Nervous?
So today was the first day of the spring semester and that means I have about two days left of peaceful living. Even after 15 years of first days of school, I still get that feeling in my stomach when I walk into a class for the first time. Will I like the professor? Will I like the class?
The City Yes the City to the City!
So, Austin again.
In Black and White
Coming back from winter break, one retreats from the comforts, cooking and community of one’s previous incarnation to the once again absurdly unfamiliar geometry of college life. Yes, it is good to be back, to up-shift into student mode. The first thing you notice when you arrive is the peculiar feeling in your ears. Where you almost get that change in altitude enough to pop your ears but for some maddening meters…. The second thing is the smell, the smell of an alien place. Once I even attempted to find the threshold/margins of this phenomenon, the exact weird ratio of time away and seasonal change that will render even your oldest homes strange and frightening. I believe travel lag adds to this illusion, although to what degree is both debatable and meaningless.
In Color
The trick, I am told, is to ignore he fear, tip the driver, call up the guys and gals and say “Hey yeah it’s me and yeah I’m back in town and I’m starving. Let’s get something to eat!” Gone are the days of homemade meals, late awakenings, nostalgia and remorse, and good riddance!
What are ya waiting here for!?
Why, don’t you know there are things to be done? Yeah! Get those legs a-movin’, the buses ain’t gonna get you no-where! Go buy textbooks for your new classes or instant noodles for your crash pad! Pick up an Austin Chronicle or an Onion from the nearest street corner and find out the latest movie times! Go down to ACES Lounge on Sixth St. and pretend you know the owner! Show up without warning at a buddy’s apartment and lead a dastardly raid on your poor friend’s liquids and solids! Take out your trash! Sleep responsibly!
PARTY!!!
All photos from Austin Daily Photo.
A Misadventure (Murphy, I Despise Thee…)
Listening to: Khe Sahn — Cold Chisel
Dear Murphy,
You know who you are. The one that makes everything go wrong. This entry is for you.
In the last month
1. My dog, Elvis, officially went blind. We are thinking of maybe getting him a cone to put around his head so he doesn’t suffer when he bumps into things.
2. I revised, and then re-revised, my thesis outline. I should have been actually forming full sentences with my thoughts, but I’m not there yet. My thesis is about the Abu Ghraib photos and national identity and how we should ethically respond to these and other amateur photographs of human suffering. I think that’s what it’s about, anyway. It changes sometimes.
Round Two
Listening to: Love Potion #9 – Rockapella
MDR,
Know how I can tell it’s time for the new semester? Money is flying out of my bank account much more quickly than it is trickling in. And do you want to know why that is? Textbooks.
Horns Up, Jersey On, Proud to be a Longhorn!!
It’s Jan. 11, four days after the BCS National Championship Game, and I’m finally over the fact that Texas lost the BCS Title Game. So much enthusiasm, so much excitement, so much hope and we lost; I couldn’t understand how it happened.
Ana Aheb El-Arbia! (I love Arabic!)
So I’m bored and looking at my class schedule and can I just say that I am super excited about one: Arabic! I know I have the same teacher/a bunch of the same classmates as last time, which is nice, and besides that — I just love this language!
A lot of people ask me why I’m doing the MES (Middle Eastern Studies) double major and I figured it was time to let the world know, too. Essentially, I just find the Middle East so interesting! My dad lived in Israel for a bit when he was younger, and ever since I can remember the whole region has been really important to him, which he bestowed on me. It’s funny, when I applied to colleges I never even considered Arabic/Middle Eastern Studies departments in my decisions. Then I came to UT and, low and behold, ended up enrolled in the best Arabic program in the country!
You have to love when things like that happen.
If you are a future Longhorn or any other future anything even the tiniest, tiniest bit interested in learning a language, I encourage you times a million to do it!! Taking a language is so enriching — it makes you that much more interesting, makes your resume that much snazzier, gives you a new community (anytime I hear Arabic being spoken on campus — even if I can’t totally understand it — I feel like that person and I should be friends; it’s such a great connection), and gives you a whole new culture to explore. Especially in a school like UT, which can seem overwhelming at times, the smaller language departments (i.e. not Spanish and French) provide such a great niche to be a part of. Although rave reviews about from all facets of the language department, I encourage trying something you have never ever even thought of learning, and skip the megaclasses that Spanish and French offer. I suggest (of course) Arabic, Arabic and then Arabic, although my friends LOVE the Russian, Chinese and Hebrew departments as well.
With that said, I really do need to review some old vocab before this semester starts…. I’m out! See you with the semester!
Live the Dream Again
I’m sure that I will post again about football, seeing as the National Championship is this week. When I saw this sign, I knew that my Longhorn Confidential readers would enjoy the message:
Oh crazy Texans and their football! Hook Em Horns!
YAY BIRTHDAY!
Ahhh the first day that staff is back on campus. This week is very slow on campus — no students, no faculty, but the trusty staff is here!
Chicago and more!
It may not have been the best time to schedule a vacation, but the weekend before finals was a gorgeous time to visit Chicago!
