My mother came to Charlottesville on Thursday to spend the weekend with me, which was just was lovely and wonderful as I had hoped it would be. I took her around UVa, showing her all my favorite places and (most of) my favorite people. It was so different from the last time my mom had been in Charlottesville, the summer before my first year, when I knew absolutely nothing about my new town of residence and was just as overwhelmed by everything as she was. This time, I was walking so quickly my mom had to ask me to slow down, and I could tell her all about UVa and my college life. She was staying in my dorm room with me, so there was no need to wait for her to meet me in the morning or walk her back to a hotel in the evening. Instead, I spend nearly every moment of the weekend with her. Friday I introduced her to Miss Kathy, brought her by my work-study, took her to lunch at Fine Arts, and gave her a little tour of Central Grounds; later that evening, we celebrated my birthday a few days early by going to dinner at Basil, a Mediterranean restaurant, with Sara. Saturday we mostly spent shopping (I now have five pairs of shoes instead of two), and Sunday was more leisurely, with a long brunch at Runk and an afternoon of studying, topped off with informal worship at Wesley. This morning we had breakfast at Bodo's and then said good-bye. I miss her already, but she's back in California safe and sound, and the visit was short enough that we didn't get on each other's nerves (much) and I think she had a good time.
Other October happenings:
- I've finally started watching Doctor Who, having heard so much about it from friends both online and off. It can be really cheesy, and the aliens are laughable, but I kind of love it. I'm just about to finish series two of the newer BBC show, so far I'm familiar with Billie Piper as Rose, Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor, and David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. Series one was good, but series two is fantastic; David Tennant makes an amazing Doctor, and I think he and Billie work well together as Doctor and companion. That said, I think my favorite episode so far is still "Father's Day" from series one, although I enjoyed "Tooth and Claw" from this series. I haven't watched the series two finale yet, but I've heard I should be both very excited and very sad. We shall see.
- Third year has been very busy indeed. Partially it's my own fault for taking six classes, but also I just have a lot of work. So much reading, I don't really know how to handle it. Ruth says that the classes at Sciences Po are much easier; I certainly hope so. I don't think I could take another semester like this.
- Last weekend was Wesley's annual Pumpkin Palooza, where some friends and I ended up going as the gang from Scooby-Doo. I was Velma, though I sadly lacked in orange socks, and my hair is already quite a bit longer than Velma's really should be. Still, I think we pulled it off all right. It was a fun outing in any case, and since the evening ended with an Avatar marathon, it was a very nice night indeed. Matt, Andi, and I have reached the episode where SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS Zuko joins Team Avatar SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS, and I'm quite excited for the next marathon now that this momentous event has occurred. Yay vicarious living!
- Pooja gave me an exercise book from the early 90s so I can develop a routine that doesn't require me to leave my room, should I not be able to find a gym in France. The pictures haven't aged well (Sara: "Why is she wearing spandex on spandex?"), but the workouts are decent. In fact, my body has only today fully recovered from the soreness, and I imagine it will return in full force when I do my lower-body routine tomorrow. So much pain, but good pain, I think.
- Evidence that I have lost a significant amount of weight since in the past two years: I put on my old Regency dress from first year to go to Maria and Pooja's Halloween party, then called Sara in to help me with the buttons. As she was doing them up, she tugged on the back of my dress and said, "This needs to be taken in, maybe by a couple of inches." She even suggested that I pin the back of it, as there is apparently a significant gap between the buttons. Sometimes I get frustrated that I'm not slimming down as quickly as I want to, but then something like this happens and I have to remind myself that progress is being made. I'll probably never be a size 0 or even a size 6, but I am getting better, and that's what's important.
- Richie and I actually had a reasonably long Skype conversation this weekend. True, our mom was there, too, but I was pleasantly surprised at the length and quality of the call, and felt very good about it when I hung up. I'm hoping this is a sign of things to come for next semester, when I imagine I will become very dependent on Skype.
- Well, I'm about to be twenty-one, and I will consume alcohol for the first time ever within the next twenty-four hours. Yes, I really have completely abstained from drinking, even during my first two years at college. And while I plan on trying alcohol, I don't plan on getting drunk. Actually, I don't plan on ever getting drunk. I'm just not interested, and frankly I don't like the idea of losing control. I'm weird enough at, say, three in the morning. I don't need any of the silly things I do when I'm sleep-deprived exacerbated by drunkenness.
- I'm slowly becoming more and more addicted to the Vlogbrothers channel on YouTube. I've been laughing myself silly over John Green's Miracle of Swindon Town series, and I'm following the saga of the Fault in Our Stars signing with great interest. Nerdfighteria makes econ reading bearable, basically.
- Happinesses: this episode of Parks and Recreation, The Harry Potter Companion, a fantastic fanart site, Pav Lunch with Wesley every Tuesday, finding new ways to tie my scarves, figuring out how to implicitly differentiate, seeing the cute kids you babysat during the summer in their Luke and Leia costumes, Carter Mountain, and watching Disney songs in foreign languages.
