Things that made this week good, in no particular order:
- My crew team secret snowflake made my dog a hat. I found it outside my door, along with some snacks and a fancy bar of soap, on Tuesday evening. I immediately put it on my dog, who tolerated it while I took some photos. Enjoy.
So cozy!
Tootsie with her matching sweater and hat
- The dining hall had three of my favorite pastries on Monday, and another one on Tuesday. I stocked up on banana chocolate chip muffins, chocolate cherry tea bread, zucchini bread, and brownies. (I’m working on ranking Claflin Bakery’s vegan pastries. Making a list made me realize just how many there are. I’m up to 29 that I can remember.)
- My classes wrapped up for the term. My writing class was remote for the last few weeks, but ES met in-person all the way up to the end. I’m impressed and surprised that we made it through the entire semester without being sent home or at least moving all classes to Zoom. In-person classes kept me much more engaged than I would have been if I’d sat in my room instead. I’m grateful to have been able to take them.
- Hanukkah started on Thursday evening! We sang a few songs around the big menorah and then headed to Lulu to pick up catered latkes. It felt like a Friday night with my Jewish crowd, but it was Thursday.
First night of Hanukkah!
- The weather today hit the mid-50s. Adeline and I got in one last bike ride of the semester. (We didn’t ride last week since we were worried about ice on the roads, so I’m glad today’s weather cooperated.)
- Last night I watched a video of my favorite artist, Lori McKenna, performing a benefit concert for a local arts venue. I hung out with Tootsie in bed, started a new bracelet for a friend, and listened to some of my favorite songs.
- I’m making progress with my ES final. Luckily, it’s my only final. It’s a long-term research and analysis project that we started right when the term began. I’m doing mine about an oil spill in Ecuador in April. (No one warned me when I took a gap year that I would want to tailor every school project to Ecuador! This is, like, my third.)
- Some of my high school friends, who live all over North America, have been hosting twice-weekly Zoom hangouts. They bring me so much joy! We should have done this pre-pandemic.
People are moving out. Cars are lining up on the Quad and loading up suitcases and trash bags. We did it. We made it through an on-campus semester during a pandemic.