Top Ten Things I Did in the Last Ten Days

Hello all! School is busy and my social life is just bursting at the seams. ;)
So this will be brief, then I can get back to those papers I need to write. This is the topic I have been bringing up to everyone and their grandma for sympathy because it sounds so extreme. I have five major papers to write by next week. There, I said it! Some of you have already stuffed your ears with it before.

So what have I done if not blogged?
(No particular order.)

1. High School "Reunion" at Space Aliens
I went back home for a night to visit some friends (you know who you are... that is, if you even read this... moment of awkward insecurity) and we ate at Space Aliens, the small barbecue/pizza chain that is decorated to match its name... times ten (numerical theme). My waitress was a girl from high school. We were not friends in high school so no one broke the ice and said "hi." Thus she served me the entire time while being smushed with elephant-in-the-room-esque awkwardness.

 [speaking of aliens, Stephen Hawking is kind of boring when he narrates a show about them.]

2. Task Party aka organized chaos
Oliver Herring, a famous German artist, came to our school! He used to knit strange things constantly, but now he makes videos, photo sculptures, and Task Parties!

[here's a photo sculpture, this one wasn't at our school, but look--it's a bunch of small close-up photos glued together!]

The Task Party was the most fun though. Picture this: a large room strewn about with random art supplies and surplus items--from glitter to cardboard to metal tins and feathers to balloons, etc.--with a bunch of nerdy art-lovers and the command to simply make and do "tasks," no other guidelines. So first you draw a task from the big box, do it, and then write your own.

Examples:

• dress up like a pirate
• build a human pyramid
• call your dad and say "hi"
• construct a nest
• protest something
• walk around the room with a hotdog in your mouth
• throw glitter at a stranger
• etc.

What does it look like, you ask?
Well, everyone ends up in stupid costumes and such, so it ends up looking something like this:

[dramatic re-enactment]

3. CONTROVERSY Party
It was for the Sociology/Anthropology/Reconciliation Department, okay? Least controversial event ever, in the history of the world probably. Though I will admit it was more fun than I expected. Besides, my team won Political Pin the Tail on the Donkey.

4. Decided China is awesome
Justine's aunt Cliss has been to so many countries--India, China, and Japan. She spoke about them at some women's retreat and we went to see her. She spent the most time in China--3 years-- and after hearing all of the stories, now I reallllllly want to go!

5. Painted world turtle
Almost completed a painting that is about a Native American creation story where the land is just the back of a giant turtle. I made the turtle a tortoise because they are the cutest of all turtles and resemble grumpy old men. (Awww!)
Stupidly, I have no picture of it now.

Some day. Someday. Sumday.


6. Used an antique printing press
So--correct me if you already know this--Minnesota has an AWESOME handmade book center and it is about 8 minutes away from campus. How cool. We went there for class and got to find little lead letters in a big font drawer. Then we put them backwards and upside down on a little holder thing. Holder thing had a part called a "knee," while letters have "feet." Said holder thing was then inked and put onto the press, where a huge roller smushed ("pressed") it and printed out titles! So cool. It was also in a rugged, cave-like basement that was historically built as a flour barrel factory (cough cough, notice all the flour mills on our skyline).


7. RAISED A YOUNG TURTLE
Yesyesyesyesyesyes.

[wook at the widdle biddle!]

[baby waby tuwtle]

[oooh, painted]

[shmo smainted!]

Found the little guy in the parking lot after a rainstorm. Saved him by bringing him to a muddy cattailed area by the lake. I figured keeping him would not  really be saving him since Justine and I got bored of our last pet (Jibs the hermit crab) and gave him away to preschoolers.

Still, it was fun while it lasted. Brian came too*even though we were almost late for lunch. We ran up when the gate to the dining center was closing and I had to use my smooth diversion skills** to get us in. Barely!

*his hands are in the latter three pictures

**aka begging and telling the overly-nice guy that we just found a turtle

8. Enlightened others about Tootsie Pop Flavors

 [seriously though, how many licks?]

In my opinion, artificial banana is one of the lamest candy flavors known to both man and beast. Tootsie Pop Co. does not agree. I gave the one I got for "Thank-you-student-workers Week" to Brian, who also had never known of its rare existence.

9. Crawled and viewed art
 The good ol' St. Paul Art Crawl was this weekend. Brian and I walked through a bunch of galleries and apartments to see everything from chalk-drawn tigers and wooden magic wands to really fancy photography and huge paintings.

10. Tripped while sitting!! --less dramatic version
So this may or may not have happened to me before. Okay, it was in calculus class (AP thankyouverymuch) where I somehow fell off my chair by tripping. It is a mysterious phenomenon that not everyone has experienced.
I did it again today--and screamed--but I caught my balance before falling anywhere.
This photo may sort of kind of like a little bit, explain what sit-tripping is like.

[100% pure terror]

See you again soon I hope! If not, I will simply be here, complaining about my papers to those who do not read my blog.

p.s. FAILED tripping re-enactments. (aka "yes, it took 5 takes to get that terrible shot")

 [pooping?]

[HEAD]

[oddly sexual :/ ]

[dinosaur]