Hopkins Workers

So where I live I have to pass a security guard every time. Sometimes I want to say hi, but other times I am just plain antisocial and I really don't want to talk. But the security guards usually look up when you walk by, smile, nod or say hi--some form of acknowledgment. I've been noticing all the different things they do. There's one guard who always looks up when I'm coming, nods his head and opens the gate for me. He rarely talks, but always opens the gate. There's another girl who LOVES to talk and if she stops you, you are there for at least five minutes. This one today though, wouldn't look up. I said hi, tried to wave, no response. If she did make eye contact her eyes would immediately dart away. It was odd. There is another girl, who has these really big eyes. She doesn't necessarily smile at you when she sees you, but since her eyes are so big she always looks happy. I think it's interesting the personalities of people that Hopkins puts in to work here. For the most part they are very kind and compassionate and it's nice to see. You can tell how much the university cares about the students by the type of workers they hire.

Temperature Turnovers

I think temperature changes are quite interesting, especially drastic ones. When I was here over the summer I worked a couple of days a week at the Rec Center which is connected to the Athletic Center. It was crazy the temperature change that happened in the middle of the hallway between the two centers. It actually felt like you stepped into a heat wall. The Rec Center has air conditioning and the Athletic Center does not. I kind of felt that again in my room today. For some reason they have not been able to fix the heat in half of my room, well mostly all of it. The bathroom has not heat and only the little entryway does, so my actually living room is also very cold. So last night I stepped from my bedroom into my entryway and I once again felt the air temperature change. It was crazy. I also felt it today as I walked from outside into Gilman. That one is more expected since it is winter out so the building is supposed to have heating, so it didn't feel as much like a wall but an enveloping tug that pulls you in. I think it's just winter that is making me think of all these temperature changes since it's so prevalent every time you step outside or enter a building.

Noises in a Super Shuttle

So I took a Super Shuttle home from the airport today and since those rides are so extremely silent I started to notice a lot of sounds. First off, people's phones making noises. Some people had their phones on vibrate, others had their ringtones on--beeps or whistles. Then, one man had his music on (headphones though) quite loudly and everyone in the van could hear it. It reminded me of someone on the airplane who didn't put headphones in at all! But something that really caught my attention was when we stopped the car on the side and he put on his blinkers as he plugged in addresses. For the first time I felt the beeping of the clicker slow as I focused on it. Instead of the continuos clicking, it instead felt like the click would start and disappear, start and disappear, like the think was clicking completely off. It was a whole new way that I was looked at it and it completely entranced me. That or I was just sleepy from my flight.

Wicked

So I went to the theater tonight and got to see Wicked for the 6th time. As like every other time it is magical and just sucks you in! It was crazy to see some people experiencing it for the first time or the fourth. To hear what they laughed at or laughed at for the millionth time. It was also exciting to see the actor's themselves. How they transform themselves into another person. I would watch them sometimes to see if they ever slipped up, but you could tell that they knew they needed to be on the whole time. You could also tell when people were comfortable with who they were playing and if it was effortless. Others you could see them concentrating on what dance they were supposed to do or how they were supposed to step. You could see the concentration whereas for other actors you got sucked in because they became that other person completely.

Absence

Something I think is interesting is how powerful the presence of absence is. We had Thanksgiving dinner today and our relatives who live far away canceled the day before. So instead of a boisterous ten we had a calm four. You wouldn't think it would be calm, but it was people we saw all the time. We missed the loud laughs and the booming voices. One of my brothers is in Israel on a pilgrimage and the other relatives stayed home because of an illness. It all just made me realize how heavy the lack of a presence can be.

Latina Life

Today I went to get my hair cut and I interacted with a "Latina" girl for the first time in a while. It was weird because I forgot the different types of stereotypes they bring up. She was noisily popping her bubble gum, waving her comb around, and saying, "nu-uh!" She was speaking half in spanish and half in english, while gossiping like crazy. She kept asking personal questions and speaking about her family. I know they're all stereotypes, but I've had many interactions where this was true and it was weird to experience that again since I've been living on the east coast.

Dolphins in the Distance

Today I saw many things in the ocean. When I got to the beach I saw something moving in the distance--it was dolphins! They were traveling in pairs of twos spread out every so often so you could just stand in one place and different pairs would pass you. They were also very playful. They would jump up in the air and do little flips, or others would just come up and blow the water from their holes before disappearing again only to resurface yards later. I believe those might have been the older ones. I also saw another thing when I was walking along the bay but I never found out what it was. It kind of looked like a seal's head, but my mother believed it was a bird. Alas, we shall never know.