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.

Autumn.

When I walked out the door this morning, it was rainy, chilly, and overcast. I actually had to wear a sweater for the first time this year. And I am so, incredibly, happy about all this.

It's been about 90 F all week, until today. It's been... urgh. I don't hate warm weather. I really don't... it's just that it shouldn't be 90 F in late September. Really. Maybe I'm just a spoiled New Yorker, but I don't believe in this whole not-getting-cold-until-mid-October thing. Nina, of course, is the complete opposite: she has lived in the South her whole life (she's immediately from Texas, but originally from Louisiana), so she's been quite happy these past few days, and now that it's getting chilly... well. It should be interesting.

So, anyway, I'm in the best mood I've been in since the week began: I have a sweater and corduroy pants on, there was hot cereal at breakfast, there are leaves on the ground, I have tea, and I can finally listen to Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me! on NPR. Things are as they should be.

Well. What's been going on this week... ? Not a whole bunch, outside of homework, etc. And I haven't even really had that much homework this week... most of it has been reading (which I can do reasonably quickly, of course), which has given me time for other things... like "helping" Nina with her Chemistry/Biology/strange English class work. And doing a bunch of outside reading... I have started way too many books: I just finished two books on Gothic Cathedrals (which are really interesting... I don't know why, but I seem to be going through a phase of odd fascination with them), I'm still working on Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett, and I've just started That Sweet Enemy, by Robert and Isabelle Tombs... it's essentially a book on the history of the relations between France and Britain. It's a really interesting perspective on the history. I'm very much used to seeing British or French history through the lens of American history, and how they relate to the U.S., etc, etc...

But anyway. I've finally been able to understand what on earth is going on in my Philosophy class! We've moved on to our next book, which (in my opinion), is far better written, and seems more relevant to what I thought the class was going to be about in the first place. The first book (the one I was having trouble with) was Fact Fiction and Forecast, by Nelson Goodman, and we are now reading The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, by Thomas S. Kuhn. I suspect that I like Kuhn better because he's a) actually talking about the history of science, and b) because we just started the book, and I haven't had a chance to dislike him yet.

I've also discovered that I can get the New York Times every week day on my way to class (for free!), so as a result, I've been spending more time than I'm sure is healthy doing crossword puzzles and underlining important-looking-things (yes, that's how I read newspapers: I read, underline and annotate. I blame every English teacher I have ever had). I also have earphones now, so I can listen to NPR while I'm doing my homework... it makes me feel very much at home.

Well, Jeremy has just brought some mango. I'll take a break here, and write more later if I can think of anything.

I hope you're all doing well,

Tasha

ps. A completely unrelated note: there are these great chairs by the library computers. They're really completely unexceptional except for the fact that they have wheels, and they're really fun... I know I sound childish. You'll have to forgive me for that today.

pps. On a more adult note, I've been thinking about taking German next year (after I finish my requirements for Spanish next semester), and I was just wondering what you all think about that... advice is always good.