The creation of this was magic to me--I had never witnessed a bunch of sound and instruments become a legit song so rapidly. These guys are miracle-workers.
Dec 19, 2011
Merry Christmas from Hariet Brown!
http://harietbrown.bandcamp.com/
Merry Christmas, friends! Please enjoy our gift from us to you.
The creation of this was magic to me--I had never witnessed a bunch of sound and instruments become a legit song so rapidly. These guys are miracle-workers.
The creation of this was magic to me--I had never witnessed a bunch of sound and instruments become a legit song so rapidly. These guys are miracle-workers.
Dec 9, 2011
In the spirit of procrastination...and Christmas
I'm sitting in the main living room at Pi Phi, lounging on the couches, and two girls and I are all on our computers "studying." The next few moments will be spent in this spirit.
One just googled "When does Hayley's comet come next?" ...that's the sort of work we're getting done currently.
But we have good reason to celebrate, at least for a few minutes: yesterday was the last day of class! My last day of my penultimate semester of college! One semester to go! I am thrilled and almost frightened (mostly exhilarated). I haven't a clue as to what I'm doing next year, not a one. My current options:
a. teach English
i. in South America: a beautiful, rural life and I get to speak my beloved Spanish
ii. in South Korea: make the big bucks but be far away from anything; and I don't find that area of the world particularly intriguing but I do like exploring, so it could be cool..
b. teach Spanish in the US
i. at a classical school...blah
ii. somewhere where Spanish is spoken, preferably. but this is Amuurica
c. marry a rich man!
i. where are the flaws in that plan?...beside the small fact we could be incredibly poorly suited for each other.
d. get a job I don't hate somewhere for a couple years. This is the normal option. I suppose my life must, at some point, appear to be normal. I'll have to adjust.
e. none of the above. (Help, please.)
And eventually I have to take linguistics courses with SIL and of course the myriad options are overwhelming: North Dakota, Dallas, southern California, Canada etc.? For goodness' sake. There's a lot to think about! But it will all be okay. It all will always be okay.
As the other seniors and I ponder (and/or freak out about) our futures, we are simultaneously juggling papers, exam studying and a few brief moments of social lives like the rest of campus. I wonder, do other schools look like this at exam time? Tear-stained or pale faces around every corner. Three hours of sleep in an entire week. Multiple twenty-page papers. Half-hour presentations on less sleep.
..some of this misery is self-induced. Procrastination is deathly and contagious. But there's still reason to have compassion on our suffering friends.
I congratulate myself on not being prone to procrastination. And by that I mean, I thank God. Yes, I did save a 6-page Spanish paper until two days before, but I had been thinking about my topic and researching a bit...so it belongs only partially to the realm of procrastination.
My roommate told me this morning, "You are one in a million." Not that I'm so special, like the unique snowflakes they told us we were in third grade, I'm just not be stressed by school work. "I am at least one in 1,400" I replied. Other students and friends practically scoff at me for not freaking out about papers and exams and grades and what our professors will think of us and GPAs and..and..things like that. I just have school in a different perspective. It is important and I want to do it well--we ought to work hard--but worry doesn't help me. If I'm stressed, I don't study or do anything productive. It doesn't aid me at all, like some people say it does them. To each his own.
When all the studying and not stressing is done, precisely one week from now Lord willing, I will be driving north. I am so looking forward to spending long, cozy evenings with dear friends, curling up by the fire place at my dad's, reading a good book or maybe knitting, visiting with my mom and her parents and eating delicious baked creations from my grandma.
I will have little time, and less money, to get gifts. I hope to get real crafty and whip up some great ones. It's the thought that counts, right? Except in this case, the thoughts should have been all thought up beforehand, and gifts purchased before I was down to the wire. (Procrastination?)
Having written that on my extremely necessary to-do list, it's now back to school work. And you, after having read this and procrastinated, get back to the books! You're almost there. In one week you will definitely have survived hell week and exam week. It's just college.
God bless us, everyone.
One just googled "When does Hayley's comet come next?" ...that's the sort of work we're getting done currently.
But we have good reason to celebrate, at least for a few minutes: yesterday was the last day of class! My last day of my penultimate semester of college! One semester to go! I am thrilled and almost frightened (mostly exhilarated). I haven't a clue as to what I'm doing next year, not a one. My current options:
a. teach English
i. in South America: a beautiful, rural life and I get to speak my beloved Spanish
ii. in South Korea: make the big bucks but be far away from anything; and I don't find that area of the world particularly intriguing but I do like exploring, so it could be cool..
b. teach Spanish in the US
i. at a classical school...blah
ii. somewhere where Spanish is spoken, preferably. but this is Amuurica
c. marry a rich man!
i. where are the flaws in that plan?...beside the small fact we could be incredibly poorly suited for each other.
d. get a job I don't hate somewhere for a couple years. This is the normal option. I suppose my life must, at some point, appear to be normal. I'll have to adjust.
e. none of the above. (Help, please.)
And eventually I have to take linguistics courses with SIL and of course the myriad options are overwhelming: North Dakota, Dallas, southern California, Canada etc.? For goodness' sake. There's a lot to think about! But it will all be okay. It all will always be okay.
As the other seniors and I ponder (and/or freak out about) our futures, we are simultaneously juggling papers, exam studying and a few brief moments of social lives like the rest of campus. I wonder, do other schools look like this at exam time? Tear-stained or pale faces around every corner. Three hours of sleep in an entire week. Multiple twenty-page papers. Half-hour presentations on less sleep.
..some of this misery is self-induced. Procrastination is deathly and contagious. But there's still reason to have compassion on our suffering friends.
I congratulate myself on not being prone to procrastination. And by that I mean, I thank God. Yes, I did save a 6-page Spanish paper until two days before, but I had been thinking about my topic and researching a bit...so it belongs only partially to the realm of procrastination.
My roommate told me this morning, "You are one in a million." Not that I'm so special, like the unique snowflakes they told us we were in third grade, I'm just not be stressed by school work. "I am at least one in 1,400" I replied. Other students and friends practically scoff at me for not freaking out about papers and exams and grades and what our professors will think of us and GPAs and..and..things like that. I just have school in a different perspective. It is important and I want to do it well--we ought to work hard--but worry doesn't help me. If I'm stressed, I don't study or do anything productive. It doesn't aid me at all, like some people say it does them. To each his own.
When all the studying and not stressing is done, precisely one week from now Lord willing, I will be driving north. I am so looking forward to spending long, cozy evenings with dear friends, curling up by the fire place at my dad's, reading a good book or maybe knitting, visiting with my mom and her parents and eating delicious baked creations from my grandma.
I will have little time, and less money, to get gifts. I hope to get real crafty and whip up some great ones. It's the thought that counts, right? Except in this case, the thoughts should have been all thought up beforehand, and gifts purchased before I was down to the wire. (Procrastination?)
Having written that on my extremely necessary to-do list, it's now back to school work. And you, after having read this and procrastinated, get back to the books! You're almost there. In one week you will definitely have survived hell week and exam week. It's just college.
God bless us, everyone.
Nov 21, 2011
Thankful for my niece and nephew
and many other things, like swift travel by air plane and extended Thanksgiving breaks.
Though morning comes quite early by the light-hearted stomping of soft little feet and the tiny mouse cry of a voice just nine days old; I'm happy to be an aunt. Here at my sister's the gentle morning house sounds are a lovely alarm.
Though morning comes quite early by the light-hearted stomping of soft little feet and the tiny mouse cry of a voice just nine days old; I'm happy to be an aunt. Here at my sister's the gentle morning house sounds are a lovely alarm.
Nov 11, 2011
My Norwegian sweater, snow & senioritis
I'm wearing this red and black, gold-clasped wool sweater boldly in honor of last night's snowfall. I haven't seen snow since January, since I escaped to Spain shortly after the new year. I'm ready to enjoy this white stuff yet again, though. My snow run yesterday was incredible: my only complaint being the pelting of hard flakes in my eyes. And at eight this morning, I tromped about the Arb, exploring the white paths, occasionally slipping on the layer of leaves hidden below. Happily sporting a great thrift store find--enormous, hand-knit wool socks--my feet stayed toasty warm.
A mere week of school stands between me and Thanksgiving break! I'm lengthening my vacation by missing two days of class. Hooray! My niece and due-any-day-now nephew will be entirely worth it. With a brand new baby, a darling toddler, my sisters, my mother and my brother-in-law, and a delicious turkey, I'm expecting a delightful Thanksgiving.
While the snow was falling late in the afternoon yesterday, some friends and I were gathered in the library, warming up and drying off, admiring the huge snowflakes swirling and floating through the air. Snow is so romantic! Thus sparking a long discussion of proposals, engagements and the growing number of rings (still well before spring) seen on campus.
With Der Besuch der Alte Dame (the book I'm reading for German) in my hand, I could almost pretend to be studying though in actuality conversing with friends and dreaming of 'the real world' and all the snowy, romantic moments to be had. But I was not studying, and my longing for some 'real world'-- whatever that may be--is just as false. Today is real, even though I find myself shuffling from class to class among myriad 20-somethings and even though I don't make my own food and rarely have to wash my own dishes and I don't even get to sweep (the latter two being quite enjoyable activities in my opinion...seriously). College life is chock-full of opportunities to love people, to mature, to learn more about yourself, the world and its Creator, and to procrastinate...or not.
My brightly colored German book is staring up at me, demanding to be read. Okay, enough procrastination for now. Just as long as senioritis entails motivation to study hard my final year as well as the occasional abandonment of boring activities for fun times with friends, I'll live with this disease until May 2012.
A mere week of school stands between me and Thanksgiving break! I'm lengthening my vacation by missing two days of class. Hooray! My niece and due-any-day-now nephew will be entirely worth it. With a brand new baby, a darling toddler, my sisters, my mother and my brother-in-law, and a delicious turkey, I'm expecting a delightful Thanksgiving.
While the snow was falling late in the afternoon yesterday, some friends and I were gathered in the library, warming up and drying off, admiring the huge snowflakes swirling and floating through the air. Snow is so romantic! Thus sparking a long discussion of proposals, engagements and the growing number of rings (still well before spring) seen on campus.
With Der Besuch der Alte Dame (the book I'm reading for German) in my hand, I could almost pretend to be studying though in actuality conversing with friends and dreaming of 'the real world' and all the snowy, romantic moments to be had. But I was not studying, and my longing for some 'real world'-- whatever that may be--is just as false. Today is real, even though I find myself shuffling from class to class among myriad 20-somethings and even though I don't make my own food and rarely have to wash my own dishes and I don't even get to sweep (the latter two being quite enjoyable activities in my opinion...seriously). College life is chock-full of opportunities to love people, to mature, to learn more about yourself, the world and its Creator, and to procrastinate...or not.
My brightly colored German book is staring up at me, demanding to be read. Okay, enough procrastination for now. Just as long as senioritis entails motivation to study hard my final year as well as the occasional abandonment of boring activities for fun times with friends, I'll live with this disease until May 2012.
Oct 26, 2011
Revisions and plans
I recently submitted my poem, Sevilla to Hilldale's The Towerlight, a student publication featuring student poetry, photography and other various forms of art. I edited my original version, thankful for some good suggestions, and came up with this:
The evenings here are fragrant, warm and black.
The fan's monotony on the stillness
A dull lullaby that stirs, a dry breath.
In my mind, mil pensamientos
and the struggle to quiet them all.
Silent tears evaporate and cool,
bringing a meager relief.
Outside the thick heat blankets,
hushing the leaves.
The quiet is broken, an instant--now
A soft thud the sole rebellious sound
The tell-tale fragrance drifts through the window
An orange has fallen down to the ground.
Its sweet, strong odor escaping the rind
Filling moments that pass, marking the time.
I had trouble breaking down the sonnet form I had created. Dr. John Freeh, my undoubtedly favorite professor of all time, told us that to become poets, we must first write well within the bounds of meter and rhyme. Essentially, a good poet can write a good sonnet: then he's free to experiment. I keep that in mind and challenge myself to write sonnets. But, mine needed a change or two and this was the result.
The line about crying also annoyed me. Why do I include that? They liked it at The Towerlight. I thought they would. But I am not quite satisfied. It seems too dramatic and unfounded. It is true to the situation though, so perhaps I can justify it to myself that way. (Why I'm justifying it to myself, I don't know. The general fear of being laughed at, or even the skeptical raise of the eyebrow can do me in sometimes.)
I want to challenge myself to write a post once a week. Now that I'm practically concocting my own linguistics major here--with Spanish, German and Ancient Greek--I don't get the opportunity to write in English anymore and this at least provides an outlet for my thoughts, legible for the average American reader (or more specifically and accurately, this is for my aunt who kindly reads my blog).
I believe my current living situation will provide much food for thought and the stuff of blog posts. I live in a sorority house. It's wonderful, noisy, chocolate-y, rambunctious and sometimes obnoxious. At quarter to midnight here at the house, I'm preparing to sleep, others are working out, some are passed out and my roommate is telling me how desperate she is to shower. I'm going to our huge upstairs bathroom to brush my teeth and have an evening chat through spats of toothpaste.
The evenings here are fragrant, warm and black.
The fan's monotony on the stillness
A dull lullaby that stirs, a dry breath.
In my mind, mil pensamientos
and the struggle to quiet them all.
Silent tears evaporate and cool,
Outside the thick heat blankets,
hushing the leaves.
The quiet is broken, an instant--now
A soft thud the sole rebellious sound
The tell-tale fragrance drifts through the window
An orange has fallen down to the ground.
Its sweet, strong odor escaping the rind
Filling moments that pass, marking the time.
I had trouble breaking down the sonnet form I had created. Dr. John Freeh, my undoubtedly favorite professor of all time, told us that to become poets, we must first write well within the bounds of meter and rhyme. Essentially, a good poet can write a good sonnet: then he's free to experiment. I keep that in mind and challenge myself to write sonnets. But, mine needed a change or two and this was the result.
The line about crying also annoyed me. Why do I include that? They liked it at The Towerlight. I thought they would. But I am not quite satisfied. It seems too dramatic and unfounded. It is true to the situation though, so perhaps I can justify it to myself that way. (Why I'm justifying it to myself, I don't know. The general fear of being laughed at, or even the skeptical raise of the eyebrow can do me in sometimes.)
I want to challenge myself to write a post once a week. Now that I'm practically concocting my own linguistics major here--with Spanish, German and Ancient Greek--I don't get the opportunity to write in English anymore and this at least provides an outlet for my thoughts, legible for the average American reader (or more specifically and accurately, this is for my aunt who kindly reads my blog).
I believe my current living situation will provide much food for thought and the stuff of blog posts. I live in a sorority house. It's wonderful, noisy, chocolate-y, rambunctious and sometimes obnoxious. At quarter to midnight here at the house, I'm preparing to sleep, others are working out, some are passed out and my roommate is telling me how desperate she is to shower. I'm going to our huge upstairs bathroom to brush my teeth and have an evening chat through spats of toothpaste.
Sep 7, 2011
Where is the siesta?
My roommate can attest to the fact that I'm having trouble surviving without a siesta. After lunch, you'll find me lying on my bed, relaxing, without a care in the world--until about twenty minutes later when the thought of looming homework and impending failure in class if said homework is not completed jolts me conscious enough to at least roll over and glance at the cover of a book. Then, the guilty feelings take over, impel me to sit up, change out of the comfy sweats I most likely donned in order to rest, and to finally get down to business.
This semester I μελέτη ελληνικά und Deutsch y español. And it's getting mildly confusing! Greek hasn't yet become familiar enough to invade the modern languages I speak, but I ramble on in Germpanish all the time. My made-up name for that language is about as ugly as what it sounds like when I unconsciously combine the two in one sentence.
And since my dear, kindly German professor absolutely refuses to sign my drop card (I expressed serious concern about my future in the class and he preemptively said he wouldn't sign it), I suppose I shall be stuck struggling along for the next few months. My professor, the epitome of a European gentleman, has this stubborn belief in my intelligence and German capabilities. Maybe one day his optimism and faith will manifest themselves in my fluency...I can only hope. I did discover the secret to calm my heart so that it doesn't palpitate in such a dangerously rapid manner each time I enter the classroom: I told him that I had a) forgotten all of my German and b) was nervous! It's funny how simply telling someone you're uncomfortable practically alleviates all discomfort. Anyway, I now boldly speak like a German toddler.
I generally understand what he's saying, but six months in Spain will really clear your mind of any remaining German vocabulary you once had, so speaking requires slightly more effort.
I've been back at Hillsdale for almost exactly one week, and the happiness of this sweet reunion has yet to fade! Despite the fact that as a senior at a mere week into classes I am somewhat behind in the work--but really, who isn't--I am glad to be here! I am surrounded by precious friendships, new acquaintances to befriend and exciting challenges. I love living in the Pi Beta Phi house, I love the boisterous tea times at our neighbor's, I love running into friendly faces all over campus and having a moment to exchange a genuine greeting! We are blessed to be here.
And in those moments that the hateful German book becomes my indecipherable enemy, or the miserably failed Greek quiz taunts me, or friends are no where to be found, I'm blessed to be here.
Learning Greek is a humbling experience. It's also an exciting and frightening one--it's one small step toward the future. Will I use this knowledge to assist in Bible translation? Perhaps. At the very least, I've mastered an entirely new set of characters that compose an alphabet and they're fun to draw. I can write them phonetically and anyone who knows Greek pronunciation will understand. It will be like a secret way of communication--cool. In other news, Lauren told me today that I'm a "language junkie."
My life in Spain seems like a dream to me. It's really an unusual feeling and almost unpleasant. Those 180 days were a part of my life, but they're fading into the distance. The life lessons haven't though--and for that I'm thankful.
This semester I μελέτη ελληνικά und Deutsch y español. And it's getting mildly confusing! Greek hasn't yet become familiar enough to invade the modern languages I speak, but I ramble on in Germpanish all the time. My made-up name for that language is about as ugly as what it sounds like when I unconsciously combine the two in one sentence.
And since my dear, kindly German professor absolutely refuses to sign my drop card (I expressed serious concern about my future in the class and he preemptively said he wouldn't sign it), I suppose I shall be stuck struggling along for the next few months. My professor, the epitome of a European gentleman, has this stubborn belief in my intelligence and German capabilities. Maybe one day his optimism and faith will manifest themselves in my fluency...I can only hope. I did discover the secret to calm my heart so that it doesn't palpitate in such a dangerously rapid manner each time I enter the classroom: I told him that I had a) forgotten all of my German and b) was nervous! It's funny how simply telling someone you're uncomfortable practically alleviates all discomfort. Anyway, I now boldly speak like a German toddler.
I generally understand what he's saying, but six months in Spain will really clear your mind of any remaining German vocabulary you once had, so speaking requires slightly more effort.
I've been back at Hillsdale for almost exactly one week, and the happiness of this sweet reunion has yet to fade! Despite the fact that as a senior at a mere week into classes I am somewhat behind in the work--but really, who isn't--I am glad to be here! I am surrounded by precious friendships, new acquaintances to befriend and exciting challenges. I love living in the Pi Beta Phi house, I love the boisterous tea times at our neighbor's, I love running into friendly faces all over campus and having a moment to exchange a genuine greeting! We are blessed to be here.
And in those moments that the hateful German book becomes my indecipherable enemy, or the miserably failed Greek quiz taunts me, or friends are no where to be found, I'm blessed to be here.
Learning Greek is a humbling experience. It's also an exciting and frightening one--it's one small step toward the future. Will I use this knowledge to assist in Bible translation? Perhaps. At the very least, I've mastered an entirely new set of characters that compose an alphabet and they're fun to draw. I can write them phonetically and anyone who knows Greek pronunciation will understand. It will be like a secret way of communication--cool. In other news, Lauren told me today that I'm a "language junkie."
My life in Spain seems like a dream to me. It's really an unusual feeling and almost unpleasant. Those 180 days were a part of my life, but they're fading into the distance. The life lessons haven't though--and for that I'm thankful.
Aug 29, 2011
Photos of "the cutest girl in the world"
...and I quote. A man walking his two dogs in the park said that about her just this afternoon. I can't say I disagree--nor do her parents. Follow this link to see more photos from my unexpectedly prolonged visit to my sister's house. Thanks Hurricane Irene for stranding me in NY two-and-a-half days more than planned.
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