Snow globe

I'm still plenty alive--just spent the past two days in a bizarre snow globe world that is Chicago whenever it snows here. It's gray, slightly claustrophobic, and snow blows everywhere--definitely a snow globe.

Almost done with the second week of the quarter, so things are clucking along. I was so glad to leave New England and come back here, despite the lack of natural beauty; there is so little to hold me in my family house anymore. I will be back there in March briefly for spring break. I will probably also be back for the summer, although who knows.

I've been getting up at 5:30 every morning this week, thanks to Kuviasugnerk/Kangeiko, the university's winter festival that includes 6am calisthenics. It's bizarre and kind of pointless and exhausting, but my house always does it, and does well at that, winning for like 15 years in a row. The prize for best house participation is money, so it's nice to do something absurd, get a long-sleeved t-shirt out of it (if you go all 5 mornings), and get some money to use for house funds. Of course, this means almost perpetual exhaustion for a week, but I drink lots of tea and go to bed early and wait for it to be over.

I'm applying for a job with the admissions office as a tour guide and general "visit coordinator," aka admissions student shill. A pleasant shill, fear not. The pay is not great ($9/hr), but prospective students are funny and weirdly touching, the networking with admissions counselors is good, the constant public exposure is good for me, and any type of cash to help staunch the bleeding my bank account is doing is good. I figure even if I only work like 5 hours a week, that's 45 dollars a week, or roughly 450 dollars a quarter, enough to keep me from hemorrhaging money and provide extra cash for food or books or whatever. Assuming I'm hired, of course--it's insanely competitive, and I was ultimately denied last year after making it to the final round of interviews. I was a know-nothing first-year last year, though. Even one year has aged and wised me almost beyond my own recognition.

That's about it. It's past time for me to make my daily trek 5 blocks to the gym. Today it will have the added bonus of keeping me awake until about 10pm, when I'll finally be able to go to sleep. I've already been awake for long enough today to feel like my eyeballs will pop out of my head.

A presto.