I'm not sure if the warm weather has caused or merely coincided with my life taking a turn for the wonderful. Sure, I'm still terrified about finding a job for next year. Yes, I'm a bit behind in my reading for class. Maybe my house is a mess and the laundry situation is getting dire. Perhaps the snow will return with a vengeance. But, really, I couldn't be happier.
The massive snowdrifts are quietly melting away. Coats are becoming laughably unnecessary. I actually have to wear sunglasses. I got my bike (named Stella) off the porch where she'd been parked all winter, pumped up her tires, and took her for a spin. Being able to bike makes the small distance between my Oberlin even smaller, and I can't help but smiling as I whiz to class, to my co-op, and to visit friends. The bike co-op -- an amazing place where trained students can help you fix up your bike for free -- held a wonderful event last weekend so everyone could get their bikes ready for spring.
Let's see...what else has spring brought to my life?
My classes are work-heavy, but I have four of the best professors in the college: Jen Bryan for Medieval Lit, David Walker for Nabokov, Laurie McMillin for Travel Writing, and Holly Handman for Modern Dance. An all-star lineup, if I do say so myself.
It's been a great semester so far for the Nicaragua Sister Partnership. We just gave a big presentation on Monday in Spanish House (a program dorm that puts on many cultural events) about our trip. A week ago, we gave a similar presentation at a local church, which was great for connecting to Oberlin's many activist community members. Next on our agenda: screening banana propaganda films from the 30s and 50s and having a discussion about the presence of bananas on campus, and all the environmental/political/workers' rights issues tied up in that little yellow fruit.
I'm also writing a piece for the upcoming issue of Wilder Voice, a student magazine that publishes a delicious blend of longform journalism, fiction, poetry, and art. My fellow blogger John West is my gentle but critical editor, and is currently helping me craft a piece reflecting on my time in Nicaragua. Too bad I handed his ass to him at Scrabble.
Okay, I began this post yesterday and now it is gloomy and rainy, but relatively warm. I have to run over to the radio station (WOBC) to be a guest on a show called Expeditious, hosted by a mother-and-son duo from the community. I'm going to read some of my travel writing from Laurie McMillin's class, but I'm more excited to play the themed music I chose to go along with my stories. Doesn't everyone fantasize about their life having a soundtrack? Happy Weekend.
