Ahh had such a lovely Valentine's Day weekend, it was a bit difficult to get back into the swing of MHC things. Here's the update:

Thursday: It was raining all day, as it was too warm for the snow that had been predicted. Around a quarter of 4, it started snowing. I wasn't exactly thrilled -- I was supposed to be heading out for Boston with K. (not a strange literary allusion to Kafka, btw). I left class on time (we were going over time but Prof. Shaw was kind about letting me go early), and rushed back to the Delles in the quickly falling snow. Really beautiful when it piles up at least an inch in half an hour, but, come on, bad timing! I was in such a hurry, and then I sat out in front of the Delles for nearly 20 minutes waiting. In that time I did see a fender bender, which was eventful (no one hurt, of course). I was so glad when K. arrived, I'd been worried she decided not to go due to the weather. I rode shotgun, dozed... the weather was weird all the way. The Mass Pike was fine, nothing sticking to THOSE roads (it'd been really slippery around MHC). We saw snow, sleet, and rain in Boston. Andrew had a "snow day" after the media hype about the storm (that never came, it might be noted. It's all a conspiracy).

Anyway, K. dropped me off at the Shaw's and I walked for what, one minute? to the apartment. Relaxed with Andrew and ate dinner... watched the OC... SO GOOD. Then we got ready to go to the Brothers Past concert. Ok, so I had all intentions of enjoying myself, but when I hit the cold sidewalks in the wet drippy weather... and there was a huge ass line... I had my doubts. Very vocal doubts. Luckily Andrew was patient (and had the foresight to quickly procure an alcoholic beverage for me once we were in). Once we met up with Jon & Jen and I realized that this was not the smoky, drug laden, beer soaked atmosphere of the Hartford Disco Biscuits show, I was happy. Definitely enjoyed myself! (Thanks Shmoopy!)

Friday: Andrew was off work early for his dental appointment, and I spent the whole day getting a rough draft of a chapter for my independent project. I went to the supermarket for dessert, and holed up in the bedroom, while Andrew cooked a romantic dinner. Definitely one of those "aww!" moments...He'd turned on the lowest light, lit candles, bought wine, and cooked my favorite, string beans (with steak & potatoes of course, but I was so impressed that he remembered my string bean thing...) Admittedly, Andrew does a lot (cough, most) of the cooking, but I was still completely impressed.

I think we caught up on Desperate Housewives afterwards, Andrew gave me the most amazingly packaged gift ever (wow the colors! lots of purple!), and we had dessert. Stayed up pretty late.

Saturday was a sleep in day & a shopping day. Andrew was on a mission to find a wok. We eventually found one at Bed Bath & Beyond, and I found some destressing gifts. Back home, Andrew made a pretty good imitation of my favorite dish at 9 Tastes: Mango fried rice. Again, very impressed with the culinary stylings! SNL wasn't good.

Sunday: Woke up kinda late again. Had many fraught discussions with Mer about her math class situation. Did my reading for the Stoppard class. In the afternoon we found a used copy of a play I needed to buy, and had a huge ass sundae at Herrell's (the Boston one). The guy working there was totally apathetic and unenthusiastic. He put on a little fudge sauce, and then methodically placed the equivalent of an entire hardened snickers bar on top of the ice cream. We had trouble finding the ice cream under the whipped cream and candy bar. Andrew had to put half of the candy bar into his mouth in order to break it apart into manageable sized pieces. Began laughing uncontrollably as he tried to chew it and discretely put it back into our shared bowl. Rather bird-like, really.

OK, so I admit, this has been a very food oriented post so far. The next section will be less so, I promise!

Monday: Arrived home via the bus. Large boy sat next to me. I always hate it when really tall/ big people sit next to me. They tend to overflow into my space. I don't like that. Anyway, luckily it was soon over and I slept most of the way. Back here I wheeled my little suitcase all the way across campus (the bus stop couldn't be further from the delles), went to lunch, class, etc. Did my reading for Tues. in the evening.

Tuesday: Early morning class (drat I left a worksheet at home). A quick visit to the CDC, then SAW tabling over lunch. I have concluded that the CDC needs to find a way to raise awareness about various fellowship & research/ intern opportunities. Maybe a newsletter with dates to be aware of, etc, instead of personal info. on the people who work there?

Anyway, the rest of the day was dedicated to rereading A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man & writing a poem. Had a dinner meeting to discuss the future of the SAW table, too... Had a good talk with Anna about germs & being OCD & the viral perils of life at MHC.

Weds: Today's been rather crazy. All morning I finished A Portrait & planned for my MLA workshop tonight. Had lunch, went to the course I'm mentoring, read in the library, made copies for this evening, ran over to the arts committee meeting, ate dinner and planned further, led the MLA workshop, talked about Stephen's aesthetic theories in A Portrait with a student for an hour, returned to my room to find a message from a U Wisc. prof. I'd expressed interest in studying with on my voicemail, read for tomorrow, & now, I'm updating my blog! Thought I'd put that out there, mainly for the Andrew, who has trouble picturing me running about campus.

In further news, my eyes have been very tired looking lately and I seem to have little stamina. Karuna thinks it's all part of the cycle (she's probably right).

Oh, and Mum, thanks for the care package!!