back to the classics :P

I made a mistake today, and instead of reading today’s post, I ended up reading my post for Oct 30 of last year. Don’t look it up… it’s one of those really, really long posts. LoL. I realized, however, that it’s been a while since I talk about everyday life. Reading a year old post was so fun… “remembering” how things really were (to me, at least) at the time… reading about the small little details I inevitably forget… so fun. So here is the re-cap for my first semester at Harvard. You don’t have to read it, by the way…lol… it’ll most definitely go on forever... ya know, for personal future reference :)

Class has been amazing. I have class every day, and I’m in lecture every MWF by 9am and am done around 5pm. Tuesdays are just as bad, but Thursdays I have just one class. Mondays and Fridays I usually work with the Media Services as a Student Technician, which means I do computers, cables, mics, cams, sound and video recordings…that sort of stuff. Either that or I’m providing media assistance… which is fun because the “client” is usually a professor… and I l-o-v-e knowing more about something (anything, even if it’s just computer stuff) than them :P *muajajaja*
Most lectures are held in the Sperry room, a large 400 people auditorium that gives us more than enough space to comfortably grab our preferred seat (or two) and listen to class. The movie-theater-like chairs are not as pretty as those in SMU’s lecture halls, but they’re arranged around the lectern area, much like the seats of a Greek theater, and they have folding tables, which I love.
The facilities are old… stone (building façade and floors) and wood (classroom floors, walls, and furnishings) …for the most part… and I find them beautiful, in a strange, grim-ish way… We do have one of the best libraries in the world, the Andover Theological Library… though I have so much obligatory reading that I feel I’ve missed out .. I will, however, start a MUST-READ book list… I’ve decided I just HAVE to make the time. LoL. I won’t ever have the time, I won’t ever have the money. I should just spend it. LoL. What little time I do have I will freely spend on what’s important.
But back to my immediate past. Present. Past-present? LoL. Continuous Past? Perfect Tense! Or is it the imperfect?? Oh gosh… Sorry…. Can I blame this one on Skedros?
Each of my professors is a character worth writing a book or two about. There’s the odd, mean but sweet pair that teaches my Histories Theologies and Practices course… they constantly look at each other for intellectual approval, and yet they rejoice in making jokes out of each other’s phrasing tendencies. They both have eye problems, a small distraction that I’ve solved through my own optical deficiency: I simply don’t wear my glasses for class. They seldom write on the board, so it’s proven to be quite a simple and effective solution, however funny it must be…. :)
My Greek professor is adorable. He is by far one of the most humane people I have ever met. He is very simply a good man. And an organized, structured professor too… I have a feeling some people might get nervous when he admits to have made a mistake… but I love that he does… he cares very little about impressing others… I luv it.
And then there’s my IMS professor, who is also my academic counselor. During my first (and admittedly, my only one so far) meeting with her, she said I should consider doing a PhD. That I’m definitely PhD material. Very flattering, of course, but we really didn’t talk that much, and I’m still wondering where on earth she drew that conclusion from??
And then there’s the Campus Minister… whose husband reminds me of Q. Since I met him a week or two ago, she and I smile and repeat that Economists are hot –every time we’re given a chance. She leads my IMS section course, and she brings a bell to class every day. Her class is the last one of the day for most of us, so her routine of making it resonate once to signal a minute of silence and prayer and then reading a poem at the end of those 60 seconds of silence is beyond helpful …the bell is very obviously Tibetan, which reinforces my suspicion that she drew her idea from the Eastern practice of meditation… and (should I be saying “but” ?) it does work: by the end of that last small echo, we have pulled ourselves back together, and we’re truly, fully present, ready for another hour and a half of literary intensity. I do believe we ought to learn from other traditions…
There is SO much I could say about that class… but I will save that for later.
I think I’ve already made my comment on the broadness of my courses so far. I expect that to be temporal, though. Only two of the classes we’re all expected to take are introductory in nature… and however broad they may be, I’ve only read half the material before… and most of it I read-skimmed my sophomore year… which means I’m still doing as much reading as anyone else. Too much.
I’ve found it difficult to adjust to the social environment… but I suppose I always do, at first. I’m afraid I have the tendency of being too friendly too soon… I may be scaring potential friends away! LoL. But seriously, I was in deep reflection yesterday … and I think that the more serious a person I seem, the more they (people in general) are interested in starting conversations with me –which is a bit hard because the more comfortable I get, the more I express “emotions” if you can call them that. Although I don’t necessarily want to make long, lasting friendships, I do not like the awkward feeling that I may have overreacted to someone’s friendly gesture. So, back to social tactic #1 : be reserved. Do your own thing and let them be. Usually they’ll warm up, and then I can warm up too… it just takes them a little longer :P
I am, however, a part of a “clique.” An “open clique,” as one of them said, but a clique nevertheless. LoL!! Back to high school!! We go out on Tuesday nights, after the 5 o’clock class. We go to someone’s place and watch tv and eat pizza, we play board games, we go to cafes, that sort of stuff. I like them all a lot… nothing great and amazing going on… but I do enjoy their company, and I appreciate their friendliness… mainly because it means I can be friendly too :) ! I’ve already started inviting people to join us, and I found it difficult to study at the library the other day… lol… with all the people stopping by to say hi… lol… the clique is soooo friendly, and everybody else is so ..iffy… it’s a bit confusing. I’m back to that freshman social status…LoL… again. I’ve come to the conclusion that although I am naturally friendly, I am not naturally social. I can only be comfortably social among friends. Does that make any sense? LoL…
Today I did half my laundy. I did it myself. Yup.. handwashed. Half my laundry. It is 2 dollars a load!! And another 2 dollars to dry. And I do some serious color sifting. I’ve decided that spending 16- 20 dollars a week on laundry is unacceptable. So I’m washing it myself, little by little. LoL. Let’s see if I can keep it up… I don’t think I will… but at least I won’t feel like I didn’t try. Jeje…
One of my roommates got engaged last weekend. So we have a small dinner party tonight… fun times… fun times.

Hmm… Pictures of the apartment and the department to come.