Pledge Week at GCC: Day 2
The Gamma Chi's (as I have previously mentioned) are the most notorious sorority on campus. If there is going to be hazing or other underground type activities, they will be leading the way. So it's of no surprise today when I found out that one of the pledges for Gamma Chi went home today in tears. 1 down, 2 left. Way to go girls.

It's been a long afternoon. For once, I let my powers of procrastination slip, and am struggling to finish a major assignment which is due tomorrow. A gentle breeze was flowing through the room and Frank Sinatra's smooth vocals filled the air. But this was suddenly interrupted by a noisy voice. “I know, can you believe he made us take that quiz? Oh, and I was thinking about what Aunt Mary said, and I think I have some ideas for that party next weekend…” The voice faded slightly as my neighbor walked down the hallway. Phone conversations. I understand their importance. I know how much girls appreciate them. But must they be made in the hallway outside my door?! The same problem occurred last year. Because my room had no room opposite it, the wall outside my doorway was frequented by girls settling in for the long haul as they discussed personal and emotional issues with their mothers, boyfriends, and best friends. I admit, I find having to close my door just to hear my music or be able to think a little annoying (to say the least). But what puzzles me is why these girls chose the hallway of all places. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but if I’m going to have a personal conversation, I’d rather have it in my room where my roommate is the only one who knows and is also the only one who’s work is disturbed. But instead, most girls chose to bear their souls in a place that 20 other girls can hear, and usually in a volume that none of us can avoid hearing. The number of times I have heard or passed by a girl on the phone fighting with or going through a breakup on the phone in the hallway is staggering. Honestly, girls, if your roommate is asleep, go in the hall. But if she’s not, wouldn’t it be better to bear your soul to someone you obviously know and like rather than everyone else?

Pledge Week at GCC: Day 1
Today is the first full day of hazing...I mean pledge week...I mean "Greek Unity Week". From Sunday to Sunday our days are filled with groups of girls or guys wearing the exact same outfits. Our nights are filled with...well, you'll see. Since the frats generally aren't as obnoxious and are on the other side of campus, I'll just focus on sorority happenings. The girls who had signed up for rush week last week finally narrowed down what sorority they wanted to join, and submitted their bids. Last night the sororities replied to the bids and let the girls know if they were in or not. After that, all eight sororities marched around the girls dorms, standing in various places screaming out their sorority chants. I'm not sure exactly what time it was, but it was pretty late. That was followed by Gamma Chi (one of the more notorious sororities) doing, what I hear will be a daily ritual this week. They all get together on their hall (which is above me) with their sorority paddles. They then rapidly bang the paddles on the floor, meowing (their mascot is a cat). This went on for about 20 minutes, also late in the night. Tonight is table pounding, when all the sororities get together in our IM room and poud tables and cheer for the new pledges. So it has been another evening full of obnoxious cheers. More to follow...

"You guys! They're sticking to the seat!" Dani complained. She got up and began to trudge from row to row, trying desperately to pop the playful spheres of liquid plastic that were conspicuously sticking to the red theater seats. I glanced over at Jamie and giggled. As soon as Dani’s back was turned, we began filling the air once more with clouds of bubbles. Cassie joined in with the traditional soapy bubbles, and soon the air was thick with bubbles and laughter.

It was late summer and the heat showed no signs of letting up. However, the summer break was quickly approaching its end, and my friends and I were all preparing to say good-bye once more. So one hot night in late August, Jamie, Dani, Cassie, and I all piled into Dani’s coconut scented car and drove off into the sunset. Actually, we only drove as far as the movie theater, but there was still something exciting about that night. The windows were down, our hair was blowing in the wind, and we had all enjoyed the creamy goodness of strawberry creamsicle coolatta. For those few hours we were free. There was no schoolwork to worry about, no parents to bother us, and no goodbyes to dwell on.

So it’s no surprise that Jamie pulled out the bubbles soon after discovering we were the only ones in the theater. To say that Jamie is obsessed about bubbles is certainly an understatement. I think that bubbles define Jamie as a person. So all four of us dug out our wands and began creating mischief. Soon the bubbles filled the air. “Do you think they’ll kick us out?” Dani asked. “They couldn’t kick us out for blowing bubbles, could they?” I replied. “It’d be pretty funny if they did!” I added. We stopped for a while, chatting away about random subjects. After a couple minutes…”umm, guys, I don’t think the bubbles are going away” Cassie pointed out. We knew that the bubbles Jamie and I had were “catch-a-bubble”, made of some form of liquid plastic. Well, when the back of the box says they don’t pop on their own, they meant it! Dani, acting as the responsible one for the night, tried to pop as many conspicuous bubbles as she could, but most of them were too obstinate to land. We got rid of most of the bubbles before anyone else came in the theater. However, periodically during the movie, a lone bubble would drift across our line of vision, and we would let out a repressed giggle.

Why am I sharing this silly story? I don’t really know. Cassie reminded me of it, and all of the sudden, I wanted to drop my Physics problems and go outside and blow bubbles. It seems like a pretty stupid thing for a 20 year old to be doing, I know. But there’s something almost therapeutic in forgetting everything and simply enjoying life.

There's this old song by Joni Mitchell called Big Yellow Taxi that I heard as a kid. Part of the lyrics go, "Don't it always seem to you that you don't know what you got till it's gone. They paved paradise and put up a parking lot." It's funny that after years of not hearing that song, it would come back to me now. I guess that's mainly because my paradise has been paved over by the unspeakable evil called The Cold. It started as a runny nose a couple days before I left for school. That soon progressed into those deep, lung-aching coughs during the first week. By my 3rd day of classes, I had no voice. Labor Day weekend was spent mostly in silence and pain every time I tried to eat or swallow. After another long week of sickness, the cold finally left. So sad, right? Oh, don't worry. After only five days alone, my cold (or another one for all I know) returned! I have gone through a box of tissues in under a week, and my nose is so raw it hurts. At this point, I am completely convinced that my immune system is on strike. I am also convinced that it bribed our cafeteria to shut off the OJ machines for non-breakfast meals. See? This cold is making me nonsensical. So yes, lesson of the day: appreciate the cool things you have like a voice and not sneezing all the time and fun stuff like that.

Oh the wonders of technology! Click HERE if you would like to check out what me and/or my room looks like.

I hate not having control over my life. I want to plan everything out and decide when things happen and if they happen. I hate that horrible cliche "when it rains, it pours" and I hate even more the fact that it is so true. When life falls apart, there's nothing you can do. Some people have horrible days; others have horrible years. And I want to say something to them or even to myself: something incredibly comforting and wonderful that just makes everything seem not quite so bad. But I'm helpless, and that's what I hate the most.