Tea and Cookies (or Biscuts. I'm not really sure what to call these, actually.)

That title pretty much sums up my week. I spent most of it sitting in my room or in the Atheneum finishing up final projects, studying for finals, staying up late doing nothing with friends, and surviving on earl grey tea and shortbread cookies that say "Biscuts" on the front. It also says "Product of Scotland" on the front, so that explains that. Anway, I'm sure all the adults in the audience will be very pleased to hear about my ever so healthy diet. Except not really, at all.

Anyway.

I spent the weekend at my friend Ellie's house: she lives about half an hour away from Goucher, and she invited to come see a dance concert at her old high school. It was fun, and of course it was nice to get a break from studying and frantically tying up loose ends. But it was a little... well. Awkward. I've only met her parents once before, and I think I was too busy being shy to make a good impression. In any case... it was odd. Whenever I go to somebody else's house, I feel like I'm walking into somebody else's entire life. And... well. There's a big difference between walking into your best friend's house, and walking into a near stranger's house. Ellie is my best friend at Goucher, but... I think we've all gotten used to the idea that our homes are now our dorm rooms-- not where we came from before Goucher.

Okay. Enough of that rambling.

The next week should be a lot better. I don't have classes, and only one actual final test (on Tuesday morning). So I'm pretty much free to roam Towson and Baltimore for the next week. Kaira and I are hoping to finally make it out to the Baltimore Art Museum on Wednesday: she's interested in the Andy Warhol exhibit, and I just feel ever so slightly embarrassed that I haven't been there yet. Especially since I'll be taking Art History next semester... I get the feeling I'm gonna get to know my way around the museum quite well before the year is out. I'd also like to go back to the USS Constellation and go through a better tour. I rushed through it last time, as I was looking for pretty specific information for my Historic Preservation paper, so I'd like to do it properly this time. I also want to see the other ships in the harbor: USCGC Taney (a survivor of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December, 1941), and USS Torsk. So, I'll let you know how that goes. Theoretically, I'll be able to borrow Karia's camera for pictures, so... yep.

I'm leaving for New York on Thursday afternoon, so I'll get back that evening. And... I will write another post then! Until that time, my love to all,

Tasha

Ships and Grades and Parental Units

I feel like it's been a while since I've written... at least a week. So, I'll start back at last Sunday:

I visited the USS Constellation. And it was fantastic.
 

I went on a day much like the rest of that week: cold, cloudy, and perpetually either raining, or about to rain. In other words, perfect museum weather. Unless you're going to and outdoor museum.

Ah well.

I think I already gave you a quick run-down of the ship's history, so I'll try not to go over that too much again. But just to recap: there have been four ships by the name of the Constellation in American history. The first was built in 1797, but torn apart in 1853. The ship I visited is the 1854 USS Constellation, which is most famous for its exploits in disrupting the illegal African slave trade. It was restored in the 1990's, and smaller restoration projects on the ship have been ongoing since then.

While we were there (I dragged my friend Nina along with me), they held a demonstration of firing the guns. They only used 1/8th of the amount of powder that would have actually been used in firing a gun to kill, and... well. It was still quite loud, we'll put it that way. Given that in a battle, one would be using the actual amount of powder, all the other guns on the ship would be going off, all the guns on the other ship would be going off, and that theoretically, one could be doing this on a regular basis, it's easy to see why sailors went deaf.

 The Captain's quarters

Everybody else's quarters

The medicine cabinet. For some reason, I don't have pictures of all the tools they used for amputation, but... yes. As if I wasn't already hesitant about the whole sawing-your-arm-off thing.

Now, I know this is the wrong period (USS Constellation is a Civil War-era ship, as opposed to Napoleonic War-era), but throughout the entire tour of the ship, I couldn't get the Master and Commander soundtrack out of my head. I should go back and re-read those books... again...

Anyway.

That was a great visit. I really had a lot of fun. I just wish... well, two things actually: a) I wish I'd been able to spend more time there, b) I wish the museum itself had been more specific. How do I explain that...? Well, the presentation of the ship was very much "Here's what life was like in the US Navy during the Civil War," as opposed to "This is what was going on, and this is how the ship was connected to it." Ah well. Who am I do critique? It's a great site, and if you're ever in Baltimore, I would look into it... it's part of a museum that shows two other ships as well, so if you're into Naval History... yep.

Okay, I'm done now, I promise.

Things have been going... well. I'm still very happy here, and I'm still loving all my classes (except Philosophy, which you all probably know by now), and I'm doing very well: we've all been getting our "progress reports" back over the past few days, and... well. I'm getting a B in Film and Literature, A- in Philosophy, A in Historic Preservation, and A+ in European History. So... not terrible. I haven't gotten my Anthropology grade back yet, but I'm very excited to see that. But anyway, excuse my bragging, and let me get back to what I was saying: I'm really happy in terms of my academics, and most other things, but... I dunno. I'm coming down off the first-few-weeks-of-college high, and sorting through a few things. Prioritizing, I guess, would be the best way to put it. Things are already looking up, but it's been a strange week. Most of it feels like a dream.

And to top it off, this past weekend was Parent's Visiting Weekend! Which was wonderful... I was really happy to see Mum and Dad again. I'll talk more about that later, since a lot of what I have to say goes along with the pictures my Mum took, and I haven't gotten them yet. But it was a great weekend: my parents got to meet Kaira (my wonderful roommate who I can't say enough nice things about), and I got to meet her Mum, so that was nice.

It's odd... for the past few weeks, I've been in this mindset of thinking that I should feel more like an adult, but I don't... does that make sense? Probably not. But since my parents visited, and since they left, that has gone away. I suppose I've proven to myself that I can take care of things on my own... which is a great feeling. It's one thing to feel independent because you're parents aren't there to tell you what to do, but it's something else entirely to feel independent because you can stand up for yourself and decide what's best for you, on your own.

That being said, I did need Dad's help in opening my bank account. And in getting the right train tickets. So. I'm working on it.

My love to all,

Tasha

ps. A few birthdays I have to mention:

Happy Birthday to Sam (again)! And a belated one to John Lennon as well. It's difficult to overestimate how influential he has been, both musically and as a celebrity, even to those of us who were born after he died.

Here comes the sun... (Happy October!)

Firstly: thank you for all your responses to my last post. That was a rough few days, and I feel so incredibly lucky to have such wonderful friends and family.

It's been a bit strange... perhaps I should blame it on sleep deprivation. But it feels like I'm always either ecstatic to the point of dancing down the street, or tired and sad to the point of sitting in the library, staring at the wall, and doing nothing. I didn't expect it to be easy, the first month at college... I suppose I'm still figuring out how to keep up some kind of healthy routine. I'll figure it out.

Something I've been struck by over the past month is how much little things really affect one... like how much just having some of my books in my dorm make it feel like home, or how much things seem out of place when you can't get the right music when you want it... does that make sense? Probably not. Don't mind me.

Well, it rained pretty much non-stop all of last week. We had our first glimpse of sun here yesterday, and it seems to be continuing into today. Now, I love rain-- I find it very soothing. But after a week of nothing else, I'm really for a few days of proper October weather: chilly, windy, and cloudless. And accompanied by the Beatles, of course. I don't know why, but every time October rolls around, I find myself in a Beatles mood... the same thing happens in December, except I start listening to the Harry Potter soundtrack non-stop.

I'm still a bit bothered by the fact that I'm considered an adult... anyway.

I've had to change my plans to visit Fort McHenry for my Historic Preservation class, since the ferry only goes there from April-September, and all other ways of getting there involve having a car.

Oops.

So, I'm going to see the USS Constellation tomorrow. I've been doing some preliminary research on it, and the history of the ship(s) seems really quite fascinating. There have actually been four ships by the name USS Constellation: the first was built in 1797, and torn apart in 1853. It was the first ship launched by the U.S. Navy, and the first to pull off a major victory against an enemy ship (namely the French frigate, L'Insurgente). The second ship (the one that is actually preserved in Baltimore's Inner Harbor) was built in 1854, and stayed on the Naval Vessel Register until 1955. There have been two other ships since then, but honestly, I'm much more interested in the first two.

The 1797Constellation

The 1854 USS Constellation

I'm going to be in a bit of a squeeze, time-wise... I have to write a paper about the site for my class on Monday, in addition to actually seeing the site, writing another 6-page essay for my English class... it's gonna be an interesting Sunday. I'm hoping to finish the English paper today, so I won't have to worry about it tomorrow, but I prefer to be pessimistic, so I'll (hopefully) be pleasantly surprised when I get to go to bed before 2.00am.

And on that note, I'm going to get back to work. I'll write more soon... until then, my love to all,

Tasha