History, Music, and Badminton

I need nothing more to make my summer satisfying. So, now that I'm interning at the New Castle Historical Society, and I've got the musical gang back together, and I have my own badminton net, I'm finding it difficult say what could make me happier. Maybe if I was getting paid for any of those things. Though there may be some money-making in the music area... but I'll get to that in a bit.

Most importantly, I'm now officially an intern at the New Castle Historical Society! (On a less important, but somewhat interesting note, I keep writing "soviety" instead of "society." I suppose this is what Russian/Soviet History class does to people.) I'll be mainly transcribing documents (the Clarence Page diaries to be specific), though I'll also be helping the resident Historian sort through surveys and maps, as well as helping to prepare educational programs. So, that's what I'll be up to Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays... On Fridays, I'll be working with the Archivist, putting together a slide-show for a fundraiser in September. I am really, really excited about this. Of course. The Society has a website here, if you are interested in taking a look at it: http://www.newcastlehs.org/

Well, that's the most important bit, I think. In other news, following a recital on the 12th (this past Sunday), it was suggested that Daria and I should start playing in actual public. As in, "let's go play at the Dragonfly Cafe and see what happens!" I actually think it could be a good idea... I'm justifying it to myself by saying that if we make any money, we could donate it to an anti-fracking organization. Anyway... it could be fun. All that remains is to get Daria on-board with it. My Mum and I were also thinking of spending the 4th of July up in Cold Spring with the rest of our singing group-- there's this tunnel that leads from the river-side of the train tracks to the town-side of the train tracks that Mum and I experimented with when we were there for Memorial Day, and... well. The acoustics are fun. I don't need much more of an excuse. Again, all ideas... we'll see what happens.

Also, I've finally managed to order all of the books I will need for Cambridge! I have to wait another week or so for them to come, but as I'm still working on the first book, I'm fine with the lag time. All in all, things are starting to look up...

More to come at some point!

All my love,
Tasha

Fort Sumter and little French songs

Hello again!

Well, it's 12 April: the day the American Civil War began, with Confederate forces firing on Fort Sumter. I'm very pleased with the timing: I had American History this morning, and I had to give a presentation on antebellum presidents... anyway. Supposedly, the only casualty on the 12th was a horse, and three Union soldiers died on the 14th when a cannon misfired during the surrender ceremony.

Anyway.

I spent the weekend in the New York, so I could see Rebz's senior musical, which was amazing, as expected. It's her last in high school, and I couldn't imagine myself missing it... so yes. Rebz: I've told you before, but really. You have such fantastic talent. I'm sure the Ursuline theater program is going to miss you greatly, and you are going to be such an asset to whichever college you chose. I also got to see Trevor, as well as Ben, which was... well. I had almost forgotten how easy it is for certain people to make me laugh.

Speaking of theater and of French-speaking friends... last week, Goucher had students from Marseille over as part of the French Theater program. I didn't get to talk to them much, as I'm not in the theater program, and I don't speak French (cue feelings of inadequacy), but they seemed very nice. An acquaintence of mine from my American History class in bilingual (her father is French), and she got the job of giving the students a tour of Baltimore, via the Collegetown Shuttle. Perhaps not the best way to go about it, but still. Anyway, the entire group of them were on the shuttle while I was taking it to Penn Station, to catch my train to New York. Half of them were sitting in the back, improvising these odd little a capella songs... I really wish I had recorded them.

We also had GIG on Friday: that is, "Get Into Goucher" Day, which I suppose is something like Spirit Week is in high school, except we've managed to consolidate it into one day (thank goodness), and it involves a lot more watching drunk and high people do stupid things. At least, in my case. I may be the only one who does that. Anyway. It was surprisingly fun... there was a big barbaque lunch, and lots of good music, and the dance department got to show off... not bad for my first GIG. Apparently, its a lot more fun when it's not raining torrentially and all the events happen outside.

Moving on... I register for classes on the 14th, and I am... well. I'm really excited. Of course. I can only take 18 credits (that's the limit for all non-freshman students), and with all my other scheduling issues, it may get quite complicated. But I've got a list of classes I want to sign up for, and a list of classes I can take just in case I can't get into one, or a few, of those on the original list.

Original List:



HIS 235: The American Revolution


ANT 275: Language Myths


HIS 220: Imperial Russian History (Peter the Great to the Revolution) (Taught by my current European and Russian History professor, who I'm hoping will be my advisor once I declare my History major.)


HIS 241: The Vietnam War


AST 110: Astronomy






Alternatives:


PSC 111: Theories of Citizenship (aka: pre-requisite to every Political Science and International Relations class ever. Grr.)

ENG 241: Archival Research Methods


MUS 101: Music Theory


MUS 182: Piano


(or MUS 183: Organ, or MUS 184: Harpsichord)


HIS 254: The Jews of Russia
SP 130: Spanish


So, of course, I'll write up my new schedule here as soon as I've finalized it on the 14th.

That's about it, really... nothing very interesting to say. It was 80F yesterday, and very sunny, so the entire student body of Goucher spend the day outside on the quad, getting either pleasantly tan (as in Kaira's case), or turning into a tomato (as in my case). Heh... I'm not really that burned. I actually tanned a bit, for once! I have a really pale strip of skin where I left my watch on... it's sort of amusing.

Anyway, I'll write again soon, when I know more about my plans for the coming summer/fall. Until then, my love to all,
Tasha

Rousseau, "The Marriage of Figaro," and unseasonably warm weather.

I often wonder why it is those three things (yes. Jean-Jacques Rousseau is now a thing. I'm sure he would have appreciated that.) always seem to coincide in my life... A word of explanation: I'm working on a paper about the Enlightenment for my European History class, which requires me to talk about The Social Contract quite a bit. Actually, I've gotten quite good at it over the three years I've had of European History. I'm listening to Marriage of Figaro (that's rather self-explanatory). And it is 60 F out.

It's fantastic. This is the most content I've been in weeks.

Honestly, I'm starting to think I like talking about the Enlightenment a bit too much. This paper is meant to be 4-6 pages long. It is now 9 pages in length, and I still have to write a conclusion that will be at least two paragraphs long. And there's no way I'm editing out more than I already have.

Anyway. It's a really nice change, especially since the past week has been... less than good. It has been downright dreadful for Kaira. It started with our window shades falling on her and slicing her finger open, and did not end with the stitches ripping.

My side of it hasn't been very interesting... mostly, it consists of some very uncomfortable moments in American History, and agonizing over what should have been a simple paper for said class. Basically, we were meant to write a few pages on early Colonial history based on the statistics she gave us in class. Sounds fairly easy. Should have been very easy.

Unfortunately, I chose the night before it was due to have massive writer's block. Of course I got it done, but I'm not happy with how it turned out. I haven't gotten it back yet, so I don't know for sure how I did, but I'm sure I don't want to know. I'm going to give it to Kaira, and only have her tell me what I got if it was over an 80%.

As for the class itself, I like it... but I'm still getting used to it. I haven't taken the subject in two years, and it definitely shows. Not that this means that I'm not doing well-- most of the people in the class haven't taken a history class at all since high school, and analyzing documents is analyzing documents, no matter where they're from. But it's still a bit awkward when we discuss John Locke, and I'm thinking more about tabula rasa than property rights.

That settles my choice in concentration, I suppose.

In other news... well. I have one part of my summer plan worked out! I am enrolled in Medieval Studies at Cambridge University for this August! I'm just hoping that if I manage to get an internship, it will be one of the internships that is more flexible in terms of timing, or ends before I have to be in the UK... but anyway. At the moment, I'm just very nervous about the internships in general. They tend to be very competitive, and my resume isn't exactly the strongest at this point. Most of my experience is in politics and writing, and my actual jobs have consisted of being a counselor at a day camp, and working at the Goucher stables.

I suppose it could be worse... But I keep wishing I had worked at a museum at some point.

Well. Hopefully, I'll hear something soon, and hopefully it will be good news, so I'll be able to stop worrying and get back to basking in the light of a way-too-warm February and my Dean's List status.

... I'm still a little bit in shock about that. But unfortunately, that hasn't stopped me from bragging to myself every now and then.

That's about it, really. I'll write again as soon as something interesting happens.

My love to all,
Tasha

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

Packing

Not a whole lot has happened since my last post... I visited my friend Kathryn, who has just moved back to the US from the UK, about a week ago. It was really wonderful to see her, and now that we live in the same country again, I'm hoping we'll see more of each other. Other than that, it's been more shopping for college, more driving Nick places, more running around the village wildlife preserve... that has actually been particularly nice. It's not hiking in the mountains, but it's still something to keep me occupied. And I especially need it now... I've gotten to that point in summer where I'm so mindlessly bored and wishing I were back in school that a trip to the local coffee shop seems like an adventure. Of course, I'm not bored for any lack of things to do around the house. There are plenty of things to sort out in terms of packing for school, ordering my textbooks, etc, etc... but after a while, shuffling about in my own room, moving things from one box to another for hours on end starts to get a bit old.

So, when we got a three-day visit from Marianne and her family, I was extremely excited. It didn't mean I got to leave the house much more than I had/have been, but seeing people from the outside world was good enough. And I was especially happy since I hadn't seen Marianne in two years, and her husband in four, when I had visited them in Norway.

Since they left, I've rediscovered U2. And that is just about the most exciting thing that has happened to me in the past two days. Since my computer crashed, I've been trying to find CDs with all my old music on them, and in my searchings, I came across my father's U2 CDs, and... well. Nothing can match the obsession I had with them when I was 13, and I like to think I'm mature enough now to resist the temptation to fall back into that adolescent mindset. But it brings back a lot of memories... It's strange to come back to that music as a very (if not completely) different person than I was just 5 years ago. It's also the slightest bit creepy, to be honest.

But in any case. I've started counting down the days until I leave for Goucher... and not including the rest of today, I have 9 days left. My mum asked me the other day what I would like to do with my last evening at home, which will be next Saturday, in fact. I believe the plan for now is to go to an air show during the day, and either a picnic (which nobody but me will enjoy) or a BBQ at home (which will feature everybody else eating hotdogs and hamburgers, and me with the humus and carrots). So we'll see what happens with that.

And speaking of Goucher, I have heard from my roommate. Not in the past two weeks, but I know she exists now. So. That's good news, I suppose.

And... that's about it. I hope everybody is well, and I will write more soon.

Tasha