halloween, macro, hugs

Halloween: The other night was our Yosakoi "Washoi" Halloween party. I usually don't celebrate Halloween, but this seemed to be a relatively tame, alcohol-free alternative to most of the shindigs going on around town. In the late afternoon it was interesting to see people walking around in their costumes...there was someone dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow who went around to random classes acting like a pirate. There was also someone dressed as Edward Scissorhands who was taking his role so seriously that he wouldn't answer people who went up and talked to him on the street. Also, our local Chipotle was giving free burritos to people who came in wearing aluminum foil, so there were a couple of people walking down the street wrapped in the shiny stuff. Interesting, let me tell you. In the evening we had our yosakoi party, and ate Chinese food (ironic at a Japanese function, but tasty all the same) and watched videos of different Yosakoi styles from a festival in Japan. We also played "conversation bingo" to get to know other members better, and had a costume contest. I won a bamboo fan for my flamenco dancer outfit, complete with swishy red skirt and roses in my hair. It was a fun night.

Macro: I'm not talking about the mind-numbing economic stuff. It was at the party that someone showed me how to use the macro lens on my camera. The macro button was right there the whole time, and I've been taking blurry up-close pictures the last few weeks because I didn't see the button. It takes a certain amount of talent to miss the idiot-proof macro lens button, and I must say I've got it. But now I can photograph cute fuzzy spiders like the one above, that we made at the party. (My friend Noreen's is the biologically correct one with eight eyes.) Yay!

Hugs: I don't believe in karma, but just after posting the Free Hugs Campaign video here the other day, I got what I would believe was a dose of it if I did believe. I was getting ready to start my second day at my new job when I walked into the 'employees only' area upstairs. One employee, who I had not yet met, was looking at me strangely as I left my jacket with the other employees' wraps and started towards the computer. "I don't think I've met you," I said, smiling at her bewildered expression.

"So you work here now?" she asked.

"Yep, this is my second day," I answered.

I was suddenly thrown off-guard when she said "Yes!! Another one of us!" and ran over and gave me a big hug. I don't know about you, but I think that's a pretty good way to start out at a new place. It's all in the little things...

contests, diversity, job

Contests: Our Yosakoi club is doing great in the homecoming contests! We won first place in the sidewalk chalking contest, first place in the Spirit Banner contest, and first place in the window-painting contest downtown! Our artsy side is doing us great services in propelling us toward the $250 reward for the student organisation with the most points at the end of the week. And we're having a blast doing it! Tomorrow is the parade...it's going to be grueling. 1.5-2 hours of dancing over a route longer than a mile. But I think it's going to be pretty fun...

Diversity: This is a beautiful thing with a little bit of a rant attached to it for today. I have to start off by saying that I'm really glad I am at a big university where there are students from all different cultures, countries, backgrounds, religions and areas of the country that I can get to know and learn from. That is the beautiful thing. But today in University Experience lecture, when a Hispanic organisation came to talk to us about their bicultural program and showed us a theatrical production put on by some of its students to demonstrate the struggles of Hispanic students adjusting to college life, I was shocked at the disrespect shown by a lot of the students there. While the presenters were talking to us, there was quite a bit of disruptive whispering, most of which was snickering at the presenter's accents and moaning about why we have to watch an interpretive poetic play given half in Spanish. This confused me and seemed to defeat the whole purpose of the lecture. The presenters were clearly trying to show that everyone starting college is experiencing a new lifestyle for the first time, and that we can all learn from and support each other. How is this supposed to work if most of the students in my class won't even listen to someone who comes from another country or speaks another language? I was disappointed and embarrassed to be part of a class that clearly did not wish to take an opportunity to learn from others different from themselves.

Job: Back on the bright side, I got the job I wanted at the bookstore!!! I will be working more on the paperwork side of things, upstairs in a little cubby filled to the ceiling with books...I can't wait to get started! The interview I had Monday was a little out-of-the-ordinary in that we spent half the time talking about an armoire my future boss bought at the craft fair in my hometown, as well as about mosquitoes, and why lobsters "scream" when you cook them - both topics of books that came through the office recently. Some of the questions were quirky as well, like what type of food I would describe myself as. (In case you were wondering I said blueberry muffin - sweet and a little fruity.) But the people at the bookstore are so nice, and I can't wait to get started! Oh, and we get our own little cubby where we can stash any books we want to buy or look at later. I think this is going to be a great job!

foliage, fellow bloggers, job application

Foliage: Yellow ginkoes, red maples, bright brown sycamores. And those are just the trees! So many bushes and shrubs around campus are varied shades of orange, purple, red, green and yellow. And in today's grey cloudiness after yesterday's rain, most of the leaves have sparkly coatings of water droplets.

Fellow Bloggers: I'm feeling a lot of comment love of late. Thanks to all of you who are stopping by my blog and leaving comments. It really makes my day that you take time to leave notes on my narcissitic ramblings. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and your blogs!

Job Application: I've been looking for a job. I applied at a dining centre and a buffet restaurant on campus and haven't heard of any openings. Today I applied at the bookstore I mentioned earlier (8 Sept.) They told me their application process was a little 'different' - I was supposed to write whatever I thought they should know about me on something other than a plain piece of paper. So, upon the suggestion of my cousin, I wrote my informal resume on a sycamore leaf. I thought the creativity sounded good, and when I returned to the shop with my leaf, they said 'Oh, this is perfect!'. I'm going back for an interview sometime this week...hope one of these jobs comes through!