Rejected and neglected, yet entirely unaffected
I did not get into the Center for British Art, but Kate did! Yay! That actually makes me even happier. The Peabody is mine. I knew she got in as soon as I saw my rejection email. I am starting to truly believe I have minor psychic powers.

Is third time the charm? Anny says I get first dibs on audition times for TUIB because she's making the schedule. Pray pray pray!

Jedi Training
I had my first Tai Chi class today! It was great. I know some people in the class, which was relatively large. The instructor was a man around 60 who proclaimed himself "better than the books." Well, I should hope so. I feel so good and relaxed now. We learned a few basic postures and did some partner work in an excersize called "Push Hands," which isn't excatly what it sounds like. My quads and arms will be quite strong by the time this is over, I'm guessing.

Monday Monday (fa la, fa la la la)
Mood:  caffeinated
Now Playing: Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique, V, Dream Of A Sabbath Night
Reading Sherlock Holmes stories for Lit reminds me of how much I loved "The Great Mouse Detective" as a kid. I really want to watch that right now. Man, I love that movie!

One thing I love about classical music is that I can actually listen to it while I'm working. Words distract me so much, but a good quick symphonic piece actually helps me think.

I'm pleasantly addicted to Payne-Whitney Gym. This is fortunate because I'm also pleasantly addicted to dining hall desserts. So it goes.

As I get deeper into work, my blog suffers considerably. Apologies to all five of you. I think it needs some more pictures.

Helplessly Hoping
Mood:  crushed out
I love TUIB. They make me so happy. They had a concert with the Womens' Slavic Chorus tonight at which we could sign up for auditions. I signed up. I actually considered auditioning for the Slavs as well, because they are amazing, and contain the wonderful Tasha. I don't think I would actually want to be one of them though; I just love listening to them. The concert was fun, but the groups really aren't as powerful before they get their new members. All seven suitemates (besides Anny, who's in TUIB) sat front and center. I felt so cool. I wish I played a TUIB instrument. I still haven't decided on what I'll sing in the event of a callback. I really need to not think about this.

I finished reading the 600-page book for Foundations. It was a quite productive weekend.

Friday night we went to see "As You Like It" performed by a fantastic company from Cambridge. Orlando was gorgeous.

My blog entries are becoming less and less interesting to anyone but myself. Might as well be a Livejournal.

Saturday already?
Tonight Anny's dad is taking us all out to Scuzzi. Yay! When you make a reservation for nine, they're always really friendly to you over the phone. My interview for the YCBA didn't go as well as I had hoped, but I'm no longer concerned that I won't have enough to do this term. I'll find out results Tuesday. I feel sort of like Carrie from "Sex and the City" right now. Mabe because she's the only person I know who can look cute and stylish (like I do now) while typing mindlessly on the computer. Today was nowhere near as productive as I had hoped it would be. It's been nice, though.

The truth is out there...
Today I learned that I actually believe there is such a thing as the truth. More surprising to me was that some people (namely, my roommate) do not. I have yet to figure out what the implications of this are.

Anticipating the crunch Part 2
Mood:  chillin'
I got my schedule signed today and chatted with my academic adviser about goals and majors and things. Apparently he had a horrible summer in Africa -- he got sick and all the vehicles kept breaking down -- but he found two new species of prehistoric ape including the smallest ape ever. He liked my courses and basically said that it doesn't matter whether I major in archeology ar anthropology. In fact, he originally got a geology degree and here he is, in charge of the anthro department at Yale. Life is very long, and especially in disciplines that are closely related, a broad education can't hurt. This was good to hear.

So about those archeology classes -- it turns out that I have to do a report on Wednesday for Ceramics and one on Thursday for Foundations! Ceramics is more reasonable; it's on an article, whereas Foundations is on a whole book! Whhhhaaaaaaaaatt......? Good news=it's all fun stuff to read. Bad news=GAAAAAAAAAAAgonnadie. At least this weekend's pretty free and I'm accidentally ahead in Music homework.

Why do I bother to write how far ahead in my homework I am? Who actually cares? Not one of the five people who read this.

Why am I applying for new activities? Oh, right, because I'm a psycho.

Believe it or not, this is a great day. Bluest sky ever.

Getting my act together
Mood:  down
At the beginning of every semester there is point when I realize that I need to get my act together. It is accompanied by a feeling of inadequacy, especially in the eyes of professors. Last fall this hit me in English and PoliSci, and the following spring in History, French, and Bio. In the end my fears have always been unfounded, whether because I actually shaped up or because my feelings were unjustified.

Today it struck again in my Foundations of Archaeology seminar. First of all, I was late for the second time in a row. This was entirely my fault, because (for no reason I can think of) I was under the impression the class began at 9:30 even though it says very clearly 9:00 on my schedule. On Tuesday when I got there and the prof was already talking, I assumed he was one of those types who start teaching a few minutes early. Today, it occurred to me that no, I actually was late. Hm. Then we had to submit our assignments and talk about them, and mine was most definitely the shortest and least in-depth of them all, though I had deemed it quite fine when I wrote it. Everyone else had contrived their spacing and font size to make one page as full of words as possible. I am not expecting to get an A in this class as of now. Then again, I say that for at least one course at the beginning of every semester.


I lost my planner today, too. How annoying.

The first of many rejections?
The Gallery Guides rejected me as well as my two friends who applied. I'm not terribly upset, even though I wish I'd gotten in. I really hope I get into the YCBA guide program, in which case I won't have to make a decison between the two! And then there is the inevitable TUIB rejection. Good thing I don't have delusions about auditioning for improv or theater.

This year I want to get more involved in YSEC, especially the Climate Campaign. Then there are the Dems, who will be my numner one priority for the next two months and then may well fall off the radar screen for some time. Then there are Tai Chi classes, which I sign up for tomorrow morning. So I'll be plenty busy, just not with anything arty unless I get into YCBA or TUIB. There are so many great things to do here it's ridiculous.

My new hero
Now Playing: Mozart, Divertimento in E Flat, KV 113: 1. Allegro
My new favorite historical figure is Julio C. Tello, the Peruvian archaeologist. He was of native descent and grew up in the mountains where people still spoke Quechua, the language of the Incas. Because he was so precocious as a child, he was sent to Lima to get educated. He got a medical degree and went on to study archaeology at Harvard as well as in London, Paris, and Berlin. He revolutionized Andean archaeology.

For one, his approach was unprecedented. Until his time, research had focused on the coast because the jungles of the highlands were difficult to cross and European archaeologists felt more comfortable in the Spanish-speaking, "civilized" part of Peru. Tello however, took horses into the highlands for his excavations. He talked with his fellow natives in Quechua and combined archaeology with knowledge of the local myths and folk customs.

Tello's conclusions were even more shocking to the archaeological establishment. The general opinion was that the series of pre-Inca societies were able to become "sophisticated" only with the aid of the Maya from Central America, who in turn were thought to have been enlightened by the Chinese. The assumption was that the Indians were not capable of producing civilizations on their own. Tello argued that this was inconceivable because subsistence in the Andes required a deep understanding of the ecology of the region only a people who had been there for many years could acquire. His numerous excavations across the country supported his theory and laid the foundation for Andean archaeology as we know it today.

Cool guy, no? He's a bit of a cult hero in Peru, actually. Everything is named after him. I wish archaeologists got that much honor here! :)