A Sane Halloween (Despite Photo Evidence to the Contrary)

In honor of the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, I had a very sane Halloween. Well, OK, it actually just kind of coincidentally turned out that way.

Bussed down to DC on Friday, which took about 5 1/2 hours, due to traffic and accidents (it was supposed to be a 4-hour trip). Liz and her boyfriend Josh also drove down that night, and we had a massive slumber party in Michelle's living room. Then the next morning we got a not-so-early start (due to delicious homemade walnut waffles made by Josh), which was just fine. Took the fairly packed yellow line from Huntington all the way in to L'Enfant, where we joined the crowds heading to the rally.

Thankfully, the day was GORGEOUS and not too cold, and the crowds were not too crazy. We got a spot to stand pretty far back, but we could see a screen, and hear pretty clearly. I think most of us agreed reading people's signs was the highlight of the event, but I also enjoyed getting to see Cat Stevens and Ozzie Osbourne perform together (!).

Look! A tiny Washington Monument! Proof of where we were.

Michelle rides back on the packed metro

That night (after managing to pack ourselves into the Metro trains in separate trips), we all got dressed up at Michelle's place, and headed out by 10pm to Adam's Morgan, hitting up a bar/club called Madam's Organ (confusing I know). This was actually a bar that I'd seen many times during my 3 months living in DC, but never checked out (I think mainly because they always have a cover on the weekends). But with ARI to pay my way (yes!), the cover was no big deal. And the music inside was pretty good; a nice mix of Beastie Boys and...hip hop. That's all I can remember. But I do remember dancing to it quite enthusiastically.

The night ended up being pretty long because we didn't catch a train back until 2:45ish, and due to train delays and late-night schedules, we didn't actually get back home till after 4am. We all agreed we are way too old for those kinds of crazy hours. But I suppose Halloween is a pretty good exception to the rule. It was a fun night, and it was definitely worth the long Metro trips to be able to "make the scene" (as my scene-making dad always says) and enjoy the costumes.*

Now, on actual Halloween day, I am rather wiped out. Another 4-hour bus trip back, and an evening of catching up on emails (and avoiding actual school work). But I went to the market across the street an hour ago and saw lots of adorable little children out trick-or-treating, so I'm happy to see that some of us are taking full advantage of this holiday.

Happy Halloween!

*Oh, and I didn't take any pictures of costumes b/c I'm lame and didn't really dress up. I decided to be the girl from the Cake song about the short skirt and the long jacket. And Ari came up with the creative idea of dressing as a marathon runner who was "going the distance." No one knew who we were. Ah well.

So I just spent three hours transcribing an interview with a Chinese speaker of English (phonetics project). And you know what? It's time for a blog post!

I think I felt somewhat overwhelmed/depressed during my first month or so at Teachers College (from hereon out referred to as TC), partly because it felt so weird to be back in class again, stressing about homework and exams again. And partly because I had WAY too much free time (my classes are mainly in the evening), so I was constantly thinking about what I should be doing to maximize my studying time, or my sightseeing time, or my job-searching time.

Thankfully, things have gotten better. I'm more comfortable with the school regime (I'm NOT 2 weeks ahead in the reading! No need to be that far ahead!). And I got a part-time job! (Substitute ESL teaching for now, but my boss said it's highly likely I'll get a permanent position in the next month or so.) And I have extra-curricular activities, such as karate. And going to happy hour (OK, so I actually ditched karate for happy hour yesterday, but it's the first time that has ever happened! And it won't happen again! For a while, at least. Why do I have this guilty conscience, as if my mother is always observing from afar?)

In other news, I will be moving out of student housing come December. I just can't stomach the $1700-per-month rent, even if I DO literally live across the street from TC. However, if everything works out, I will be living in a nice apartment about 20 minutes walking distance away from TC, where I will be sharing a bathroom and a kitchen with a nice lady who is part of the faculty at Columbia (ooh, aah). And I will be getting my own fairly big room, with a queen size bed and a massive collection of books to choose from! I will post pics if I end up moving in (fingers crossed).

One last thing: Ari and I (and pretty much everyone I know) are going to Washington, DC this weekend. It's the "Rally to Regain Sanity" or something like that. Hosted by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. I actually don't really have a strong desire to go to the rally; I just happen to have a free weekend (My midterm got pushed back a week! Yay!), so I figure, why not? And we have a place to crash (chez Michelle, one of the many awesome Davis people who coincidentally also moved out East). So here's to a fun Halloween/rally/quick vacation weekend!

This message from our Student Senate President today:

"And finally this Friday, why do the new gender-neutral bathrooms at TC have signs about locking the door? One official justification is that somebody might enter the bathroom and either be, or cause an other supposed occupant to be, startled. This kind of unintended bigotry is worrisome. No one is remotely concerned about any similar such startling that is of frequent occurrence in the traditional-binomially-gendered bathrooms."

I found this so amusing, I had to share.
Academics. Such weird people.