Yes. I have a blog. I remember.

Sorry... haven't been writing as much as I had hoped I would have over the past few days...

Anyway.

The adventure continues! I went home for Autumn break over the weekend, which was really wonderful. Firstly, I got to see my Mum, Dad, and siblings-- and I got to see Nick's football game! I'm amused by the fact that this was the second Greeley football game I've ever been to. The last time I went, I was a freshman in high school, and my parents had to drag me. It's a lot more fun now that I've graduated.

And of course, I brought more things back to clutter my dorm room with.

Clutter. Huzzah.

I don't dare take a picture of my desk.

I also (FINALLY) got to meet Rebz's boyfriend, who I have been hearing about and not meeting for about three months now. And... well. I heartily approve of the kid. (I can call him a kid because he's two years younger than me. Is that a valid excuse? No. Ah well. Just go along with it.) In all seriousness, though, I really liked him. It's difficult not to like a fellow Sharpe watcher who can talk French politics...

Anyway.

I had tea with Amanda before I left, which was really nice... I'm glad I got to see her.

I got back to Goucher on Tuesday evening (after waiting for the College Town Shuttle for about an hour and fifteen minutes), and I was amazed at how happy I was to be back (despite having a six-page essay to write in the space of three hours)... it wasn't that visiting New York was awful, of course, but... well. As soon as I stepped on campus, I was reminded of why I chose to go to Goucher. It's so beautiful, and the people here are wonderful... and, to be honest, it was nice to be back in my own room. It's really become mine... I've got all my books here, my guitar, my giant teddy bear, my less-giant teddy bear, my tea...

There's a strange duality about living away from my family... on the one hand, New York is always going to be the place I grew up. It's where my family and some of my best friends are, and let's face it, I'm never going to enjoy autumn as much anywhere else. But on the other hand, Goucher has very quickly become home as well: how could it not be? I live here, and most of my really important possessions are here with me. Never mind my roommate and the other people who have been like family to me here. So, there's this odd split... in some ways, coming back to Goucher felt just as much like coming home as coming back to New York did.

And the weather is finally starting to get really chilly! I feel like I say that every week, but all the same. I was actually cold when I got out of the shower this morning. It's sweater weather.

The week since has not been too interesting... class, homework, work... I'd say something about Anthropology, but I've already talked too much about that for it to be interesting to any of you at this point...

Well. That's about it. It's Friday night, and I'm sitting in my room, writing a blog post. And as soon as I'm done, I'll probably go back to my tea and sketchbook.

Hope you're all well! My love to all,

Tasha

ps. I'm editing this post at 12.10am, just to say this: I realized this evening that there are people other than me and Dad who like Warren Zevon. And I just spent most of my evening listening to good music with them. I... cannot express how happy I am right now.

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

"In a hole in the ground..."

Today, I was wandering through the library, looking for a certain journal for a research paper, when I came across what I shall now refer to, forever, as the Tolkein section. You can imagine what that means. I picked up The Hobbit just out of that kind of "Oh, I love that book! I'm gonna pick it up for no reason whatsoever!" feeling one gets when one is in a library or bookstore, and sees a book one likes just sitting there. I opened it, read the first line, and promptly began crying.

I don't know why that happened... perhaps I'm more homesick than I thought I was. That first line always reminds me of the Wesners' house, and... well. The Wesners themselves. Especially Sam and Amanda. Badminton. Music. All those things.

My friend Trevor called me yesterday... we didn't talk about much, as we follow each other's blogs and therefore don't really have much news for each other, but it was just wonderful to hear his voice. It's surprising how much I can just miss the sound of another person's voice.

So... I dunno. I just thought I should share that. There have been so many great, wonderful things going on, but I have promised myself that I will be keeping you up on all the... well, not-so-wonderful things that happen. So there you are.

Tasha

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.

Soon...

... just a few days before I leave now. It just hit me this morning that I was really going to leave. I'm still adamant that I'm not nervous, or anxious, or feeling any other kind of negative emotion about going to school, but until today, it never really sunk in for me. I think it must have helped that I realized that one of my best friends is leaving on Wednesday.

That was quite the wake-up call. I've really got to get seriously packing.

Today has been one of those lovely days where we've gotten these cycles of 5 minute rainstorms followed by dazzling sunlight... it's especially nice right now, as it's getting later, and the sunlight looks more and more golden. I'm not particularly good at describing what is so attractive to me about all this, so you may just have to go with me on this one. Rain seems to bring out greens in a rather deep, vibrant way, and at this time of year, there's so much green around...

Anyway. I just got back from getting my hair cut. Yes. Again. I know I said I wanted to grow it out more, but, to be really honest, it wasn't looking that great, and I was getting bored with it. So. It's not that much shorter now... just past my shoulders, and with shorter pieces in the front... I'll have to take a picture and post it.

In the meantime, I've been finishing up all the books I've started over the summer. I finished Undaunted Courage, by Stephen Ambrose just last week... It really is a fantastic book-- one of my favorites (this was my third time finishing it in full).  It's essentially a biography of Meriwether Lewis, but it just as well could be a piece on the entire Core of Discovery. I finished Simon Schama's A History of Britain this morning-- another fantastic book (or set of books, rather), but I may be slightly biased by my history geekiness. Yeah... don't mind that. I read Catfish and Mandala, by Andrew W. Pham, for school summer reading, and to be perfectly frank, I didn't much like it, so I'll skip over to The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, as most of you probably already know. I got it for my birthday... it's one of those books I knew I had to read to be considered a proper American, but I somehow never got around to it until now. And now that I have read it, I can say that I wish I had read it earlier. It's a really wonderful book... and I'm now working on The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett, which is another one of those books I've been meaning to read for a while. So, when they came out with a TV series based off of it, I knew I had to get on it. I refuse to watch the series until I finish the book, so, don't expect to be talking about that for a while... I'd hoped to have finished it by the time I left for school, but that doesn't look likely.

Well, no doubt I'll have more interesting things to write about very 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