Go Wildcats!

Roger's House ends tommorow. These two weeks have been incredibly enjoyable. I still don't have a partner, and to be honest, Duck and I are getting slightly concerned about that. I had a moderately radical idea about asking someone from another school if they might be interested in transferring to NU to debate with me, and the Duck said the situation was so dire he might actually think about it if I don't find a partner by the end of the week. I'm unsure as to whether asking that person to be my partner is a good idea... but at the very least, it would be an interesting endeavor.

It's really cool being part of a team that's actually adequately funded for once. The freedom that money affords us here is astounding, we never have to skimp on resources. I can't remember ever being in a club that was anything but underfunded in high school...speech, girl's golf...key club?!? We never had the money for activities the way we would have liked to. Here, when I need something for debate, the Duck waves his magic wand and fiats it into being. More and more everyday I'm glad I didn't do the honors program @ U of I, or take a scholarship anywhere else either. It's just an amazing feeling to have all the resources of this university behind me.

I love the debate kids, I love the family atmosphere that surrounds them, and I hope that I'll become more a part of it as I spend more time with them. I think I've found a really good girlfriend in Rachel and I hope that we stay close in the future, even though we're not living together. That being said, I also hope that I make friends outside of the debate community (I'm sure I will).

As for the rundown of my second weekend @ NU? After a ridiculous amount of work during the day, on Friday night we all went over to Phi Psi for poker and beer and Avery scrounged up some "girl beer" for me while he and Reedy regaled me with Northwestern Greek life stories. I think I am going to go Greek, but I'm going ot try and find a low key sorority that doesn't want to dominate my life. After Matt walked me home from Phi Psi, I hung out for a bit in the room, and then Mark (Hammer) and I decided to go on a beach walk. Getting over the 7 foot fence was sort of an interesting experience, since I couldn't really walk straight thanks to my glass of vodka earlier...but regardless, once Mark got me over, the view was worth it. SPAC beach at 2 AM is one of the most gorgeous places I've ever been. 2 hours later I dropped my sandy self into bed, only to wake up with a monster headache and sand everywhere. Anyways, Saturday included lots of work (as usual), manicures and pedicures with Rachel, dinner @ Dave's with Noah, and finally another beach walk (more sand) complete with vodka shooters. I like the rhythm life has settled into here, lots of hard work, followed by decent amounts of fun. I have a feeling my work is going to increase exponentially shortly here and since I'm not really willing to cut down on my fun, I'm sure my sleep will be the first thing I cut out. Oh well, as Duck says - you can sleep when you're dead.

It's been really interesting watching the campus fill up, I've never really been down here when school was in full swing -- and as a result, I've always had my space on campus. There aren't ever crowds around, and the place is sort of my own. While that's nice, it makes for a differenct sort of experience. It's as if the sound is muffled a bit...there's no vibrancy, no contagious energy about the place. I can't wait for people to start arriving and for the lethargy of the place to be broken up.

As a final sidebar - I've been reading the Republican National Convention speeches for the affirmative I'm writing, and I've seriously been tearing up all morning. WHY do our politicians sound more like missionaries, out to convert the entire world into a haven for "right" thinking christians?!? I have nothing against either religion or Christianity, but I also don't believe it needs to be the prevailing world view. It scares me, the amount of power we've place (are continuting to place) into the hands of people who equate "evil" with mindsets not analogous to their own. What a skewed perception. Read the text of some of these speeches if you get a chance and you'll realize that they read more like sermons than anything else, I am continually reminded of the poem "White Man's Burden". Our egotism is so monstrous, it's tragic.

PS: Whoever said NU boys weren't cute....lied. I ran into several cute ones on the way to Einstein's today in the morning. Mmmm, flirting with well dressed golfers....that's a much more satisfying breakfast than bagels would be ;).

PPS: To all of those of you who got cookies this week...I hope they aren't stale! I used regular ground mail because next day air mail was astronomically expensive!

<3, serena
xoxo