As Decided in Commons at Dinner:

I'm declaring my "Veggeversary" (or veg-a-versary, if you will). The jury is still out on when the festival will be, but I'm celebrating eleven meatless years-- more details to come when I choose the arbitrary date.

This inspired holiday has come to my mind at this time of year before. It was in this very season that I first decided to lay off the beasties back in the third grade. My best friend at the time insisted we had to "stop hurting the animals" and quite naturally, I agreed. Sadly for "the animals," my friend gave up her stand when her parents started planning the Thanksgiving dinner. As I got older, I only found more reasons not to eat meat. I've never stopped my boycott. Now, Thanksgiving is gobbling just below the horizon and preparations must be made far in advance. I won't have time to fly home to the Green Mountains, but I just might piggy-back my new feast onto Turkey Day. There is a certain vein of irony to be considered here...

So, this year there will be a Veggeversary and it will be joyous and soy-filled and good. You're all invited.

The Saturday Files

Wierd, but true: I'm a NCAA Division Three athlete. Yup. I get a free t-shirt that says "Beloit College Distance" and everything. The backwash here: my high school was too small to support soccer and field hockey and lacrosse and still have runners left over for cross country or track teams, so while I've always loved running I had never treated it as a sport in its own right. It was just never presented to me that way.

So, now I live in the Midwest. While we've got clubs, there's not a big crowd for field hockey or lacrosse or even cross-country skiing. I had to try something new. I got involved with BC Track last spring and now I'm running in the back of the Cross pack. It gets me outside everyday and assures I will always have someone to eat with in Commons. Aside from the dorky team stuff and the help with any social anxiety, I love getting out of town on Saturdays. I've been around this town for a weekend or two and it's the cheapest way to get off campus!

This weekend, we went a couple hours east to the Forrester Invitational. We tied for second on the womens end of things and our men came in fourth. I know this post feels very jock-y so far, but I swear, Beloit College harriers are not that kind of crew. We just wear short-shorts like all the other teams...

(Above:) Coach Eckburg & Joe Cardillo talk to some of the guys after their race.

(Above:) Meet Shelley Quade. She runs fast. Nutrition is important to her. She will be very pleased that I chose to post this post-race photo. The bananas were particularly good on Saturday. Not too brown or gunky, but ripe. Ah, potassium.

(Above:) This is Ian. He's a First-Year. He's making a surprise guest appearance on my blog because he managed to take a nice dive as he kicked into the chute for the finish. I'm not posting this photo to be mean. This is by no means a mockery of his efforts, but an attempt to let our "Buc Yeah!" intensity shine through. Yeah, it's intense.

(Above:) Oh. This is a personal favorite. Coach Eckburg was rather fond of the posters some unidentified team tacked all throughout the course and I had to take this opportunity to pay hommage to Eck's prescription rec specs. Righteous.

There's my Saturday. For the full wrap, you can check out the official Beloit College scoop on what we've been up to.

Hope you're all enjoying the weather. It's apple picking season. It's crisp. It's fresh. It's fall.