Oh, the weather outside is frightful…

So. With finals week being more of a final one and a half weeks the campus was oddly empty after Friday with most people having gotten off the island (or at least off campus) as quickly as they could after their last final and those remaining on campus were some international students and a handful of poor souls needing to take a last exam Monday.

Me being among those poor souls I spent Friday diligently stuffing my head with various facts and figures regarding biological oceanography, while popping in and out of the kitchen a few times to prepare last supper with some of my team mates – most of them ended up having to leave early because a major blizzard was supposed to hi the entire East Coast and their parents decided they were coming to get their children while they still could.

Hm, I thought to myself… my best friend is coming in from Germany on Saturday (at least her last leg of the journey from the City to Stony Brook by train), what’s it with me and attraction natural catastrophes at the worst possible times to wherever I am?

Well, she arrived in time for the two of us to get our grocery shopping done and hole up before the storm hit that evening. And hit it did…  of course I welcomed several nightly breaks of “let’s see how bad it really is out there” to run away from my desk and out into the snow. The next morning we couldn’t go to church as planned because all church services etc. had been canceled – so instead we bundled up and decided to go explore.

It seems we were the only people enjoying a walk in two feet of fresh snow – most people were trying to dig out their cars, figure out which dining facility hadn’t shut down. But we had fun… and I got a new fireplace for my apartment, so after a few hours of trudging around we came back made hot chocolate and settled down in front of the fireplace (story to follow…)

So apparently,...

Apparently, there is such a thing as a midnight scream.
During finals it is socially completely acceptable to to open your window at midnight, stick your head out an yell as loud as you want.
Apparently, the clocks here on campus need re-synchronization...

the current state of SBU collective mind...

Finals are in full swing... matter of fact, I just spent the past two hours copying the exam for the class I'm TAing for. It not only takes longer than you would initially think, it's also more complicated than one would initially think: Two version + a second part that's the same for everyone. Part of it double sided, the other part one sided... and sweet talking the the copier to staple everything.
Which brings me back togetting back.
So, I was wandering down the hallway and just as I passed the laundry room. A girl came out carrying a huge basket of clothes.
Yes, I know you're wondering what this had to do with anything ....
Well, she apparently she decided to clean ALL her clothes. Because all she was wearing was a towel (and a friendly smile).
As I continued down the hallway I had this random picture of her in my mind, diligently studying, dressed in a towel.
At least I like to think she was wearing that towel while she was waiting for her laundry to finish!

My current state of mind

The other day I came home from class and the first thing I did after walking through the door was cook a pot of tea. I tossed the pot lid in the trash, dropped my keys in the pot and tried to pocket the wet tea bags.
That's when I realized the lines in my brain had somehow crossed... I retrieved the keys from my pot and put them in my pocket where they belong... I tossed the tea bags, pulled out the lid and washed it.
Poured a cup of tea and went in my room for some more hardcore studying.

December already?!

After experienceing that the Holiday Season is ON, I decided it was time to experience a real Thanksgiving-adventure of my own. While we had our own Thanksgiving traditions as a family in Germany and we celebrated Thanksgiving on the ship in our own special way... this was my first REAL Thanksgiving.
It's good to know that even at my age there still are firsts.
To cut it short, my Thanksgiving"weekend" was pretty awesome - good friends, good food, good rugby. What more could I want?
I've also gained new insights and knowledge into the American public transport "system". After my first real test of this "system" I feel that I can say with confidence, that the actual problem is that there is no "system" - it's all just VERY confusing. At one point I had figured it all out an developed my Master Plan: Train to NYC, take a bus from there to D.C., meet up with my friends, explore D.C., Metro into Maryland, Car to Frederick. Enjoy Thanksgiving (that part totally went by plan), bus at 0:30 from a town nearby to NYC, subway to Lexington/103rd and walk to Randall's Island for a7s Rugby tournament.
Needless to say, it didn't go exactly by plan. While the minor hiccups such as finding the bus station and the bus being 1/2 hour late probably aren't even worth mentioning - my Friday night/Saturday morning turned into an adventure.
While we didn't have a problem finding the bus stop this time, I discovered that theat paticular bus never runs on a Friday - which is kind of odd considering that I was holding a ticket and reservation for that bus. Nevertheless, once we made it back to the house I found a "good" connection within minutes. The 2:20 in Baltimore. Just as we embarked on our "it's a good thing it should only take us an hour at night because we only have 1:15 minutes to get there"-trip my friend said, "oh I hope we have enough gas"... yeah, it was already pretty much on empty.
I will spare you the detail of how I finally got on that bus... We arrived sometime before 6am in Chinatown, NY. The only problem was that while I had checked out all the maps and stuff and how to get to the subway station from the bus stop I was originally supposed to come into - I know only sort of knew where I was. And unfortunately, the directions the bus driver gave me to the nearest Metro station weren't exactly accurate.
At that point, I asked my inner compass "Which way" and then just headed off in that direction. The funny part is, that somehow I managed to walk straight toward were I was supposed to be heading (I guess wanting to play Rugby heightened all my sense) I reached 1st Ave and 1 Stree E and thought to myself: This is a good thing. This is the right direction, since I need to get to 1st and 103rd to take the footbridge.
Then I thought - wow, I wonder how long 100 block is. Turns out it's about 6 miles. Though I only walked about 80 before I hit the first subway station...
And I crossed that footbridge and stepped onto the field at 7:30 just as planned. And kept my team entertained once they asked me "by the way Shannon, how DID you get here this morning?" And I said: "Oh, I kinda walked from Chinatown..."

Just a thought...

Yes, I'm bilingual and I can flip back and forth quickly.
Yes, I'm also bilingual when it comes to the metric system and other systems used here in the US. I cannot flip back and forth as easily though. I usually do pretty good with feet, inches and miles. Not so good with temperatures.
Which is why when I check the weather I usually am thankful that you can swith from "Fahrenheit" to "Celsius".
Today, I was checking the weather for Saturday's rugby tournament. The site allowed me to switch between "English" and "Metric"
WHAT?!

no good dead goes unpunished...

Have you ever tried to bring groveries home in 6 different grocery bags on a bike?
Even if you haven't - this probably sounds like a frustrating idea at best and a dangerous one at it's worst (who would want their eggs, cereal and whatnot spread across the highway?).
Unfortunately, while this seems obvious to you, my dear reader, at this very moment, you would be surprised how difficult it is for me to explain this concept at the cash register, with some trigger happy bag packer/cashier trying to pack you groceries.
Even though every grocery store encouraged you to go green in some way or the other involving buying bags that can be re-used, they are VERY confused (EVERY time) you bring your own bags and/or state that you would like to pack your own bags. Even when I say - oh, I'm gonna pack it all into backpack, I'm on my bike (*gesture toward helmet in one hand*). It never really makes any sense to them.
So, I quickly resorted to using the self-check out. That way I can pack my own bags. I'm actually quite good at it - but I always mess up when there's somebody standing right behind me tapping their foot. I've even figured out how to deal with the whole you can't put your bag/backpack and/or helmet on the counter because then the machine always tells you need to scan your purchase...
The other day, I was picking up a few stuff on my way back home. Just as I was wandering up to the register a happy, smiling, bubbly woman pulled up in her gorcery cart full of several already scanned and packed bags and being in a happy oh-the-sun-is-shining-and-i'm-riding-my-bike-with-the-wind-in-my-back-mooed (and I suppose also because deep, deep down in the depths of my heart I'm a good person) I said, oh sure, go ahead.
She whizzed through like a pro - and I started scanning my stuff. Out of the corner of my mind I saw her packing up her groceries at the end of the belt and thought to myself, oh, that's odd.
Then just as I was scanning my card, the happy bubbly woman waved at me, pointed at the bags she had so friendly packed for me and said: "Happy Thanksgiving".
Happy Thanksgiving indeed. So thankful for the holiday spirit - you know helping people, accidentally foiling their plans that kind of stuff.
The Holiday Season is on.