It's My Coffee Day...Yayyyyy!!

Friday is my favorite day of the week, because it's my coffee day!  On Mondays and Wednesdays, I have Expressive Culture from 11:00-12:00, but I have it from 9:00-10:00 on Fridays.  This leaves an hour long break right in the middle of my schedule, during which I always go to Starbucks.  The first sip of coffee is one of the best things in the world!  It is so hot, but it doesn't burn your mouth if you are used to it.  Then once you swallow, your mouth goes from hot to its regular temperature and you are left with the most wonderful, cooling sensation.  And, there is of course the taste of a mocha latte with a little bit of cinnamon :)

Today I took my coffee break next to the Alumni Center, on the short rock wall next to the creek.  I mentioned in my first blog that I wanted to explore new places, and today I decided that every Friday I would try to discover a new spot on campus during my coffee break.  Today, I of course found the area next to the Alumni Center, where I enjoyed the nature, shade and the company of squirrels.

On Wednesday, I talked about a field trip I took to the PCL.  What I didn't mention, was that our professor got pretty worked up over not being able to find a book, an old copy of The Oxford English Dictionary.  As it turns out, the book was on the fourth floor rather than the sixth, so we took another field trip today and found it.  Here we are reading the other neat books we found.

The section it was in turned out to be an English major's paradise.  The isle was lined with 19th century poetry compilations, histories of the English language, journals, and many more splendid books.  Here are a few I found.

The second book truly is a treasure chest.  One of the first entries I came across was "Poetry and Life" by Max Eastman.  Absolutely beautiful!  Also, I read Haunts of the Black Masseur: The Swimmer as Hero recently, in which the author, Charles Dawson, mentions many great poets and their attachment to the water.  Many of those poets had poems featured in this collection and it was great to read their poems with a new idea of the context in which they were writing.  Then there were some poems by Virginia Woolf, who I am strangely fascinated with.

Later this afternoon, I received another care package from Sara's mom, Mom Northcutt.  She is the sweetest!  This time she sent homemade chex mix, popcorn, gum, a scarecrow, and a note.

Hmm

Isla loves it too.  "Thank you, Mom Northcutt!"

Normally, I eat with my cousin, Hallie every other Friday night; but tonight I went to Target with Sara and Karen, so I had Panera with them, yummy :)  It's nothing like dinner at Hallie's, but I still really enjoyed it.  Plus, it's holiday season, so I got some Fall decorations for the dorm.

I eat kind of like Meg Ryan (Sally) in When Harry Met Sally.  I am a "fussy" eater (that's how Madlin refers to my picky eating habits).  So instead of having what's on the menu (three-cheese bread, turkey, bacon, cheddar, and a tomato-mustard spread), I change up the order so that I am eating chicken, bacon, cheddar, spinach, and no tomato-mustard spread on rye bread.  I genuinely feel awful for all the restaurant employees that have to put up with my "fussiness."

I'm staying with Hallie, tonight.  I've always looked up to my cousin, regardless of whether she was the best role model at the time or not.  I guess it's because I've always known how much she loves me and my sister and I know that she will always be there for me.  I'm so glad I live in Austin, now, and that I am so close to her and my little cousin, Isla.  I really look forward to spending quality time with them every other weekend: playing with Isla, eating home-cooked meals, and hanging out with the best cousin ever!  OHANA.

I always stay with Hallie before going home, which means of course that I'm going home this weekend.  I like to see my family, but I really only go home for 2 reasons: to see Mallory and to see Christina.  There aren't too many people I miss from home, and they are the only two that make going home worth the drive and time away from my new friends and life on campus.  I guess I should mention that Mallory is Christina's daughter, so really I only go home for one reason: The Hughes.  I've been watching Mallory since she was pretty little and I just couldn't go without seeing her!  I am so excited to get to see them on Sunday.  Anyway, here they are, I love them both so much!

I am also really excited to see their dog, Ginger, who is the only chihuahua I will ever love, or even find cute.  Ginger is the sweetest, though.  She just sits in my lap and lets me pet her.  Sometimes she gets too excited and licks like crazy or sheds a little, but I don't mind- I love her!

And that' s my day, y'all have a good night.

P.S. I would like to thank all of my classmates that took a look at my blog, you guys are awesome!