What I'm Doing Today

So no big post about yesterday's outting, or my mental breakdown about upcoming tests/papers because I just have so much work to do.

THIS IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN DOING ALL DAY, in preparation for Tuesday's geology midterm:


Note the lovely bars and metal grate covering my bedroom window. And the lovely view of the wall of the building right outside. How jealous are you right now?

THIS is what I WILL be doing all of TOMORROW:


More geology!!

AND MONDAY, starting at 8am, when I go to meet with my TA for a private review/tutoring session:



You get the idea.

Also, what is the worst view YOU have ever had out of a window some where you've lived?

...Hardly a Camper (or, Geology Campout, the Overnight Edition)

So the buses dropped us off at Los Alamos Campground, near Pyramid Lake, at around 6pm. Then they drove back to LA, leaving most of us wishing we were going with them - it had already gotten pretty cold, and the prospect of staying the night out there was not looking good to anyone (except maybe Dr. A, who was way too excited to sleep on the ground). 

Dr. A rented two adjacent campsites - one for himself and the TAs, and another larger one next to it for the students. This photo was taken at the campground. Our lot was nearby where this picture was taken, but it was tucked farther back into the canyon wall (which was good, since it acted as a windbreak) and much less green.

 One girl in my group, Rebecca, brought a 6-person tent from home. Rebecca, Sophia, and I got our tent up surprisingly quickly while the other three girls got diner going. Sophia and I had definitely never done anything remotely similar before, and we were pretty proud of ourselves for setting up the shelter. It was a big tent!! Exactly this design, but in blue and gray.

Tents went up pretty quickly all around, with people hurrying to finish before dark. Soon, the whole area filled with dozens of tents of all shapes and colors, and with almost two hundred people milling about in between, we looked like a weird sort of modern shanty village. It was very surreal. I'll post a picture if someone posts one of Facebook - I wish I'd had my camera, but it's still in Seattle somewhere.

A big bummer - aside from the plummeting temperature, which prompted all of us Southern-California students into our warm clothes faster than you could imagine - was the burn ban, which prevented us from having a campfire. The eating s'mores had been almost as big a draw for me as the grade thing, so I was really bummed. Dr. A was even more upset, but he cooked his steaks just fine over a propane stove.

A girl in my tent group also brought a propane stove. We had all previously assigned different members of the group food items to bring, but of course we all brought extra, so we ended up having way too much food. We feasted on cheeseburgers with all the fixings and condiments, homemade veggie wontons, and bow tie pesto and had plenty to share (other groups were eating PB&J!). 

Although most of the groups didn't bother with bringing supplies for a hot meal, they all seemed to have plenty of alcohol (the one thing my group DIDN'T bring) so the party started pretty quickly. Dr. A even came and joined, after clearly having some wine at his own campsite.

Two of the girls in my tent group stayed out pretty late, but the rest of us - exhausted form the day and anticipating an early morning - went to bed early. We could hear Dr. A's voice ("WHOOP! WHOOP!!") late, late into the evening, pointing out planets and constellations (the stars were INCREDIBLE!) and joking around with his students, who thought a teacher joining them to party was just hilarious, great fun.

Actually, that night explained a lot. I wondered why we took a seemingly pointless hike that ate up several hours, when we otherwise could've hit all the stops in one day. I realized at the overnight that Dr. A intentionally did that just to have the overnight, so he could be a crazy, partying, pseudo-celebrity (EVERYBODY loves him, he's kind of a USC legend) with nearly two hundred college students. Sort of like borrowing his own youth back, I guess.

Anyway, the tent worked out great. Plenty of room for all six of us, and it was kind of cool sleeping in a shelter I helped build (though I don't want to do it again). It got really cold - around 40F - and I was super grateful to Christine, who lent me the most incredible sleeping bag ever created. I could dedicate the whole post to this sleeping bag - warm, but somehow well ventilated, cozy, cushy, light, easily packed, soft (there's a "comfort shell" on the inside so you don't feel like you're sleeping in a parachute), and you can remove the comfort shell and/or the hood to adjust the temperature rating if you're like my Dad and hate to be hot - but instead of going on FOREVER, I'll just post a picture:

Incredibly, this sleeping bag made me forget I was sleeping on the floor of a tent. When everyone was talking about how cold they were, and how they had to sleep in all these layers and parkas, I had been toasty warm all night, and slept surprisingly deeply in only leggings and a crew neck sweatshirt. So than you, Christine, for the use of your fantastic sleeping bag!

The next day, despite his previous revelry, Dr. A was back to his responsible - though wacky - self, waking the camp up with his "WHOOP! WHOOP!!" at 8am. My group (or at least those of us who didn't get crazy the night before) had gotten a head start getting cleaned up.

I became the most popular girl in camp when the other girls realized I had a whole roll of toilet paper (the gross "bathroom" was out). What can I say? I am my mother's daughter, and I think of these things. Anyway, that toilet paper was gone in about five seconds when word got around.

Shockingly, camp was packed and the buses were moving by 9:30am. I had totally expected to be waiting around forever for people to get up and going, but we were off to the remaining stops early!

But the trip wasn't over yet...

STAY TUNED FOR: Geology Campout, Day II

Only 19 More Hours of Plumbing

Tomorrow, at 9am - that's 9am on a SATURDAY - I have to report to a bunch of buses at Leavey Library to begin the requisite weekend-long torture session (I mean camping trip - did I say torture?). 

I also have new information - at one of the stops, we have a 3 mile hike up and down this hill/mountain/steep land feature of some kind. Lovely. If this wasn't worth 10% of my grade, there's no way I'd be participating.

And yet, my bags are packed. I'm bringing my share of the food for my tent group. I have a sleeping bag rated to 15 F, and trash bags, and a flash light, and sturdy shoes, and a day pack, and even a borrowed ski jacket in case it gets cold. I'm equipped 'til we get back at 6pm on Sunday night.

I'll let you know if I survive that long... 

Special Sunday Edition

In light of the fact that it's Sunday and I just finished my first research paper for Catholicism in the US, I thought I'd share a little of what I've learned with you. 

First of all, my paper is an exploration of the impact of Vatican II's document Sacrosanctum Concilium, also called "The Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy," and the subsequent changes to the liturgy. To complete the paper, I read the whole document, an additional subsequent document, a motu proprio issued by Pope Benedict XVI, and four books written by priests, bishops, theologians, a Lutheran observer of Vatican II. I also did a lot of historical research about the different forms of the Mass to put everything in context.

You might be interested to know that the oldest surviving form of the Mass in the Tridentine Mass, which was celebrated, completely unaltered, for over 400 years preceding Vatican II. It's the Mass where the priest faces the altar away from the congregation and speaks mostly in Latin. The Mass we celebrate today is called Novus Ordo Missae, or "New Order of the Mass". In a lot of ways it's easier to follow and much more inclusive of the laity, but its departure from the Tridentine and close similarities to the Protestant services upset many conservative Catholics. In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI issued a letter allowing priests to celebrate the Tridentine Mass at their discretion, an allowance that was widely celebrated by orthodox Catholics. (For reference, the above picture is of a stripped, modern Novus Ordo altar and celebration, while the photo below is of the Tridentine Mass).

Out of curiosity, I YouTube'd "Tridentine Mass" and found a full-length, totally accurate celebration of the Tridentine High Mass. I watched the whole thing, utterly transfixed with the beauty and mystery of it. It's crazy how the two Masses celebrate the same thing but are totally foreign. I highly suggest you check it out. I know it's tough to carve an hour out of your day sometimes, but you absolutely will not regret it, even if you decide you never ever want to experience it again (as for me, I found a Church back in Seattle that celebrates it every Sunday, and plan to check one out in person as soon as I can). If you decide to watch, also Google "Tridentine Mass English translation" and follow along with the side-by-side English-Latin online Missal. 

Do it tonight, as an extra dedication on Sunday, or really any other day of the week to infuse a bit of worship and faith tradition into your day. Or maybe if you're really busy, save it as a special sacrifice of your time during Lent. You won't regret it. 

The Gas We Pass

Last Tuesday, I submitted my very first official essay as an English major. The assignment, for my British Literature to 1800 class, was vague: four to six pages, on Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales (we read it in its original Middle English). This particular professor seems to like really quirky and original essay topics. 

I called my paper, “The Gas We Pass: Flatulence in The Canterbury Tales”. Needless to say, that was also its topic. I was very happy with how it turned out, and even though it only received a B (the lowest grade I have EVER received on any essay in my entire life!!), it still earned the highest grade in the class, so I’m okay with that. In the process, I also learned a lot about the approach this professor likes (loved the topic, hated one of the four arguments I made, and had hugely valid points against it I hadn’t considered) so if any of you are interested in reading it, let me know by leaving a comment on this post (hit the comment button at the end of the post) or sending me an email, and I’ll get it to you. 

First Day of Classes!

Oh boy. Big, big day!

I just had my first two classes of the fall semester! I’m pretty proud of myself for scheduling too – the classes are back-to-back and in the same building, so Mondays and Wednesdays I’ll have a solid block of class from 10am-1pm, and then I’m done for the day, which is nice.

First, at 10am, was “Democracy, Dissent, and the Da Vinci Code: Catholicism in the US.” The professor, Fr. Heft, seems really interesting, incredibly smart (I know this sounds redundant because he’s a professor, but you know those people – the ones who speak authoritatively and succinctly, and never seem to lose their train of thought), and remarkably organized. He called on us by name without introductions – he apparently memorized our names and faces from a roster with thumbnail headshots of us. That was a little weird just because we'd never met before, but also pretty impressive.

We mostly went over the syllabus, and it looks like we’re going to be covering some pretty interesting stuff. Some of it, like an objective study of the treatment of Catholicism in pop culture, never came up in high school classes, so I’m pretty excited for that. It looks like there’s going to be a good amount of assigned reading, too. Here are the books Fr. Heft plans for us to complete by the end of the semester:

Intense, huh? I flipped through some of the books and have already done some of the reading. Looks like some pretty hefty stuff.

Anyway, right after that I had my first English class. The professor, a man called Kemp, has a sophisticated English accent that sounds as if it should be emitting from a really straight-laced guy who keeps a pocket watch and wears a lot of tweed. Instead, Kemp is a rather stocky guy who arrived several minutes later than the majority of the class in wrinkled khaki pants and a stained short-sleeved button down. He doesn’t seem quite as organized as, say, Fr. Heft (seeing as we still don't have a full booklist), but has a passion for his material that I think will translate into interesting lectures.

All in all, I think it’s a pretty good start to the year. I’ll let you know how my other two classes go tomorrow, but right now I have some online reading to do for Catholicism.