The First Last Stretch

I’ll be packing out in 17 days! Yes, that’s a small number, but I’ve got plenty of things to pay attention to before then. I got over the first hump yesterday when I finished my 10-pager for Political Geography. The rest:

Academics:

1. Arabic test 5/2

2. Arabic presentation 5/5-5/9

3. Israel final due 5/12

4. Arabic Final due 5/13

5. Political Geography Final due before 5/17

6. WAGS paper due before 5/17

Music:

1. Jamming with potential band 5/2

2. Mamajama CD release concert 5/3

3. Sound Investment Jazz Band concert 5/3

4. Yom HaShoa Service, “Eli, Eli” 5/4

5. Mamajama Senior Farewell concert 5/11

Other cool stuff:

1. Parents visiting 5/3-5/4

2. Sarah visiting 5/8-5/10

So it’s a busy three weeks, but I’m riding the wave pretty well. Last weekend a few friends got together to jam for a little bit. We’re doing some covers, some crazy funk jazz stuff, and whatever we feel like. This is the first context in which I’ve ever been the least musically-talented player. So I’m the singer, at least for the covers. Any original stuff we write will have to have original lyrics / melody, which has been a perpetual quagmire for me. We’ll see how that goes. But the players are Sasha on piano, Ross on sax, neighbor Ben on bass, Cameron on drums, and Jared on guitar. It’s a TIGHT group.

I also got my first solo in Mamajamas yesterday! It’s “It’s All Been Done” by BNL, which was also my arrangement. Pretty exciting. Also, this Sunday is Yom HaShoah and I’m performing “Eli, Eli.” Cloe is doing a dramatic reading of it in English, I’m singing it once in Hebrew, a second time with Cloe harmonizing and Shelsey on cello as a third voice, and a final coda-esque thing with just Shelsey. This was the first thing I’ve ever arranged for voice and instrument, so I wasn’t sure how it was gonna turn out, but it sounds beautiful! Especially with the acoustics of Mead Chapel. Crazy good.

Unfortunately the weather’s regressed. It’s as if last week and this simply came out of order. While the cold wet dreariness makes it easier to focus, it’s still cold wet dreariness. I’m sure I’ll get my fill of sunny warmth in a few days.

Grüp Projects

I hate group projects! The composition of a group is irrelevant, and my case is simple. Even a group with great friends still requires orchestrating schedules and allocating work, neither of which is ever readily possible. This week I had an Arabic presentation with another student (we met 15 minutes before class over breakfast), a political geography presentation to “Fix Iraq” (9 hours over two days with a group),  and today I met with a discussion-leading group for my WAGS course.

I just lost momentum on that rant, but the bottom line is I’m tired of group work. Beyond that, I have papers and presentations and finals galore marching up to greet me in rapid succession. From this Saturday the 26th I have 2 weeks of class and a week after that of finals before summer break. The amount of work that I have to fit into those three weeks is absurd, so I try not to think about it too much. Instead, I just look at what’s right in front of me. The next fun is a 10-page paper about border conflicts. After a hellish group project, it’s comforting to know that at the very least I will be able to just sit at a desk for endless hours and crank out a paper on my own terms. So in that respect this big paper seems a little more doable. And that’s the only assignment I’m going to mention because, in my new state of mind, that’s the only assignment I’m aware of! Ignorance is bliss!

Extra-academic activities this week were plentiful. The Mamajamas performed on Tuesday night for the accepted students evening, to much acclaim. We choreographed silly hip hop dance moves to “Baby When The Lights Go Out” and the crowd loved it. My prospie that evening was Tim (the successor of Tom!) who had already committed to Midd, so my job was easy. He was nice, but due to my orgy of work I was unable to spend much time with him, so I wasn’t as well acquainted with him as I was with Tom.

The Mamajamas also performed tonight at Relay For Life! I can’t believe it’s already been a year. I meant to help out organizing this Relay, and then I meant to be on a team, and then I meant to donate, but instead I didn’t do anything. Time seems to have given me and my restricted attention the slip. At any rate, the show was awesome. We premiered “Gravity” by Sara Bareilles, which was my first Mamajama arrangement. It was also Ali’s first solo and she brought the house down, it went really well and it was nice to have that musically rewarding / fulfilling feeling again.

After that I went to watch Sweeney Todd on campus. Shudder! Good movie, weirdo though. Now I’m hitting the sack to wake up at nine for four hours of bookstore work.

What a frustrating week! I’m outside a lot, that’s great. It was 78˚ today, which is absurd, but Battell Beach (the “quad” behind my dorm) resembled central park: people in bathing suits soaking up the sun, frisbee, soccer, whiffle ball, field hockey, hookah, lacrosse. It was like a paradise! I played some frisbee and really enjoyed it, but the whole time I had this cloud of work hanging over my head. This has been the theme of the week.

All week, I’ve watched many papers / presentations chilling on the horizon: a paper due tomorrow, a presentation due next thursday, and a presentation and a paper due next friday. This week, I’ve had very little immediate work, so why not get started with the heavy stuff? There’s plenty of research and reading to be done, after all. And yet, I couldn’t bring myself to start. I would sit down at the computer and then just listen to and play music for two hours, and then kick myself. Perhaps I need pressure to get things done? I never thought I did, but it’s possible. Even as I write this, I’m taking a break from writing tomorrow’s paper. Ugh, very frustrating.

In addition to all of next week’s work, I’m hosting a second prospie on Tuesday. Hopefully he’s as cool as Tom was, and worth the trouble.

The latest “major” tangent: self-designed linguistics major. I’ve been asking around about this “Self-designed” thing and mostly I’ve heard “it’s a bitch, not worth it, don’t do it.” Also, I’m sure how I feel about paying a premium for a crazy college if I’ll be holed up in a library poring over books in independent study and calling it a “top level education.” However, the “Linguistics Major” is a much-precedented self-designed major. I sent an email to a senior who I was told is doing it, and am awaiting a reply. Also, I have a meeting with my adviser tomorrow to discuss life, the universe, and everything. ALSO, my Arabic professor (who got his masters in linguistics at UMaryland) teaches two linguistics courses “Intro to” and “The Unity and Diversity of Human Language” (more an etymological study about emergences / extinctions, language families, other REALLY EXCITING things!!!). Neither was offered this year and the former won’t be offered next year, but I’m planning on taking the latter next spring. At any rate, I just sent alustaad Usama (Usama Soltan) an email asking basically the same question I asked the senior: “What can you tell me about a self-designed linguistics major?”

So I’m hoping they’ll all tell me that because it’s so well-precedented, the linguistics major is actually quite enjoyable to do, studying in Egypt for a year will fit perfectly with it, you can save the world with this major but if you change your mind regarding your career it also works really well in almost every facet of your life, and in fact they wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a real major by my graduation in 2011. We’ll see…

There, I’ve now managed to throw away the 45 minutes I had between Mamajamas’s dinner and The Office, so I guess I’ll have to really do my paper at 9:30. I hate to wish away the last few weeks of freshman year, but I’ll be glad when all these assignments are done. (Those I mentioned are just the first round – finals are close on their heels!)

Another monday!

Busy weekend! It was relatively nondescript, but Sunday I was elected music director for the mamajamas next year, so that is exciting. I had to cut out of rehearsal early to go meet my prospie Tom from beverly massachusetts, one of the few and proud to have been accepted to midd this year (%18 acceptance rate), and he’s deciding between Haverford and here. I think we might have convinced him, though. He was a nice guy, I hope he comes here.

Today I did the usual school-thing, and haven’t done any homework! I went to the gym for a while, then had jazz band. My new distraction is Garage Band. I’m figuring out how to do cool things with it, so even when I’m done writing this I’m going to do more music stuff. Arabic homework? What?

I got the Members Only 2007 spring show on DVD in the mail today, courtesy of mama, courtesy of mr. silverman. It was really good! We were a little rougher than I remember, but the quality is awesome. Yay, Members Only!

Can’t think of too much else to write. Itching for more warmth and no more assignments, but that’s a mountain of work away.

WARMTH

I have spent so much time outside this week. It’s been great. When I’ve finished writing this entry I’m headed back outside for some Arabic homework.

I spoke with Matt today, the office director for the Cambridge office for the Campaign to Save the Environment. He cleared up a lot of my confusion. My job is 9-5, pays minimum of $350 / week plus 35% of what I fund raise. I do some canvassing, under the direction of a “field manager” (hopefully Sarah!), but most of my job is about organizing the office-end of the campaign, and writing letters to news outlets for PR purposes, lobbying.

Now for the interesting part. This summer, the campaign is working to push a new climate change bill through the MA State legislature. Matt says they’ve been working on it for a year, and just last month out of nowhere the Senate passed it! So our role is to stir up enough noise to get the House to pass it also. This bill is as good as they come: cut emissions by 20% by 2020, and by 80% by 2050. I think Matt said that there are only like 5 other states with this legislation either on the books or headed that way. Yay 1Sky! So that’s exciting, that not only do I have an engaging and well-paying summer job, but I am actually enthusiastic about it. 40-hour weeks will be interesting, but I have no qualms about vacationing!

I got some grades back this week, which is unusual. So now in my WAGS course I have one grade (a good one) and in Political Geography another grade (also good), tons of grades in Arabic (mostly good) and two grades in Politics in Israel (both good). The downside is that I have most of my grades remaining in the next 4 weeks in WAGS and PG. Gametime.

Spring cautiously approaches

The weather is playful! Two days ago it was wretched slush falling from the sky. Yesterday it was partly cloudy and like 50. Today it’s sunny and 52, and the projection for next week has two 60˚ days next to each other. It’s very exciting, and hopefully won’t distract from studying (too much).

Thursday night I went with Ariela and another feb friend named Ben (newest Mamajama) to the “Middlebury Union High School A Cappella Invitational” in mead chapel. Midd college choir and mountain ayres (chamber singers) opened the show, and then high school a cappella groups from Mount Abe, Vergennes, and Middlebury did various sets. They were all right, and it was nice to hear a lot of songs I’ve sung before! The evening ended with “Maiden Vermont,” a chorus (50ish of them) of Vermont women ages 35-70 I would say, but the median was around 55-60. They were AWESOME. They sang barbershop stuff, and had all this hilarious choreography. Mama would have felt in perfect place among them. I got a huge kick out of it.

Ilanna came over to visit on Friday! It was kinda a last minute what-the-heck affair but it was nice to see her. She, Ariela and I had a late night Friday night. Saturday I had work from 10-2 and ran over to the Middlebury-Bowdoin track meet as soon as I could. Sarah and I were able to chill for intermittent periods of like 10-15 minutes each, which is frustrating but life. Saturday night I stayed in and watched “Finding Neverland.” Gotta love corniness.

The tracks of the Mamajamas’s new album “The Madras Album” are almost finished! They just need to be mastered, but so far they’re sounding really good. We have our CD release party on May 3. – it’s a big weekend. Friday the 2nd is my birthday, then Saturday has the a cappella show and the spring Jazz show later that night. I sent an email to the parents and it looks like they’ll actually make a foray into the cold north to see the shows / celebrate the birthday! Never underestimate sentimentality, I suppose.

The 5 remaining weeks are daunting to me. I’m half at a point where I’m ready for the year to be over. It’s not completely overtaken me yet, but I’m really looking forward to warmth and old friends. 5 weeks isn’t so long, but when I look at my syllabi I’m blown away by what I’m expected to accomplish before then! Oh, huge pet peeve: classes that have both a final paper AND a final exam. What the hell?

With community service done, I should have a much easier week.

Another foray.

Journals and I have never agreed with each other. The only “successful” one I’ve managed to keep was a required one senior year of high school, and as soon as the 6-month assignment was complete the entries vanished. So maybe if I think other people are cluing into my life I’ll be more compelled to have some discipline. Or I’ll just abandon it again. It’s my plan to not really announce this until I feel like it’s more than just the ravings of a really bored mind.

I’m approaching the end of my freshman year (well here it’s called “First Year”) at Middlebury. We’ve got somewhere between 5 and 6 weeks until finals, which is what I’ll call an unexpected number. Where did all the time go? Spring break is weird. At any rate, my failure to join Hyannis Sound left me scrambling for an engaging, *rewarding* summer job, and so these days have been spent speculating on the fast approaching future. It’s odd, I used to relish in the anticipation of summer, and now I almost dread it.

Sarah was hired by the “Campaign to Save the Environment” and recommended I apply. So I did, and was hired and offered the position of “Campaign Coordinator,” which is pretty hot. The job would normally entail canvassing, doorbell-ringing, bothering people in the streets to stir up “Grassroots” support for environmental legislation and climate change awareness. A “Field Manager” position, which Sarah was offered, would make more money weekly and administer the pawns roaming the streets, in addition to doing some roaming herself. A “Campaign Coordinator” works on PR and writing / editing / submitting articles to local papers and contacting benefactors and administering everybody else, which sounds like a much more interesting job than bothering people on the streets (though I would do some of that too). There hasn’t been any mention of increased pay, and in fact the position’s superiority over “Field Manager” is just Sarah and me speculating. You know what, I have very little actual information about the job, which is suspicious. At the end of my successful phone interview (in which they immediately told me I would be offered a Campaign Coordinator position, an oddly enthusiastic proposition to base solely on a 5-minute phone conversation) they told me a confirmation email would be headed my way shortly. So when it arrives, I’ll reply with an inquisitive email of my own.

The hours are suspect, also… They mentioned something about working 2-10 which won’t work too well as the position is in Cambridge. My interviewer mentioned there may be a Campaign Coordinator position from 9-5 there, and there is probably one in the Boston office, so I may just relocate. Hopefully Sarah can too. Ideal summer at this point: Campaign Coordinator is a higher paying and rewarding position that has me working 9-5, 5 days a week in Boston, and Sarah and I can commute in / out. Yes the commute is expensive in itself, but it would come out to be like a week’s pay for the whole summer’s transportation, which is bearable.  Besides the confirmation email, the next step is my going for an “observation day” on May 26 in the Cambridge office in which “They” decide if I’m campaign coordinator material. So confusing.

Life at Middlebury itself is very easy right now, since I’ve just finished midterms. I also finished my 16 hours of required community service at the animal shelter, so my week is a lot more open. The weather is warmer, and I just took out my bike yesterday! Commutes across this beastly campus are now so much quicker. Like the air, jazz band is heating up, with just 6 more rehearsals before our May 3 gig. Ah spring, who hast been so historically bloated with musical events, almost seems naked this year. Even so, I still have around 5 Mamajama performances. I’ll be home for most of Westborough’s spring musical craziness anyway, so maybe I can live vicariously then.

This weekend should be fun. Ilanna is coming from Skidmore tomorrow night, and Saturday (after work) I’m going to see Sarah’s track meet at Midd. She can’t stay over, so after Saturday we won’t see each other until summer break. Ah, c’est la vie, I know what a long-distance relationship is.

There’s a lengthy post. We’ll see how consistently I can deliver from here on.