OVERDUE!

So......... I haven't been as diligent in updating the Internet as to my goings and ongoings as I was in Europe. This is in part because, despite my frequent activities there, I had access to the Internet a lot more often and, let's face it, I had a lot more time on my hands. Things that have happened since my last journalization:

-Finished my junior year of college
-Worked the Alumni Reunion
-Started work for Facilities as a Carpenter's Assistant
-Moved into a new house at 1290 Goodrich
-Watched the first 3 seasons of Lost
-Saved a group of blind, limbless orphans from a rabid pack of zombie bears

Ok, now for the details. My junior year is now over. I have successfully finished 3/4 of my college experience (barring any failure next year). I ended with an A, an A-, a B+ and a B (in Urban GIS, Paradigms of Global Leadership, Culture and Global Capitalism, and Disciplines and Methods of Geography, respectively). I was pleased. I can't recall anything major happening during that time except for the fact that I slept through my alarm the morning of my Methods final and didn't wake up until 20 minutes into the exam. Luckily, Professor Smith just smiled at me, handed me the test and said I ought to finish with plenty of time to spare. I did. The rest is so far behind me at this point and went so uneventfully smoothly the details are missing now. Next!

This last weekend was the Alumni Reunion at Macalester. It was the reunion for the classes of 2004; 1999; 1984, 1985, 1986; 1979; 1969; 1964; 1959 and all previous years before that. A friend of mine working it related to me the sad story of the only attending grad from the class of 1928 asking 'if any of her friends were there.' They weren't. Awwww. Maybe they just couldn't come that weekend. I did meet a lot of nice and interesting people - not just alumni but also international students. International students make up maybe 1/10 of the Mac student body, but they represent about 3/4 of all student workers at the reunion. They're really neat and a lot of fun to get to know, especially since they tend to stick to their own clique during the school year. Other fun memories: I got spoiled because this year I was invited, as a reunion worker, to attend the James Wallace Society dinner. That society is the high-end donors who have endowed Macalester in their wills as well as given something like $50,000 to the college. Most were old. I sat next to the Reverend Alan James (who incidentally lives about a mile from us in Withrow) grad of '56, who thought I was an American Studies major and so asked me a whole bunch of intriguing questions about 'what does it mean to be an American'. I had to think a lot about this, and we pondered the idea over the dinner. He talked about how, growing up in rural, Scandinavian-descended Minnesota, being an American meant something - you really celebrated civic holidays and tried to become an American, in part because many of your parents and neighbors weren't originally American. We also talked about multiculturalism, especially France and how they've dealt with multiculturalism, and freedom in the US and how it characterizes citizens of our country from people who live in places that aren't exactly free. He was, I like to believe, impressed with what I had to say. I was impressed with what he had to say, as every time I work reunion (i.e., this time and last year) I am stunned by the spriteliness of the alums, even those going into their 70s and 80s. Of course, this should be no surprise since my grandparents are quite sharp even in their mid-80s (although some of these alums were also quite physically active as well), but I suppose I've always thought of my family as exceptional and not the rule.

Also during reunion, I had to work for about 18 hours a day, so I'm still sleep deprived. I'm going to New Mexico for a week tomorrow, and I will be glad for the down time. I need a vacation. Ok, so maybe I had a vacation at the end of May when I vegged out and watched Lost for about 5 hours a day, but that was also tiring. So much suspense. It's a good show though. I look forward to finding out what happens next. DON'T SPOIL ANYTHING.

I've also started working as a carpenter's assistant for the Facilities department at Mac. It was my second day today, and so far I'm batting 1000 in terms of cutting my fingers. Yesterday, I nicked myself with a chisel and sliced the tip of my index finger, and today I banged it was a mallet so hard it bled. That was not fun. If I make any typing mistakes, chalk it up to those injuries. Since starting, I've been taking apart chairs and re-gluing them and re-upholstering them, and today I re-screened window screens. It's nice work, especially since my coworkers have all agreed the radio station of choice is the Current. I would have killed myself if I had had to sit through a summer of commercial radio. That truly is the bane of life. Thank you once again for coming to my rescue, MPR.

I've now moved into a new house at 1290 Goodrich Avenue. It is a nice place - I have three housemates, Ian Noble, Joe Ptacek and Chelsea Thibodeau. We get along well, but none of us have really had time to set the place up, so a week in it still looks like we just moved in. I unfortunately won't get to unpack for yet another week due to my trip. I'm not really complaining though. Okay, so that's the news in brief. I have more stories to tell, but I'm still exhausted and I don't have internet at my house so I'm bumming around on a computer at the campus center. Toodles.