Shabbat, etc

First shabbat back on campus, now over. It turned out better than I expected- I usually find events that big rather overwhelming, and it was overwhelming at times. But I had dinner with people I knew, and we sang after, first on our own and then with the huge mob. And then I spent a bunch of time talking- I was afraid, as I usually am at the beginning of a new year, that I wouldn't find appropriate social situations, but I did, without a problem. Lots of people to talk to, and shul and a nap and more shul pretty much describes my Shabbos.

Oh yes, and I got looked at reproachfully by a duck. A number of times- I was sitting and looking at Chapels' Pond, and it seemed to think that I was obligated to feed it, but I had no food with me. Poor silly duck. I felt sort of bad, which means that it was doing a good job though, I guess.

TOnight I went to the orientation-ish whatever-it-was with free food that I didn't eat (wasn't hungry), loud music inside and random things to do that I didn't do. But I had a good time talking, mostly with BORGlings, and some random other folks. And then belu and I took a walk, which was good (to quote my grandmother, who says that far touoo often). So- no major excitement, I guess. Mostly it was just first-Shabbat-back weirdness. It's sort of difficult to resettle into the pattern at first, pleasant as it is. Shabbat with all the company seems much shorter. But it's the same sort of unsettledness- I don't know which of my current friends will be the people I spend time with, and what freshmen I'll meet and who will be around and become people I really know and which ones I'll never see again. Usually I'm lazy- I like my routine, and knowing whom I'll see, whom I'll eat with, etc. This sort of chaos is exciting, but it's also confusing and sort of anxious. By partway into the semester I always forget about this. It's weird to feel so much undifferentiated potential...

Shabbat, etc

First shabbat back on campus, now over. It turned out better than I expected- I usually find events that big rather overwhelming, and it was overwhelming at times. But I had dinner with people I knew, and we sang after, first on our own and then with the huge mob. And then I spent a bunch of time talking- I was afraid, as I usually am at the beginning of a new year, that I wouldn't find appropriate social situations, but I did, without a problem. Lots of people to talk to, and shul and a nap and more shul pretty much describes my Shabbos.

Oh yes, and I got looked at reproachfully by a duck. A number of times- I was sitting and looking at Chapels' Pond, and it seemed to think that I was obligated to feed it, but I had no food with me. Poor silly duck. I felt sort of bad, which means that it was doing a good job though, I guess.

TOnight I went to the orientation-ish whatever-it-was with free food that I didn't eat (wasn't hungry), loud music inside and random things to do that I didn't do. But I had a good time talking, mostly with BORGlings, and some random other folks. And then belu and I took a walk, which was good (to quote my grandmother, who says that far touoo often). So- no major excitement, I guess. Mostly it was just first-Shabbat-back weirdness. It's sort of difficult to resettle into the pattern at first, pleasant as it is. Shabbat with all the company seems much shorter. But it's the same sort of unsettledness- I don't know which of my current friends will be the people I spend time with, and what freshmen I'll meet and who will be around and become people I really know and which ones I'll never see again. Usually I'm lazy- I like my routine, and knowing whom I'll see, whom I'll eat with, etc. This sort of chaos is exciting, but it's also confusing and sort of anxious. By partway into the semester I always forget about this. It's weird to feel so much undifferentiated potential...

Just a Day, but a Good One

Today I really skipped out on my responsibilities, which would have been to be at the activities fair, bop between tables, perform with Swing club and be generally useful, and then do reading for class, I had brunch with pallasrosalind and then we went into Boston to shop. It was a very unorganized sort of trip- we went without really knowing how to get where we were going, so we hit some other shops, and found a bunch of stuff that almost worked but didn't enough to be worth it, and then we got directions and walked over to the Garment District and had a really wonderful time, and even found some neat things, although Mom's comment was "of course, scarves, just what you need"- I got a bunch of scarves, of which I do indeed have quite a number. But they're so pretty and make such nice headbands, etc. And we came back and had fun dinner conversation. Tonight was pleasant as I had a really nice conversation with my parents on the phone. I'm only intermittently a good phone person- often I revert to my usually pretty lousy phone skills. So this was a very nice change. I was both proud of myself and really enjoyed it. There are fairly few better combinations.

But it was a very good day for the beginning of the semester. It takes me a while to settle back into a college environment, and I haven't had the patience/tolerance for much in the way of crowds lately. I'm in a small-group mode even more than usual, which isn't great for beginning of the year. But I like my security, much of the time, and large groups don't give me that. Somehow I've been finding them particularly overwhelming of late. Eh- I go back and forth. Just a matter of time.

Just a Day, but a Good One

Today I really skipped out on my responsibilities, which would have been to be at the activities fair, bop between tables, perform with Swing club and be generally useful, and then do reading for class, I had brunch with pallasrosalind and then we went into Boston to shop. It was a very unorganized sort of trip- we went without really knowing how to get where we were going, so we hit some other shops, and found a bunch of stuff that almost worked but didn't enough to be worth it, and then we got directions and walked over to the Garment District and had a really wonderful time, and even found some neat things, although Mom's comment was "of course, scarves, just what you need"- I got a bunch of scarves, of which I do indeed have quite a number. But they're so pretty and make such nice headbands, etc. And we came back and had fun dinner conversation. Tonight was pleasant as I had a really nice conversation with my parents on the phone. I'm only intermittently a good phone person- often I revert to my usually pretty lousy phone skills. So this was a very nice change. I was both proud of myself and really enjoyed it. There are fairly few better combinations.

But it was a very good day for the beginning of the semester. It takes me a while to settle back into a college environment, and I haven't had the patience/tolerance for much in the way of crowds lately. I'm in a small-group mode even more than usual, which isn't great for beginning of the year. But I like my security, much of the time, and large groups don't give me that. Somehow I've been finding them particularly overwhelming of late. Eh- I go back and forth. Just a matter of time.