EDIT: It turns out this was one of the better recitals my teacher's studio has had, I think (it's my fourth one with her, I believe). Most of the playing was good, and the venue was amazing. Not only did the audience like my piece, but I was pretty happy with it too! I did make a few mistakes, but they weren't noticeable, and I really got "in" the interpretation. So hoorah for that! Go to Mom's blog to see some more details and a picture of me trying out the piano with a different piece before the recital started. I'm sure I looked pretty much the same for the Rachmaninoff, except my hands never cross in it. (End edit).
My spring recital is later this afternoon, in which I'll be playing the Prelude in C# Minor by Sergei Rachmaninoff. If you happen to think of it, please pray for my teacher (it must be nerve-wracking to watch your own nervous students) and all the students participating. :-)
In another news, yesterday was my last official day of school. I have some things to finish off today, but after that, my schoolwork load will drop to almost nil (a day or two of science to finish off, my Summer Shakespeare class, maybe a bit of self-taught Greek). I am hopeful that a lot of writing will house in those suddenly untenanted hours.
Cheerio!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
A Character's Quiz (Stolen from David)
I am Elana, Captain of the Amazoni.
I want this plan to go with perfect smoothness.
I wish the time and place were right to enact the plan right now.
I hate all traitors and especially one with golden hair.
I love being feared.
I miss the valley right now, though I would deny this in public.
I fear any reduction in power.
I hear the sound of birds and running feet.
I regret that I have not had a lover in over two months.
I am not easily frightened.
I dance superbly and love to show it off.
I sing war chants, mostly. And vulgar songs.
I cr(ied) last when I was about sixteen--that is, approximately 134 years ago.
I make very little noise unless I wish to.
I write in small, neat cursive, on sheepskin parchment.
I confuse enemies trying to anticipate my next move.
I need to find more Amazoni to replace those I have lost.
I should spar with Ranua tonight.
I start to become very still when I am thinking hard.
I finish what I have begun. Or else.
I want this plan to go with perfect smoothness.
I wish the time and place were right to enact the plan right now.
I hate all traitors and especially one with golden hair.
I love being feared.
I miss the valley right now, though I would deny this in public.
I fear any reduction in power.
I hear the sound of birds and running feet.
I regret that I have not had a lover in over two months.
I am not easily frightened.
I dance superbly and love to show it off.
I sing war chants, mostly. And vulgar songs.
I cr(ied) last when I was about sixteen--that is, approximately 134 years ago.
I make very little noise unless I wish to.
I write in small, neat cursive, on sheepskin parchment.
I confuse enemies trying to anticipate my next move.
I need to find more Amazoni to replace those I have lost.
I should spar with Ranua tonight.
I start to become very still when I am thinking hard.
I finish what I have begun. Or else.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Ah, dreams.
Last night I dreamt that I met Barack Obama. He was feeding a small animal--a duck or a squirrel or something--that was swimming around in a swimming pool, and a huge crocodile later turned up in the same body of water. Mom uncovered a massive inconsistency in his campaign, leaving him to sputter "Well...um...I...uh..." in response. It later turned out the reason for this inconsistency was that Mr. Obama had received a full hemispherectomy--which operation I received, and then Mom woke me up. :D
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Stuff (and maybe Nonsense!)
First, I seem to have fallen into the predictable habit of posting every other day. It suits me fine, so long as I have something to say, but it's strange, because I haven't been doing it all along. :-P
Second, if I really pursued everything in my head right now, I'd have six writing projects going at once: four short stories and two novels. Story ideas are great, but really...I should get a mental secretary to put these things on hold.
And finally, take my euphoria over Gutenberg with a bit of a grain of salt. If I go to a college with many fine attributes (and Gutenberg does have many fine attributes) it's always "the best" when I'm in the middle of visiting. In retrospect there are always pros and cons. So, it would be wrong to get the impression that I didn't like the school, or to think it's not still on my list of possibles. But my unmixed crowing about it may have been a little premature. :-)
Second, if I really pursued everything in my head right now, I'd have six writing projects going at once: four short stories and two novels. Story ideas are great, but really...I should get a mental secretary to put these things on hold.
And finally, take my euphoria over Gutenberg with a bit of a grain of salt. If I go to a college with many fine attributes (and Gutenberg does have many fine attributes) it's always "the best" when I'm in the middle of visiting. In retrospect there are always pros and cons. So, it would be wrong to get the impression that I didn't like the school, or to think it's not still on my list of possibles. But my unmixed crowing about it may have been a little premature. :-)
Monday, May 19, 2008
Greetings from Eugene!
I'm writing this from a hotel room a half mile or so from the University of Oregon, which means half a mile or so from Gutenberg College. I sat in on four classes today, and it was fantastic! The quality and quantity of discussion in the classes here is quite amazing. The town is very pretty, and the students are courteous, hospitable, and respectful learners and discussioners, from what I can tell. We're leaving around lunch time tomorrow, so I'll probably whip up a more detailed post with a few pictures before the week is out.
To quote you, David, "I may be obliged to convince you at gunpoint" to come here. :D
To quote you, David, "I may be obliged to convince you at gunpoint" to come here. :D
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
A Quiz
Having not filled out one of those little internet quizzes in many months, I figured that pirating one from Breanna's Blog, especially since it seems that she pirated it from someone in her turn, would be an amusing pastime. Barring some egregious spelling errors, I was generally right.
1. Full Name: Connor James Hamilton.
2. Who were you named after?: Connor MacLeod, from the movie Highlander.
3. Which finger is your favorite?: Probably my right index finger, if I had to choose one. One can point at things, scratch behind the ears, rub the eyes and press “play” all with this versatile digit.
4. Have you ever sang into a hairbrush?: No, and I can think of no plausible reason why one would do so. I might sing an ode to good spelling, however, o mismanager of verb forms.
5. When did you last cry?: Well, I don’t remember for certain. The last time I clearly remember doing so is when I listened to Ronald Reagan’s “Tear Down This Wall” speech. It really got to me.
6. Do you like your handwriting?: It serves me well enough.
7. What is your favorite lunch meat?: Tuna. It’s a lunch meat for me...
8. Any bad habits?: Well, sure. Wasting time is a big one. Also secretly prowling the countryside at night, hanging up Confederate flags and painting black Xs on people’s doors to frighten them. (Wait, did I just give myself away??) :-)
9. What is your most embarrassing CD on the shelf?: I don’t think I’m particularly embarrassed by any CD I own.
10. If you were another person, would you be friends with you?: I don’t know; the question is so hypothetical that an accurate answer would be impossible. I don’t think I’d mind myself terribly, though.
11. Are you a daredevil?: No, not at all. Risking my life does not thrill me.
12. Have you ever told a secret you swore not to tell?: Hm...I think when I was about twelve someone told me he had a crush on a girl, asked me not to tell anyone, and I mentioned it to my parents, knowing they wouldn't spread it around. But I don’t think I ‘swore’ not to tell it.
13. Do you own any burnt CD's?: Yep, a couple of music from my brother’s CDs.
14. Have you ever said a word and it sounded absolutely stupid?: If I repeat almost any word often enough, or read it multiple times in print, it looks silly.
15. Do you think there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?: Does anyone? No, rainbows are the refraction of white light through moisture in the air. Pots of gold couldn’t hang suspended at the end of one, and in any case, who would put them there?
16. Do fish have feelings?: I seriously doubt it: not anywhere near the level humans do, for sure. Not being privy to an animal’s mental states, I suppose the presence of, say, an alligator might trigger a general wave of alarm. But I wouldn’t know.
17. Do you like school?: Yes, but I’m glad it’s winding down for the summer.
18. Do you ever say never?: I think just a few days ago I said, “I would never vote for Obama…” so yes. :)
19. Where is your second home?: Well, there’s the summer house in Sicily and the winter house in the Florida Keys, as well as the Bungalow outside Bombay…:-P Really, though, home is home. I don’t really have a second one.
20. Do you trust others easily?: Fairly easily, I think, though it would depend on the circumstances. One can’t be naive.
21.What was your favorite toy as a child?: Legos or Playmobile, I suppose.
22. What class in school do you think is totally useless?: I think there are very few disciplines that are actually useless. Math and physics have the least direct bearing on what I plan to do, but science is fairly interesting and math does have merit.
23. Do you have a journal?: No.
24. Do you use sarcasm a lot?: Hm. I don’t actually know. Probably a decent bit.
25. Do you have a crush on a lad or girl at the minute?: Nay, all my friends are just friends at present.
26. What do you want in a boy or girl?: A lady fairly similar in age, with a beautiful soul, conservative Christian doctrine, a generational outlook, homeschooling aspirations, an appreciation for the liberal arts and no aversion to living in the Northwest. :-)
27. Do you get along better with girls or boys?: I get along fine with both, although I often find girls more talkative--but often less approachable, though that may be just my problem.
28. Would you ever bungee jump?: Probably only if it were a matter of life and death. Not recreationally.
29. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?: Not most of the time.
30. Do you think you're strong?: In what sense? Physically I suppose I’m decently strong, though I have much room for improvement.
31. What's your favorite ice cream flavor?: Breyer’s mint chocolate chip.
32. What's your favorite color?: Most earthy colors (red, blue, green, purple, orange, brown, golden, etc.) can be rendered in attractive hues. My favorites would probably not be found among neons, bright pinks, pastels, etc.
33. Are you in love with any one?: In the more general sense, I love my family and my friends, and I strive, often unsuccessfully, I fear, to love my fellow men. But I am not stricken i’th’ amatory way at present.
34. How many wisdom teeth do you have?: Wisdom teeth...I think some might be trying to rudely butt in somewhere. I don’t know how many there are.
35. Are you organized?: Not incredibly so, although I don’t usually leave a positive hurricane in my wake.
36. How many people have a crush on you right now?: I find this question impertinent, and in any case I couldn't know for certain.
37. Who do you miss right now?: Dad and my brother. Should be ‘whom.’
38. What food do you most want to eat right now?: Oh...a bowl of cereal and half of an English muffin with peanut butter and honey.
39. Where do you most want to be right now?: Except Heaven, right here at home.
40. Do you ever make up your own words?: Yes, often.
41. Do you find it easy to forgive?: This capacity hasn’t been severely tested, but I think generally so, yes.
42. What was the last thing you ate?: A grilled sandwich with chips and applesauce.
43. How are you today?: Tired, a bit sun-stunned (it’s jumped from the 60s to high 70s/early 80s and we were out a lot in the yard today), but not at all unhappy. You?
44. Favorite alcoholic drink?: I haven’t tried too many, but a few kinds of wine are agreeable.
45. Siblings and their ages?: Robert, 22.
46. Favorite fast food?: Baja Fresh.
47. What are three things you love about yourself?: Dear me, is this an invitation to arrogance? I think I’ll offer three things I’m grateful for: the family I was born in, the country I live in, and the joys of writing.
48. What is one thing that you hate about yourself?: My propensity to sin.
49. Favorite time of the year?: Well, it depends on what is happening. I like most days...weather-wise, this time is fairly splendid, though.
50. Are you too shy to ask someone out?: Being inexpertus in this area, I don’t know yet. I suspect I would be nervous, but not incapable of doing it.
51. Scary movies or happy endings?: False dilemma. I don’t mind suspense in a movie at all, but if it is scary merely for the sake of thrills, I don’t like that as much. I appreciate happy endings, but not if they’re forced.
52. Summer or winter?: Summer, I suppose.
53. Hugs or kisses?: How about both?
1. Full Name: Connor James Hamilton.
2. Who were you named after?: Connor MacLeod, from the movie Highlander.
3. Which finger is your favorite?: Probably my right index finger, if I had to choose one. One can point at things, scratch behind the ears, rub the eyes and press “play” all with this versatile digit.
4. Have you ever sang into a hairbrush?: No, and I can think of no plausible reason why one would do so. I might sing an ode to good spelling, however, o mismanager of verb forms.
5. When did you last cry?: Well, I don’t remember for certain. The last time I clearly remember doing so is when I listened to Ronald Reagan’s “Tear Down This Wall” speech. It really got to me.
6. Do you like your handwriting?: It serves me well enough.
7. What is your favorite lunch meat?: Tuna. It’s a lunch meat for me...
8. Any bad habits?: Well, sure. Wasting time is a big one. Also secretly prowling the countryside at night, hanging up Confederate flags and painting black Xs on people’s doors to frighten them. (Wait, did I just give myself away??) :-)
9. What is your most embarrassing CD on the shelf?: I don’t think I’m particularly embarrassed by any CD I own.
10. If you were another person, would you be friends with you?: I don’t know; the question is so hypothetical that an accurate answer would be impossible. I don’t think I’d mind myself terribly, though.
11. Are you a daredevil?: No, not at all. Risking my life does not thrill me.
12. Have you ever told a secret you swore not to tell?: Hm...I think when I was about twelve someone told me he had a crush on a girl, asked me not to tell anyone, and I mentioned it to my parents, knowing they wouldn't spread it around. But I don’t think I ‘swore’ not to tell it.
13. Do you own any burnt CD's?: Yep, a couple of music from my brother’s CDs.
14. Have you ever said a word and it sounded absolutely stupid?: If I repeat almost any word often enough, or read it multiple times in print, it looks silly.
15. Do you think there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?: Does anyone? No, rainbows are the refraction of white light through moisture in the air. Pots of gold couldn’t hang suspended at the end of one, and in any case, who would put them there?
16. Do fish have feelings?: I seriously doubt it: not anywhere near the level humans do, for sure. Not being privy to an animal’s mental states, I suppose the presence of, say, an alligator might trigger a general wave of alarm. But I wouldn’t know.
17. Do you like school?: Yes, but I’m glad it’s winding down for the summer.
18. Do you ever say never?: I think just a few days ago I said, “I would never vote for Obama…” so yes. :)
19. Where is your second home?: Well, there’s the summer house in Sicily and the winter house in the Florida Keys, as well as the Bungalow outside Bombay…:-P Really, though, home is home. I don’t really have a second one.
20. Do you trust others easily?: Fairly easily, I think, though it would depend on the circumstances. One can’t be naive.
21.What was your favorite toy as a child?: Legos or Playmobile, I suppose.
22. What class in school do you think is totally useless?: I think there are very few disciplines that are actually useless. Math and physics have the least direct bearing on what I plan to do, but science is fairly interesting and math does have merit.
23. Do you have a journal?: No.
24. Do you use sarcasm a lot?: Hm. I don’t actually know. Probably a decent bit.
25. Do you have a crush on a lad or girl at the minute?: Nay, all my friends are just friends at present.
26. What do you want in a boy or girl?: A lady fairly similar in age, with a beautiful soul, conservative Christian doctrine, a generational outlook, homeschooling aspirations, an appreciation for the liberal arts and no aversion to living in the Northwest. :-)
27. Do you get along better with girls or boys?: I get along fine with both, although I often find girls more talkative--but often less approachable, though that may be just my problem.
28. Would you ever bungee jump?: Probably only if it were a matter of life and death. Not recreationally.
29. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?: Not most of the time.
30. Do you think you're strong?: In what sense? Physically I suppose I’m decently strong, though I have much room for improvement.
31. What's your favorite ice cream flavor?: Breyer’s mint chocolate chip.
32. What's your favorite color?: Most earthy colors (red, blue, green, purple, orange, brown, golden, etc.) can be rendered in attractive hues. My favorites would probably not be found among neons, bright pinks, pastels, etc.
33. Are you in love with any one?: In the more general sense, I love my family and my friends, and I strive, often unsuccessfully, I fear, to love my fellow men. But I am not stricken i’th’ amatory way at present.
34. How many wisdom teeth do you have?: Wisdom teeth...I think some might be trying to rudely butt in somewhere. I don’t know how many there are.
35. Are you organized?: Not incredibly so, although I don’t usually leave a positive hurricane in my wake.
36. How many people have a crush on you right now?: I find this question impertinent, and in any case I couldn't know for certain.
37. Who do you miss right now?: Dad and my brother. Should be ‘whom.’
38. What food do you most want to eat right now?: Oh...a bowl of cereal and half of an English muffin with peanut butter and honey.
39. Where do you most want to be right now?: Except Heaven, right here at home.
40. Do you ever make up your own words?: Yes, often.
41. Do you find it easy to forgive?: This capacity hasn’t been severely tested, but I think generally so, yes.
42. What was the last thing you ate?: A grilled sandwich with chips and applesauce.
43. How are you today?: Tired, a bit sun-stunned (it’s jumped from the 60s to high 70s/early 80s and we were out a lot in the yard today), but not at all unhappy. You?
44. Favorite alcoholic drink?: I haven’t tried too many, but a few kinds of wine are agreeable.
45. Siblings and their ages?: Robert, 22.
46. Favorite fast food?: Baja Fresh.
47. What are three things you love about yourself?: Dear me, is this an invitation to arrogance? I think I’ll offer three things I’m grateful for: the family I was born in, the country I live in, and the joys of writing.
48. What is one thing that you hate about yourself?: My propensity to sin.
49. Favorite time of the year?: Well, it depends on what is happening. I like most days...weather-wise, this time is fairly splendid, though.
50. Are you too shy to ask someone out?: Being inexpertus in this area, I don’t know yet. I suspect I would be nervous, but not incapable of doing it.
51. Scary movies or happy endings?: False dilemma. I don’t mind suspense in a movie at all, but if it is scary merely for the sake of thrills, I don’t like that as much. I appreciate happy endings, but not if they’re forced.
52. Summer or winter?: Summer, I suppose.
53. Hugs or kisses?: How about both?
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
Author in Town
N. D. Wilson, son of Douglas Wilson and author of Leepike Ridge and 100 Cupboards, came to our local Barnes and Noble this evening, and we went over to hear him talk and get our copy of 100 Cupboards signed. He gave a nice little talk, and inadvertently gave me some good writing advice. He talked about his methods of note-taking and planning, and provided some insight on the editing and publishing world. For instance, he said that he has final control over the actual content of the book, but the cover is considered a marketing decision and is entirely up to the agency.
He remembered me when I brought up that I'd met him at NSA, and said my face looked familiar. That was eight months ago, so he has a pretty good memory. :-P It was a fun little event, and it's inspired to take better notes--or rather to start taking notes in general--and to work harder pounding my little sledgehammer against the adamant gates of agents and publishing houses.
He remembered me when I brought up that I'd met him at NSA, and said my face looked familiar. That was eight months ago, so he has a pretty good memory. :-P It was a fun little event, and it's inspired to take better notes--or rather to start taking notes in general--and to work harder pounding my little sledgehammer against the adamant gates of agents and publishing houses.
Friday, May 9, 2008
The Collegiate Adventure II: Grove City
Predictably, the drive across Ohio was rather monotonous after a point, although it was somewhat enlivened by the presence of service plazas, posh Ohioan versions of what in Oregon we call rest stops. Paid for by the tolls from turnpikes (another unusual thing for an Oregonian, but we still have no sales tax, ha!), these are architecturally pleasant edifices with two or three restaurants, a travel mart of sorts, restrooms, a gas station, and someone, likely funded by the state, on hand to provide help to befuddled travelers. One may find these every 25 miles, and they are most welcome to people musing about lunch or glancing with concern at their gas tank meters.
At length we arrived in Grove City, a 'town' of sorts out in the boondocks of Pennsylvania. Its population is circa 8,000, almost identical to Hillsdale's. About the town of Hillsdale I can say little, because I merely passed through it, but Grove City became a familiar locale for us, as our hotel was in the town, not on campus, and we had more time to burn. As one who lives in a fertile valley, I was tempted to cry, "where's the green?" and as a suburban creature I was tempted to moan, "where are all the people?" I told Mom I figured the trees must get their leaves around mid-July there before falling off in September after a month and a half of fleeting glory! The key attractions of Grove City are an outlet mall (which, may it be said to its credit, provided me with four perfectly suitable Dover Thrift editions of some decent literature) and the college.
But enough of venting mild wrath on the city. It wasn't really its fault for being small and having a brown countryside (especially since it is in a somewhat economically depressed region), although some of the people out in the country could have cleaned up their homes/trailers a little.
The college itself was a disappointment. Granted, I came flush from Hillsdale challenging GCC to live up to that experience, which may have had some hand in my reactions. I found the college much less satisfying than I had anticipated, however. The grounds themselves were beautiful, including a massive (and green!) quad:
The buildings were well-built and featured great architecture, particularly Crawford Hall:
and their chapel, which is one of the nicer worship buildings I've personally seen:
As for my actual experience of the place, I suppose I had better start, as so many Wodehouse characters urge, at the beginning. The following morning, we arrived at the college about 9:00 o'clock and entered Crawford Hall to see the admissions people. The lady at the desk noted that I had an interview at 10:00; we mentioned that we had been scheduled to see a chapel service, and so she told us we could go over there and see it. Perhaps we were unfair to expect someone to show us over there, as it was about a minute's walk away, but it had been scheduled as part of our visit--and I suspect Hillsdale would have sent over a guide of some sort.
In any case, we came in a little late for the chapel service, but we didn't appear to miss much: the entirety of the service that we saw was a bell choir that lasted about ten minutes. We were later told that there are usually speakers at these events, but our experience didn't much comfort me that chapel is required sixteen times per semester. (I also object to this on the ground that I don't prefer a college that legislates its students' spiritual activities. I want to go to church or chapel because I believe I should, not because my college demands it.)
After chapel, I went and waited a few minutes to have my interview, which lasted about twenty-five minutes (as compared to roughly two hours at Hillsdale). Literature that I have read about interviews warns one not to judge a college's interest by the length of an interview, and I think that's generally true, but the example times the author used were 30 and 45 minutes; a disparity of fifteen rather than 95 minutes. I was asked about my favorite books, my test scores, and some other typical things. The only question that threw me a loop was (I paraphrase), "could you describe to me some kind of service that you have performed, and what you learned from the experience?" I haven't done much in the way of physical service, like cleaning up dirty streets or volunteering for Habitat for Humanity. Both such services would be worthy things, and it may be to my discredit that I haven't had much experience there. In any case, I had to struggle to answer that question. I did mention that I want to serve through my writing, but I don't know what she thought of that.
I asked my interviewer about GCC's lack of classics department, and the fact that my 6 years of high school Latin would count for nothing there. She explained that their language courses were all of living languages and intended for practical purposes, I presume things like ministry and teaching abroad. (Latin is practical!!) She told me that she personally wanted to see a classics program at the college, and that "if the college made a decision, it could happen really fast." Yes, but what if the college made that decision the day after graduation? It wouldn't be of any consequence to me how fast it happened...
After my interview, a senior student took me, Mom, two other families and someone newly hired by the school on a walk-around tour of campus, which lasted about an hour or so. She was talkative and very ready to answer questions. It was interesting to note, however, that when talking about visitation policies between the sexes, the reason she gave for liking these was that it gave you private time to yourself, because your roommates' boyfriends/girlfriends wouldn't be hanging around all the time. I thought those policies were in place to prevent extramarital relations or the appearance of evil...
All the buildings were roughly comparable to Hillsdale's as far as function, unsurprisingly, except that there were more dorms to accommodate 1,000 more students. Some highlights include a women's dorm:
The science building:
The student union:
The Hall of Arts and Letters (humanities classrooms):
And the library:
After the tour (during which I saw many shirtless men and girls in shorts and bikini tops soaking up the sun, mildly surprising at a Christian college, though perhaps it shouldn't have been), we had approximately two and a half hours until the one class that had been scheduled for me (compared to the three that had been scheduled for me at Hillsdale). This when I spent two and a half days at GCC verses one and a half at Hillsdale. We were left to kill those two and half hours ourselves, and we spent them sitting on a bench, checking out the library (which, if a little stuffy and claustrophobic, was copiously supplied with much good literature), and attempting to mooch off the library's wi-fi. This proved impossible, as one needs a password supplied only to students, but I was able to use a desktop computer placed in the library for public use.
So the class finally rolled around: a modern European history class, in this instance on the post-World War I years and how they led up to World War II. This was the best of the three classes, and the professor went over quite a few aspects of this era, such as the lack of hero figures in World War I, how the stated aims of the governments involved changed as the course of the war itself changed, the deterioration of the German economy, and a particular Hitlerian propaganda film that he was going to show the class the next time, and what themes and ideas it stressed.
So that was a pretty good class. After that, as I recall, we went back to the hotel, visited the outlet malls, and did something or other. We did a lot of time-filling there, and the exact order of events I do not recall. At one point, I think it was the night before, we were casting about for something to do and ended up watching a forgettable and ham-fisted natural disaster film called Volcano starring Tommy Lee Jones in one of his most forgettable roles. Another different night we saw the Truman Show, though, which is always good, though it was cut for TV.
That evening we had dinner with the Marsch family (Dr. Marsch is a professor at GCC, and his eldest daughter attends there). That was the highlight of this part of the trip, with good food and conversation. I believe our families hit it off well, and had circumstances been different, and the hour not late, I would have liked to have stayed there longer. The next day we visited two classes, but only because Dr. Marsch and Abbie, his daughter, were able to get us into the classes they taught/attended, respectively--not because of a change of plans on the part of the admissions team there. I found both classes pretty elementary for college-level instruction. The first class, a core English class, dealt with a couple poems of Yeats and a short story by Joyce. The lecture was fairly spoon-fed, and the depth of instruction didn't seem noticeably greater than that in English classes I was taking two years ago.
I fancy the other class (an integrated science core class for humanities majors) would have been much more interesting if Dr. Marsch had been the one lecturing, but he shared teaching of the class with another professor, who gave a boring and lackluster talk on potential problems with evolution and Intelligent Design, and the arguments each raises to counter the other. Most of this could have been discovered in reading a couple of books over the summer. I had hoped the students would interact in Socratic-style dialogue and delve spiritedly into questions about the assumptions on both sides and the validity of their arguments, but this did not happen.
The rest of the day we had even more time to kill, some of which we spent driving around the area and exploring the somewhat cheerless countryside, where a few nice houses are dotted amongst run-down dwellings and trailers. I thought I was one who went more for solitude, but I discovered on this trip that, though I do not like big noisy parties or a rushed lifestyle, I do like having plenty of neighbors. I felt like one would be mighty lonely out here, sixty miles and more from anything of size and importance. (Mental note: Eugene has 150,000 people. Gutenberg is in Eugene. *ponders*)
Mom and I were getting a bit cynical and wry at this point, so when we passed an establishment simply called "Ultimate Renewal," my joke about a man walking in and asking if he could get all his belongings mysteriously "renewed" provoked much laughter. :-)
The following morning, we finally broke our moorings and blasted out of town, westward back across Ohio. This drive was mainly uneventful, except for one incident where our GPS, Matrix-like, conspired to undermine us. When we duly exited in accordance to its instructions, it immediately recalculated and sent us south. We were in southern Michigan and needed to head toward Detroit. Extraordinarily reassured by the reliability of artificial intelligence, we parked in some random restaurant's parking lot and reset the bally thing, after which it worked as expected, although we remained suspicious of its motives. It was rather amusing once we were reassured that some mishap was not going to leave us stranded in an unknown area of Michigan and make us miss our flight.
And then a gentlemanly 757 hauled us and a couple hundred people back here. We were most grateful to be home!
At length we arrived in Grove City, a 'town' of sorts out in the boondocks of Pennsylvania. Its population is circa 8,000, almost identical to Hillsdale's. About the town of Hillsdale I can say little, because I merely passed through it, but Grove City became a familiar locale for us, as our hotel was in the town, not on campus, and we had more time to burn. As one who lives in a fertile valley, I was tempted to cry, "where's the green?" and as a suburban creature I was tempted to moan, "where are all the people?" I told Mom I figured the trees must get their leaves around mid-July there before falling off in September after a month and a half of fleeting glory! The key attractions of Grove City are an outlet mall (which, may it be said to its credit, provided me with four perfectly suitable Dover Thrift editions of some decent literature) and the college.
But enough of venting mild wrath on the city. It wasn't really its fault for being small and having a brown countryside (especially since it is in a somewhat economically depressed region), although some of the people out in the country could have cleaned up their homes/trailers a little.
The college itself was a disappointment. Granted, I came flush from Hillsdale challenging GCC to live up to that experience, which may have had some hand in my reactions. I found the college much less satisfying than I had anticipated, however. The grounds themselves were beautiful, including a massive (and green!) quad:
The buildings were well-built and featured great architecture, particularly Crawford Hall:
and their chapel, which is one of the nicer worship buildings I've personally seen:
As for my actual experience of the place, I suppose I had better start, as so many Wodehouse characters urge, at the beginning. The following morning, we arrived at the college about 9:00 o'clock and entered Crawford Hall to see the admissions people. The lady at the desk noted that I had an interview at 10:00; we mentioned that we had been scheduled to see a chapel service, and so she told us we could go over there and see it. Perhaps we were unfair to expect someone to show us over there, as it was about a minute's walk away, but it had been scheduled as part of our visit--and I suspect Hillsdale would have sent over a guide of some sort.
In any case, we came in a little late for the chapel service, but we didn't appear to miss much: the entirety of the service that we saw was a bell choir that lasted about ten minutes. We were later told that there are usually speakers at these events, but our experience didn't much comfort me that chapel is required sixteen times per semester. (I also object to this on the ground that I don't prefer a college that legislates its students' spiritual activities. I want to go to church or chapel because I believe I should, not because my college demands it.)
After chapel, I went and waited a few minutes to have my interview, which lasted about twenty-five minutes (as compared to roughly two hours at Hillsdale). Literature that I have read about interviews warns one not to judge a college's interest by the length of an interview, and I think that's generally true, but the example times the author used were 30 and 45 minutes; a disparity of fifteen rather than 95 minutes. I was asked about my favorite books, my test scores, and some other typical things. The only question that threw me a loop was (I paraphrase), "could you describe to me some kind of service that you have performed, and what you learned from the experience?" I haven't done much in the way of physical service, like cleaning up dirty streets or volunteering for Habitat for Humanity. Both such services would be worthy things, and it may be to my discredit that I haven't had much experience there. In any case, I had to struggle to answer that question. I did mention that I want to serve through my writing, but I don't know what she thought of that.
I asked my interviewer about GCC's lack of classics department, and the fact that my 6 years of high school Latin would count for nothing there. She explained that their language courses were all of living languages and intended for practical purposes, I presume things like ministry and teaching abroad. (Latin is practical!!) She told me that she personally wanted to see a classics program at the college, and that "if the college made a decision, it could happen really fast." Yes, but what if the college made that decision the day after graduation? It wouldn't be of any consequence to me how fast it happened...
After my interview, a senior student took me, Mom, two other families and someone newly hired by the school on a walk-around tour of campus, which lasted about an hour or so. She was talkative and very ready to answer questions. It was interesting to note, however, that when talking about visitation policies between the sexes, the reason she gave for liking these was that it gave you private time to yourself, because your roommates' boyfriends/girlfriends wouldn't be hanging around all the time. I thought those policies were in place to prevent extramarital relations or the appearance of evil...
All the buildings were roughly comparable to Hillsdale's as far as function, unsurprisingly, except that there were more dorms to accommodate 1,000 more students. Some highlights include a women's dorm:
The science building:
The student union:
The Hall of Arts and Letters (humanities classrooms):
And the library:
After the tour (during which I saw many shirtless men and girls in shorts and bikini tops soaking up the sun, mildly surprising at a Christian college, though perhaps it shouldn't have been), we had approximately two and a half hours until the one class that had been scheduled for me (compared to the three that had been scheduled for me at Hillsdale). This when I spent two and a half days at GCC verses one and a half at Hillsdale. We were left to kill those two and half hours ourselves, and we spent them sitting on a bench, checking out the library (which, if a little stuffy and claustrophobic, was copiously supplied with much good literature), and attempting to mooch off the library's wi-fi. This proved impossible, as one needs a password supplied only to students, but I was able to use a desktop computer placed in the library for public use.
So the class finally rolled around: a modern European history class, in this instance on the post-World War I years and how they led up to World War II. This was the best of the three classes, and the professor went over quite a few aspects of this era, such as the lack of hero figures in World War I, how the stated aims of the governments involved changed as the course of the war itself changed, the deterioration of the German economy, and a particular Hitlerian propaganda film that he was going to show the class the next time, and what themes and ideas it stressed.
So that was a pretty good class. After that, as I recall, we went back to the hotel, visited the outlet malls, and did something or other. We did a lot of time-filling there, and the exact order of events I do not recall. At one point, I think it was the night before, we were casting about for something to do and ended up watching a forgettable and ham-fisted natural disaster film called Volcano starring Tommy Lee Jones in one of his most forgettable roles. Another different night we saw the Truman Show, though, which is always good, though it was cut for TV.
That evening we had dinner with the Marsch family (Dr. Marsch is a professor at GCC, and his eldest daughter attends there). That was the highlight of this part of the trip, with good food and conversation. I believe our families hit it off well, and had circumstances been different, and the hour not late, I would have liked to have stayed there longer. The next day we visited two classes, but only because Dr. Marsch and Abbie, his daughter, were able to get us into the classes they taught/attended, respectively--not because of a change of plans on the part of the admissions team there. I found both classes pretty elementary for college-level instruction. The first class, a core English class, dealt with a couple poems of Yeats and a short story by Joyce. The lecture was fairly spoon-fed, and the depth of instruction didn't seem noticeably greater than that in English classes I was taking two years ago.
I fancy the other class (an integrated science core class for humanities majors) would have been much more interesting if Dr. Marsch had been the one lecturing, but he shared teaching of the class with another professor, who gave a boring and lackluster talk on potential problems with evolution and Intelligent Design, and the arguments each raises to counter the other. Most of this could have been discovered in reading a couple of books over the summer. I had hoped the students would interact in Socratic-style dialogue and delve spiritedly into questions about the assumptions on both sides and the validity of their arguments, but this did not happen.
The rest of the day we had even more time to kill, some of which we spent driving around the area and exploring the somewhat cheerless countryside, where a few nice houses are dotted amongst run-down dwellings and trailers. I thought I was one who went more for solitude, but I discovered on this trip that, though I do not like big noisy parties or a rushed lifestyle, I do like having plenty of neighbors. I felt like one would be mighty lonely out here, sixty miles and more from anything of size and importance. (Mental note: Eugene has 150,000 people. Gutenberg is in Eugene. *ponders*)
Mom and I were getting a bit cynical and wry at this point, so when we passed an establishment simply called "Ultimate Renewal," my joke about a man walking in and asking if he could get all his belongings mysteriously "renewed" provoked much laughter. :-)
The following morning, we finally broke our moorings and blasted out of town, westward back across Ohio. This drive was mainly uneventful, except for one incident where our GPS, Matrix-like, conspired to undermine us. When we duly exited in accordance to its instructions, it immediately recalculated and sent us south. We were in southern Michigan and needed to head toward Detroit. Extraordinarily reassured by the reliability of artificial intelligence, we parked in some random restaurant's parking lot and reset the bally thing, after which it worked as expected, although we remained suspicious of its motives. It was rather amusing once we were reassured that some mishap was not going to leave us stranded in an unknown area of Michigan and make us miss our flight.
And then a gentlemanly 757 hauled us and a couple hundred people back here. We were most grateful to be home!
Monday, May 5, 2008
After all, 18 is a landmark year.
My birthday is coming up in about a month and a half, so I figure I might as well make public what I want. The list price is a little steep, but it's heavily discounted!
:D
I actually got a watch of my own for about .1 % of the list price of the above item, and I'm sure what I have is way cooler than that diamond-encrusted travesty. It also runs on sunlight and never needs a battery replacement! We likes it greatly.
:D
I actually got a watch of my own for about .1 % of the list price of the above item, and I'm sure what I have is way cooler than that diamond-encrusted travesty. It also runs on sunlight and never needs a battery replacement! We likes it greatly.
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