Summer in Beloit

Signs It's Over

2007-08-16T21:34:00.000-07:00

I take off for a relaxing week in the Green Mountains in the morning, the First Years roll in on Saturday, and Jim Zielinski & Counselors are shipping out to visit prospectives all over the globe. These plans all look good on paper, but it's easy to wonder how I'm sure summer is over. It's only mid-August! But the calendar isn't lying. It's no trick of the light. It's over. Here's how I know:

Exhibit A. I'm out of toilet paper. Not to mention that this isn't even my bathroom anymore. Summer housing on campus has been vacated. I'm back on Porter 3rd where I belong.

Exhibit B. Travis has completely bugged out. He is pictured here in the room where all the mailing/magic happens, but since this was taken he has moved on to his post as an Orientation Leader for New Student Days. One might say he went postal with the end in sight, but that would be a bad pun on too many levels for this late date in August.

Exhibit C. I'm exhausted. I've been running all across the Midwest searching for good ice cream (no, Dairy Queen does not count). I finally found the Dairy Haus. It's just down the road in Rockton and the homemade fare is worth the dough. This picture shows Lucy '07 and Rachel '08 enjoying their dinner the way every child dreams they will when they're all grown up. Truth: I bought Lucy the ice cream as a bribe for her help with my big move across campus this afternoon-- easily the wisest four dollars of the summer.

Exhibit D. Our fearless leader (Sue) has turned into a Who.

Exhibit E. We've come full circle on the blog. You know the show is over when you see the Grand Casali Fountain at rest in the freshly-painted Gold Key Office. Brandi is ready and waiting, prospies.

Exhibit F. Among all these low-quality pictures of this week, it might be difficult to spot the irrefutable evidence that summer is toast. So, in case you need some more concrete proof we've still got people manning the phones, here's a stealth photo of The Boss, still chained to his phone to answer your questions! I risked my life to snag this shot.

If all this wasn't enough proof that this season is on the way out, I'm afraid I've run out of clues for you. I've got a bus ticket and a boarding pass tucked into my wallet and that's enough for me. I'm "publishing" this and signing off. Hope you all had a great summer, we sure did. Please e-mail, visit, or instant message us anytime. Summer is over, but the Admissions Office is open year-round.

- Julia

And a river ran through it...

2007-08-13T12:13:00.000-07:00

but it starts as a trickle...

Students are slowly returning to campus in spurts, flowing smoothly across their Beloit stomping grounds with fresh energy. For those of us that have been here for a while, the returning faces spark not a small bit of excitement, for we know that life is again breathing itself back into the campus and college community. Yet, new faces sprinkle themselves throughout the waves, unsure and still slightly confused, that feeling of drifting that First-Years often experience. Never fear, they will find what they will, with us as their guides if need be.

Regardless, I'm ready for school to start, classes to begin, clubs to meet, and experiences to continue. Summer has been fun, but summer can be tiresome and finally we return to the place of our own, the place we call home.

I guess I could be rambling, but in many ways not. This is the beginning as all points are, and off I go on another adventure.

Travis...

Those End of Summer Blues

2007-08-10T10:58:00.000-07:00

The first waves of RAs are arriving for training today. Over lunch, I saw friends from the house packing up and moving out. While I don't move across the street to Porter Hall for another week, the signs of the impending shift are everywhere. After work today, I am headed to the bookstore to drop some cash on as many used textbooks as my hands can hold. So, things are changing. We've been blogging about it for weeks. It's time for us to present a solution:

Yes, I'm talking about picking up a new hobby. It's a last-ditch effort to salvage some feeling of accomplishment from the syllabi-free months, but it's not the worst use of time. Myself, I'm learning harmonica via laptop. It kills a lot of afternoon hours when the creek is too high for a quick dip and the sun is too hot for a casual stroll. Above, you see Michelle "Longlost" Casali and I faking skills way back in June, but these day I'm making a sincere effort, and progress. I've been reading up online and practicing diligently. In all seriousness, I'm starting to feel like I'm getting somewhere with this old knicknack.

So, turn up the jazz. Crank the blues. August is hot and sticky. Welcome to harmonica season!

- Julia

Living On The Cheap

2007-08-02T13:38:00.000-07:00

All summer long, my friends and I have been grilling out, inheriting leftover foodstuffs from people coming in and out of the residences with various programs, and generally eating anything we can find. We are summer workers and we are not on the food plan.

During the academic year, especially when I've got running, being on a meal plan is a no-brainer. It makes sense to cook for myself during the summer when I have time to be cheap and forge around Woodman's for the best deals, but this just isn't the case during the regular year. Besides, it's lovely to go to Commons at the end of a long day and sit down with all of my friends. Being on a meal plan is hardly all about food.

More than any other kind, I love free food. Admittedly, the photo at the top of this post (featuring Julia Leavengood Boxer '07 to my left) was taken at a Dairy Breakfast in Wallworth county where admission was five dollars. Such social events are well worth the cash in my book, but I won't say the syrup wouldn't have tasted sweeter if the grub had been gratis.

The point of this entry is to encourage all prospective/college students to go to the websites of their favorite chain eateries and join the birthday clubs. Now. Get on the mailing list, kiddos. Hoard the weekly promotional coupons. When you're paying tuition, these pieces of paper are the golden tickets to a world of luxury. Yes, there are certain establishments that will give you a free dish on your B-Day, but only if you've signed up on the site. My favorite carb-toting chain (born in Madison), will give you a regular sized dish of noodles for nada, if you're willing to put up with the rest of their junk e-mail. I recommend using an old e-mail account to collect the onslaught of coupons, but mostly I just recommend signing up.

And now, after giving out shameless advice in promotion of coupons, what can I have to say for myself? I'm kind of stingy, but I know how to eat well. Plus, if you're not taking advantage of Dairy Breakfasts and Free Cone Days, you're just plain missing out.

Catchphrases: Cooking is fun. Food is good, free food is better. Eat more kale. Cowabunga.

- Julia

The Final Countdown cue music

2007-08-02T09:03:00.000-07:00

Hey guys. This is it. It's the end. It's been great, and I hope you've enjoyed my random comments on this blog. Tomorrow is my last day in the Admissions Office. Probably not forever of course, but as a paid employee, I'm shaking the dust of this office off my feet and moving on to...not bigger/better things, but different. RA training starts in about two weeks, so I'll be putting my skills to good use making the campus a better place to live. Yay.

Since I have no real news to report (other than the fact that the heat has officially escalated from stifling to soul-crushing), I thought I'd wrap my summer blog up with a little something that combines two of my favorite internet phenomenons: LOLCATS and Oscar, the nursing home cat who predicts residents' deaths by curling up next to them.

That's my last contribution to the Beloit Summer Blog. Enjoy the rest of your summers. For those of you who are incoming first-years, I might run into you in a couple of weeks (yeah, you're excited, admit it) and if you're prospective students, come visit campus! It's pretty sweet.

Kisses,
LDM

Things have been figured out... and broken

2007-08-01T12:23:00.000-07:00

So I talked to Residential Life today and I will be moving back on campus. It's a relief to know that I will have somewhere to live in two weeks. Now I just have to go through all my stuff, pack more efficiently and take a bunch of stuff home.

I've also gotten a lot more excited about coming back to school. Maybe it's because I've made a lot of great friends this summer. Maybe it's because I watched the Devil Wears Prada and got really excited about going shopping for new school clothes. Or maybe it's because I'm excited about decorating my new room.

The downfall? I broke my toe last night. Well, actually, this morning. Around 1am my friends wanted to play ultimate frisbee so we did and I broke my toe because I was playing barefoot. Now I have to go in and see the trainer and explain this to my new coaches. It happens I guess.

*Brandi

Julia Goes To The City

2007-07-31T07:14:00.000-07:00

This weekend I decided to go to Chicago and walk amoungst the rest of the world. Things are awefully quiet around here on the edge of August and the weekend train pass is awefully cheap. A trip into town was the perfect antidote for a weekend that I would otherwise have spent napping on the Effigy Mounds rereading Harry Potter's fate.

So, early Saturday morning, my friend Lucy and I took the Metra line into Chicago and wandered around the Lincoln Park Zoo. We strolled the waterfront and Michigan Ave and did the touristy thing all the way from the Garden District to the steps of the Art Institute. There, we met a couple Beloiters for dinner and made our way to Grant Park to see the boat parade for Venetian Night. The boats "dressed up" as Chicago's greatest moments this year. There were a wide variety of blues brothers, Cubs fans, and dancing cows holding lanterns on deck as the yachts passed. We even saw Poseidon the Parade Master (pictured in the background, sorry about the photo quality):

On Sunday, I returned to Chicago by myself to be brave and stuff in the presence of large buildings. My new favorite is the Chicago Public Library-- eight stories of BOOKS!!

In any case, the library was closed when I got there and I have yet to go inside. It's big though, right? Several blocks east of the library, it was a gorgeous sunny day and I was thrilled to be out of Beloit for a taste of that smoggy, city air. I spent the day picnic-lunching on apples and brie, reading from park bench to park bench. I have to confess that I ate dinner at nowhere special (just the usual, Panera), but I am deeply in love their Tomato Mozzarella Salad.

At the risk of painting the wrong picture of Beloit's finest, please see Karen Baumann '10 (below) being intimidating in Panera. She was trying to scare me into giving up a tomato or two, but it was my birthday. I don't share tomatoes.

AND for the benefit of those of you who have been reading all summer, I have posted the following photo of a large fountain a couple blocks off of VanBuren. Thanks for sticking it out! Look for a best-of-midwestern fountains entry to appear in this blog in the near future.

In addition taking this weekend as an opportunity to get out of town, I was also able to pose with Ceres (below)-- my favorite summertime gal. While all this travel was a great diversion to plan and execute, I am most excited about the return of, well, everyone. Tomorrow is the start of August. Ceres and I are ready for the next adventure.

- Julia

Hey All!

2007-07-30T12:44:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share with you some of the exciting things I've been doing recently. This past weekend was a blast. My girlfriend's mother flew into Milwaukee and we picked her up on our way to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. My girlfriend's mom's father's brother (confusing I know) owns a summer house up there with his wife and they love to go boating and fishing out on Lake Michigan and Green Bay.

We got in to Sturgeon Bay around midnight on Friday and slept in a really cool loft bedroom in their trailer seasonal home. The next morning we got up and hopped on a couple little red mo-peds and scootered around Potowomac State Park. It was my first experience riding such a contraption and has instilled in me a deep appreciation for these fun little toys.

Afterwards, we hopped in my girlfriend's mom's father's brother's boat (again confusing) and hit the water, greeted with bumpy waves and blistering sun. Regardless of excessively thorough sunscreening, we couldn't escape the ultraviolet bombardment of a gloriously sunny day. With swimming, tubing, observing and relaxing (complete with a sighting of a wide circling B2 stealth bomber) it was a wonderful day on the water.

Upon returning to shore, we showered dressed and headed out to view the hilarious musical antics of the American Folklore Theater about 45 minutes north of Sturgeon Bay. The show that night featured "Belgians in Heaven," that proudly ordained cheese curds, buoillon and beer as the three most important staples of a happy existence with love taking second place in the pecking order of the heavenly plan. Extremely enjoyable on the whole with talking chickens and French painters turned hics.

On Sunday, I decided I'd be all macho and run a bit. What I anticipated was a nice jog around the Potowamac State Park, a picturesque escepade along the shining blue water. Well, I got all that along with 8.5 miles of slow burn. My legs ended up like jelly and me like a sloth upon my return to the house. Nice scenic run though.

That afternoon, we headed to the the Door County Natural Museum to see some interesting exhibits of stuffed deer, tweeting bears, old fashioned roller skates, and minature ice huts for those possessed Wisconsin winter fishermen. Nice exhibit though it lack a bit of flow and order, most of the pieces being donated and kind of thrown hapharzardly among related items in display boxes placed next to anything but related displays. Anyway, it was entertaining to perch in the drivers seat of a 1940s firetruck and sing along to the "Door County Serenade" but not necessarily something to write home about (wait a second...).

This morning we hopped in the car and drove the 4 hours or so it took to get back to Beloit so I could work this afternoon. Oh happy weekends...

Cheers!!!
Travis...

My List

2007-07-27T06:30:00.000-07:00

Like Laura, I am going to make a list to see if I can get myself out of this rut and ready for the school year. Like Julie said, I will be joining up with the volleyball team again. I cannot figure out if that is something that should go on the list I will now make.

1) Volleyball will start; the sport that I have worked on so hard over the summer. I am excited to play.

2) Cool events for Gold Key will keep me busy at work.

3) New students are on campus and ready to meet me!

4) The fall. It is great, isn't it Laura? It looks especially beautiful on Beloit's campus, too.

5) Friends. Figuring out which ones actually care, and which ones can be moved to the trash.

6) New classes. New people. New professors. New topics. A chance to get my grades up, although I will never be able to beat Michelle or Julie.

7) I'll be an upperclassmen.

8) I'll be working with CELEB and have an internship.

9) Working on my portfolio is getting me really excited as well.

10) And I've decided shopping is very necessary to put me back into the school mode. So, day trip, to West Towne Mall in Madison, is a must. With friends, of course, right by my side!

*Brandi

I can has classes?

2007-07-26T07:36:00.000-07:00

Well hello all! To continue Brandi and Julie's recent posts regarding the rapidly-approaching beginning of the school year, I thought I'd pitch in my two cents as well. I'm not going to lie (and anyone who knows me well at all will not be surprised at all by this), I love the first day of school. I did when I was in third grade, sixth grade, and twelfth grade, and even as my FINAL year of college looms heavily on the horizon *gulp* I still find myself eagerly anticipating August...mmm...28th! and the official start of the 2007-2008 school year. I've listed the reasons for my jubilation, since for some reason I feel more accomplished if I compile lists than if I just type into giant paragraphs.

1. Summer's not over quite yet. I still have to go on a vacation of sorts (there's a memorial service involved, but it's still nice to get away!) for the first week of August.
2. I get to go to IKEA and SuperTarget and plan out my room/apartment decor.
3. School clothes shopping. Since I have to actually invest in items that will be post-grad-work-place appropriate, I'll be relying on the old "spend more, buy less" adage regarding clothing.
4. I can get started in my newest post as RoundTable editor-in-chief. My pet projects are waiting in the wings, eager to be fleshed out in print.
5. Classes are fun. I enjoy learning. Nerdy, yes--but whatever, that's what my parents are shelling out the cash for after all.
6. SCHOOL SUPPLIES. Nothing beats shopping for school supplies, I swear. Even if I do most of my work on the computer now, I still pick up at least a few important-looking binders and a new set of pens just to have the chance to walk around the school supply section and even give in to the temptation to buy the sheets of shiny stickers my mom never let me have. I always buy crayons, too.
7. Door decorations. As an RA, I have to be creative and decorate the doors to my residents' rooms, or apartments as it were. Since we usually make them after a long day of training, everyone is a little delirious by that point--which really adds something to the fun!
8. Fall begins! My favorite season (not only because my birthday is October 3rd!) in Wisconsin--the campus is so pretty and there's nothing like that crisp fall air!!
9. People who have been abroad are coming home! After months of being without my core group of girlfriends, we're going to be living and/or working together and living it up during our senior year *gulp again*
10. Folk'n'Blues Festival in September--one of the great traditional Beloit events that draw lots of people from both on- and off-campus.

Ok, I could actually go on and on. I won't, but please note that it's not just the summer that is exciting and fun at Beloit--there's a lot to look forward to after August! (Except for January and February. No one looks forward to them.)

~Laura DM

kaBAM!

2007-07-25T11:13:00.000-07:00

That, friends, is the sound of the sophomore slump crashing into that vulnerable spot on the back of my neck just under the skull base. It's a freakin' avalanche.

As Brandi alluded to in her last post, there has been quite a bit of talk over envelope-duties about the upcoming academic year at Beloit. For Laura, working out the printing schedule for our campus paper, "The Round Table," is heavy on her mind. There's also a special academic project on her plate that looks like it may turn into a Senior Thesis. (She's kind of intimidatingly busy.) For Brandi, the focus is just getting pumped to get back into classes and getting back to her team. Travis is facing the switch back from academics and life abroad to regular campus life AND the whole the-end-is-in-sight syndrome known best by those facing their final year at a liberal arts college. Impressing the heck out of me with her motivation, Kristen seems to use most of her extra time planning events and checking out resources for a club she is helping to lead for Fall Semester.

Naturally, these focused coworkers of mine have got me in kind of a panic. I'm a creative writing major trying to pull together the papers to hop on a plane in January to spend a semester hiding out a university in France. All these prepared people are making me anxious to get back to the grindstone.

Without the crunch of due dates and a class schedule, my summer brain is left idle to wrap itself around how to spend my birthday on Sunday or training for Cross Country season or reading all the books left on my list for the summer (Anna Karenina, here I come) or whatever other shiney thought floats through my radar.

I can't believe I miss the stress of the academic year.
I can't believe we are already in the dregs of July.
I can't believe I gave in and got addicted to coffee.
I can't believe there are still more envelopes at my feet, waiting to be stuffed. I swear, when I finally leave three years from now, there will be no empty envelopes left in the state of Wisconsin.

Stay hydrated kiddies-- the sun is shining.
- Julia

Takin' Control

2007-07-25T07:48:00.000-07:00

I decided to take control.

I am meeting with a lawyer today to get the contract written up so we can get a co-signer. There is still the issue of not having any apartments still available, but I'm sure it'll work itself out.

I have enough money in my bank account for me to survive to the next paycheck, and I might even be able to pay my cellphone bill.

Now I have to get ready for the fall semester. Talking to Julie and Laura yesterday I know how to prepare. I have to go shopping. I know, it sucks, but it must be done.

And if I organize my crap in my room, send stuff home that I don't need, I'll be a happier person.

I thought of all this while I was out on Whitewater Lake yesterday. I freed myself. I had fun. I took pictures. It was great. I took off work. I didn't get back until about 11:30 and then hung out with my friends that I had left back on campus. Sometimes, it's good to be home.

But, I have decided, next summer will not be spent in Beloit. I love it, but I need to get away for a summer. I'm excited about where I might be headed, but that is a ways off.

*Brandi

Bills. Bills. Bills. and Apartments

2007-07-24T07:18:00.000-07:00

So I'm looking for an apartment, but I can't find one in which I don't need a co-signer. I don't know what to do because in one month I will have no place to live. If I could just find a co-signer! I don't like talking about this it makes me so depressed.

I just got my cell phone bill and that makes me upset as well. I don't like bills. I wish that I could just have an endless supply of money. But then again everyone feels that way, hopefully.

Most college students have these worries, though. They just come at the worst time. We're already busy enough trying to secure a good education so we can get a good job with good pay. We study all night, play sports, try and have a social life and maintain friendships that are going to stand the test of time because friends are what gets you through times like these. Then on top of all that you still have to worry about money. I can't wait to get in the real world where all this crap will finally be worth it. I may still have to study all night, play sports, try and have a social life, but at least then I will get paid.

*Brandi

Dude, for serious

2007-07-24T06:13:00.000-07:00

Ok Miss Julie "Death Eater" Heney...I finished it, ok? Sleep deprivation clearly is no longer a factor in my delayed completion of Book 7. So here I sit, exhausted, but happy and with a sense of closure. Having avoided Internet spoiler pop-ups for the past three days, I am happy to say that I was properly surprised by the end--or at least many of the final moments in Harry Potter's saga. And to echo Miss Heney's comment (that Dark Mark prickling yet?? Oh wait, it WON'T anymore, that's right) J.K. Rowling can have all of my money.

p.s. This weekend, I went to Indiana to visit some of my flatmates from my semester in Dublin. For clarity's sake, I'm just going to list all of the things that I did:
1. Arrived at midnight Eastern time with ELEVEN hours of traveling (bus/train) under my belt.
2. Went to an Indianapolis house party and supervised a bonfire in a parking lot (phone books provided most of the tinder).
3. Went to bed at 5 a.m., got up at 10 a.m. Saturday.
4. Ate delicious food prepared by my friend Jess's mother Pam, who also grilled me about post-graduation plans almost to the point of tears on my part.
5. Sat by a pool and took a nap on a cabana chair.
6. Went to a microbrewery festival.
7. Bought Harry Potter.
8. Went out until 4 a.m., went to IHOP at 4:10 a.m.
9. Got on the train (miraculously) at 6:00 a.m.
10. Arrived in Beloit at about 2:30, tired and happy.

That's all, folks. The summer of ridiculousness continues...

Love, Laura DM

A Love Note

2007-07-23T07:40:00.000-07:00

Dear Jo Rowling,

You rock. Way to be. Thanks for a great final installment and you're welcome for all the whopping loads of dough you're making off of schmucks like us. You (and Harry) can have all of our money. It's over, Jo. You win.

Thanks again for a whirlwind weekend of reading on the Effigy Mounds and down in Indiana and out on the East Coast and down home in Texas. We're all back in Beloit on this Monday morning and we couldn't be more proud of you.

Love,
The Basement Gang
Middle College
700 College Street
Beloit, WI 53511
USA

P.S. Ok, ok so we lied. Laura is still using her summer brain and hasn't finished her first read-through. She's still greatful for your work-- we swear. It's a good book. Kudos, again.

Because All I Talk About Is Food & Sleep

2007-07-17T13:56:00.000-07:00

It's finally raining around here. After a week of unrelenting heat, things are finally looking gloomy again. We all know what this means: better sleeping weather.

Last week was so dry the blackberry crop died in the thicket. A couple friends suggested we run out by Turtle Creek, hoping to pick a few, but boy were pickings slim! We scrounged a few cups out of the bushes, but it was mighty disappointing on the whole. And while I didn't get to eat many berries, the mosquitoes got a feast out of me. Evenings like that almost make an argument for DEET... almost.

Despite the crunchy blackberries, the zucchini crop has been remarkable! There is a stand at the Farmer's Market that has been selling fifty-cent zucchinis the size of my arm-- had it been attacked by a swarm of angry horseflies-- for the last couple Saturdays. I promise this is no exaggeration. As with the big (in all senses of the word) mailing we are working on, these zucchinis make me feel as though I'm shrinking. It's great to watch the good people of Beloit stumble away under the weight of so many pounds of dirt cheap vegetable. Even if you don't need to go to the Market for the food, I highly recommend people-watching.

So, the weather may be dreary, but there is plenty of zucchini bread to make and recipes for fritters to try. Ta-da.

-Julia

Riverfest and Night Tours!

2007-07-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

Hey all...welcome back from the weekend--I hope it was restful for everyone! We, the basement trolls of Middle College here at Beloit have begun the notorious, practically legendary Viewbook Mailing (dramatic drumroll) today, which involves stuffing giant envelopes with giant materials. It makes me feel like I'm shrinking or something because everything we're working with is about twice as big as a normal mailing. But, on to the important stuff...like...

Riverfest! As a child of small-town Iowa, I grew up going to town and county fairs in the summer: feasting on elephant ears and funnel cakes and everything-you-can-fry-up-and-put-on-a-stick, honing my bingo skills at the bingo tent, holding hands with middle school sweethearts on rusty carnival rides. Many of you surely know what I mean. But Beloit's Riverfest is a whole new level of carnivalesque fun--it's a heck of a lot bigger than Mt. Vernon's Heritage Days, for one thing...and Heritage Days, while always memorable, never hosts bands like Steppenwolf and Blue Oyster Cult AND Cheap Trick all in the same weekend. Remember my earlier post raving about the lineup for this year? Yeah, well, I actually made the effort to go as opposed to just sitting on campus listening to the not-so-far-off strains of "Don't Fear the Reaper"...and it was a blast. My sister, who's going to Vassar College in the fall came up for the weekend with her boyfriend, which was a ton of fun. I gave them and a few others a late-night tour of the campus on Saturday night, and just had an all-around great time. New Court Theatre, Beloit's summer stock semi-professional theatre company, has their show "The Foreigner" up right now (my boyfriend's in it! Whoo!) and it's pretty hilarious. So there's just a lot happening in Beloit right now, clearly. I wish I had pictures from Riverfest to post on here but the security guards actually emptied the batteries out of my sister's digital camera at the gate (she got them back later), so you'll just have to picture slightly aging rock stars with long hair and tight pants sounding not so bad here on the banks of the Rock River! I definitely got a much-needed dose of rockin' out, so now I can return to my non-groupie real life once again.

All right, back to the grindstone...

~ Laura DM

Pittsburgh, PA

2007-07-13T13:51:00.000-07:00

I have had quite the week. Last weekend. Let's start there. Camping with the volleyball team. Any members who were close got together and we went up to a lake in Argyle, WI. We set up tents, floated on the lake, and caught up. Some of the new girls were there and we made friends.

I got back on Sunday and on Monday at 4 in the morning I left for Pittsburgh for a conference. The flight was good, I slept through it. The people at the conference were great as well as the content of all the information. The best thing was that my very good friend was in Pittsburgh working so I met up with him on Tuesday. He's a union organizer and absolutely loves it. So we sat around catching up, watching the all-star game, and talking about our jobs and things. It was so great to see him... and he's coming to visit me in a few weeks!

That's it. Tonight my best friend is coming to visit, along with a friend from Milwaukee! Then there's Riverfest. Don't worry, there will be pictures and stories to be told on Monday.

*Brandi

T-8 Days And Counting...

2007-07-13T12:11:00.000-07:00

Laura and I just called down to the Turtle Creek Bookstore and reserved our copies of the final chapter of HP and the Deathly Hallows. We're dancing. We're spinning. We're college students and we read for fun.

Dork out people-- it's PotterMania!

- Julia

P.S. We don't usually dance this much. Okay, so maybe we do, but today was our second Summer Visit Day and this development was the lift we need to keep on truckin this afternoon. All of the prospectives have dispersed and everyone in the office seems to have lapsed into a pleased sort of sunny-Friday-lull. Incidentally, if you are a prospie and you want to get the scoop on Belwah and eat lunch with us, there is one more Summer Visit Day to come on August 3rd. We would love to meet you. Until you arrive, I think I'll nap.

This Is Not A Complaint

2007-07-10T09:04:00.000-07:00

Good luck making any sense of this entry. You have my sincerest condolences as I've decided to model this entry after my current attention span. Yup. Here's a taste of what my coworkers have to deal with today:

I have stopped sleeping. It is too hot. I can't take it anymore.

This is not a complaint, simply me acknowledging that the world is hotter here this time than I can reasonably bear.

I've stopped scrounging quarters in the name of laundry in favor of hoarding them for iced coffees down the hill at the Pleasant Street Coffee House.

(I'm buzzed on cold java-- you see now that this could not possibly be a complaint.)

I've just cleaned the basement hideout where we Admissions workers stuff your envelopes with treats and informational brochures. It is rarely orderly, except after trips to the Post Office. Seeing clear desk space is calming. Maybe I can clean myself to sleep tonight. Perhaps enough Windex-ing will lower the humidity in my corner of the French House, although this is both doubtful and illogical. In the words of Winnie the Pooh, "Oh, bother."

I am also sad to report that I have forgone all environmentalist instincts in favor of standing in front of said fridge to cool myself to what I can only hope is a more sleep-conducive body temperature. Were I paying the power bill, I suspect my environmentalist side would win out more often in such situations. Until I foot the charge, I will refridgerate my legs. No one can stop me.

Holy cow, it's time to end this dribble. So, friends, it is wicked hot as we approach mid-July in the Midwest and I have had it up to my knees in the mini-fridge. I hope all those who read this get a full night of sleep. I know I certainly won't.

Hopefully Drowsily,
Julia

P.S. Happy Birthday Anacelia Saenz-- unofficial volunteer tour guide of the week!

2007-07-09T13:17:00.000-07:00

Hey there... I don't know about you guys, but i'm pretty much stoked for the last harry potter book!! I just reserved myself a copy (or rather, planned who to borrow it from) and i can not wait to find out how it ends!! Also, the movie is coming out tomorrow, or wednesday. I can't remember, but it's also exciting. I'm trying to convince my guy friends to go with me, and they keep talking about the poor story line and the general not-goodness that is the Potter obsession. I suppose as a lit major i should admit that i don't put Rowling on the same level as Faulkner or Fitzgerald. But still, Potter doesn't claim to be literature... it's a childrens book, and a great one at that. Plus, we have now watched Daniel, Rupert and Emma grow up, and they continue to be more and more attractive (in my opinion). With the exception of Harry's haircut, i am looking forward to the movie immensly. I suppose that's all. To all you HP fans in the world, i give a resounding "Yipee!!"

Happy (belated) Independence Day!

2007-07-06T07:50:00.000-07:00

Hi guys...since it's been a while since your lovely crew of Summer SOIs did any updating of the blog, I thought that I would go ahead and wish everyone a happy-though-late Fourth of July! The holiday was nice, although a little quiet on my end...I spent the day relaxing and then hung out with friends/co-workers that evening. Since this is the last year the rooftop of Chamberlin (our soon-to-be-demolished science building) is going to be open for firework-viewing, I thought I would definitely take advantage of it and go up to watch the fireworks display over the Rock River. The show was nice, pretty typical smallish-town style, but the company was great and the weather was great--it's been SO HOT here the last few days...if you're planning a campus visit, schedule it for some time before noon, otherwise I think you actually really run the risk of collapsing...

In other news, my best friend/roommate Zeva is coming up for tomorrow night, which I'm incredibly excited about! She was abroad in New Zealand last semester and I was gone in Ireland in the fall, so we only got to see each other briefly for like five hours when she picked me up from the airport in December. And there's another performance of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" which I think Travis mentioned in an earlier post...that's happening on Saturday at a favorite Beloit establishment, the Bop, great excuse to go downtown and order pitchers of Coors Light and listen to Phil sing great songs. So, I swear that NEXT WEEK I'm going to start in on my special project in earnest...

We're sorry to say goodbye to one of the greatest Admissions workers on the planet today...Michelle is leaving to be a camp counselor (this was known all along, she didn't just up and quit or anything) and we're going to miss her like mad. Hopefully she'll steer clear of any sturgeons which may be lurking on the UW-Parkside campus...

Which brings me to my next and final point: STURGEONS. They can grow 6-8 feet long and weigh up to 200 pounds...and they have a penchant for HURLING THEMSELVES ONTO BOATS AND JET-SKIS AND TAKING PEOPLE OUT. OH MY GOD. Love, Laura

MAIL!!

2007-07-02T14:08:00.001-07:00

At the risk of sounding simple, one of the biggest thrills in my life is receiving mail. I realize that the USPS keeps raising the price of stamps, but the small cost can be supplied through a solid collection of pocket change, as I have discovered through practice.

Today, I checked my campus mailbox at lunch and found that over the last week I had accumulated:

4 postcards from Beloit friends across the country
2 letters (or as I like to call them, love notes)
2 packages (containing among them: 3 CD's, one lobster claw harmonica, two bars of chocolate, and one particularly fine sequined shamrock hair elastic)

I'm not going to say I don't rely pretty heavily on e-mail to keep in touch with the world outside Beloit, but the joy of finding your mailbox overflowing is incomparable.

P.S. Julia Heney
Beloit College Box #1298
700 College Street
Beloit, WI 53511

P.P.S. I like chocolate.

Packing Up

2007-07-02T07:38:00.000-07:00

So I don't remember doing much Friday evening. We hung out, and it was pretty uneventful. Saturday I woke up, walked downtown to the farmer's market and bought some ugly earrings, which I think I can make look cute. Missy, by best friend, did not like them. My mom picked me up and I went home for the day. We went shopping and then had margaritas. Yum!

Sunday morning was beautiful. Missy came over and we began a game of frisbee golf on campus. At the first hole we ran into Ryan, a good friend of ours, who bicycled the course while we played. About two holes later we realized we would rather walk to 4th Street Cafe, a great breakfast place. By this time it was already noon, but breakfast sounded good. So we walked. Later in the afternoon Missy and I went out on Renee's boat, which was perfect. The sun was shining! We then drove to Janesville to go to Perkins for the last time.

Not last time ever, but the last time to see Casey. Casey works there, but she is moving to Sheboygan. Casey got off work at 1 last night, or this morning I guess, and works at the Perkins in Sheboygan at 9. Missy and Casey left last night to make the drive at 2. Anyways, the point of that is to say that my two best friends moved away from me last night. They are starting their own life, and I couldn't be happier for them! But I'm going to miss them so much.

*Brandi

Small furry things

2007-06-29T10:59:00.001-07:00

I can't believe I neglected to mention the absolutely BRILLIANT way we spent our Sunday afternoon last weekend. Some background info, first of all...my boyfriend Jim and I live in an apartment a few blocks away from campus across the street from our friends Carl and Melissa Stoltz (YES, they're married!) who have two cats, Milo and Jax. Sometimes we cat-sit for them and the cats are absolutely adorable. Well, both of them came from an animal shelter about half an hour away from Beloit, and it turns out that they have "Adoptathon" days in the spring and fall when their "kitten quota" has been surpassed. WELL. One thing led to another, and Carl and Mel invited us along as they went to check out another cat and look into becoming perspective foster kitten parents. MIND-BLOWING. There were about 50 kittens (separated into nice roomy cages of course) scattered around the building, and we were allowed to pick them up and play and listen to their tiny little mewing noises. This was incredibly overwhelming, as my brain has only so much "wee furry" capacity and so I kind of overloaded on preciousness. But it was TOTALLY worth every minute. It looked like the majority of the kittens were getting adopted, too, which was fantastic. Woot baby kittens!! Just another event to add to the ever-expanding list of summer activities in Beloit!

Until next time, then...I hope everyone has a great weekend! I'm headed back home to Iowa for Saturday night for my dad's birthday--we get to see "King Lear"--WOOT!

~Laura DM