Mitten Weather & The Northeast

I was late for work tonight. I'm admitting it. I cruised into Admissions at 9:04 PM. My punctual reputation was compromised.

The reason? Why, I was looking for socks, of course! It's mitten weather, kiddos. Everyone is walking around in pullovers with scarves snug around their gullets. I pulled my suitcase out from under my bed late and dug for wool socks, sweaters, and long johns. The five mintue trek across campus in clogs was not the same as the walk I made on Monday night, but I can't deny it's nice to feel like Fall has come. There's nothing more terrifying than a trick of the weather to give the illusion that fall semester of your sophomore year will never end. Ever.

Hopefully a week in the Green Mountains will do me some good. I'm one page of literary analysis, two hours of class, and one cross country meet away from Fall Break. I'm flying home to Vermont on Saturday night and spending the week doing New England-y things. This blog is going radio-silent for a bit, but it could probably use a rest. I need more stories to regail you with...

Sharp Cheddar & Apple Pies,
J

It's Like Wetting Your Pants, Only Fun

Yes folks, I'm talking about creek crossings. In the womens 5k, we cross Turtle Creek twice to get to the finish line. The men make the leap three times. In any case, your shorts get wet.

The weather has been ridiculously warm. It was in the high 80's on Saturday and the dip into Turtle Creek felt good after two miles of plugging along. As I so subtly hinted in the title, it also felt a bit like wetting your pants. In public. While spectators cheered and took pictures. The back of the pack of a certain mens team is notorious for making flips and spinning on their way into the first creek crossing, but most runners take the two-feet-at-a-time plunge approach (as demonstrated below by some of my esteemed team mates).

Wearing their blue and gold Beloit Spandex (Above L-R): Dana Crawford '10, Anna Edwards '10, and Allie Hood '08

(Above:) Anna and Dana scrambling up the other side bank.

(Above L-R) Helen Pope '10 and Katie Singleton '10 demonstrate the latest and most popular post-race trend: hobo bathing. While it was funny to watch other teams take pictures in the water, it was even more fun to take our final picture of the day:

Here's the ladies squad after the race with our hardware-- it's hard to beat winning your home meet. And while it was fun to hang out with recent alumni and the athletics barbeque sounded like a great chance to score some free food, I'll confess that I spent the rest of my Saturday with a few segments of Planet Earth, napping off the race. Nothing like some education in the natural sciences and a good showing to give you that collegiate sense of accomplishment.

For now, I guess I'd better get my head back to the week ahead. T-4 Days until Fall Break...

That Warm Falafel-y Feeling

First, I should explain that for most of my first year at Beloit, I was a pretty active member of the Outdoor/Environmental Club (OEC). Between SOI shifts, running, and homework, my participation has dropped off. Entirely.

Second, it is important to remember that Beloit Food Services doesn't serve meals on Sunday nights. There are all sorts of reasons cited (community building, encourage student interaction in clubs, give staff a night off, etc.), but most weekends it is just a challenge to fit in a good meal between hours in the library.

This evening, I called my friend (and former neighbor back in Porter Hall) Sarah Floyd '09 . She mentioned that the OEC was having a potluck with the club advisor, Pablo Toral of the International Relations Department. I've heard marvelous things about Pablo and I've known the OEC-ers to be pretty handy in the kitchen, so I stopped by for the meal. Including my contribution (pears for a fruit plate), we had a spread of couscous, falafel, eggplant, fresh veggies with homemade hummus, baked acorn squash, squash soup, pita, and hot brownies. It was an impressive meal, but not unusual for this crew.

I rounded off my visit with a little scrapbooking, headed over to Admissions, and here you find me. I've got to read the rest of Sarrasine and some Wordsworth before I hit the hay, but I'm entering the week of midterms without too much stress.

Teaser: This weekend was Homecoming at Belwah and our annual Old English Style Cross Country Race at Leeson Park. I'm getting some pictures together of the creek crossings and muddy ankles, but I had to brag that our women's team took first place and the men came in third! Look forward to the report. It's pretty good stuff.