Tattooes, Treadmills, and Teapots

Jan 25, 2004

Well, folks, I will do a quick update on This New Chapter of mine, and then I'm off to bed.

It seems I've plunged right into the college scene. And wow! What a scene it is! I've seen clothing I wouldn't put on my last scarecrow. The tongue rings, eyebrow rings, lip rings, and tattoos that come around would keep any Amish girl in constant wide-eyed wonder. "I have to get tattoos on my legs," one boy proudly proclaimed, lifting his pant legs, "I'm a business major." "What about when you wear shorts?" another student asked. "You don't wear shorts to work," he answered. He was quite proud that he knew all the tattoo artists in town and that they have "staked claim" on his body parts. Why, it only cost him $75.00 for the HUGE one on his leg. Needless to say, at this point, there has been no bonding...I prefer my state of reserve.

I enjoy all my classes with the exception of one. It's an environmental science class, and just as I suspected, it is my least favorite. The prof, who happens to be the author of the textbook we're using, is arrogant and uses crude language. "One fourth of you are going to flunk this class," he proclaimed loudly on the first day of class. Hello?? That is NOT what a wobbly student wants to hear! Furthermore, I find his colorful language to be quite offensive. So with a teacher that struggles and content that struggles just as much....you can see why the class is my least favorite. "Spatial distribution"..... sheesh.

The hardest part of my homework is all the reading assignments we have to keep up with. Huge, huge amounts of reading.... oh, SO time-consuming! I took it with me to the gym one morning and was reading while walking on the treadmill. All at once, I heard a horrendous crash; lo and behold, the lady on the treadmill next to me had fallen down onto the belt crosswise. I looked up in time to see her trip down the belt and watched in horror as she was hurled against the wall. Her head hit the wall with a resounding smack! She was ok, so she said, but it was a good reminder for me to watch what I'm doing. She had also been reading. That'll probably be my next drama....

Speaking of dramas.... Not quite finished with the kitchen drama in my life, I've now managed to melt my one and only teapot. I was planning to curl up with one of my text-books one cold night and wanted a bit of warmth to keep me company. Capuccino was on the menu; I put water into the teapot and retired to my bedroom to begin my reading assignment. I lost track of time, and the next thing I knew, Sharon was shrieking something at me about some teapot... It turns out the water had completely boiled away, and the teapot enamel, once pristine white, had actually begun to melt onto the burner. The sticker that had once indicated the fill line is now black. It also has "age spots" on it in various and sundry places. We have deep, coil-shaped ridges on the teapot and a coating of enamel on the burner...amazing how that works. And I haven't had a capuccino urge since.

Well, enough for now...