January 2,3,4

January 2nd - I packed up my things on the second, and headed back to Corvallis for the start of another term at Oregon State. I couldn't wait to get back, and it was so great to be back in the building I hadn't yet realized I missed so much. Kelsey came down with me, and so I was able to show her around my corner of campus where I live and eat. She has agreed that my dining hall food is FAR superior.

My wonderful RA Sophie had added a new set of name tags to our doors, so my door is now pretty freaking awesome. The robots are from last term, the coloring pages (mine is Apples, Stephanie's is Seal) are this term. And the wonderful giant snowflake and holiday card are from my amazing neighbors, Emma and Megs. :)

January 3rd - First day of classes! I don't have class until 11 (yes, I know how lucky I am!), and when I woke up there was some beautiful light shining in through my window. It made me think it might actually be warm outside.

I, of course, was wrong. It was FREEZING out. I looked out my window, and the entire field outside was covered in frost. EVEN WHERE THE SUNW AS SHINING!!!!! I braced myself for the cold, tried not to be outside more than I had to, and made the best of it.
My Spanish teacher seems like he'll be interesting. He's a bit scatterbrained, but pretty cool. Think Flaherty, if you've had the privilege of knowing that fellow. he also talks to the back wall. I've watching him two days now, and I'm sure of it. Unless he's asking a specific person a question, he's always telling the bulletin in the back of the room all about what we'll be doing in class.
My business 101class should be pretty fun, too. My teacher seems really nice. And it's a good thing I can have up to 4 absences before my grade is affected, because I'm already anticipating 2 for AKPsi trips...
AKPsi is going really well. For those who don't know, I'm a brother in Alpha Kappa Psi, a co-ed, unhoused, professionalism fraternity. AKPsi is recognized as the premiere developer of principled business leaders, and I'm proud to be one of them. We had our first chapter meeting of the term, along with a potluck, and it was really fine. I'm starting to really feel like part of the group. A lot of them have known each other for quite a while, and I'm the only freshman, so it's been interesting. They all seem to like me, though, and I know it's only going to get better from here.

January 4th - Second day of classes, and just as much of an adventure. Spanish again, I have it Monday through Thursday. I was a little worried at first about whether or not I'd be able to keep up in the class, or if my conversation skills had been left in the dust in favor of expanded vocabulary. So far, it looks like I'll be alright, and I can always have my friends Alejadro (of Columbia) and Adrian (formerly of Panama) help me practice. :) My Shakespeare class should be pretty great, too. I had the same teacher for the first half of the cycle last term, so I know him already, as well as several other students from 201 who're in 202 with me now. It's a reeeeally full class, but it'll probably thin out a bit, plus they all seem eager enough to be there.

We got out of Shakespeare a little early today, so I had almost a full hour before jazz dance, instead of the usual half hour I'll get. I got changed and headed up to the room to just chill and stretch. I figured if there was a class using it, I could just wait and check my email. Luckily, right as I got there the last person was leaving the room, so I had it all to myself. And it is absolutely GORGEOUS.

The cieling actually sparkles. Not even kidding. Not a lot, just a little bit here and there. There are pictures of dancers in crazy poses and mid-jump taped on all the mirrors, and the lights are old-fashioned and very pretty. I had pretty much an entire half hour to strecth out and enjoy the room. I listened to Regina Spektor to get myself in the mindset of being graceful. I was glad I had the whole half hour, because while it orignially seemed I'd lost a lot of my flex, I just needed to loosen up, and I was back to almost as good as I'd been back in the day. Almost to splits, almost putting my nose on the floor in some of the stretches. Plenty to work on, but still encouraging that I hadn't lost it all. The rest of my classmates finally arrived, and I recognized several of them, plus there were plenty of new faces. I'm reserving judgement on my teacher, because how you talk to a group and how you actually dance are two very different things. As a person, though, i do like her. She's funny and very personable, and I think I'll like working with her. We didn't actually get to dance or do anything today, it was all just going over the syllabus and what she expected of us. I'll have to wait until Thursday for that.

I actually felt really productive today, I got a lot of stuff done, and got pretty well prepared for tomorrow. I hope I manage to keep up with this productivity thing, I really like it...

That's all for now dear reader(s?)! I hope you enjoy it! I know I am!