education (and hopefully edification)

    Dear Harriet Walter,

    HUUKAY. Let's talk school. I just got my schedule for next semester worked out. This is what it looks like!

• HUM112. Civilization and Culture II: From the 16th Century to the Present. More history! Basically the second half of the history class I'm taking right now. Or rather the continuation. Or something. History. This is good because I already know I don't have to actually read for it to succeed.
•  BTS112. Old Testament Studies II: Psalms, Wisdom Literature and Prophets. (Christian college, we kind of have to study the Bible.) Same situation as history, only instead of doing "ancient civilizations to the 16th century" followed by "from the 16th century to the present," it goes first-half-of-the-Old-Testament (the Pentateuch and the historical books) to second-half-of-the-Old-Testament (psalms, wisdom literature and prophets, obviously). New Testament next year. I am so looking forward to the Prophets bit of next semester, I love me some prophets.
• ENG101. Composition, Writing and Research. Don't know much about this one. I'm going to be taught how to write things.
• ENG 201. Introductory Studies in Literature. Usually taken sophomore year, apparently, but all the other class options had prerequisites, conflicted with Old Testament, or sounded too boring/scary. Upperclassman Shelli says both English classes can be handled at once (she did it herself).
• PHL111. Introduction to Critical Thinking. I have only a foggy idea of what this class is about, but I've heard it's difficult and fun and makes one learn things.

    So that's three professors for five classes. History and Critical Thinkin' with Dr Mac, Old Testament II with Professor Mine Enemy, and  the English double-feature with the young, beautiful new English professor. I sat at lunch with her a couple weeks ago when Shelli took her to the cafeteria, she seems nice. We admired the reuben sandwiches together. She's tallish and dark and lean and well-dressed and I've heard that she owns a cat named Gatsby.

    WAIT WHAT IS THIS I AM NOT READY FOR ANOTHER SEMESTER I NEED CHRISTMAS BREAK TO BE LIKE AT LEAST TWO MONTHS AKGH

    (but! on the upside, no more math or public speaking.)

lemon sorbet for dinner

    Dear Harriet Walter,

    So yesterday I was in the parking lot of a grocery store with my parents, and when I got out of the car I saw a tiny rubbery rhino toy lying on its side in the empty parking space next to us.

    "Mom!" I said. "C'mere! Rhino!"

    She looked where I was pointing. "Oh! Rhino! I think we should rescue it."

    "Yes."

    We put it in our car and went shopping. (Planning, of course, to thoroughly clean it off later.)

    I am now regretting the rescue of this rhino. Because...

 

    This is the creepiest damn rhino you have ever seen. Pictures don't do it justice. My mother says we can paint its eyes to make them all black instead of black with white in the middle, but for now it stares. Wherever one is in the room, it stares at one. Leering.

    The strange horizontal scars don't help anything, either. My sister and I agree that someone must have left it in a parking lot for a reason. (Sister wonders if there used to be a car in that space before suddenly! there was only rhino. However, I was there and saw that the parking space was empty because it was right in front of the store and had potted baby arbor vitae things lined up in it. Perhaps car with rhino in before suddenly! only arbor vitae and rhino?)