emlocke

emlocke logo with teal letter 'k'

  • love ya, mead it

    i just got back from a quick mhc visit. last night, holly, molly and i had room choosing in mead. until now, i’ve managed to bypass the housing lottery drama by playing the transfer game, so this was my first upclose glimpse at what goes on between drawing a number and signing your name on the poster-sized floor plan. gasp! it’s complicated, to say the least. we had to extend our top room choice list twice while we watched moving groups and proxies step over us after their numbers were called. it took almost two hours to work up to number two hundred, and then we only had sixty seconds to see what was left over and make our decision!

    holly and i are living in 401 mead next year, and i’m pretty psyched. mead was our first choice, it’s beautiful and spacious and classic, socially active, close to parking in gorse, and to three or four consistent dining options, a rarity in the days of centralization and m&c’s rations. and, hello, holly mead? it was destiny. our room isn’t the penthouse we had hoped for, but it features vaulted ceilings, two nice windows and two decent closets, and it’s twenty-nine square feet larger than our room in prospect last year. we have a view of the green and we’re planning some wild (well, wild by mount holyoke’s standards) fourth floor parties.

    after the whole process, we all decided to ease our racing hearts with some ice cream at friendly’s, and my experience was much better this time! i had been craving peanut butter for days, so i had a reese’s peanut butter cup cyclone and we talked about plans for the summer and for next year. there’s so much to think about and plan for the next twelve months.

    i dropped in on a film board meeting this afternoon. holly and i decided that we need a creative outlet, and since all the film board members are graduating, we have the perfect opportunity to take over reign and make the film board program awesome. first up, we have to schedule movies for the fall. holly and molly spent two hours writing a slogan: “want reel action? come to hooker! $1.00.” my project is a website redesign so the film site will actually have some style. already our monarchy is starting to come together and i can’t wait to increase the board’s popularity next year. wow, involvement is kind of a high!

    quote of the day: “happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are all in harmony.” – mahatma gandhi

  • class act

    today was the deadline for online preregistration for students on leave (that’s me!).  without really thinking about it, i registered for twenty credits.  that doesn’t actually have even semi-set-in-stone implications on my academic schedule in the fall since it’s only pre-registration and there is always lots of class shopping left do once all the fiesty, indecisive ladies return to the halls of mhc, but i think the five course road is a good one to travel.  i need two extra credits anyway, to make up for my semester off, and i’d rather get them out of the way now and bypass any future classyear/promotion confusion later on.  i’m a little hesitant to overdo it my first semester back, but i don’t want to be worried about a couple of forsaken credits as a senior.
     
    so my courses are:

    english 265 literature for children
    (writing-intensive course) this is a survey course. we will explore contemporary american children’s literature from three perspectives: how children’s books stack up as literature, how they speak to issues in children’s development, and how they reflect and shape social issues and values.
     
    english 311 chaucer’s stories and storytellers
    this course provides a close reading of the greater part of the canterbury tales, with collateral study of their intellectual, social, and historical context. the goal of the course is to understand the complex interplay among poetic form, social criticism, humor, sexuality, and spirituality that characterizes the stories.
     
    latin american studies 180 introduction to latin american cultures
    examines the confrontation, assimilation, and transformation of amerindian, african, and european cultures in latin america from the sixteenth century to the present. focuses on the processes in which distinctive self-images emerged in the region and how these images have been challenged and changed over time. uses films, literature, and folk traditions to complement scholarly analyses of the emergence of a new world mentality.
     
    religion 230 spirituals and the blues
    (speaking and writing-intensive course) this course examines and analyzes african american music as a primary textual source for understanding philosophical and religious language within that community. it addresses various questions: what are the central philosophical and religious themes expressed within the text? how are these themes reflected in the music? what is the intrinsic character of the spirituals and the blues? is there such a thing as a “music of oppression?” in what way(s) does the black experience contribute to philosophical and religious understanding, as well as the use of language? what does this material suggest about the connections among art, literature, and experience?
     
    philosophy 205 ethics
    is morality relative to individual preferences? would you rather be free or happy? are friends necessary for a good life? would you rather be a satisfied pig or a dissatisfied student? these questions illustrate some of the issues that will be raised by the ancient and modern ethical philosophers we shall explore in this course, looking at sources as varied as novels, canonical philosophic texts, and even children’s stories.
     
    the lit courses obviously fulfill requirements for my major.  the latam course satisies the multicultural requirement.  i chose the others somewhat randomly based on the professors, topics, and of course the meeting times.  spirituals and the blues is ideal for this semester b/c it meets for two hours only once a week so it won’t conflict with anything else even with the five class hours to navigate.  and i can take it, or the ethics course pass/fail and not have to worry about it too much, but still get the extra credits.  if i change anything, i’d switch into an education class or a physical science to meet the (blah) distribution requirement.
     
    i like picking courses b/c it’s like the beginning of the semester when all my notebooks are clean, my pencils are sharp, everything is organized and the air smells like the first day of school.  i’m always so motivated during the first few weeks of fall classes.  i wish i could go back to campus for that part and have another vacation, b/c i think i’m going to need it!
     
    quote of the day: “it was one of those perfect english autumnal days which occur more frequently in memory than in life.” p.d. james

  • va-va-va-violets


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  • chilean dreams & melting ice cream

    emlocke * star has had a long hiatus due to international adventures, a brief sojourn at disney world, followed by some homecoming laziness. but tonight, we are back and better than ever. and by ‘we’ i mean just ‘me’. and by better, i mean best!

    well, my trip was fantastic. photos are here until i can access network space at one of my colleges. stay tuned for descriptions and interesting facts and stories and haikus from my journal. every night since i’ve been home i’ve dreamt that i’m still in chile, which totally throws me when i wake up between flannel sheets with maggie on my feet, but is fun. i really do miss it all, so i’m hanging on to the de ja vu dreaming.

    consciously, i’m back in ridgefield, and this week, so was lauren! she and jill have both been home for spring break, which comes to an end today. last night we decided to get together in honor of our respective turns to respective realities. in an effort to, shall we say, mix it up, we decided to forgo caffeine and foam in favor of ice cream and hot fudge. friendly’s anyone?

    oh, we should have known. our night was ill-fated from the moment we stepped through the door and the hostess seated us at the counter. as friendly as they are, friendly’s doesn’t provide their counter-diners with crayons to color with or children’s menus to color on! i don’t know about you, but i need the creative distraction or i can’t wait patiently between ordering and eating. all craft-related items aside, that was just the beginning.

    our waitress wanted to bring us something to drink. jill wanted a water, no lemon. lauren ditto-ed that. i opted for water with a slice of lemon. “great, so that’s two waters – with lemon, right?” well, no. but she had already scurried away, so we all looked at each other and shrugged. we should have gotten the hint that flavor substitutions were not to be attempted, but when she returned to take our orders, we went for it.

    my ice cream was supposed to involve pie crust (the main attraction, in my eyes), strawberry ice cream and miscellaneous berries. the pie crust and the berries were all good, but the ice cream was more vanilla than strawberry, so i gently reminded our waitress that i had asked for a flavor substitution. she took my dish, scraped off some of the vanilla, scooped on some melty strawberry, and returned it to me – berryless. i wasn’t the only victim here. jill was served cyclone soft-serve soup. the brownie in lauren’s brownie sundae was MIA and when she inquired about its whereabouts, a lightbulb went on above the waitress’s head and she said, “oh right, fudge!” oh my.

    but i had my pictures from chile to show off, lauren and jill had lots of stories to remind me what college is like, and eventually the manager told me to “go crazy” on the menu b/c whatever replacement ice cream we ordered was all on him. it was a good time, as usual.

    quote of the day: “into the car, baby, bleed the gas, fast is fast never turning back” – guster

  • bon voyage, mi amor

    i’m leaving for the airport in an hour, and what do i take the time to do? blog it. but what else did you expect? i had to say farewell to my computer.

    i’ve been practicing my spanish so i can ask for directions to my hotel when i arrive in puerto montt tomorrow afternoon. “con permiso, puede usted ayudarme a encontrar el hotel o’grimm, por favor?” i know if am polite and charming i will find someone kind enough to help me out. but very honestly, i’m nervous that i’ll be too afraid to explore the city on my own and i won’t take advantage of the twenty four hours between my arrival and the beginning of my trip. but rach said, “be adventurous,” and i will try my hardest.

    but once i meet up with everyone and we finally get started, i’ll be fine. i’m so excited to see the mountains, be out in the sun, on the water, sleeping and breathing the fresh air and drinking pure water. the southern hemisphere features a completely different assortment of stars and constellations. i’m looking forward to the sunset and the stars.

    quote of the day: “but then why shouldn’t you? it was such a beautiful thing to do.” – ani difranco

  • Wax Me No More

    After one whole hairy month, I was about to jump out of my own skin. So, with three days until Chile, today was “waxing day.” I envisioned myself wearing a slim white terry cloth outfit, sitting in a pale pink tiled bathroom with creamy vanilla candles lit and a soothing bubble bath awaiting my hairless legs. I would spread warm wax in a neat, even, striped pattern, peel them back one by one, and – ta da! – soft, glowing, hairless skin.

    This fantasy was ill-fated from the “once upon a time.” I own zero articles of terry cloth clothing. Also, my bathroom is navy blue. The decomposing chemical stench of the wax overwhelmed the one pitiful candle I lit. After three and a half minutes in the microwave, the wax was not so much warm as it was scalding. The sporadic snapping and popping noises led me to believe that it was actually boiling. There was no pattern to the spreading of the wax – it was a goopy, orange colored, foul smelling mess. And actually pulling it off?  Painful like you would not imagine. I was prepared to hold my breath when it stung, but i did not expect the blood and tears!

    So, you would think that all the misery would be worth it. But no. my skin is still itchy, and paler than I remember. It’s the opposite of soft, and I don’t know how I’m going to rub off the clumpy patches and wax and hair that are still stuck all over me.

    And after all that, we’re out of bubble bath.

    Quote of the day: “What happens when the future has come and gone?” Robert Half

  • this is a pulp free zone

    it must be because i just turned twenty. i am a real live grown-up. do you want proof? i have learned to love big girl orange juice. no more sugary, flourescent orange powdered drinks intended for outer space. give me one of those striped straws and i’ll punch it through an authentic piece of fruit. but, let’s keep this milestone pulp free please.

    today is maggie‘s sixth birthday! it was also my first day off after fourteen consecutive days of either nanny-ing or receptionist-ing. it has been a long two weeks! i spent the whole morning watching tv in bed and the rest of the day in my bathrobe. i guess i will put on spandex and a t-shirt to go to the gym in a minute, but i don’t think that really counts.

    congratulations to jessy, who got accepted at kent state! hearing her talk about how excited she is even inspired a twinge of excitement in me. i really am looking forward to next semester back at mount holyoke. as jessy phrased it, “college is fun again!”

    quote of the day: “it’s so easy to be wicked without knowing it, isn’t it?” – l.m. montgomery

  • it heart it all

    valentine’s day is my favorite holiday. i love the romance, the charm, the indulgence, the cuteness and the love. it’s all about pink and red, chocolate, candles and flowers. especially chocolate. in high school, i wished that a boy would hand select all the white m&m’s with the light pink m’s for me (add that one to the great boy wish list). of course, the perfect boy would know instinctively that those are my favorites, and would be creative enough to think of such a saccharine demonstration all on his own. this year, my valentine was more on the practical side. my dad gave me a card. classic. perfect. it’s true love.

    i’m spending my valentine’s day just as any single, stuffy-nosed, sentimental girl should. not counting approximately twenty minutes of dejection and misery, which were remedied by rachel, my evening was ideal. i came home from a long workout, took a hot shower and put on my pink zebra print pj’s and my fluffy white bathrobe. i watched some felicity, worked on the everlasting knitting and ate mint chocolate chip ice cream, then lit a heart shaped candle and snuggled up in bed with isabellephant. we flipped through lonely planet’s chile guidebook and, appropriately, read toni morrison’s love.

    i’m not so in love with the fact that i’m so dried out from popping decongestants that my tongue makes a vacuum sound effect every time i swallow. but my biggest complaint is that, since i’m waiting for a pre-chile waxing, i am so hairy! even in this bathrobe, it’s hard to feel the luxury i deserve when my ankles itch!

    quote of the day: “like you’re trying to fight gravity on a planet that insists, that love is like falling and falling is like this” – ani difranco

  • and i thought i was just the birthday girl

    this morning, i woke up to an elaborate breakfast in the kitchen. croissants, strawberry jam and chocolate chai. pink roses and birthday cards. my mom left my present in a red velvet pouch on my plate. she gave me the pearl necklace she wore on her wedding day, which i absolutely love. i couldn’t have imagined a present more special than that on my 20th birthday.

    the weather was beautiful today. the air outside smelled like melting snow and sun on the pavement. i drove to the gym with the windows rolled down and the radio playing. between classes, lauren called my cell to wish me a happy birthday. i worked out for almost two hours and left with endorphins flowing and went home to meet my grandma, who came over to give me birthday kisses.

    i had to work late, but the kids and their parents got me a cake and sang and lit candles and everything. it was so cute, the kids kept the secret all day and then they said, “cha cha cha” between every line of the birthday song and told me to make a wish but definitely not to tell them what it was. they’re pretty sweet.

    it took me until tonight to realize that i am no longer a teenager! does this make me a twenty-something? well, i like it so far. my birthday was bright and happy and sweet.

    quote of the day: “the first time her laughter unfurled its wings in the wind, we knew that the world would never be the same.” – brian andreas

  • key to my heart

    when i got home from work today, my mom gave me a big hug and then sat me down and said, “em, i think we need to have a talk about keys.” yes, a heart to heart was in order.

    i noticed that my hot pink key chain with the house key wasn’t in the car while i was waiting for the boys’ bus to pull up, but i rationalized that i must have left it in my room, and it didn’t matter too much b/c their mom was home for the day anyway. but i realized that if i really had lost the key, i would need to confess tonight and ask for a new copy or i wouldn’t be able to let the kids in their house the next afternoon! so i herded the boys into karate, smiled sweetly and said “i’ll see you in an hour!” and bolted out the door. i practically tore my room in half searching for that key. it wasn’t in the corner where i’d dumped out my bag on saturday morning, it wasn’t in the pocket of my black vest, and it wasn’t in the milk crate of miscellanea in the closet.

    i was practically crying when i called mom, and she told me to have william take a flashlight out to the car. i sent him out and started retracing all the steps i’ve taken since last wednesday. i was beginning to hyperventilate and feeling a little lightheaded when mom said, “is that william calling you?” he was standing at the bottom of the stairs, holding the key chain over his head. he had called my name and yelled “i found it” several times, and i didn’t even hear him. i dashed down the stairs and just flung my arms around him, taking him a little by surprise, while he continued to dangle the key above me.

    he found it under the front seat, the very first place he looked, and i felt pretty ridiculous for racing all the way home and freaking everyone out. but i made it back to pick the kids up at karate with time to spare.

    this fiasco follows close on the heels of me locking myself out of the car at the gym last week. but i won’t try to minimize. i have a full resume of key-related mishaps. between locking the keys in the car in the camp parking lot, in the gap parking lot, in the middle of hartford, in the parking lot at hamilton (thank goodness my room was unlocked) and numerous dorm room lockouts, i am so experienced. my mom actually keeps a copy of my taurus key in her purse at all times, ever ready to dash to my rescue. obviously, keys are not my thing.

    quote of the day: “you should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes, it brought me back to life.” – john mayer