Bates College: For the price I'm paying, it has to be good.

This week's post is sponsored by Parks and Recreation.
"Parks and Recreation. Helping Nicole become more of a recluse since 2012". But seriously, I'm already midway through season 4. So, you know, that's what I've been doing this past week. Needless to say...



Currently Bates College is having its annual "Harvest Festival", which is basically Thanksgiving but politically correct in that we do not link it to the mass genocide of an indigenous people and also allow for non-Americans to celebrate with us. Isn't evading discussion about past atrocities fun?

But I am not at the Harvest Festival yet, because I have a post to write, hoorah! Also, I'm waiting for Pernilla to text me so that we can go the the Festival together, as I really don't want to have to show up to Commons alone. I would end up not being able to find anyone to sit with and would resort to sitting alone at a booth in the Green Room. Which probably wouldn't even work because Commons is probably completely filled up. So. I'd probably sit on the floor alone eating mashed potatoes. Which actually doesn't sound too bad when I think about it...

Anyways, let's talk about Last Friday! I had my weekly lunch with Victoria and Pernilla (yes, my social engagements are scheduled, thank you very much), and then moseyed on over to my meeting with an Environmental Studies professor and talked about possible internships in my near future. Oh, also, I'm an officially declared English (focus on Creative Writing) and Environmental Studies (focus on Humans and Culture) double Major with a General Education Concentration (it's like a mini-minor) in Chinese Language. What a mouthful (that reminds me, I'm hungry). After my meeting, I believe I met up with Pernilla once again and we hung out in her room reading books, chilling on the internet, and watching the movie "Heathers", but then growing angry at the lag on Netflix and going to dinner.

Dinner was whatever, but an exciting event followed. There was an art exhibit/gallery/whatnot being hosted by the Art House in the Ronj which Pernilla and I went to with some other folks. There were interactive art pieces, including a "scratch board" which was pretty much just a board with melted crayon on it. People could take knives and scratch at the crayon to make art or add more crayon to the piece. The supervisor of the piece said it was commentary on what could be constituted as art and how there is no such thing as "ruining" art. The other interactive piece was my friend Michelle. Yep. She sat in the corner with a white shirt on and black pants and people could use paints to paint all over her. It reminded me of the Yoko Ono piece where people could come up to her and use scissors to cut her clothing and hair. Except this piece was more additive than subtractive, which I liked. Throughout the entire art show, a camera was taking pictures every 3 seconds of Michelle and people painting her, so we have complete documentation of the progress of the piece.

I left the art show with Taylor, Julia, and Julia's visiting sister back to Hayes house, where we spent the night hanging out, eating food, and watching Dawson's Creek. I then retired to bed at around 1 am. However, then a drunk housemate stumbled into my room and decided to have a conversation with me. Soon enough, Hanna (my roommate) came back to the room as well. Then we all sat on my bed until Hanna left the bed and I went to go brush my teeth. When I came back to the room, the drunk housemate was still in my bed, sleeping soundly. I shrugged and fell asleep beside them because I didn't feel like bothering with waking their drunk butt up and escorting them back to their room.

On Saturday, I did some work and then went with Taylor, Julia and Julia's sister to the college's showing of the movie "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" which was both cute and extremely depressing (SPOILERS-highlight over to see: everybody dies in the end. But actually. ). I spent the night hanging out with those three again, and then went to sleep.

Speaking of sleeping, my roommate is quite the sleeping companion. In addition to some cute snoring (actually not sarcasm. It doesn't bother me too much), my roommate sleep talks, laughs, and walks. It's sort of creepy but in a "oh, the human mind and body is so interesting" type of creepy.

I just hope she doesn't sleep-strangle me.

This week has already been filled with exciting events.
On Monday I partook in another BP debate round, which I'm trying to do more of to get better at BP (British Parliamentary) debate. I didn't do exceptionally well because I had a cup of coffee and not much food and I was a bit sleep deprived so I was shaking and couldn't focus my mind (I'm fine, mom. Totally taking care of myself...) but either way I did average. Whip speeches are just not my strong suit, it seems (silly non-debaters have no idea what I'm talking about...I think I just ostracized my entire audience). Anyways, it was nice.

 On Tuesday I gave blood. I arrived at 5:45, the time I made my donation reservation for. Guess what time I left the building? 8:05. But it's fine because I prepared for that situation and brought along a laptop and a book. I really enjoy giving blood even though during the hours leading up to donating I start to have mini anxiety attacks about needles or for some reason being turned away because my blood isn't good enough or I'm too *something* to give blood. In high school I couldn't give blood because I was too short and weighed too little. Despite this fact, I cheated my way into giving blood anyways and then exercised in dance class afterwards and I did not faint. Take THAT, precautions meant to ensure my health and safety! Anyways, now I feel fat for being able to give weight. Yep, I'm the worst. But despite this fact, I still gave blood and enjoyed myself. I managed to get the blood-drive people to use my right arm and hand for  withdrawal and blood samples (my hemoglobin/iron level was a strong 14.5 g/dL and the healthy range for women is 12 to 15--- so much for vegetarians having low iron levels, am I right? *high fives the other vegetarians reading this*). So during blood donation I chatted with the lovely people stealing away my blood for free. I made jokes about blood splattered walls, blood-balloon fights (think water-balloon fights but...with blood) and them actually using the blood as paint substitution for Pollock-inspired paintings. I was quite the charming donator, what can I say?

Well, after donating blood, eating two slices of pizza and a cookie, and then sneaking out of the room before my mandatory 15 minutes of snacking/sitting were up, I went to this meeting with some classmates for a debate we were partaking in the next day. The debate ended up being really fun. There were a lot of groups who were playing different actors in a patent dispute that affected India and indigenous people.

CUT TO HARVEST DINNER:

1. Horse drawn carriages
2. Ice Sculptures
3. Devilled eggs, grapes, and cheese platters
4. Thanksgiving-y food
5. An entirely different room designated for desserts and the trashion show (people compete to create fashion out of trash discarded in Lewiston/Bates/what-have-you)
6. Sets to take photographs in
7. Baked alaska in the shape of a bean boot

This and MORE, dawgs. No wonder my tuition is so high (I love you mom and dad, thanks for supporting me and my dreams!). It's those gosh darned horse rides! I didn't write about Harvest Dinner last year because I didn't really partake in it last year to as full of an extent as I did this year but I'm GLAD I DID.

I stole cheese and crackers from Commons (Making you proud, mom!) as well as a cup of English Breakfast tea (I'm sort of a tea person now. But I had been denied tea for a week before giving blood because the tannins in tea make it hard for blood to bind to iron. So I've been drinking too much tea as of last night and I LOVE IT. I just...really don't want my teeth to turn brown. Hmmm...) and a banana. Now I'm watching Parks and Recreation (the main source of my time and energy other than school work, OF COURSE.) and snacking on my stolen goods.

Only two more days until I'm back in California and I get to see some of your beautiful faces. Get ready for Thanksgiving food (and leftovers eaten for the rest of the week), television marathons with the family, walks with mom, and hopefully hang-out time with friends. Oh, and also poetry and paper writing for my classes. God damn higher education interfering with my lazing about!

Time to eat some cheese,

Nicole