. The sun was shining, but the wind was blowing, and I was glad to have worn my winter coat and a scarf. The flowers are still rather slow in coming, but everything is green and the trees are budding out. A few trees had also been decorated by decorated eggs with tassels that made them look rather oriental. I'm not sure where they came from or what the exact meaning is supposed to be, but it looks pretty cool:

Just as I was about to leave the Public Gardens, I heard the faint sound of a fiddle. Following the sound, I soon came upon a group of people preparing to do something I had heard of but never seen before: a Morris Dance. The Morris Dance is a tradition in England that was performed every year to bring in the warmth of spring, banishing evil spirits and blessing the land with fertility. The dancers (traditionally men) wear all white, with ribbons and flowers and tie bells to their shins, so they jingle the whole time they're jumping around.

Before today my only knowledge of the Morris Dance was gleaned from Terry Pratchett, specifically his Discworld volumes about the Lancre witches. I was pleased with myself for being able to identify the men as Morris Dancers before they even began to dance. Granted, Pratchett definitely used the dance for his own purposes, so my understanding of it is warped by a fictional world in which Spring doesn't come without the dance, and the real event is undoubtedly more about celebrating spring than superstition. I'm such a nerd I don't even really care what the real reason behind the dance happens to be--I was just excited to see something from Discworld happening in real life. It's great fun to watch. Here's the first dance they did:

They did a number of different dances. By the end, I believe they had performed at least eight different dances, each one a variation on the same style. Here's a look at one that doesn't involve the sticks:

I think this last clip is more of what Terry Pratchett had in mind when he wrote about the Morris Dance. If the dancers were just a bit more frantic, we may worry for their safety as they perform.

I froze my fingers getting this much footage, so I have no idea how the fiddler managed to keep his from going numb, but he did. The dancers had no trouble keeping warm as long as they kept moving. When they finished in the park, they moved on to Copley Square, where I saw them again as I was heading to the T station.

If I have to spend Easter by myself, at least God has blessed me with phone calls from home and new experiences.

Our Lord is risen indeed!

-Kim

fall registration

Quick Update: I registered for classes this afternoon, and I got into everything I wanted for fall. Hooray! It was actually rather tense this afternoon, as I managed to snag the very last seat in the section of 440 that I wanted. The alternative was to have yet another Saturday class, and that was not happening again!

So this fall I'll have LIS 440 - Archival Access and Use on Tuesday mornings, LIS 442 - Establishment of Archives and Manuscripts Programs (Management) on Tuesday evenings (hopefully I'll have a WC shift between them to make the best use of my time on campus), and LIS 439 - Preservation Management on Thursday afternoons. I'm trying to leave Fridays or Mondays open for doing my required internship for 440.

The best part of this schedule? I won't have Saturday class anymore! Finally, I'll be free on the weekends to either sleep in or actually get out and do things. I'm very excited for that part. And for my classes, actually, though not in the same giddy way.

-Kim

Soundtrack of the day: Superchic[k]