Wednesday
The hampster has been resuscitated . . .
- posted by Nicole @ 10:50 PM

 
Tuesday
The wheel is spinning but the hampster is dead . . .
- posted by Nicole @ 12:58 PM

 
SAYBROOK! or THE BEST NIGHT OF MY YALE EXPERIENCE TO DATE!
Last night was without a doubt one of the best nights of my entire life, and definitely the best night I've had since I've been here! We of the Saybrook College Chamber Orchestra performed our first concert of the year, and it was nothing short of incredible! It is possibly the best concert experience I've ever had (with the exception of a few American Music Abroad experiences perhaps)! We played so well! It's almost beyond words for me to describe. This group is just so special: everyone is so devoted to this group - devoted to each other - and passionate about the music we play! I cannot describe what it is like to be in this orchestra - it's absolutely euphoric! I enjoyed playing that concert so much, and my only regret was that we only got to perform the music once. We played the Overture to Mozart's The Magic Flute, Debussy's Petite Suite, and Beethoven's 3rd Symphony the Eroica (which is practically one big oboe solo). Usually I get so nervous and stressed out for concerts on which I have a lot of solo work, and I usually don't enjoy myself at all. But last night was completely different - I loved and enjoyed every minute of it, and was completely relaxed the whole time. I think I played the best I've ever played on a concert before. The whole orchestra just sounded amazing - especially the brass and the winds. I cannot get over the astronomical degree of unity that we have - this group has so much heart! Perry, our conductor, is amazing! He's a total musical genius, and he's the heart and soul of this group. AND - bless his heart - he threw us a marvelous post-concert celebration in his suite, complete with 12 bottles of champange and 14 bottles of wine. I can't remember the last time I had that much fun at a party, and I must say that we were all - myself included - sufficiently "celebrated"!
- posted by Nicole @ 12:44 AM

 
Tchaik 6
Last night, as a birthday present to myself, I went to hear the New Haven Symphony (it's not so much a splurge of money - as you can get student tix for $10 - as it is a splurge of time). The first piece was a Mozart oboe concerto - which is why I went, and it was fantastic! The principal oboist is amazing! (and guess who may be taking lessons from him . . . ) I'm rather paticular about oboe tone, because you can get so many types of tone depending on reeds, etc, but I absolutely loved his! The second half of the concert was Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony (Pathetique), which I'd never heard before. I loved it! What a cool piece! And the NHSO did a really good job on it; they're still a little soft on the brass, but their strings are amazing! It was a really great concert, and in addition to providing me with 2 hours of enjoyment, it may also prove to supply me with a new oboe teacher . . .
- posted by Nicole @ 1:21 AM

 
My Birthday and Why I Have The Best Suitemates in the World
Today has been a totally amazing day! I was a little concerned that my first birthday away from home would be disappointing, but it has been anything but! It started with Sean's call at midnight, and then my waking to the simultaneous ringing of my alarm clock and my cell phone (it was Mom, of course). I got presents from my bestest friend, a cookie basket from my next-door neighbors from home, and phone calls and emails from everyone! Plus, the dining hall served my favorite food for dinner! As if they knew what day it was! My friend from Boliva gave me a present from Bolivia and our Tae Kwon Do uniforms came in today!

And I came back from Tae Kwon Do wondering why our common room door was locked. So I opened it. . . . and ALL MY SUITEMATES WERE THERE, PLUS THE SUITE NEXT DOOR AND THERE WAS CONFETTI AND BALLOONS AND ICE CREAM CAKE AND I ALMOST FELL OVER (cuz I kinda tripped on the rug). I have the BEST suitemates in the entire world - they are such awesome people and I love them dearly! Hooray for birthdays!!!!!!!
- posted by Nicole @ 11:34 PM

 
Dichotomy and Dialectic
I am so sick of seeing these two words. In EVERY class that I'm taking (with the exception of French, thank God) and in EVERY reading I have for them, these two words come up. If I didn't know them before I came to college, I sure as heck know them now.

Dichotomy: division into two opposed or contradictory groups
Dialectic: pertaining to or of the nature of logical argument (ie: logical thought precesses)

(Thank you, Webster . . .)

I have also come to the enlightened conclusion that I must never, not even in my wildest dillusions, endeavor to study or practice international law. I've read roughly 100 pages on the matter, and that is enough to convince me that the whole idea is completely hopeless, and equally ambiguous. Not to mention the fact that it gives me a headache.

BUT! Coming soon: how my suitemates and I have developed a plan to successfully restructure the UN, disposing of its present, archaic makeup, and providing for enduring world peace!

And, Happy Almost Birthday to Me!
- posted by Nicole @ 11:15 PM

 
Saturday Mornings and Debussy
Thank God for Saturdays! That I can sleep for 11 hours and then putz around the internet while drinking a cup of tea and listening to classical music is just about the best thing anyone has ever come up with. This week was a little bit stressful - though not overly-stressful-I-think-I'm-gonna-die-stress. I had my IR midterm, a double lesson week in French, and a film presentation in section on Friday (I did it on film scores! Hooray!). All of which went very well! And after it was all over, I went to Saybrook Chamber Orchestra rehearsal *sigh of relief* - it's like, I spend all week building up STRESS AND FEEL LIKE I'M RUNNING IN A MILLION DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS. . . . and then I go to Saybrook, and all the stress and tension just completely melts away . . . :)

The Saybrook concert is this Saturday; we're playing the overture to Mozart's "Magic Flute", Beethoven's 3rd (the Eroica) - WHICH, I've decided, is what I want played at my wedding . . screw "here-comes-the-bride", our family is FAR to cultured for such a cliche . . . - and the Debussy Petite Suite. I LOVE all these pieces! Yesterday was the first time I got to hear the Petite Suite in its entirety (the winds rotate, so we don't play on every piece). What a wonderful piece of music! I think I love it because it can sound like so many things. A parts, it sounds like Christmas, at others like the Romans or like Paris, or - especially in the fourth mvt - like Disney's Sleeping Beauty. It's such a fun piece - it just dances!

So, I'm gonna go watch movie trailers online while blaring Beethoven's 3rd. And you know what? If any of those hungover party-goers in my building have any complaints, they can SHOVE IT! Because if THEY can blast the GHETTO BEATS till 3:00 in the morning when I'M trying to sleep, they can get woken up at 11:00 with BEETHOVEN!
- posted by Nicole @ 11:28 AM

 
James Ellroy
I went to another Master's tea today, this time in may very own residential college (the master's house is REALLY nice!); it was James Ellroy, the author of L.A. Confidential (the movie is one of my favorites!) and the Black Dahlia (the stage version of which is coming to Yale next week). He was . . . um . . a little bit strange. A little egotistical and brazenly confident, not to mention a little sadistic - though what else would you expect from a writer of crime fiction? He had some interesting things to say, though. He talked about how he writes (on paper - NOT on computer, because it's more conducive to natural creativity) and the extensive research and revision processes he employs. He's slightly alarming, but I also sensed that it was a bit of an act, as his character wasn't really consistent throughout. But it was interesting nevertheless, and my desire to read L.A. Confidential has only been encouraged by it.

My IR midterm went really well today . . . I think. . . .But unfortunately, my TA is gonna be in a bad mood when he corrects it because the Cubs lost . . .
- posted by Nicole @ 8:09 PM

 
UN Week
The Yale International Relations Association is hosting UN Week, and everyday there are Master's Teas and talks with influential members of the international community. It's really exciting! I just got back from a Master's Tea with the Swiss ambassador to the UN - it was really cool. He talked about the role of small countries in the UN and the reasons behind Switzerland's neutrality, and about the role of the UN in general - including the focus on long range, humanitarian goals rather than short term military and political "news-making" objectives. But he seemed really tired; I don't know if it's just because he naturally has an exceptionally calm demeanor, but he seemed a little fatigued to me. He still gave a pretty good talk, though, and it really tied in to all the things I've been learning in my IR class . . . for which I have a midterm tomorrow . . . that I should be studying for . . .
- posted by Nicole @ 6:26 PM

 
British Humor ( . . . or, I guess it would be "humour" . . .)
In case I haven't yet conveyed exactly how cool my IR professor is, here's another example. His sense of humor is awesome! It's part of what makes him such an engaging lecturer. He's really witty and sarcastic! Here you go (Once again, read with a British accent):

"If you don't stop oppressing the Muslims, we'll come in with a big stick and hit you!"
- The UN's reaction to the Balkan crisis in the '90s



- posted by Nicole @ 9:40 PM

 
BORING!
Ok, so I'm being a total delinquent. I'm at work right now in the main campus library (you know, the one that's like 15 stories and has a bazillion books), and I'm soooooooooooo bored. I usually don't mind working here, but I just don't feel like doing it today. And I still have 45 more minutes till I get to leave. I spent the last half an hour reading this really cool Sherlock Homes play, and now I'm at a computer kiosk on the 6th floor reading my mail and blogging. So sue me.

But me mum and dad came this weekend, and it was great to have them here! I have such awesome parents!

Happy Birthday Josh - October birthdays are the best!
- posted by Nicole @ 4:21 PM

 
Return of the King
Oh my gosh! I just watched the trailer for Return of the King on theOneRing.net - literally, had the chills! It's gonna be amazing!!!!!!! Can you say, midnight showing? AGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!
- posted by Nicole @ 1:38 AM

 
Arnold
I know that EVERYONE is blogging about California's favorite action hero, but I want to jump in on the discussion. Wasn't it the movie Demolition Man (the one that's loosely based on Huxley's Brave New World, with Sylvestor Styllone I think) that had Arnold as the president of the United States? I haven't seen that movie in a while, but I'm pretty sure the story had Arnold in the White House. . . .hmmmm, maybe after he's done ruining California . . . Which is better: Arnold or George?
- posted by Nicole @ 12:51 PM

 
HUCK FARVARD!
Tonight I had the priviledge of attending the Yale-Harvard Men's soccer game, and rest assured all you Bulldog fans, the Sons of Eli did not disappoint! We fans were rewarded for our endurance of freezing temperatures with a 1-0 victory over those "evil-doers". Haha! Take that, you worthless slugs! *sinister laughter* And besides, our team was cuter than theirs. There was also this group of really funny guys sitting in front of us who spent the whole game harrassing the Harvard bench; in other words, my kind of guys. It was so much fun! Go Bulldogs!

. . . and now, if the suite downstairs would please lower the ghetto-beats, I would like to go to bed . . .
- posted by Nicole @ 1:18 AM

 
Baseball
Go Yankees!
- posted by Nicole @ 6:38 PM

 
International World Fellows Night
Another AMAZING experience! Tonight was International Fellows Night - which means that all the international fellows associted with Yale got together in this very large, very pretty Victorian style house to talk about . . . well . . . the world (not to put too fine a point on it). These people are so incredibly brilliant and prestigious - I mean, they run the world. No exaggeration. For example: a member of the European Commision, a former advisor to the UK Prime Minister, a member of the South African parliament, a member of the Uganda parliament, etc, etc, etc. The first part of the evening was a buffet of international foods (mostly from India and Nigeria) and wine tasting (mmmmm, Australian wine. . . ). Then the international fellows led three discussion panels (which, unfortunately, were held simultaneouly . . it was like "Sophie's choice"). I went to the one entitled "The Future of the EU". It was sooooooooo cool! And, from my experience with my IR class, I actually understood basically everything they were talking about. There was the token idealist (a Slovakian woman from Transparency International), the Euro-skeptic (guess who - the Brit! And not just any Brit: he casually referred to a situation in which "his boss" could lose him job . . . "his boss" meaning Tony Blair . . . ), and a few other people. They all brought very different perspectives to the panel, and it was very informative - highly mentally stimulating. I love the way this place makes me think! After the panel ended, I slipped into "Democracy and Human Rights", which was just ending, and afterwards had a rather in depth converstaion with one of the panel members from Zimbabwe about the process of democratization in Africa. Equally as cool! I really really want to do some kind of study abroad-thingey in (ok, mom, now don't freak out) Africa. What an incredible and enlightening night!
- posted by Nicole @ 10:25 PM