My walls already look bare. :(
I feel like I should write but there's just too much to talk about.
I ended up going to D.C. with Alex on Tuesday (not today, as was originally planned) and had a great time- we toured the storage buildings for the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum (where his dad works) and then went to the museum itself. He told me some stories about the exhibits- apparently he sat in one of the lunar modules while it was being cleaned up and readied for presentation, and met the explorer Jean-Luc Picard was named after.
Then we had lunch at the National Gallery and talked about modern art and stuff for ages. It was awesome. We visited the Japanese-American internment camp memorial, and then met up with his mom on the subway and his sister took us back to their house. I had dinner there (his dad's a good cook!) and then we read Calvin and Hobbes until we started falling asleep. I crashed on the futon on the ground floor and in the morning Alex made eggs. He is also a good cook. :D We read some more Calvin and Hobbes and then played chess until it was time to go back to campus.
As for my don rag, it went well- everyone told me I needed to talk more, but the most constructive thing I got was try to make my contributions in seminar longer and more sustained. I'm still working on actually talking in seminar (I've gotten way better though) so I've got to get better at inserting myself into the conversation before I can work on staying in it, I think, but it's stuff to think about for next year.
Mr. Pihas did not mind that all my lab papers were about mad science (It's totally true. I was kind of horrified when I found out, too- I mean, I like regular science, but I guess I find it most fun to write about when it gets weird.) but did mind that they were short. Eeegh.
And Mr. Lacey told me to try to follow along with the class in discussion instead of doodling in my notebook- I meant to say that I was doodling math-related things, trying to figure out how to contribute to the discussion, but I forgot. I do need to work on that, though- I should think more about math before the class so I'm prepared to talk when I get there and not still working out what I want to say.
The good stuff was that I write well and my humor is appropriate, and they all think I should talk more and not worry about dominating the discussion because I say good things. Also, my freshman essay was nominated for the freshman essay prize, although I don't think I actually won it, since I think I would have been notified already. Still, my seminar tutor nominated my essay out of every essay in our seminar, so that's pretty impressive.
I am also attempting to pack up my room. I've succeeded in taking down the posters. My hall is so empty, it makes me sad. :( I do really want to be home to see everyone, but I'm going to miss people here, too.
I ended up going to D.C. with Alex on Tuesday (not today, as was originally planned) and had a great time- we toured the storage buildings for the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum (where his dad works) and then went to the museum itself. He told me some stories about the exhibits- apparently he sat in one of the lunar modules while it was being cleaned up and readied for presentation, and met the explorer Jean-Luc Picard was named after.
Then we had lunch at the National Gallery and talked about modern art and stuff for ages. It was awesome. We visited the Japanese-American internment camp memorial, and then met up with his mom on the subway and his sister took us back to their house. I had dinner there (his dad's a good cook!) and then we read Calvin and Hobbes until we started falling asleep. I crashed on the futon on the ground floor and in the morning Alex made eggs. He is also a good cook. :D We read some more Calvin and Hobbes and then played chess until it was time to go back to campus.
As for my don rag, it went well- everyone told me I needed to talk more, but the most constructive thing I got was try to make my contributions in seminar longer and more sustained. I'm still working on actually talking in seminar (I've gotten way better though) so I've got to get better at inserting myself into the conversation before I can work on staying in it, I think, but it's stuff to think about for next year.
Mr. Pihas did not mind that all my lab papers were about mad science (It's totally true. I was kind of horrified when I found out, too- I mean, I like regular science, but I guess I find it most fun to write about when it gets weird.) but did mind that they were short. Eeegh.
And Mr. Lacey told me to try to follow along with the class in discussion instead of doodling in my notebook- I meant to say that I was doodling math-related things, trying to figure out how to contribute to the discussion, but I forgot. I do need to work on that, though- I should think more about math before the class so I'm prepared to talk when I get there and not still working out what I want to say.
The good stuff was that I write well and my humor is appropriate, and they all think I should talk more and not worry about dominating the discussion because I say good things. Also, my freshman essay was nominated for the freshman essay prize, although I don't think I actually won it, since I think I would have been notified already. Still, my seminar tutor nominated my essay out of every essay in our seminar, so that's pretty impressive.
I am also attempting to pack up my room. I've succeeded in taking down the posters. My hall is so empty, it makes me sad. :( I do really want to be home to see everyone, but I'm going to miss people here, too.