Birthday wishes to Mischa and others born in December.
Season's Greetings!
"Let me not grope in vain in the dark but keep my mind still in the faith that the day will break and truth will appear in its simplicity." ~~~R. Tagore, Whisperings~~~
Awe - forgive me for posting about dogs and christmas trees on the Nov thread. I've been distracted and busy since a few days before thanksgiving & am just getting back to normal and back the board - I even have to check out the new episode thread that is almost a week old now.
Birthday greetings to all who celebrate in December. I've been lax on the board lately for a couple of reasons. One, I was temporarily prevented from replying to posts. Two, I'm still trying to de-tangle the strands of lights I put away haphazardly last year. Maybe now my wife will agree to just leave the darned things up all the time so we don't have to go through this agony again!
Post by janetcatbird on Dec 4, 2005 23:44:24 GMT -5
Note: this first paragraph is somewhat gross, but I'm venting. In discussions, several people here have mentioned that they missed out on dorm life and occassionally get curious about it. Here's a word to you. There are lots of great events and interactions, I happen to be in a wonderful community and a great roommate. But there are the not-so-nice moments, like when someone gets sick in the common bathroom...and misses the toilet. We're talking bright red, chunky puke mess that stinks the whole bathroom up and renders two of the stalls unusable. Especially bad when it happens on a Friday night, because housekeepers don't come by on the weekends, so it just sits there. It may be selfish and apathetic to say "It's not mine, why should I clean it up?" but I ain't gon' touch it. However one brave, kind, generous soul did clean it up today, many blessings upon her. Talk about loving your fellow man.
On to a happy subject: for the first time I have Christmas decorations in my dorm room. Admittedly, a scraggly 18-inch fake tree, but the colored lights make it festive (even if the crumpled aluminum foil at the top lacks the refinement of a star). Also have added a Santa Snoopy and Elf Woodstock, along with a stuffed nylon soldier to the cats on my bed. The chorus concert went well this afternoon, despite our group mysteriously wimping out and lack of rehearsal time. Lots of fanfare and carols, so I'm feeling festive. Parental units took me out to dinner afterwards, hooray leftovers!
Good news: I go home Friday! Bad news: exams and take-home papers. But they should be pretty reasonable, although the Nutrition tomorrow explains my missing tonight's CI episode. Anyways, just gotta get it taken care of.
Later all, take care.
--Catbird
PS: No snowballs in North Carolina--do tiny pinpricks of hail count? Just let me catch some snowflakes on my tongue!
Last Edit: Dec 4, 2005 23:46:13 GMT -5 by janetcatbird
"If it's dangerous to talk to yourself it's probably even dicier to listen." --Jim Hightower
catbird - I also wouldn't clean it up; I think "ick" when I think of non-family member germs. Shame on the upchucker that didn't at least try to clean it up. I don't like even a normal common bathroom, but the instant comraderie in the dorms is a good thing.
Catbird-Yeah, I used to miss college/dorm life and so I became a dorm director/grad student in my late 20s. That sure took care of it. I remember the gross factors, too. The dorm directors had jokes about the vomit, the toilets backing up, the pet "hamsters/mice/rats" some of the students brought in (I had a rule that you could keep a pet if it lived through me dunking his/her head under water for 10 minutes) and a fourth thing I found the most "shocking" (which I won't go into here). I was in a situation, called a scholarship hall, where the students had kitchen, tv room, hallway, or bathroom duty for up to 6 hours a week in exchange for discounted room & board. I usually ended up "helping" some poor, sobbing freshman do the clean up because it was pretty unfair to them. Luckily, it didn't happen too often. But, all in all, there is a certain energy and fun at that time of life, too, that makes all the "icky" stuff ok most of the time. Sorry about the long post. I just really know what you are talking about in deciding whether to clean it up or not. Don't feel guilty about not doing it.
As a fellow college dorm resident, Catbird, I know your pain. I'm fortunate enough to live on floor that doesn't allow alcohol, which does cut down a bit on the weekend grossness factor. One of my friends, however, opened her door early one morning to find the floor in front of her door (and a few other doors) covered with vomit. In the middle of the vomit lay a handwritten note with the message, "I'll clean it up tomorrow". We haven't made up our minds yet if the note made it better or worse.
I'm glad you get to go home this week, our finals aren't even for another two weeks. But then, we get the whole month of January off, so I guess it works.
"A great detective relies on perception, intelligence, and imagination." "Where'd you get that rubbish from?" "It's framed on the wall behind you."
Post by janetcatbird on Dec 6, 2005 15:08:58 GMT -5
Well, that's the first time I've had something like that happen, so I can't complain too much. Didn't mean to gross people out, just needed to let off steam.
Last night one of my professors had a party at his house for students to just come hang out at the end of the semester. Unfortunately there were only about six of us there, but to just sit around and chat was fun--besides, we got a chance to play with his young daughter and sweet dog.
Reading Day today, so I slept late, farted around on the internet. Have I even started the take-home that is due at noon tomorrow? Noooo...
Off to further procrastinate doing work--Later all.
Catbird
"If it's dangerous to talk to yourself it's probably even dicier to listen." --Jim Hightower
My 'dorm' life was a brand newly-built townhouse on campus that was quite nice really. first day of term I was slated to live in the dorm dorm building but the smell in the elevator put me right off (not to mention the stains on the carpet and the matress. ) So I put a notice in the residence office that I wanted to switch and a very nice first year law student from chicago who was a bit of nerd traded with me. It seems he was worrried that living in a townhouse would make him miss out of 'dorm life' ie party notices and cute co-eds coming to and fro from their showers. I guess he thought unless he moved he'd be a nerd forever.
Anyhoo he traded with me and I was very happy to have a puke-free academic year.
Post by Criminal Mastermind on Dec 10, 2005 11:12:43 GMT -5
The falling snow was designed and created by the talented people at Gheos.net. All I did was "plug it in," but I'll take kudos anyway they come
I know graphics are very fun for those of us with newer computers and higher connection speeds, but they can be a real pain for those who don't have that luxury. Please let me know if the snow causes any page load problems, and I'll take it down asap.
"The true Law & Order believers are as fanatical as the 'Star Trek' fans, only they're a lot smarter."-- Dick Wolf avatar by spits, thanks!
I love the snowflakes too! They're so festive. My computer's old. Not ancient, but old, and the snow isn't interfering with any page loadings. Thanks for the fun!