Friday Five
1. What do you do for fun? I love to read, but I do so much of that for school, I don't get to do it for fun very often anymore. I spend a lot of time on the computer, but I try to balance as much as possible by actually going out to see people sometimes. You know, other than Maura sitting next to me at her computer while I'm at mine.
2. Is there a person from your past you would like to talk to again, even if it would be a potentially painful conversation? I haven't talked to Mark in a very long time. I'd really like that.
3. What is your favorite comfort food? Ooh, mashed potatoes! It has to be in moderation, though. I had mashed potatoes in the Diner recently, but the server gave me such a huge mound, I got sick of them. Or maybe that's just what happens with Diner food. It could be so much worse, though.
4. What is your preferred form of self-expression? (Do you dance; or express yourself through music, conversation, etc.) Writing, of course. I would still blog even if no one read it, and I love my stories and rare poetry. I've become better at conversation, though. Come out of my shell a whole lot. Thanks, Greg.
5. You just received $5000; what do you spend it on? Spend? Coming up is the time of year when I have, like, no money. Christmas and everyone's birthday all the way through the end of February. That'd go into the bank, saving toward my loan payments. Le sigh.

You know, I always say I should blog more often, yet I never actually do it. I've fallen into this Friday habit. It's like Windows Update Tuesday, only more like Lindsay Blogging Friday. And that's not even consistent anymore; I've had Saturday afternoon and even Sunday now and then. So the weekly roundup continues. Prepare yourselves: this post is spectacularly long, even for me.

Fr. Bill was back on Sunday. It made me realize how much I'm going to miss not having him around once I graduate, whenever that is (see previous posts re: BA or MA). If I'm still in Maryland if/when I get married, I want him to officiate.

I have not been watching 7th Heaven lately. This season is about consequences, and I'm tired of SexyAndBoyCrazy!Ruthie and Martin, the Boy Who Won't Admit He's Going to Be a Father. I haven't minded missing it... two weeks in a row. Smallville, I miss. Anyway, I didn't watch because I was busy working away on my last paper for 301. My thesis was kind of eh, but my organization was so tight. I gave every paragraph a subject/title so I'd remember to keep it all straight. Yay for obsessive neatness. I really don't want a B in 301. (I accidentally typed "C" when I wrote that, then panicked and thought, "NO! That was not a Freudian slip! No no no!" only very quickly as I do not always think in nice sentences like that.) Right after I finished writing the body and went to spell-check, my computer froze. Thankfully, I recovered the body entirely because I save every paragraph. Then it froze again, so I had to edit partly by hand. I managed to get it printed in the morning, so no crisis for that one.

Side note: Jenny sent me a very lovely grammar book, Woe Is I, for my birthday, which I retrieved when I went home a few weeks ago. It is very helpful and witty. I love it.

I had lunch alone on Tuesday, so I was finished by 12:30. I knew I should read for Spanish at 1, but I really didn't feel like it. Suddenly I remember that there's Adoration in the Chapel every Tuesday and Wednesday, so I decided to go. Lacey has the first shift on Tuesdays; she waved at me when I entered. I prayed for about 15 minutes. It was very nice chatting with Jesus, but my knee was hurting again. Then I hustled to Spanish class.

We did the imperative tense last lesson. One of my teacher's examples of a command was the first Commandment. I was very flustered when I couldn't remember exactly what it says. I'm reminded of a saying: "There is no such thing as a bad Catholic. There are only those who try and those who don't." I'm learning. I'm trying. The first Commandment is six verses in Exodus 20 (I looked just now), but I knew she was looking for something shorter. We eventually came up with "Love God above all things," which translates as "Ama el Dios sobre todas otras cosas" (I think). So by then, I'm thinking, "Okay, Jesus. I hear you." Then, our activity was to give a list of commands we'd proclaim if we got to be President of the United States for a day. Examples of my class's responses: Lower the drinking age from 21 to 18. Legalize marijuana. My first proclamation was to recycle more. My teacher told us we were all socialists.

So after class, I dumped by stuff off and went back to Adoration. I prayed a rosary that time, so that was another twenty minutes on my protesting knee. My dad called while I was finishing up, but I keep my phone off until I'm sure I can let it ring, so it just beeped once quietly. When I came home, I Googled and found an article on the debate over the appropriateness of praying the rosary during Exposition. I'd felt a little strange doing it, but I like the meditation. I do my best to focus on Jesus when I pray the rosary. My thought process goes something like this: "Hail Mary, full of grace... Coronation of Mary... Queen of Heaven and Earth... someday we'll get to be in Heaven too... with Jesus!" Always linking back to Jesus. Reading about Catholicism and apologetics has made me aware of the Mariolatry claim, and since I've committed to living my faith, I avoid wandering into that area like the plague. I don't know if I'll ever combine the rosary and Exposition again, but I don't think it's wrong.

I had to get up early on Wednesday to do my white laundry. I only wear white socks. I had a few pairs left, but only just enough to last until today, after which I'd be forced to do laundry on a weekend. I'll choose volunteering to sheer necessity any day.

I got a B- on my informative Harry Potter speech in Comm. I was expecting a better grade. He did like my "conversational style" though, so maybe over rehearsing is the way to go. I think I'm going to ask if we can see the rubric for our persuasive speeches. I started with a rhetorical question, which we were apparently forbidden to do, but he didn't tell us that. I'm never quite sure which way to go. He strikes this odd balance between strict and liberal. He wear jeans and a baseball hat, and sits on the table to lecture and lead discussion. But when my group paper was seven pages (over the requirement of 4-6), he wrote "4-6 pages!" And he didn't understand that I'd cross-referenced our list of works cited. For our speeches, we're apparently suppose to stick to additional requirements that we don't know about, but be innovative and interesting. I think it's really boring to say, " Blah blah attention-getter. Blah blah intro. Blah blah this is a one-sentence outline of my speech." I guess not, since I lost points for not forecasting. I will be very disappointed if I get a B in such a pointless class. I did all this stuff in the eighth grade. And I don't like giving speeches anyway.

I got to the CSC for Mass a bit earlier than usual. It was hell week for Maura, so I went by myself again. I ran into Estefania there, who was in my retreat group. When we went into the Chapel, there was only one guy there, and the lights were still dimmed. It was very nice for those first few quiet, dim minutes. I led a decade of the rosary, praying on my knees again. There was another lector, so I knew I'd get a chance to sit. My knee protested so much when I stood up when Mass started. The pain was insane. I could barely concentrate through Mass. I looked when I got back and found a rather large bruise, right on the top of my left knee. No more kneeling for a while.

Dinner was really fun. I decided to skip Sign Language Club, so I stayed a while to talk. There were seven or eight of us from First Timer's Retreat sitting around having a very tangential discussion. We decided that Jane Austen is generally underappreciated by anyone without a uterus. I got to do some HP talk, so I'm sure they all now understand how crazy I really am. Good times and really good brownies.

Thursday was a very busy day. I woke up at 7am and actually left about four minutes earlier than usual, so I didn't have to use my breakneck Diner pace. Right after I got my (well-sliced, finally) bagel, my knee started to ache, throwing me into a sudden limp. Not fun. I did finally get some chocolate milk, though, which was fun, and I recovered enough to get to class. I'd also finished the reading, so yay. We had Frankenstein this week. It was a pretty cool book. I don't think I've seen any movie version of the Frankenstein story other than the bits from Van Helsing, but I'd never heard the real story before. It's very interesting. Dracula is also on the Lifetime version of my To Read list, but it's nice to have knocked off Frankenstein. Also, I share a birthday with Mary Shelley.

I came back after class and registered for next semester. It was tricky working out my schedule so I could have Wednesday afternoons free, but I think I managed it. I don't think I'll have time to eat lunch, though. I'll work it out somehow. I really need this job for the experience. The money won't hurt, either.

I finished registering just in time to scan the readings for Mass, then scoot over to the Chapel in time for the rosary. I led a decade, then read. It's the Book of Maccabees right now, which I've never read before. The Old Testament has some really cool stories. After Mass, I met Sara for lunch. We talked for a while, but not too long.

Then I went over to Cole Fieldhouse for my job orientation. I'll be teaching at Severna Park with a junior named Irene. I got stuck with planning the activities for the Service Learning unit. I wanted Academic Planning, but they gave that to the senior, Liz. I have no idea what to do. I'm not big on volunteering requirements, though I try to volunteer when I can. I think I'll enjoy this job. It'll help me bridge that problem I have with a whole room of students whom I'm expected to make learn. And it's low-pressure, since I'll have a partner and only fifteen students. It's not like I'm trying to make 35 kids understand Chaucer. That will come later, I hope... I think I hope.

The meeting lasted almost an hour and a half, so I came back quickly to try to read for ARHU. There was much skimming going on, though the readings were "accessible," as Tanya puts it. I call that "not horrible." I was a bit behind leaving for class, so I wound up sitting at the far end of the room. I literally had a new perspective on the class. I also had another vaguely telepathic moment with Tanya, since Pat led discussion again. (She passed her defense -- yay, Tanya.) Pat asked a question, and I mouthed (to myself), "I don't understand." She mouthed back, "You will." So I waited, then I understood more, then I mouthed, "Oh," and she smiled. Class ran right up until 6:30 again, after which I split for the CSC.

I was late for Fiat dinner, but another girl showed up right as I was crossing that horrible intersection, so we were late together. The food wasn't fabulous. The chicken casserole had a lot of peas and celery in it, but I was very hungry, so I ate around it and tried not to be too conspicuous. We had cream puffs for dessert, which I've never had before. A bit too rich and creamy for my taste, but fun to try. I sat next to Sr. Rose, who told me how excited she was to read The Constant Gardener, since she's from Kenya. Sr. Ann, from the Sisters of the Visitation, was our speaker. She was so lively and animated. She teaches Latin at Visitation Prep School. They're having a day of discernment in December, but I have an Evil 8am Saturday Final, so I can't go. Otherwise, I totally would. I haven't met many sisters, but I like the ones I've met this fall.

I got back from Fiat dinner around 8pm. I did my 280 and Spanish homework, studied a bit for my Spanish test, watched Everwood, and waited impatiently for Sara. She showed up with Grace around 11:15, having driven about 100mph to get back up from Virginia after her show. We picked up another girl, Arielle, then flew out to Arundel Mills. We wound up sitting in pairs in the theater in Muvico; I sat with Sara since I didn't know the others. We got our seats at least ten minutes before the trailers started. Sara made excellent time.

The movie was SO COOL. The woman next to me kept commenting, and she was a loud laugher, but I subtly shushed her, so it was fine after a little while. No spoilers ahead. GoF is my favorite book (though my one read of HBP is pushing for a takeover), so I had high hopes for this movie. It wasn't as enchanting as the others, but I think I like that. As I told my mom when she called at lunchtime, it was less about the magic, and more about Harry's story with some magic thrown in. It was more realistic... as realistic as a supervillian without a nose can be, I suppose. Ralph Fiennes as was wonderful as Voldemort. I was kind of scared. Not as scared as during HBP, though. Ooh, that's gonna be a good movie. Anyway, there were some beautiful visual moments. It was literally darker. Combined with my tired, bleary eyes, I had some trouble seeing during the graveyard scene. I could have done with a lot more of the Champions, especially Krum. (Giggle. And Draco. Oh, dear.) They did very well with keeping up the characterization during all those plot points, though. The smaller scenes were the best, I think. This series has made me acutely aware of how influential the director is to a movie. I've never quite understand what effect the director has. But these movies all have the same writer, and the same actors, more or less, so the huge differences must be due to the director. Yay for Mike Newell. So, overall, lovely movie, go see it.

Coming back was fun, too. Sara and I were in the very back row. The people were dawdling getting out, so we decided to climb over the seats in front of us, which is how we got up there. I attempted to pull my long-legged great big step, but wound up slamming my bad knee into a cupholder. I'd also run into a velvet-ish rope pole with that knee on our mad dash to the theater, so I was not in good shape. Much pain. Sara is far more space efficient than I am, so she tried to climb down by stepping into the chair, forgetting that they rock, so she kind of fell, too. We're so graceful. We drove back at a normal speed, then Sara and I took the last Blue shuttle back to North Hill. I got to bed around 3:45am.

I got to sleep in until 8:30, but then I had to get up for class. Maura slept in way late, which was odd. I was pretty tired, but functional enough. 280 was fine. I had lunch with Andrew, which was lovely. My knee was its worst, though, since I still have that bruise, and the cupholder left a big bump. Making my bed this morning was awkward. I felt underprepared for my Spanish test. My teacher wrote this one, so I knew it'd be the hardest, but who would have expected me to study last night with Harry Potter on the horizon? I'm pretty sure I messed up some conjugations, but we've done about four tenses now, so that's expected.

I came home and took a nap since Comm was cancelled. I got up and played online for a while, then went to dinner with Hana, Rebecca, and Dan, then came back to play some more. I intended to study. I'm about 3 weeks behind on copying my 301 notes. The rest of my weekend work looks deceptively light. Guy called me last night; he, Andrew, and probably Scott also decided to go to Muvico, but I went straight to voicemail when I called him once we got there. Maybe we'll hang out tomorrow night.

Oh, Harry Potter. How I love thee. Yay, squee, and all that good stuff.

---