On Pop-Tarts and Neglectful Parenting

Okay, I know it's been a while. But it's Thanksgiving break, and here I am with my typical guilty-that-I-haven't-updated-in-so-long blog post.

What do I have to report? Well, a lot. But not much I'm going to post here because I'm lazy and that would take too long, so really just the typical stuff. I'm home for a week, and as I've mentioned before, being home's pretty weird. Which is why I usually update my blog at home, as I've absolutely nothing to do.

The first semester's coming to a close, and my GPA isn't too disfigured other than my damn Chemistry grade. Right now I have ten o'clock curfew and level 4 privileges, which isn't too shabby. I just need to er, not fail chemistry to maintain that. Here's to not sleeping at all the week before finals!

But other than the Hell Subject, things are alright. We just closed The Miracle Worker, which I stage managed. I learned from that production that I don't like stage managing. But it's all good, auditions for Spring Repertory Theatre are coming up when I go back, and hopefully I'll get to do some acting. Two shows are going up, one a comedy that hasn't been decided on, and the other very well may be a production of Steel Magnolias. Yes, the Natchitoches stereotypical one. I made the mistake of cracking a joke about it to Kate (the director), and sure enough that may be one of the shows. But there're six female roles! I just need a good monologue and a prayer and I'm good to go.

Special Projects week is coming up when we return from Christmas, too. This is basically a week when there aren't any classes except for a - you guessed it - special project you choose. I had a couple of different options, one of which was the Creole Project. I made auditions, and would have been on a team of actor-writers who'd be working on writing and performing a play about Creoles in the Great Depression with the help of Looking For Lilith theatre company from Kentucky. But um, I decided to go to Italy and Greece instead. Regretful? I think not.

So there's a lot of random crap about theatre, the rest of it is predictable and boring. I'll let you know how my second semester classes go, assuming you're still reading. Which brings me to my final point...

Some have requested more frequent posts (i.e., not my neglectful "once-every-couple-of-months-when-I-have-a-break" thing). I really should never reproduce. "But I couldn't feed it - I was busy!" "Does it eat Pop-Tarts?" Well, unfortunately I can't just feed my blog Pop-Tarts, it's more high-maintenance than that. But I am considering sucking it up and posting a bit more often. Sooo, if you're one of the few individuals who endeavor to read these ramblings, comment on this post informing me you exist and want me to be more frequent.

Ground control to Major Tom...

So I know those avid readers of mine (whom I can count on one hand...) are quite concerned at this point. You've probably assumed I've been eaten alive by some math professor, or murdered in my sleep by my roommate. Well, unfortunately for you, think again.

No need for my mother to return the Frigidaire, or for Amber to hunt for a new roomie, because I've survived the first five weeks barely scarred and with no Swine Flu. Though this blog entry is sponsored by that tricky little N1H1, and the resulting Flucation. Yes indeed, there was a flu outbreak at LSMSA, and yes indeed they felt the need to close the school for a week to wipe it out. Am I thrilled about this? Not particularly. Class and test schedules are all thrown off now, and quite honestly I miss being there. Home is nice and all but, eh. It gets old.

So where to begin. I'm not going to go into too much detail for your sakes, but I'll try and give you a general idea of what goes on up there. Here's a brief rundown of my teachers:

Brad Burkman, College Algebra: If you know me at all, you know I hate this subject with a fiery passion that could destroy several large cities. But this guy makes me think that maybe (just maybe, let's not get carried away...) math teachers have souls. Now I'm not saying they can function normally in society or anything like that, but this is a cool guy. He has screen-caps of this incredibleness hanging in his cubicle, teaches class with the lights and air conditioning off, rides his bike everywhere, and gives quizzes on the backs of scrap paper ranging from old sheet music to poetry left over from English classes. He also doesn't let his students use calculators or text books, but I'm maintaining an A in his class, so no complaints there.

Dr. Sumie Shima, Chemistry and Chemistry Lab: Really, the Science Department's cutest little Japanese woman. I mean, I'm borderline failing her class, but come on, her accent is adorable. And she gives out candy (including but not limited to, "Tutie Rolls"). And uh, I'm working on the failing thing.

Dr. Rodney Allen, Composition/Literature: Well, obviously my favorite class. But all previous biases aside, this guy is awesome. Arguably crazy liberal atheist with a Ph.D. from Duke, what's not to like? Class is almost entirely awesome political discussion, and within a week of class Dr. Allen and I impromptu recited the entirety of a Yeats poem together. Plus the fact I have a 100 A in his class is nice, too.

Victor Feske, American History: Ph.D. from Yale. This man is so intense. SO INTENSE. He quite possibly knows everything. EVERYTHING. We're talking, I have over 100 pages of notes from less than ten classes intense. And I have the first exam next week. Hahah, GPA, hahah.

Kate Riley, Acting I, Stage Production, Academic Advisor: Again, you don't have to know me very well to know I like her classes. But uh, she's pretty cool too. She knows her stuff more than your average "Bring me the magic!" or whatever the hell drama teacher, and is fun to work and play with. I'm stage managing for the Fall Repertory show (The Miracle Worker - yeah, the choice in shows is kind of laughable, but the job involves me getting work service credit AND making Helen Keller jokes. Come on).

And the rest of the teachers are basically unimportant/not interesting enough for a character bio. I mention no names. But that's a basic run-down of my academic life, and the rest is really too extensive to bother you all with. People there are cool, dorm life is cool, cafeteria food is lame - it's all pretty predictable stuff. But I will leave you with this picture from Sadie Hawkins. Jacob and I were Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett. We danced like Caucasians, ground up classmates we dislike into meat pies, and fun was had by all (except the unsuspecting classmates, of course).

But anyway, there's an update for those who wanted it (or at least humored me by suggesting you did), and now I plan on trying to have a productive flucation before dropping off the Earth's surface again next Sunday.

It's the final countdown.

[Insert epic music to go with that title]

So you know how I left off on my last entry (over two months ago) saying that I was going to spend the summer having a social life? Well I'm not sure about that, but a good few other things did happen this summer. It's been pretty intense, to the point where the start of school is looking like a relief.

On the less exciting side of the scale, I worked as a tour guide/receptionist/whatever the hell else needed to be done at The Myrtles Plantation. The Myrtles has been deemed "America's most haunted home", and though I didn't directly encounter any ghosts I did come across some pretty scary characters (ranging from psychics to rednecks). In my first week alone I was proposed to by a guy on my tour, force-fed grits, and asked multiple times questions like "Are you guaranteed to see ghosts?" "Do the ghosts touch people?" and "Are YOU a ghost?" All in all an interesting first-job experience, to say the least.

Early in the summer I also had a brief job playing some chick named Eliza Pirrie for an LPB special. I won't go in to detail about this, but I will let you know when to tune in to watch me pretend to play the piano and wear the stupidest hat you will ever have the amusement/horror to witness.

Now that you've been updated on my summer involvement in the working-world (you poor soul), I'll give you a brief run-down of the important things that as my blog reader you need to know, but I really don't want to talk about. Firstly, I'm now dating someone. Secondly, this someone's name is Jacob and he will also be coming to LSMSA because, thirdly, he was previously dating Anneke (the roomate and bestie, remember?). This has lead us to, fourthly, the fact that Anneke and I will not be rooming together next year. We've decided it's for the best, and we're still besties, so don't get your knickers in a bunch. But for the sake of my sanity (and probably yours), I digress.

Move in is in less that a week (this Saturday - gasp!) , and though I'm stocked up on all of the silly crap one must have in a dorm room (ranging from Beatles posters to pirate-themed dishes), I'm a wee bit apprehensive. But a bit excited as well, so I'm just going to suck it up and take the leap of faith (with or without the leaping or the faith, but you get the idea). If you don't hear from me, tell my mother to return the Frigidaire.

Thoroughly oriented.

I just got in from the four-day, three-night-long New Student Orientation at LSMSA (which Anneke and I have taken to pronouncing "lismisah" for short). As one may assume, there is a good bit of information that can be drilled into students' brain in four days. However, there are only so many things students need to know about a school, residential or otherwise. Here are the main points they stressed (and re-stressed) during the four-day event:

1. You are going to fail.
Not only are you going to fail, but you are going to get no sleep what-so-ever and gain a freshman fifty-something from all of the cafeteria food (which is surprisingly decent) and ramen you will eat in an attempt to dull the pain of your mind-screwing, college-level classes and several metric tons of homework. But uh, you'll learn a lot.

2. Don't drive your roommate completely insane.
Blaring music in the middle of the night is not always accepted. Not everyone is comfortable with naked. Stealing their stuff and eating their food is not nice, nor is pointedly waking them up when they do not have a class. You probably shouldn't room with your best friend (Anneke and I discussed this: we came to the conclusion that we are at the point in our friendship where we can tolerate each other, however bat-shit insane we may be).

3. Don't smoke pot.

Those are some of the main points covered. But I did attend some pretty amusing and/or intellectually stimulating seminars. I started with one on Kurt Vonnegut taught by Dr. Allen from Duke, Vonnegut's BFF who is also in possession of what is probably the last piece of mail Vonnegut ever sent (postcard addressed to him). My English high was killed, however, with Ms. Mangum's "I Wish the Word 'Math' Weren't in the Name of the School" lecture. Yes, the grammatical error in the title is ironic and yes, Ms. Mangum both amuses and intimidates me to no end. I also went to a seminar on dorm decoration, which mainly consisted of a Student Life Advisor (SLA) telling us what we could and could not stick on our walls and reading Zombie Haiku (which is quite possibly the most simultaneously hilarious and disturbing book ever written, followed by Freud's Interpretation of Dreams. Anneke is spearheading a Zombie Militia Club for next year).

I also met with my academic advisor (who is conveniently the head of the Theatre Department) and signed up for my courses, which include Web Design, Acting I (again, unfortunately), and Stage Production for the fall. In spring I'm taking Creative Writing: Poetry and Literary Non-fiction, Kurt Vonnegut, Body Movement, and hopefully Repertory Theatre (if I make auditions). Some of these that I had to audition for may mean that I'll even be eligible for some badass Arts Focus stuff if I play my cards right. That and my new LSMSA "I heart English" shirt almost is enough to make me forget about all of the math. But for now I'm going to suck it up, practice my functions, and get some social-life in before fall.

A blog by any other name.

The captain has turned on the fasten seatbelt light. (Get it, like a plane analogy?)

In all seriousness, welcome to my shiny new blog. I'm hesitant to call it a "blog" for the simple reason that writing blogs requires a quick-wit and funny anecdotes about small children and waiting in lines at the grocery store, but because I'm using Blogspot as a host it appears I've been labeled. "But Alex, why are you writing a blog if you don't intend to supply us with anecdotes about shopping excursions?", you may ask. Well, here's why I'm here:

Next year I'm leaving Catholic School and transfering to The Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts. Today is my last day among the upper-middle-class white girls (with all of the church services and estrogen that comes along with them), and now I'm pulling up my roots and going to the dark side: public liberal arts boarding school. So, this blog is my account of what happens (the good, bad, and the weird). This is sounding like the set-up for a bad reality show.

Next week I finish final exams. The next day I'll be grabbing Anneke (bestie and fellow new LSMSA student extraordinaire) and heading to Natchitoches, Louisiana for four days of orientation among our future classmates. It's going to be a bumpy ride.