Free time??

It's been busy. Nothing I couldn't handle, but it's certainly been busy. The thing is, I'm doing all my schoolwork while at the same time gutsily reading for pleasure, something most people don't try doing here. My thinking is, I should give myself at least some time to read for pleasure, or I might end up miserable. Or I guess slightly less happy. So, my days have been filled primarily with homework, but also with other activties, and then on top of all that I'm reading Njál's Saga, an Icelandic saga from the 13th century. It's pretty great, by the way. I'm about halfway through. After that, I have a significant backlog of other books to read. Mom has sent me two, and I plan also to read something about the Plains Indians, and I may at some point read You Shall Know Our Velocity!, which endears me right away because the text of the book starts on the front cover, continues on through the front endpaper, and goes right on until just about the end. There's one blank page and then two red pages, one of which has the copyright stuff on it. Isn't that great? It's by Dave Eggers, who's a peculiar guy. He started up his own publishing company and literary magazine, called Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern. He's pretty great and quirky. But let's move on from Dave Eggers.
-I've also been working on co-staffing Press*, which is the student organization that publishes book-length or book-size projects that students make. This semester we're going to be publishing a photograph collection from an amazing photographer among our ranks; and a book of stories that revolve around a Section 8 housing unit (if I've got that regulation right) in DC, with pictures; and a stationery set. It looks like it's going to be a fun semester in Press. And, I had a krokay tournament. Turnout was pretty low. It ended up being just a game. I made it to the end either first or second, but I ended up getting knocked out, and watching the rest of the game play out. A guy named Ben ended up winning. All in all it was an excellent game with four new players.
-Ooh! And I got a job at Bob's Underground Coffee House. It's nothing large-scale - one two-hour shift a week, and anoher three-hour one if theSaturay person can't come. But I love it. Working in Bob's is much less dismal than working in the dining hall. Even though it is underground. Bob's is a room covered in graffiti, where we serve coffee-related drinks. It's open from 8 to 1 every night. Night-owls like me come and play board games, or read the impressive and ragtag array of books, pamphlets, and propaganda left by other patrons, or see bands that play there occasionally, or do homework, or just drink something with friends in a room full of ratty old comfortable furniture. I've only had one shift there so far. I've got another shift's worth of training, and then I man the place solo during my shift the rest of the year.
-And on Friday afternoons, I do flintknapping on the porch of Goodnow Hall with Professor Whittaker, an anthropology professor who's been knapping for a couple decades now. Thus far I've made some mediocre arrowheads, and I'm working on some more, one made of obsidian. Obsidian is not only an awesome word, but also an awesome mineral, basically hard black glass. I'm going to work on scrapers, and eventually I plan to make an ax blade.
-The point of college, I guess, is the classes, so I should at least mention those. I'm enjoying them all, but they tend to assign me tons of reading. Last Tuesday, I had to read 80 pages for sociology, and on the same day either 20 or 40 for English. The Spanish professor has a tendency to give assignments like "Prepare a five-minute presentation on the reading" with no warning. Luckily, he has us give those presentations to each other. And we can BS each other or just admit, "I was up 'til 3 last night and couldn't get to the reading." That's happened to me some. Some of it is because I was reading about what Hallgerd and Gunnar and their servants have been doing. Hallgerd is nuts, always making one of her servants go over and kill one of Njál's and then doing it again after Njál's new servant takes revenge, but there's nothing anyone can do about it, because she's a woman, and it'd be dishonorable to kill her. But I think we've gotten beyond her crap now. Really, Njál's Saga is a great saga. I mean, I don't read a lot of sagas, but this one is pretty intense. I got into it because in English we had read Beowulf, and when I finished it I was in a saga mood. This one is awesomer. Beside those, I'm also learning a lot in anthropology and sociology. Anthropology is the duller class, but that's mainly because my professor isn't what you'd call a dynamo. As a rule, she doesn't get excited about anthropology in class. Whereas my sociology professor really gets into the classes. I bet if I had Professor Whittaker it'd be a more even match.
-Tenzing shed a couple days ago for probably thesecond time, but this was the first time I found the skin. I couldn't keep it, though, because as he was shedding he pooped in his skin, rendering it naaasty. And, I have a video of him eating. Here it is.
-That's about all for now. I'll be back some other time.

*Which is another reason Dave Eggers is endearing to me. I didn't want to mention that up there, though, becuse I'd just moved on from him.