I just can’t believe that the time has gone by so quickly! I have one more year, and then I graduate! I don’t know where I will be in a year, but I know my life will be changing drastically. I have really enjoyed my time at Simmons. It’s had it’s ups and downs (as to be expected with my first time away from home), but I have learned a lot. I can’t say I regret my decision to come to Simmons. I have gotten everything I wanted to get out of my education and more.

I am excited about next year though, I will be rooming with Ariel (from the original Quad I was in) and we were able to get a HUGE double in one of the dorms. We will have our own bathroom, and we are next door to a lounge (no tv, so that will be great to study in) and the laundry is right across the hall. I will also be off of busy brookline, and be facing the Wheetlock campus, so it’s going to be quieter. I’m exicited, I hope Ariel is. She’s such a sweetheart.

I am off to bed, moving all my stuff down three flights of stairs wears you out. Especially when you have to make multiple trips. G’night!
~Debbie

Abbey and the sign set-up. You give them a word, pick a type of sign and they make it for you.

Me on the Mechanical Bull. I stayed on for 12 seconds. Rodeo anyone?

Watch out! Abbey’s taking the bull by the horns…

Me and the Simmon’s Shark.

Okay…Who let the Mascot’s go near each other? Simmons Shark and the Wheelock Wildcat.

“This campus isn’t big enough for the both of us…”

All the loot I collected around the carnival.

All of Abbey’s loot…

Abbey’s proud of her collection. Check out the Mean Girls CD she got for wearing mismatched socks.

That’s right. I got a whole bunch of stuff. I won a CD player for being at the right place at the right time.

Me, Maria and Amy

Watch out for these angels!!!

1..2..3..

Never give Amy the camera…

Debbie being shy? Never!

Potato patties

Frying the patties

Maria washing dishes…fun!

So tired from all that cooking!

Oh! And my Japanese has come in handy. While we were out shopping for the ingredients for the dinners, I had to ask the produce worker at Shaw’s for some good Cilantro (the stuff they had out was wilted). I could tell he was Japanese, as he was talking to a customer in it. I said excuse me in Japanese and he was surprised to hear me speaking his language. He asked me if I was American, I said I was in Japanese and when I told him what I was looking for - he ran in the back to get me the “very best cilantro in the store.” It was so cool to be able to attempt to speak to someone in their own language. I could tell he appreciated it. I apperciated the experience in speaking it. And I thought it wasn’t going to do me any good. heh heh heh

Happy Easter, Passover, Weekend to everyone!
~Debbie

So for the fall I am taking:
Japanese 201 (of course)
Women and Literature
17th Century Literature (I know I am gonna love this class)
Advanced Creative Writing: Non-Fiction
Intro to Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual studies

So another five class semester. I figured I was successful this semester that I would give it another go. Especially since I am keeping up with Japanese. It finally hit me in the past week how to do it. I wanted to go on the Japan short term, but alas I was too late. Someone else filled the position. Oh well. Hopefully I can get over there at some other point in time. Perhaps to teach English?

The next thing I am waiting on is the lottery for housing next year. I have enough credits that I could stay where I am without a problem, or because I am a rising senior I could get a good number. I will be rooming with Ariel next year, one of my original roommates. That’s going to be nice. Everyone has been teasing me that I blow through roommates like no one else. Sarah transferred, Priscilla is getting an apartment…I hope nothing happens with Ariel.

I am already looking into Graduate schools. I talked to my mom, and we agreed that perhaps waiting a few years would be a good thing, to build up my resume. I will be interning(hopefully) next spring semester, and I want to work at a local bookstore. Get some experience in all aspects of the publishing/writing industry.

It’s a slow weekend around here. Its overcast today, but warm. So I could go around the city if I wanted, but I am feeling too lazy. I am mostly caught up on my work, so it’s a weekend to relax. It’s just me and Maria, the rest of our roommates have gone home. We are going to have an ethnic food night tonight. Maria is making some Pakistani food, and I am going to see if I can make an easy indian recipe. I am going to head over to Starmarket(sorry, Shaws) for ingrediants soon.

It’s Samurai Saturday on IFC, so it’s fun to be watching an old Japanese film and understand some of the words that they are saying. I was watching “The Last Samurai” a couple of weeks ago and I understood most of what Tom Cruise was saying in Japanese. It was a happy moment for me.

Well, time to head out. First I am going to look at some Marsala recipes online.
~Debbie

My creative writing classes are a lot of fun. I am learning a lot about my own writing style, and how to improve it. I am hoping that some of the pieces that I write for these classes will make it out and be published by either the Simmons Literary magazine or by some other literary compilation. I have always wanted to submit work; I just never thought it was good enough. I am learning that it is.

But, honestly? That’s all that really has been going on in my life recently. I haven’t really been doing much because five classes suck a lot of time and energy from me. The girls next door and Priscilla have helped keep me sane. We watch Indian movies on the weekends and play cards. I have fallen in love with (apologies to Chris) with a particular Indian actor, Shah Rukh Khan, who in my opinion is very charismatic and attractive.

I can’t wait for Spring Break! I am heading home after class on Friday; I am so excited. I can’t wait to see my family and be able to relax and not have to worry about schoolwork. I will have it, but hopefully I can get all my work done the first weekend that I am there so I can relax and read the rest of the week. I want to finish reading James Frey’s “A Million Little Pieces” and move on to some of the other books I have been collecting since I got here. It’s dangerous now that I know where the Barnes & Noble is in Kenmore Square. I probably should never have asked to be shown it. Chris and I go down there all the time on the weekends to study, and I have a hard time leaving ANY bookstore without purchasing a book.

My weakness.

But, I must get going. I have to drop in on Hannah M.’s Class. I guess she gets extra points if the blog girls show up.

~Debbie

Other than missing school after a couple of weeks. Mind you, it wasn’t the sort of “Oh, I miss the world of acadamia”. Not quite. It was more an “Oh, I miss the freedom of Boston.” Because if you are bored here, you can easily find something to do. At home, you had to drive 15 minutes away, and that didn’t guarentee that it was going to be open.

But now I am here. It’s good to be back.

I started up classes on last Wednesday. I have a full course load this semester. I am taking Creative Writing Fiction, Creative Writing Non-Fiction, Survey of African-American Literature, Advanced Studies in Shakespeare [clumps grad students in the class], and the good old Japanese 102 [I passed!]. That’s right, I am taking five classes this semester. I figure since the fifth class is free - why not? Not to mention that the fifth class didn’t require books. I win!

Top it off, I am going to get through all the classical books that I have been putting off. I read in my creative writing book the other day that the best writers are the well read ones. I started reading “Lolita” in my spare time. I started it in High School, and nearly finished it - but never did.

Where do I get this spare time? I decided that I should quit Crew. It stinks, because I really enjoyed it. But I want to do really good this semester [I got three B+’s last semester, I know I can do better than that], so I decided I needed that extra time Crew takes out. Plus this will allow me to get out and enjoy the city a little bit more.

Speaking of which, Chris is over. We are going to the Aquarium tomorrow. Neither of us have ever been there, so we are both excited. I was going to surprise him, but he finally guessed what it was, not to mention he hates surprises. Oh well.

New roommate! No, I’m not so evil that I blow through roommates. Sarah left me because she wanted to transfer to a school closer to home. So Priscilla, the girl who lived next door moved in with me. We both got a long and she wanted a change of scenery, hence the move. It’s great, we are like an old married couple. She send me off to classes in the morning, and I will make her breakfast. It’s great.

Anyways, I need to get to bed so we can get going tomorrow!

~Debbie

What an interesting week it has been. We got a strange snowstorm yesterday. Sarah and I needed to go to the CVS down the street, so we braved the weather. She noticed in the room a flash of light, I thought she was seeing things - you know, one of those tricks that your eye plays on you. At the same time a plow went by, so I just told her it was the flashing lights of the plow. [We are on the fourth floor…I highly doubt the flashing lights reached our room, I just didn’t want her to think that she was crazy.] As soon as we get outside though, there was another flash [and no way to say that it was her eyes, because I saw it too] and a crack of thunder. Whoa! It’s snowing!

I wasn’t completely surprised, actually. I saw something similar last year. It’s the strangest thing to see - two theoretically mutually exclusive weather systems. Apparently two fronts collided with one another. One was warmer than the other, and it created a thunderstorm/snowstorm.

So we got nearly a foot of snow from that storm. It actually feels like winter here, and just a little bit like Christmas. I guess we got quite a bit at home too. I hope that we still have some for next week, because next Saturday we are going to get our Christmas tree. I am looking forward to cutting down the tree, the wrangling it into the house, the hot cocoa, the fire and the chestnuts. And my dad and I struggling to untangle the lights. :oD Chris sounds so pitiful on the phone! He’s looking forward to my coming home really badly. He keeps trying to convince me to come home earlier than Friday. I have to decline, as I have exams.

Speaking of exams, this weekend is devoted to studying for them. Next week I have three exams to do: Shakespeare, Japanese and China History. I am not looking forward to my Japanese exam, but it’s the first one that I have. The worst one is the first one, and once it’s done….it’s done.

I figure if I study for all of my other exams today and tomorrow, I can work on Japanese Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday is filled with Japanese study groups. Oh! Fun!

Phew.

Sarah has her boyfriend Sam over right now. He’s a pretty cool guy, though he made the mistake of falling asleep on Sarah’s bed with two very bored girls and a Sharpie permanant marker. Muwahahahaha. We showed Hannah M, Maria and Rahela what we did. They were amused. :oD

Needless to say, he wasn’t happy to discover our doodles.

Anyways. Back to watching tv and playing neopets. Shh. Don’t tell anyone. :oD

~Debbie

Ha ha. Priscilla was wonderful too. She sang a solo of the Averi song “The Bones Underneath”. I had to hear her and Sarah sing that song for the past 2 weeks. I’m not complaining…but…I’m glad it’s over. Nah. It was fun listening to the two of them singing to one another.

Oh snap!

Ha ha.

Priscilla told me to pimp out their spring concert. I don’t know when it is, but if you’re available, you should go. She told me I could get in for free…cause I would be an usher. Sweet! I am totally the cheap college student. I brought in a can so I could get the $1. Muwahahaha. Well, it’s for a good cause. That’s my thought.

We are down to crunch time in school. I have two papers due, a whole bunch of study sheets to make up and studying to start so I am ready for exams. Fortunately, I only have three exams. :oD I bought my ticket home today, I will be taking the Amtrak train home, which will drop me off closer to home than the commuter rail. That makes me mum happy, less of a distance for her to have to travel.

Anyways, it’s getting late and I am tired. I have a long day tomorrow, fun-filled with homework.

~Debbie

It’s nice to be home again. I know that it’s going to be hard to get back into the swing of school when I go back Monday. Reason? I will only have 4 more class sessions before it’s time for finals. So ultimately three more weeks of school. Then I head back home again. It’s going to be the hardest three weeks. It’s also hard to believe that the semester is almost over with. Where did the time go? I have already begun research for graduate schools. Oh man. There are so many decisions.

I am seriously thinking of applying back at Simmons. From the minimal research I have done, Simmons has one of the better graduate degrees I am looking for. English anyone? I have been so far impressed with the English department, they are very helpful. I am also looking into Central Connecticut. I have to pay for Graduate school myself, so I am going to have to find relatively cheap schools, good scholarships, and a job [like TA] to get through it.

Anyways. Tomorrow is going to be a load of fun. We will be celebrating my Dad’s and Chris’ birthday, since I won’t be home next weekend for Chris’. It’s a big one for him. Let’s just say there is a 0 involved in the number, and he isn’t turning 20. Debbie’s robbing the geriatric ward! We are going to the movies, Chris and I are going to go see “Walk the Line” while my parents go see “The Ice Harvest”. We will then have homemade pizza with the cake that I made tonight. I am looking forward to it.

Time for bed! I am exhausted! It’s been a long weekend. I have been so bad…I haven’t done any homework! Well, that’s a lie - none of my teachers assigned any work. So there was nothing to do. Unless I wanted to get caught up/get ahead. But shh…we won’t talk about that.

Heh heh. ~Debbie

I was afraid that I would be stuck inside all weekend working on a paper for my China History class - but fortunately I was able to balance it out with some fun AND got the paper done. Not bad. :o) Sarah went to a NACA conference, which is the regional conference for Campus Activity Board’s. So I have been roommate-less for the weekend. It worked out good because I was able to work on my paper and not feel bad for being anti-social. ^_^

Friday was a lot of fun, I was invited by Natalie to go to her friend’s first college hockey game. Rob, plays for UMASS Boston and they were going to play against Bowdoin. I have never been to a hockey game before, so I thought ‘why not?’ I invited my friend Anna from my Critical Interpretation class to come along [we had planned to go out for coffee that night anyways]. Emily and Nicole joined us, and we were on our way to Dorchester to watch the game. The ride over was pretty uneventful, although we had a pretty meaningful conversation about the mice at the Park Street red line platform.

Anyways. Every picture tells a story…

Anna at the Fenway stop…waiting for the T.

Natalie all bundled up.

Nicole and Emily on the train.

At the Hockey Game. The players in blue are UMASS, and the one’s in white are Bowdoin.

27 is Rob. Go rob!!! Yay!!!!

Here’s another shot of him.

I decided I wanted to get this to help me get across the Emmanuel campus in the winter time.

The game was a lot of fun. A lot of people were thrown into the walls, sliding across ice and just generally wrecking their bodies. At one point, some player hit the puck so hard at the right angle, that it came flying up into the stands and missed Anna by a foot. I ran over and grabbed it. My first hockey game and I get a souvenir!!!

Unfortunately for UMASS, and Rob, Bowdoin won - 7 to 0. I still think he played a good game. We were all happy for him. After the game, we headed back to his apartment where we had some pizza and watched South Park. It was interesting to see the contrast between girl’s rooms and boy’s rooms. I almost forgotten what boys my age are like, being surrounded by girls all the time - and then dating a guy who is older. I tell you what, it made me appreciate Chris a whole lot more. I had forgotten how immature some boys are when they are trying to get a girls attention.

Hah hah. It was funny. This one guy was falling all OVER himself to get Emily’s attention. He even pulled Natalie aside to ask her if she would help hook him up. Fortunately we were back at the JFK/UMASS T-stop before she told us about that, because we all burst out laughing. He was sweet, if just a little unrefined. I can imagine Chris being like him when he was that age. It was good times.

We got to the red line T-stop so late that we were worried we missed the last inbound train. Fortunately we didn’t, and were able to make it back to Park Street to catch the VERY LAST train of the evening/morning. The funny thing was, is we ran into a group of girls that also go to Simmons, one of them being Amy who lives across from me.

Here’s Amy!!!

We had to wait on the car for about 5-10 minutes because it was waiting for all the other lines to pull into the station so no one would miss the green line.

Anna and me waiting for the train to go.

So then yesterday, I worked on my paper all day. I was able to get it done - holy cow! three days before it’s due! That’s a first for me. I am going to take a break from it today, work on my other homework for a bit, and then edit it tomorrow. I always need to take a break from a paper so I can look at it with a fresh, new perspective. But last night, I got a visit from an old friend, Ariel came up to visit me for a couple of minutes. It was nice to be able to talk and re-connect with her.

After she left, I bugged the ladies next door. By that point it was midnight. Priscilla had the idea of going over the StarMarket to grab a couple of things. I wasn’t even sure if they were open - but apparently they are 24 hours. Good to know when you have a late-night craving for ho-ho’s. So we dragged Saira with us, strength in numbers sort of thing. It was funny shopping in a grocery store after midnight. You can’t tell that I am from the boonies…

We came back, Priscilla and I had some fish that we bought and listened to Maria read a conversation that she had with a guy she likes. It was just like a slumber party, laughing, giggling about boys and what not. It was about 2:30 before Rahala and Maria put in an Indian movie [I think it was “Dude, where’s my desi?”] which meant that we would be in for the long haul. Indian movie usually lasts 3 hours. I left after about 3:30, but it took me about an hour to fall asleep.

And so that brings me to today! I am going to go downtown and hang out in Chinatown for a bit. That should be a lot of fun.
~Debbie

After being away from home for several weeks, it’s nice to come home for the long weekend. I am especially lucky, because I can stay an extra day [Monday], and just relax and do homework. Well, right now it’s just been relaxing…I haven’t completed nearly the amount of homework that I was hoping for. Oh well, I have tomorrow and Monday to rectify that. It’s just a lot of tedious reading, mainly to stay caught up for class discussions.

I signed up for classes a week ago? I can’t remember when exactly. It was my first time registering for classes online, I am used to standing INline. Ha ha. That was a lame pun. It was an interesting experience to say the least, although nothing replaces the standing in line bonding time. You would always find some friend to stand in line with, and commiserate about how horrible it was to be waiting 2 hours to sign up for classes. Laughing, joking, swapping stories on which teacher was best for which subject, yelling across the room at some lucky friend who was way ahead of you, vowing to arrive 20 minutes earlier next semester. Nothing beats that. Now, it’s impersonal - at first I wasn’t even sure I got all the classes I wanted, but as I look over the SOAR site, apparently I did. Sweet.

Anyways, I am signed up for Japanese 102, Two courses of Creative writing - one fiction, one non-fiction, A seminar on African-American Literature, and an upper-level Shakespeare class. Five courses, it’s been a long time since I have had such a heavy course-load. My Shakespeare class is my drop class, so if things got rough, that would be the class I get rid of. I figure, if I get that 5th class for free [and we do], why not take advantage of that? The worse that can happen is I have to drop out because it’s too heavy of a course-load. The hardest classes are probably going to be my Japanese class and MAYbe the African-American Seminar.

I am not too worried about the writing classes and the Shakespeare. I could just get a rude awakening though - ha ha. Let’s hope not. Japanese I know is going to be rough, but I have come to terms with that.

I was talking to a friend of mine who goes to Boston University, she suggested that I consider teaching English in foreign countries for a living. She even went so far as to suggest China, which apparently would pay good money for a foreign language teacher. I am definitely considering it, you have to figure, getting to travel to exotic places - learn new cultures and languages…how exciting would that be? I talked to Chris about it, and he was all for it, since he would have to be in tow. I would have gone regardless, but shhh…don’t tell him I said that.

Personally, I would love to go to Japan, since I am learning the language and all. I am just disappointed I missed out on the Japanese short-term that is occurring this June. It would have been a wonderful opportunity to be immersed in the culture, and the best way to use what I have learned.

Ah! Samurai Champloo is on! It’s been a long time since I have had a chance to see it! It just stinks because it’s dubbed in English…and it’s a re-run. Dangit. Trivia: I named one of my Betta fish after the main character Jin on the show. :oD Ha ha. Anyways.

~Debbie

It was a pretty uneventful week, which is a good thing. I was finally able to get to be a tourist in my adopted hometown of Boston, which was a first in nearly a month. I have been so wrapped up with school work and Crew, I have forgotten that I even live in the city. My life has been Brookline Ave, Longwood and Fenway. Chris came up for a visit this weekend, which was wonderful. It’s been three weeks since I have seen him. Geeze, you would think I am some hermit to hear me talk. Heh. Truly I am not.

Chris and I went down to Quincy Market to meet my old school, NCCC [Which had come up on their annual Boston trip], and to hang out with some friends for the day. Emily, her boyfriend Paul, Jason and his friend Ryan all traveled in our NCCC/Simmons posse. Paul wanted to go to the Garment District [not an actual district, but a cool clothing/costume store], and I figured they would have fun at Harvard Square since it was only two T stops away from said store. It took some time to find the right T line [I hadn’t been downtown in a while! I forgot where the closest red line was!].

Although, at one point, we were asked by a guy to give him a credit card that we weren’t using. Emily declined, and I just laughed at her. I am a bold person, but not that bold.

But we hopped on at Downtown Crossing. It was a pretty uneventful ride, though it’s always fun to watch Chris on the T. He’s not the biggest train fan. I showed him where we practice Crew on the Charles when we went over the Longfellow bridge. I know. I’m a dork.

Harvard Square was the same as always, we just went into a couple of shops, I bought some more pocky and some cookies from the Anime Shop “Tokyo Kid”. The only reason why I mention that, is the cookie box is written in Katakana [form of Japanese writing] and I can read it. I couldn’t tell you what it meant, but I can read it to you if you asked.

On our way back into town, we stopped in at the Garment District. OH MY GOSH. It was SO awesome [like, totally]. The downstairs portion had a buy clothing by the pound [@ $1.50/lb], where the clothing was strewn about the floor. I spent about a good 20 minutes picking through, feeling like a bum grabbing as much stuff as I could. But in the end, I walked away with only two items [ I’m cheap], which cost me [actually Chris…ha ha] only $2.10. I found this beautiful shear orange curtain for my room, and a neat army rucksack. Upstairs had more expensive items, more meant for costumes than for everyday wear….though that didn’t stop some people. I am going to return again sometime if I am in need of clothing - I have a place to go as a cheap college student.

The day was topped off by returning to Quincy Market for dinner. Jason remarked “Mother Nature turned the A/C on!!!”. We all laughed, though it was true. It had been a picture perfect day [atypical in November IN Boston], sunny and warm. So none of us were truly prepared to be walking around at night, i.e. wearing light layers. I can just hear my mom right now saying, “Well DUH, it’s freaking November. In Boston! What do you expect?” Thanks mom!

After dinner, everyone else wanted to go out to get something to drink afterwards, but Chris and I decided to call it a night. As is the custom in Boston, there was a LOT of walking done today. My feet are tired, and I think I have a couple of blisters festering. Note to self: Never wear clogs without socks on when you plan to do a lot of walking.

We said our good-byes, it was kinda sad to see everyone go. It was great that we all could share the day together. I think it was the best way to end the past two [stressful] weeks of mid-terms. It was also nice to be reminded why I came to Simmons in the first place, the Bostonian experience.

~Debbie

Oh! And on Wednesday, Crew had to run a 3k [a little less than 2 miles], I shaved 5 minutes of the first run. I am down to 18 min. Pretty impressive considering I don’t do anything physical on the team. I’m just “dead weight” as everyone likes to call me. Ha ha. Yeah. Thanks.

Last weekend Simmons Crew placed 7th in the collegiate fours at Head of the Charles, which earned us an invitation back next year. It was the first time in eleven years. Simmons participates every year, but normally we are entered into a lottery system, and if our number isn’t pulled - we don’t participate that year. So it means a lot to be able to come back free of worry next year. I had a LOT of fun coxing the four, our boat passed three boats with no one passing us. I yelled the whole time, and got to yell at the other coxswains on the river, telling them to move out of my way. I love this sport :oD

Last night Sarah and I went next door and had a girls party. It was Saira, Priscilla, Abbey from downstairs, Sarah and Me. The camera was brought out, and these were some of the pictures that were produced.

Priscilla is in the closet. Don’t ask me why she’s in there.

heeeereeee’s Abbey!

Attacking Priscilla!

Saira? Are we boring you?

Ah. Nice and comfy.

Yeah. That’s right. I’m cool.

Sarah trying to demonstrate how girls crack their backs in class.

Abbey swears she doesn’t have fleas….I dunno.

Fascinating. Absolutely fascinating.

Naughty, naughty!

No more pictures!!!

Peek-a-boo!

Roomie moment!!!

A nice picture of Sarah. :o)

Like, WHOA!

I went home last weekend, which was a wonderful escape from the city life. I love being in Boston, it’s a great city if you are able to get out and enjoy it. I have been tied to my desk with the ball and chain that they call homework though - and haven’t gotten around the city for “pleasure” for over 2 weeks now. So by being home I was able to get a breather, although not from homework. I was able to catch UP on my homework, which was surprising. I was thinking to myself the other day, maybe I need to go home more often if that is the case.

I will call it as a change of scenery, and we will leave it at that.

Most of my time was spent indoors, as it was sunny last friday when I left South Station at noon. It was overcast and gloomy when I arrived in Worcester on the train. It rained all weekend back home, the Housatonic river gorged with rainwater. Parts of Connecticut are apparently still partly underwater. If I was to draw a dramatic conclusion of the weather in the world lately - I would have to say the world was going to end.

But I am no Chicken Little.

I was supposed to have a Regatta today, but since most of the state of New Hampshire is underwater - they decided to cancel that. I know, funny, I am in a boat - so I should be fine. I guess the currents are a little too strong, and I don’t feel like getting wet. If this was summer, and it was 90 degrees out with 100% humidity - then maybe we could talk about it. Which meant that today was the perfect day to do homework. The one problem is, I am going STIR CRAZY. Sarah went home for the weekend [LUCKY], and I am left alone in the room with my thoughts and my prospects of doing homework.

I finished reading “Measure for Measure”, which was due a week ago. Ugh - not one of Shakespeare’s best. Honestly, Bill doesn’t make sense half the time. I enjoyed “King Lear” though, that was pretty interesting. Probably because it had death, blood and gore. I need to study some more Japanese, and read my China History. I love the exposure to other histories, especially China. I think it’s pretty cool how advanced they were, and were on the cusp of achieving a Utopian society a couple of times. Human nature seemed to have gotten in the way though, as it usually does. I am interested to learn more about the Revolution period, I think that will be fascinating.

But anyways. This week has not provided much for Blog fodder, so I will retire now and wish everyone well. I will be going out later though, I am meeting up with Anna from my Critical Interpreting class. We are planning on going to either Newbury Street or Harvard Square to walk around for a bit. And Starbucks. Mustn’t forget the Starbucks.

~Debbie

Ha. I have been getting a lot of flack from Natalie and Mary downstairs about how I haven’t updated my journal yet. So, to avoid having to avoid the two of them in Bartol and in the Hall [kinda hard in a small school] - Just kidding - I am posting the story and pictures from our adventure to Harvard Square.

Last Friday, Natalie and Mary came running and huffing up the stairs to inform me that they were planning on going to Harvard Square later in the day. The itinerary would include stopping at Chameleon, a tattoo and piercing shop in “The Garage”. Natalie had plans for a piercing that she’s been wanting for two years, and we would work on Mary to get one too. Natalie and I agreed that Mary would be perfect for a nose ring. She wasn’t sure, but we had a half-hour trip on the T to convince her otherwise. I didn’t plan on getting one - just because 1) I am a cheap [read: poor] college student, and 2) my body doesn’t really care for piercing’s. For those who are concerned [MOM]: I didn’t get anything done anyways. Mainly because of the money factor.

Several T stops later and plenty of hand sanitizer cleanings - we finally made it to Harvard Square where we met up with Kelly, a friend of Mary’s who attends Emerson. She kept mentioning how she wanted to get piece of Kanji tattooed on her shoulder, but eventually decided against it. The shop was nice, though slightly expensive for my tastes. Natalie and I [with Kelly onboard] convinced Mary that she SHOULD get her nose pierced. I got a picture of the two of them sitting, waiting their turns in the shop.

Aw! Natalie and Mary. Aren’t they precious?

Sounds like…actually just pointing to the “before” spot.

Natalie went in, alone much to our dismay, to get her piercing done. The three of us just sat in the waiting room, looking around and making nervous conversation. I liked some of the artwork they had on the walls - though I don’t know if I would personally put any of it permanently on my body. Natalie came out, gripping where she got her piercing. We all wanted to see it - but she wasn’t ready to show any of us yet. Besides, she didn’t want to flash the entire waiting room.

Mary’s turn. We all got to pile into the small room to watch her get her nose done. She got a cute piece of jewelry with amethyst on the end of it. Shiny! Sparkle! Anyways. Kelly held Mary’s hand, and within a few seconds it was finished. Mary was officially skewered.

Mary’s nose. Yes, that is blood surrounding it. It really wasn’t THAT bad.

Celebration for everyone’s piercing’s was at Fire & Ice, a really cool restaurant down the road. You pick out what you want to eat and they cook it right there in front of you. Uber-cool. I have pretty much given up on the vegan thing, as it is impossible to be one and fully enjoy the Boston eating experience. I am still vegetarian - so I haven’t completely given up on my beliefs. I know, I am such a heathen. Ha. Anyways - Fire & Ice is veggie friendly, they will even put your food on a separate “non-meat” part of the grill. Slightly expensive, but totally worth it.

Me and Natalie. Natalie is gripping her painful piercing. Heh.

Mary and Kelly cheesing for the camera.

After Fire & Ice we wandered around Harvard Square - checking out the Urban Outfitters and a cool Anime shop that was located in “The Garage”. I was able to get some Pocky and another biscuit treat with chocolate filling. MMMMM. I finished that, but am savoring the Pocky. Hit the omnipresent Starbucks before we headed back to campus.

Naturally, we had to have an adventure coming home. It was about 9:30 by the time we got home, so it was dark. Natalie thought that we should try the Longwood T-stop which is closer to the residential campus. Nice. Except it’s not lit in anyway, shape or form. We figured were were in a group - so we would be safe. Mary, and I am obligated to say this, thought it was a BAD idea. Mary is the voice of reason. We made it through the woods without getting accosted or anything - but none of us planned on doing it ever again. Mary - you were right. The [relatively] bright stop of Fenway is the best place to get off late at night. Ha ha!

Anyways. Yeah. There you have our fun adventure in Harvard Square.
~Debbie