Let the festivities begin
This past week (and incidentally the last week of the semester) was nothing but fun. See, that’s what’s great about the block plan. When you sense burnout approaching, you sign-up for a less demanding course. It’s not that I’ve been slacking off this block, but Formal Logic comes so naturally to me, that I only have had to spend minimal time studying. In fact, I decided that I wasn’t going to use an alarm clock for the rest of the semester and operate on “Brazil-time.” It’s a much more relaxing way to live. So while all of my friends at other schools were freaking out about finals, I was stress-free, joining in the holiday festivities and enjoying spending time with my friends before they left for break.
Kalweit putting her mad decorating skills to work
Monday night, my roommates in Arthur House invited me to participate in one of their families’ Christmas traditions – sugar cookie decorating. I was impressed with their mad frosting skills. I have a long way to go until I get that good, but with some practice, who knows?
Tuesday night was my best friend Chelsea’s class party with professor David Hendrickson. I had Dave first block, and, aside from being brilliant, he’s just a really fun guy to hang out with. So when an opportunity to attend another one of his class parties presented itself, I had to take advantage. After the class party, Chelea and I went to our friend Dan’s going away party. He’s spending next semester in New Zealand, so we won’t see him again until next fall.
Ana teaching Lukas how to properly fold a tamale
On Wednesday night, I made Mexican food with Ana Ruth and Lukas. I met Ana living in Arthur House last year; she works for Sodexo, the company that cleans the residential facilities at CC. Ana is basically amazing. She is super friendly and is the best cook I’ve ever met. When I get an afternoon free, we’ll hang out cleanning, talking, and rocking out to Journey and The Beatles. Being Mexican, I miss eating Mexican food – it’s just not the same here in the States. One day, I asked Ana to teach me how to cook Mexican food, so we have one day a block where we get together for a cooking session. My friend Lukas, a lover of all things Mexican, heard about our lessons and decided to join in. This block, we made tacos, enchiladas, and tamales. It was all so good. I spent the rest of the night studying formal logic, practicing challenging proofs until the wee hours of the morning.
Thursday morning, our professor informed us that our final was written. Realizing that I would probably not spend any more time studying, I asked if I could take the final early that afternoon. As a visiting professor, Ben was perplexed by the idea of wanting to take a test early – especially a final, but nevertheless agreed. So at 1:53 p.m. on Thursday, I was free of classes. I spent the rest of the afternoon at work, and then went out to celebrate the completion of a successful semester.
My mommy and me in front of a giant pile of toys at Share-A-Gift
Friday, I drove home to Boulder, where the hectic schedule continued. My brother’s girlfriend just graduated from CU and invited us to a party that evening.
Yesterday morning, my mom and I volunteered at Share-A-Gift, an all-volunteer annual holiday project that provides toys, bikes, and books for 3000 children of low income families in the Boulder County area. My mom and I have been volunteering for nine years now, and it’s something that we look forward to doing together every year.
My father just got back from spending a month in Australia. Since he’s leaving for Mexico tomorrow, we celebrated Christmas with him last night. All of the presents were a huge hit, but his favorite was a remote control helicopter from my brother. My cats were rather intrigued by this giant “bug” flying around the house.
So that concludes my busy week. Hopefully I can catch up on some much needed sleep in the next couple days. Happy Holidays!
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