Happy Halloween

I'm mildly disappointed that to get an A in this college requires 95%.
On the other hand, I will be taking Intro to Ballet next semester.
Anyways, tonight is halloween. I was sort of expecting it to be more 'hush-hush' as this is a Chrisitan college, afterall. This was before I compared our liberality with Bob Jones. Seriously, check out this college (http://www.bju.edu/prospective/expect/dress.html ) and their expectations. Dare I say... God wouldn't want such restrictions? It reminds me of the Pharisees and their extreme focus on rules. I suppose if people can handle it, maybe the education is worth it. Not in my mind.
Back to Halloween. It was promoted throughout the campus, and even little kids from our hamlet (yes, Houghton is so small it is technically not even a village, but a hamlet) can come over. I don't know why, but so it goes. It made me wonder how other students view halloween; if they were allowed to trick-or-treat as kids and stuff like that. And the funny thing is, it's not a big deal. Usually campus is full of loud mouths and strong opinions (it's made me more of a listener at least) but apparently halloween is not controversial. And that's a relief.
So, happy halloween. Watch some movies, eat some candy, and enjoy the fall. As Wal-mart would say, it's practically christmas now!

Picture Updates

Me and Kat at an Ultimate Frisbee game. It was early, and cold. Needless to say, we were the only fans.













Rachel is looking at her boyfriend Dan, and Ian is there too. This is in Letchworth State Park, really beautiful place.















Just a black and white in the park.









Us attempting to study.

















Joy, in a rare sunny day since it is now fall, is facing the chapel.













Suze, Farrah, and me. Pure Canadian goodness.












Kat cutting Ben's hair. He was brave. And for his bravery, he got a good haircut.

Making Banana Pancakes

I've had that Jack Johnson song stuck in my head for a good couple of days now. I'm hoping it's not due to my lack of variety in music, but rather that my days have been stress-free enough that I can still hum a tune. I whistle a lot too, which is funny, because it's an infamous trait of my Dad. People tell me they know when I'm coming because of my whistle. And when they tell me that, it reminds me of my Dad. So, I take it as a compliment. I've heard it said, in relevance to my Dad, that when you whistle more, you are less stressed. It doesn't make sense if I apply that to my schedule (midterm exams in October? Unfortunately this is true), so it must be another, more important factor that is affecting my mood. I like to think it's the amount of sunshine we recieve.
After a night of frost, I suspected I was saying goodbye to that yellow blob of goodness, but I've been quite surprised with the weather here. I'm sitting on the chapel steps right now, awaiting the bells to toll for noon, which means lunch. The sun is almost blinding so that I can't see much of what I'm typing, and a cool breeze is picking up the decaying leaves that cover our campus is bright orange and red. Heck, I'm wearing flip flops. I've never been so grateful for nature or been so aware of it's effect on me. I've always appreciated it's beauty and mystery thanks to my Dad and his love to creation, but never before realized how it makes me a better person. That vitamin D is quite a drug. Hopefully the campus will stay this friendly throughout the winter. Until then, I'm soaking it up.

Rush of Blood to the Head

A couple days ago I signed up to donate blood. I was too young to do it with my grade 12 biology class (having been born in the late month of October), so I took the opportunity to do it here in college. And so with a courageous heart, I decided to find out what all the fuss was about. Tuesday morning, down in the campus centre basement, me and a few friends read the little info books, answered a bunch of questions, and prepped ourselves to give blood. I was surprised that the needle didn't hurt so much; in fact I was rather fascinated to watch the process. I was feeling quite good about myself and watched some of the people who had already finished, awaiting my own chance to snack on cookies and get free stickers. At that moment I saw one guy turn white as he tried to stand up. A nurse ran up and helped him lie on the ground, and a stretcher was brought. I watched as they lay cold compresses on his forehead to keep him awake. Then, I noticed my friend Joy, who had been sitting beside this guy, lay down her head on the table. Another nurse came up to her, and she also was put in a stretcher. They were still awake but very white as I saw them being wheeled by. By this time my blood had filled the bag and I was free to go. I made sure to slowly sit up and was happy to find that I felt perfectly normal. I thought myself quite a strong person, and took pride in my stablity after giving a pint of blood. I sat down to enjoy my cookie, and noticed my stomache felt funny. I heard the helpers, who passed out the water and food, asking if I was feeling well enough to go back upstairs. I lifted myself with my elbows, but then the world turned slightly fuzzy, as if I had just woken up. I told them I didn't feel too good.
I began dreaming. At first I was floating in the Universe, and distantly I saw something like the milky way. Then I was running a race, and my ears felt pressured, as if I was underwater. I could distantly hear my name being cheered.. I also heard a 'ding ding ding' and I felt my race was ending. Suddenly the shocking coolness of something damp on my forehead and neck made my eyes open...
I woke up to a red-faced man in a slightly panicky voice calling my name. "Did you have a good dream?" he asked with a shaky laugh, as I tried to remember where I was. I had a moment of pure confusion. I felt like I was in a movie, where the person opens their eyes to a world of chaos and blinding light. For a split second I had completely forgotten my age and the fact that I was a student in college giving blood. I wondered why everyone was standing around me, but I allowed them to lead me to a stretcher and finally my mind caught up. I asked how long I was out, and the nurse said it was good 15 seconds. They had pumped my legs to get the blood to circulate, and even rung a bell to try and wake me up. Finally, the damp cloths had done the trick.
I didn't know fainting would be such an interesting moment for myself, (could I even say profound?) but I'm really glad I experienced it. I have always wanted to faint just to know what a person remembers from it. I'm surprised I even had a dream in that short amount of time. However, I'm not sure I want to have that same loss of control over my mind again; it leaves me feeling rather helpless.
Anyways, that was an exciting moment for a Tuesday. At least for myself. And I got a lot of free cookies.