Sasquatch! 2011

Had a great time at Sasquatch! The car didn't break down, the tent didn't leak or blow away, and surprisingly I'm not having too hard a time of assimilating back into the real world! So everything went better than expected.
Here's some pictures that Loren and I took of the festival:

 There's our lovely little campsite. The tent Paul got me for my birthday was just the right size! Not too small, but not large enough to be a pain for two people to set up!

 

The main stage off to the right with a pretty view of the river in the distance! The clouds make for some wonderful pictures :)

 

This was a picture of a dance party going on behind where we were sitting. Lots of dancing to be had this weekend!

 

And there I am on the last day, being a smelly, dirty hippie! Had lots of fun!

And now back to the real world, where I have a paper to write and stories to read and laundry to do! This is the last week of classes before finals, and then I'm packing up and shipping back home for the summer probably on the 9th or 10th of June! College needs to slow down. Everything is going by waaaay too quickly!

NEW look

I changed some stuff up (clearly) but this is still Hannah! Still the same blog, no you didn't type the URL wrong, no I didn't disappear, this is the same blog. Here I am, hello!

Haha didn't want anyone to be alarmed by the change. But the black background was a bit overbearing.

Classes for next Fall

Just signed up for next year's classes. Looks like I'm going to be taking English Linguistics, English Grammar, and Shakespeare. Sounds like Fall quarter will be a stressful one!

But once I take linguistics and grammar, from there all the classes I need to take for this major sound pretty fun. So I'll just have to slog through Fall, I suppose.

It's 79 degrees out today! And it's Friday! Wooohoo!

Sonnet 2

In my poetry class we were given an assignment to write a sonnet. Of course, a mixture of wonderful weather and an attitude of "I can bust that out in no time!" led to major procrastination. It's due today, and I just finished it, and I thought I might share it. Keep in mind though, the purpose of this assignment wasn't so much to pay attention to the words, but more to pay attention to the meter and the variations in the poem. So if the last line seems a little cliche, sorry, but we're being graded 20 points for meter and only 10 points for actual content of the poem.

It's about camping at Sasquatch Festival (which has been on my brain lately since it's only a week away!)

Festival Camping

Drove for an hour, and we've finally
Made it, been counting down days for a year.
Past the steel horses running wildly,
Now we're in a land where everything's clear.
I park the car, you pitch the tent, we've got
Provisions for days. We're not very near
To the entrance, but tomorrow we'll go walk
A mile just to buy nine-dollar beers.
It's now been four days, and I swear my hair
Is standing up all on its own. Could use a mirror,
Or maybe a shower, and a comfy chair
To fall asleep in. I won't find that here.
So now we take the tent apart and leave,
Wait for next year to come back and be free.


So that's that! Not the best, but I did write it in a sleepy stupor this morning, so I guess it's not bad for being half asleep! Not as good as The Craving, though. Nothing I write will ever compare to that magnificent eight-page-long beast!

The Cravin'

I was looking through some old poems and unearthed this gem that I wrote for my junior year English class back in high school. A parody of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven", written at the kitchen counter with Paul whilst eating pizza that had questionable meat substances on it. The memories behind this poem made me laugh so hard as I was rereading it, I just have to share it.

The Craving

Once upon a meal-time dreary, whilst I pondered weak and weary,
Whether or not I should dare to open the great freezer door
While I sat working quotients, suddenly there came a notion
As if someone clearly motioned, motioned at my cupboard door
A trick of the light, I muttered, trick of the light at my cupboard door
Only this and nothing more.

Now, this I can hardly remember, my mind being so starved with hunger
And each algebraic number staring into my every pore
Eagerly I wished for bacon, yet there was none for the makin'
Instead I grabbed my algebra book and threw it down upon the floor
No food there among the floor.
Stomach rumbling evermore.

And this pathetic new position left me feeling opposition
To the five-second rule that was tested oh so many years before
And so now to still the beating of my heart I stood repeating
"If I find something worth eating lying on my kitchen floor,
If I find some sweet morsel here upon my kitchen floor,
I will eat it evermore!"

Eventually my might grew stronger, and hesitating then no longer
I crawled and crept my way over to the inviting pantry door
Now at this spot I did lunge forward, hoping for some food-reward
Finally came open the door
Boxes falling from inside the door
Alas, empties, nothing more.

Sitting in a sea of boxes, longing, dreaming, of roast foxes
Doubting whether I would ever see another day or more;
Here the silence was only broken by the rustling of those empty tokens
And the only words here spoke were "Should I try the cupboard door?"
Answered back was the murmur, "Yes do try the cupboard door
For here lies boxes, nothing more."

Now here, back to the kitchen turning, all my limbs so weak were burning
I swear I saw another motion, clearer than the one before
"Surely... Surely this is just delusion what I do see at my cupboard door."
Here I heard a murmur issued from the cupboard door
"Don't call me Shirley." and nothing more.

Open here I flung the cupboard when with much a great shudder
20 or so packets of Top Ramen spilled out to the floor
"A turn of luck!" I had thought, but something made me turn and stop
To look at all the packages lying there all on the floor
I picked one up off of the kitchen floor.
Teriyaki flavor. Nothing more.

Now, teriyaki -being the worst flavor- was not something I did savor
So I flung the package down hard upon the kitchen floor
"Has this madness gone from bad to raving? What a sad thing to be craving!"
I did shout down at the pile on the floor
I shouted as I stomped down on the ramen on the floor.
Only crumbled; said nothing. Silent ever more.

Angrily now I did stare at the crunched ramen lying there
Crumbled with no answer to give me scattered on the kitchen floor
I think it is quite safe to say, no other human being the day
Felt so discouraged whilst looking at the ramen on the floor
Slowly I did make my way across the kitchen floor
Try the refrigerator, or I'd be no more.

At this spot I did hesitate, but seeing as it was getting late,
I figured I should just open that darn fridgerator door.
And at this point I must relate, almost every single item's pull date
Had once been passed years before
Who knows what I'd find in the fridgerator door?
Dates from 1994? Surely those should be no more.

Checking pull dates left and right I saw some ketchup and with a fright
Realized it was most likely not moldy when bought at the store.
The thing was putrid and smelled quite thickly, so I picked it up quite quickly
And threw it through the pantry door
What else would I find in the fridge door?
Nothing good, that's for sure.

I found some beef that was recalled, further into the fridge I crawled
Trying to find something to eat behind that great big door.
Things were getting old and older, also getting mold and molder
But I was growing bold and bolder
As the hunger made me sore
Fearing stomach pains forever more.

Searching now ever faster, found a chicken-y disaster
Hiding all the way in the back of the fridge door
Deciding, "Hey, what the heck? It's the best thing I've found yet"
I grabbed it and quickly shut the door
I sat down near the pantry door
"If I eat this and am no more, tell him I loved him more."

A Big Sigh of Relief

Today is a gorgeous 75 degree day, and I have exciting news on multiple fronts! I suppose I'll start with the most recent:

In English 302 (the poetry one) we got our midterms back today. I got 90 out of 96, which is a 93 percent! I was so shocked when I got it back, I felt a little sick to my stomach like there must have been some mistake. But we went over it in class, and no mistake, I got an A on my first junior-level class midterm! Also we turned in our papers that I've been stressing over, so there's another thing I don't have to worry about anymore!

Second bit of news, today I went to the financial aid office to turn in some forms they needed. I have been awarded money for next year, but I won't know how much until these forms I turned in today get processed or filed or thrown away for shredded or whatever they do with all these bits of paper! So, fingers crossed that something good comes of that for next year!

And the final bit of news is that I have attained a summer job! I'd rather not give out too many specifics, since I don't even know the specifics of what I'll be doing are yet, but I'm guessing it'll be mostly a waitress job! Also, it will make my resume` look much better than it does now. CLARIFYING STATEMENT: Ok, I'm realizing that that description makes it sounds like I'm going to be a stripper or something, but I promise it's definitely nothing along those lines. I'd just rather not share details on a public website.

Jeez, when did this blog turn into nothing but work work work? I always feel like I'm boring everyone to death when I talk about nothing but school assignments, but maybe that's what you'd all rather hear about? Or perhaps I'm just in a funk because I feel like I never do anything fun anymore! Maybe I'm getting old. Or maybe it's just a phase. Maybe I'm discovering adulthood? Maybe I need to take more philosophy classes!

Anywho, since the day is so nice again, I will be spending it doing homework in the sun! With plenty of sunscreen, of course, since I watched a video and am now absolutely terrified of melanoma. Although if sunscreen is a bunch of chemicals that you're rubbing into your skin, how good for you can that really be? But that's a theory that can be tested only by time and at the risk of skin cancer, so better not risk it, shall I?

First Truly Nice Day!

Today is the first truly nice day we've had here in a while. It's warm, not windy, and very sunny outside :) Unfortunately, today is also one of the busiest. I have a rough draft of a paper due by midnight tonight, a rough draft of a paper due by 11 tomorrow, a math test tomorrow, and a group project that we're working on today. I'm excited for the day when I can truly say I have nothing to think about!

Yesterday I had my Poetry midterm, which was tough but I don't think I did too bad, especially after hearing some of the other kids in the class today talking about how they guessed on everything! I knew most of the stuff on the test, I'm just worried I didn't completely explain myself when answering the questions, since I tend to oversimplify things. Hopefully we'll get the grades back soon!

Speaking of grades, we got the our first papers back in my other English class. I got 80 out of 100, which I suppose isn't too bad for a tough teacher and the first paper of the class. I didn't feel too bad about it until I heard the kid in front of me say he got a 97 on his. I don't know why I've become so competitive over grades lately! I guess it isn't such a bad thing, but it does make for a lot of extra stressing on my part, which is very uncharacteristic of me.

In my Poetry class we're working on a group project about Postmodernism. The so-called "basic" definitions of it are just as hard to understand as the postmodern poetry itself! It's all very confusing and has gotten my brain all twisted up in knots, but luckily the project isn't due for another week and a half or so, so I have some more time to try and figure it out!

Going to work on one of my papers outside in the sun today since the warmth is too precious to waste!