Actual Halloween is here

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!

Unfortunately real Halloween was far less exciting than yesterday. I woke up late, went to some meetings, and am now in Lamont library doing the homework I should have done earlier this weekend...

However, as you can see, it was a gorgeous fall day, unlike the rainy Halloweens of Seattle.

Also, check out this costume! It has been in the Kirkland Courtyard all day because apparently it won't fit through the doors. It's Annenberg (the freshman dining hall). Pretty cool, huh?

Halloween is Here

At college it doesn't matter what day Halloween actually is, because no matter what it is Saturday night.

My costume was a blast! In the dark room I glowed really brightly, and I spent the whole night dancing with people under the umbrella! It was like a light show, and I was a hit of the party :)

Rose was darkness, Miriam the Tea Party, and Jenny was grapes.

COSTUMES!!!

From when it all started in 5th grade with crazy hair day to now I love making costumes. Just being silly, making myself into something completely different, and pushing the limits of what is possible. In high school, I had a stick that was exactly the length of the school door so that I could make sure I could fit through the door, and I made over 40 costumes during high school alone.

This year my roommate Miriam decided to be the Tea Party. As you can see from the picture, she is a tea cup, and she's got a party hat! Her teacup is covered in Tea Party slogans and statements. However, I was at a loss as to what to be. Then suddenly my wonderful Mom sent me a whole lot of glow-sticks as a Halloween surprise, and my problem was solved. (Thanks Mom!) I decided to be a jellyfish! And, I won Kirkland's costume contest! I can't wait to wear it to go partying this weekend. It is going to be incredibly silly and awesome with my giant umbrella.

We're a gonna be FAMOUS

As you know, I joined the Quidditch team, and we are going to the World Cup in November. So, here's a little anecdote about how life is full of surprises. We just got an email saying that a film company wants to do a documentary about Quidditch, and they want to follow one team through their triumphs and tribulations of getting to the World Cup. And they picked us!!! From practices to personal interviews, to filming our games. As you might imagine, the team is pretty excited! But, if you think that's it, you'd be wrong!

Just today we got another email... From MTV! They want to put us on MTV! Life is pretty exciting here, and you know with a little Harry Potter magic, anything can happen.

Back at Harvard, the leaves are changing and Halloween is upon us! Stay posted for Halloween pictures. Meanwhile though, enjoy these pictures of leaves and trees before comeith the big freeze!

And We're Back!

As you may have noticed, I haven't blogged for a while. My roommate Miriam's little sister came to stay with us for a week, and when her camera died, I let her borrow mine :) Hence, no pictures. Now, I know what you're thinking: "Oh no! This blog is called 365 Days 365 Pictures. Now what is she going to do?" Well, I'll just have to upload a few more pictures, now won't I?

Speaking of pictures, we have a lot to catch up on! First of all, I have to share a link with you that I spent my entire weekend doing. We had to create a movie for statistics class, and if you know me, I love this kind of assignment... and usually get a little carried away :) So, a ghost costume, puppet, and 8 hours of filming later, and the another 8 hours of editing, here it is! We filmed in Kirkland's (my house) courtyard, and it completely made my day to see all the students with their confused faces as to why there was a ghost running around their courtyard scaring people, not to mention the tiger puppet. We even got students to be extras, to volunteer to get scared for the purpose of the educational video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPxkxwcWtCY

New Hampshire, New Friends, New Adventures

7 students

+ one tutor

+ 2.5 hour car drive

+ 1 wooden cabin in the woods

--------------

tons of fun.

Here are the top ten reasons why the trip was fantastic!

10. Cooking Annie's Macaroni and Cheese on a gas stove (including lighting the stove without burning the cabin down... but that's another story.)

9. Sliding down the stairs on mattresses.

8. Trying to find the outhouse and ending up spending 10 minutes trying to open the woodshed.

7. Driving to Vermont to go maple syrup and cheese tasting.

6. Hiking up to the cabin across tilted wood planks covering streams in the pitch

blackness of night.

5. Climbing to the top of a fifty-foot tall fire tower where we could see the whole valley.

4. Throwing a frisbee off the fire tower and spending the next hour using compasses, pictures, and visual directions from people running up and down the water tower to figure out where the frisbee was and throwing rocks and sticks at it until, finally the wind knocked it down (we definitely loosened it with our sticks and rocks).

3. The warmth of a fireplace when it is freezing and pouring rain outside.

2. Playing Twister, Taboo, and Mafia until 2:00 in the morning.

1. New friends :)

Midterm #1- done!

Oct. 13

And now for a celebratory poem- I used to love this one when I was little!

I cooked my math book in a broth
and stirred it to a steaming froth.
I threw in papers—pencils, too—
to make a pot of homework stew.

I turned the flame up nice and hot
and tossed my binder in the pot.
I sprinkled in my book report
with colored markers by the quart.

Despite its putrid, noxious gas,
I proudly took my stew to class.
And though the smell was so grotesque,
I set it on my teacher’s desk.

My teacher said, "You’re quite a chef.
But still you’re going to get an F.
I didn’t ask for ‘homework stew,’
I said, ‘Tomorrow, homework’s due.’"

Speaking of elementary school- I'm going to go take a nap!

And, I had some more fun with art!! Check out this face art!

A Haiku for you

Oct. 12

Leaves of lined paper

Falling softly on the ground

Midterm season's here!

Hair pulled back, glasses on, and a beautiful view of midterm season from my window.

What My Fortune Holds for Me

Oct. 11

This weekend has been so relaxing. The weather is beautiful. I don't have that much work.

Life is just fantastic, BUT THEN THE WORLD CAME CRASHING DOWN LIKE AN AVALANCHE OF CASCADING ROCKS OF HOMEWORK DOOOOOOOOM! Why must Tuesday come?

On another note, there was a street fair, and I decided to get my fortune told. So, here is what she said about me.

1. Love is right around the corner for me- RIGHT around the corner (Hope this one is true) However, I am going to get married late- late 20s early thirties and have two kids.

2. I am going to live a very long life (Yay!)

3. I have skills in business and an artistic side (certainly true)

4. She sees a lot of good luck in my future

5. I am going to spend my whole life traveling, and I will see a lot of the world

6. I am a very good person, honest, respectable, and I have healing powers

7. I am going to spend a lot of time in a warm climate, and I will be going to a warm climate going soon

So, pretty interesting. We'll see if any of this comes true :) It was certainly a good fortune!

Pictures of the day: I decided to go all artistic today and play with my camera :)

Laundry!

Sunday Oct. 10

Okay, so this is my EPIC to do list for the weekend! Two pieces of paper, going halfway down the wall.

The question is- can I get them all checked off by Monday @ Midnight???? (theme music).

Let's check in on the progress thus far. Well, the major accomplishment of the day was doing my laundry. So, the picture of the day is me and my laundry in the kirkland courtyard. Aren't we cute?

Alright, so now I can check blog off my list! Yay!

I walked... DumDaDum... Inside!

Saturday Oct. 9

I walked into my entryway, but before doing so I took a picture. The end!

Sometimes there's just not much to say about life. Saw my brother Matthew, had dinner with him... More adventures tomorrow! A lazy Saturday

:)

Quidditch!

Did you know that Harvard has a Quidditch team?

I just joined the Quidditch team, and I love it! I have never had so much fun with a sport before. So, for all you Muggles out there, let me explain how it works and why it is so amazing. The first rule of Quidditch is that all players must stay on their broom at all times. That means you must run around the field with the broom between your legs, and since you are holding the broom with one hand, you must complete all throwing and catching with only one hand.

1. Three players are chasers. These players "fly" around the field, while passing the quaffel (a slightly deflated volleyball) back and forth. Chasers try to score goals by throwing the quaffel through one of the opposite team's three hoops (See picture of hoops).

2. One player is a keeper (goalie) The keeper's job is to protect the three hoops so that the other team cannot score.

3. Two players are beaters. Beaters "fly" around the field and hit players with Bludgers (dodge-balls). If you get hit, you have to run all the way around your goal to simulate being knocked off your broom.

4. There is one player who is the snitch. They dress in yellow and have a sock in their back pocket. The game only ends when a seeker manages to get this sock, so the game can go on a while...

5. One player is the seeker, and their entire job is to try and catch the snitch and end the game, but there are no rules for the snitch. The snitch can do anything to keep from being caught, including throw mud or even hit the seeker, so you have to be careful!

What makes Quidditch amazing:

1. It is a contact sport, meaning you can tackle people! It's a great stress-releiver after a hard day of classes.

2. Can I just repeat that we have brooms ? We get some funny looks, but we have an amazing time.

3. In November, we will be traveling to New York to compete in the Quidditch World Cup. Over 80 schools in the United States have Quidditch Teams, so the World Cup will be incredible.

The Harvard Quidditch Team was started last year by a group of student here at the college. Just one example of the fun and creative activities here on campus.

Go Harvard Horntails!

Visit http://www.ehow.com/how_2071532_play-quidditch.html for more information.

El Flamenco

El movimiento. La Pasión. Los vestidos de colores vívidos... El Baile Flamenco es una expresión de los sentimientos de la vida.

Unfortunately, I don't dance the Flamenco at all!

However, Ivet and I spent the last two days preparing, learning about the history, the clothing, and I watched tons of Youtube videos so that I could teach my spanish class today.

20 college students, hands on hips, parading around the classroom at my instruction. Very fun, but a bit intimidating when I found out my professor used to be a professional Flamenco dancer!

You know you were born in the 1990s if...

I went to a 1990s dance with my roommates today, and check out Miriam and my outfits :)

You were born in the 1990s if:

You remember reading "Goosebumps"

Where in the world is Carmen San Diego? was both a game and a TV game show.

"I've fallen and I can't get up"

NANCY DREW AND THE HARDY BOYS WERE THE BEST MYSTERY BOOKS

You remember when the new Beanie Babies were always sold out.

You know the Macarena by heart.

You remember when razor scooters were cool.

When we were younger:
Before the MySpace frenzy...
Before the Internet & text messaging...
Before Sidekicks & iPods...
Before PlayStation2 or X-BOX...
...Back when you put off the 5 hours of homework you had every night.
When light up sneakers were cool.

When girls had a hard time buying shirts that covered their belly buttons
When you rented VHS tapes, not DVDs.
When gas was $0.95 a gallon & Caller ID was a new thing.

Heads Up 7 Up.

The Big Comfy Couch

Wishbone.
Bill Nye the Science Guy
MR RODGERS!!!!

Before we realized all this would eventually disappear
Who would have thought you'd miss the 90's so much!!!!!

The Smell of Autumn

The smell of Autumn is my favorite smell in the world.

It is the way it makes me feel overtime I walk outside, like something new and beautiful is about to start. The crispness. Like something is going to happen. The excitement. That smell of fall- it just makes me feel so alive.

Today Matthew and I went walking in a nature preserve in New Hampshire and it was perfect.