Sunday, November 30th Its my party... The Christmas season is finally upon us. This is my favorite time of the year. I love going to bed early, curling up in front of a fire, drinking tea and hot apple cider, bundling up in scarves and coats. It makes me so happy every year. This time of year also heralds my homecoming. I don't go home during the semester, so winter break is the first time I get to return to Texas, and I'm not going to lie, by the time it rolls around I'm good and dying of homesickness. Since campus is rather unreligious, and of the religious, Judaism prevails, when I'm here, I miss most of the traditions that I'd grown up with. People don't wish each other a merry Christmas, its unlikely that people burst into random carols, you don't see very many Christmas lights floating about. I even miss the Christmas weather: it doesn't snow in Texas, but it gets cold. At least much colder than it does here. Today it was in the 80s. I wore a short sleeve shirt. Maybe I'll go sunbathing tomorrow. Not exaggerating. I only have 8 more days of classes: 5 this week, 3 the next. Last week we only had 3 as well, because of Thanksgiving, which was amazing. I spent like 3 and a half ours cooking dinner on Thanksgiving day, but everything turned out so well. And I've already finished all the left-overs, which is even more of a reason to celebrate. I can't wait for reading days, death by chocolate, and the end of the semester. I only have one final (I mean, I have 3 final papers and a final musical composition as well) but that does take of the stress off of that week. I should be able to put in a few hours a day and be able to chill out, enjoy the sun, for the rest of the time. And I've been working ahead, so I've got most of my other things in order. I won't have to be pulling any all-nighters at least, trying to get them in. Lately I've been really craving a fun, mind-less book to read. I've gotten pretty close to picking up my Hitchhiker's again, but I'm afraid that if I start that I'll have to read all five of them, and I don't quite have time for that. I've also started and stopped Ella Enchanted a few times (which is like, my all time favorite childhood book), but it just doesn't seem right this time. Maybe its because of the inundation of Jane Austen this semester. Maybe its because whenever I start to read for fun I feel incredibly guilty and can't focus, remembering how much other work I have to do. Same with this. I know I should be studying for my kanji test on tuesday. But really, they aren't that hard, and I know a couple of them already...right? Next semester should be a bit easier though. I pre-register this week, Thursday, day after I turn 19.5 (not a big one, but sort of...only 6 more months as a teenager, then I have to start taking responsibility for my actions). I'm going to be taking Elementary Japanese 51B, which will be wicked hard, but manageable. Plus, I'm pretty dedicated to learning the language, especially as my possible semester in Tokyo looms closer and closer and I begin to panic more and more about it. I'll also be taking Elementary Japanese Conversation, in case class 4 days a week isn't enough. As for English classes, I was accepted into Advanced Creative Writing: Fiction, taught by Charmaine Craig. Google her, she's pretty impressive. And I'm hoping to get into Art of the Novel, with the same professor. You can probably guess where my interests lie within the field of English. I'm sorry, but analysis makes me want to cry, both reading and writing. I don't so much mind the thinking and talking parts of it, but when you ask me to spend hours considering some character's wording, it just makes me tear my hair out. Honestly, I spent hours this semester writing a paper which basically amounted to: Jane Austen is bitter because she never got any. Pathetic. And I'm going to be continuing my music career next semester with Music in Theory and Practice. My second music theory course for my potential minor. Hopefully, without a lab, this one will prove a little bit more manageable than Music Theory I. I just have the worst ear on the planet, I swear. Well, not true, I have a good ear in some regards. If I think about it, there are a couple notes I can almost always sing from memory, like B4 and F5, they like stick out in my voice, and I've just memorized their pitch. So in that way, I'm in luck. But when you ask me to identify Tonic and Dominant chords, I'm lost. I normally will just stare at you and say, "well, you just played some notes, and they sounded pretty...what exactly was I supposed to be hearing in those?" About my current musical life, the Pomona College Choir concert is this week. We're performing selections from Handel's Messiah. About a little more than an hour of music. It should be good, and its free, so hopefully we can get a crowd. I made a facebook event earlier today for it. I'm also getting ready for the student recital at the end of semester when I have to make my solo debut. I'm absolutely dreading it. I HATE singing for people, more than anything. I get all flustered and freeze up. I even did that for my choir audition this year, and I'm a manager! Whatever, I'll survive it, and if I screw up, so be it. Not much I can do. What I can do, though, is work on my final composition project. Right now its filled with what my theory teacher politely referred to as "interesting harmonies" and "unconventional chord choices." So, apparently I'm not a composer either. While next semester I will have fewer classes, I'm going to be doing more music. There'll be choir, voice, and guitar lessons still, but hopefully I'll be adding to that Glee Club (assuming Donna still wants me) and piano lessons. I haven't played the piano in ages, but I really miss it, so we'll see. I'm not sure if I can get in to that, as piano lessons can be competitive, but I know most of the teachers and I'm pretty tight with the department, so hopefully that'll help. Um, so this blog has probably been my most boring one so far, as it mostly consists of myself talking about myself and my life. But, its my blog, so I get to say whatever I want, and you will just have to deal with it. Sorry. [karma: 0 (+/-)] Katie on 11.30 at 07:11 Sunday, November 16th "The Great Shakeout" On Thursday a 7.8 rated earthquake shook all of California. Everyone in the state trembled in fear as we first ducked under any furniture that could possibly protect us, and then rushed outside, as calmly and orderly as possible in the state of panic that had settled upon us like a boiled wool blanket. As we stood outside in the beautiful 85 degree SoCal weather, we listened with bated breath as role was called, each name shaking our hearts as we waited and hoped for a response. People in orange vests with walkie-talkies were relaying the dreaded statistics: numbers of missing, dead, and trapped. After role was taken, and buildings were deemed clear, caution tape was used to close off the doors. Yet, even though this tape should have been a sign of relief: a sign that everyone from that building was accounted for, the sight of it only brought more fear. What about the buildings that didn't have tape? What about the people who weren't accounted for. On Thursday, California had a state-wide earthquake drill. Everyone in the state was forced to perform simplistic rituals in an attempt to fend off the inevitable disaster that has been successfully avoided for hundreds of years. Yes, someday, California is going to break off from the rest of the continent. When? I don't know. In my class, we all waited for the first alarm, a symbol to duck for safety. We barely heard the siren, and when it was audible, ignored it. Really, the little chair desks in Crookshank are not going to be of any use in case of an actual disaster. The second alarm was also inaudible. When I received a phone call telling us to evacuate, my class made its way outside. We took role, while everyone talked amongst themselves. Answers were fewer heard than asked for. We made a weak attempt to continue our discussion of Jane Austen, but even with the threats of interpretive dancing, lyrical poems, and a special speaker specializing in balls of the time, the weather was too enticing. Discs were thrown, grass was sat on, naps were taken, all under the guise of a careful analysis of several passages from Emma. When the all clear was given, and the caution tape that had been so dutifully placed was torn off, class was dismissed. Emma was very ill used during that class period. If and when California breaks off from the rest of the US, I feel like knowing how to correctly hide under a desk will not be all that helpful. What we should have practice was mass panic and rushing to the airport to claim the last seat on any plane taking off immediatly, going anywhere but California. Really, it might be better to be in Taiwan without a passport, money, or vaccinations, than to be stuck in a sinking state. But, if you feel like standing in a doorway, good luck to you. I hope you are a good swimmer. [karma: -3 (+/-)] Katie on 11.16 at 01:07 Tuesday, November 4th Marginalization on election day It has been a hard day to be a conservative on campus of a liberal arts college in southern California. A very very hard day. Coming here, I have to face, nearly daily, a certain amount of what the college would refer to as "marginalization" if it happened to any minority other than the conservative religious group (which I feel is actually the most underrepresented minority here at Pomona College). Daily, I have to deal with the assumption that everyone here is some form of atheist liberal (or, if not atheist, then Jewish). I, of course, belong to this group as well. Honestly, you'd have to be crazy not to. Clearly its the only reasonable point of view. Anyway, I'm getting off the topic of whining about today and am getting dangerously close to just generally whining. Please forgive me, as I will now venture back to my original point. Today, being the election, was particularly difficult. I voted absentee in Texas. I am from Texas. I was born and raised in Texas. Make any assumptions you would like from those facts. Though I consider myself an Independent, if forced to pick between the two parties, my state loyalties run-deep. And I'm a little terrified of Obama, but that's another topic. (Please do not crucify me for that sentiment, its shared by many, just stated by few). Here in Claremont, today has been one giant celebration of Barack (Obama is far too impersonal, for everyone's personal hero). Blue was the color of the day, and many shirts were adorn with slogans supporting the Democratic candidate. Nearly each class started or ended with a cheerful "I hope you've all voted!" from the teacher, and most conversations began with "have you voted yet? I heard that Obama's ahead!" Never the thought that I might not be overjoyed by that news. I've managed to stay busy today, and by keeping most of my conversations in Japanese, have greatly decreased my ability to discuss politics. It made the day slightly more manageable. But only slightly. Things got worse this evening, when the election started to heat up, particularly because there were constant joyful updates, each of which caused a little bolt of anxiety to shoot through me. "Obama's ahead!" yelled joyfully and with obvious enthusiasm became "Obama's ahead!" a cry of anguish that echoed through my mind like the clink of a prison door. The irony of the situation is, the more evident it became that I was having a difficult day, the more people attempted to cheer me up with wonderful proclamations of "Obama took Pennsylvania," and "He's ahead in Ohio." Fantastic. Exactly what I needed to hear to be spurred on. Now, I realize that this probably sounds like the moody rant of some bitter conservative, and it partially it, but please don't believe I wrote this because I feel like whining about election results. The people have spoken, this is their decision, I was not within the majority, but that is irrelevant, what's done is done. What this is supposed to be about, and what I'm afraid I have communicated quite poorly, is how unfortunate it is when people assume that their opinion is the only one worth having. How horrible it is for people to be written off and pushed aside. You hear so much about gender and race marginalization. I'm white, but I'm also female, so I'm entitled to speak on one of those topics, and this is what I have to say. Throughout my life, I have rarely felt discrimination based on my gender, but since I have come to this college, I have felt daily discrimination against religiousness and conservatism. If you take contention with any of the above, I am sorry, but please think about it. If you consider yourself liberal, if you take pride in being open-minded and accepting of all, take a second to search your feelings. Maybe you have no issues with different races, genders, sexual-orientations, but how do you feel about the conservatives? If you can honestly say, that you are as accepting and understanding of us, as you are of all the other groups, then congratulations. You are an incredible person, I would love to meet you. I would love it even more, if you came to my college and tried to knock some sense into the general population, faculty, staff, and students alike, because this bias seems to have been completely overlooked, and even encouraged in our overly politically correct college community. [karma: 1 (+/-)] Katie on 11.04 at 08:51	main November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 email