Christmas gift from Gu Jun-Pyo

Ye were fooled....

Although most residents have departed from the cozy TA 37.....there was one to rule it alone!!!

I, Slothman, am still here. Jill was mistaken, for the blog shall live on with my adventures here....

BTW I am busy finishing my final papers, only 31pages to go and then my first thesis to complete!!!

Merry Christmas!

This is my first blog post off the Vassar campus! I just wanted to wrap up the semester. Jo and Grace left campus Wednesday of last week--Stuart and I drove them down to the train station together. Then we came back and did the dirty dishes that Jo and Grace left for us! :D

I left last Friday, leaving Stuart the last Steward of TA37 (how etymologicaly apropos!). And now, even though I'm home in Connecticut, I couldn't resist fiddling with the HTML one last time before the year ends.

Luke 2:10-12: And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."

Gotta love the King James, right?!? Merry Christmas, everyone!

Confession

Okay. OKAY! I confess. I haven't been following the Chosen Vessel Accords. There are, at this moment, three teacups in my room. And a water glass. Oh, and a fourth teacup I snatched up weeks ago with which to water my plant.

Yes, it's true.


I'M SORRY.

Can You Kazoo?

The musical Jo reveals another talent:



Also, work on our dictionary is ongoing. It is a source of much discussion (and contention) in the TAhold.

It's the Penultimate Countdooooown!!!

I was going to title this post "final countdown," after the rockin' awesome song, but really it's not 'final' for us, is it? The next finals, now those will be the real deal. Eponymously final.

Ah, anyway, we've had a fun past 24 hours preparing for penultimates. Last night, the four of us had Family Time for the first time in a while. We finished chapter 9 of the Book of John and then debated blindness and seeing. But mostly we talked about how we've been doing this semester and touching base with each other again. I tried to think of a pun about 'touching base' but everything that came to mind was too Jo-worthy to publish.

Anyway, today Grace, Jo and I schmucked around the house working on papers while Stuart was at work. About two pages and two episodes of Star Trek: The Animated Series into my architecture paper and I had pretty much lost it. Utter madness ensued. Finally Grace and I fled to the library to reestablish our work ethic. Hoo boy. The 5pm deadline was met, but there were casualties.

Anyway, at 5pm was a Taize prayer service that Jo organized. Then at 7 was a DELICIOUS meal cooked for us by Michelle. She baked chicken with five spices: anise seed, turmeric, cloves, ginger, and something. She thinks cinnamon. Then topped with onion, garlic, fish sauce, sugar and salt. And there was rice, roasted butternut squash, and, of course, kimchi. For dessert, because the banana bread was burned, we finished 'poppy chow' that Grace made yesterday. It's 'puppy chow' but with popcorn. And it's fan-friggin-tastic.

Overheard after dinner:

Grace: "Wow, NYU is like a hipster factory!"
Jill: "I can't believe I just ate all that poppy chow..."
Jo: "I kind of wish I was a demigod. You know?

ANYWAY, after dinner Michelle found a Christmas songbook and started singing some carols. When she got to "O Christmas Tree," however, Goseph leaped to his feet, urging her to be quiet lest he, in his words "hurt the bush's feelings." He was referring to our beautiful Christmas Tree, which, if one is wishing to be botanically accurate, is more of a 'bouquet' than a 'tree' but is in no way a 'bush.' Jo tried to compliment the Tree, but all he could come up with was "I like how it's...post-symmetrical." "Three sizes too small..."

Well, the singing continued:



ANYWAY, good luck with finals and penultimates and all sorts of crazy cooking adventures, and happy holidays! Here's to hoping we'll finish Boys Over Flowers one of these days...

ADDENDA:
1) Michelle would like it to be known that she and I are totally gangster. Homey.
2) Grace and I were talking today about starting a "TA37 Dictionary" page, which I just did! I'm compiling words to define first, then I'll get set on defining them. The link is in the upper right hand part of the blog, or you can click here.

The Post-Dubliner Breakdown

The Dubliner gig was great! The Ramblers were great. And the food was great. But the best part of all was the company! I got a few pictures, none of them very good:


The redhead on the end is my friend, special guest star Sam! Wooo!

Messages in the Night

Dublin' Your Fun at the Dubliner thisThursday

I've said it before, I'll say it again: Roundabout Ramblers gig is this Thursday, December 8, from 6 to 9pm at the Dubliner on Main Street, Poughkeepsie. Come! It'll be great. It'll be just like a special episode of "TA37" the sitcom, with which we can end our semester, in more ways than one: I have dredged up another guest star cameo from the murky annals of my pre-collegiate life! No, not my parents or my brother (though he apparently thinks of himself as a "fan favorite,").

Can't wait for this weekend!

Elmo, Christmas Trees, and Old Man Jo

It's been an eventful Saturday evening, friends. Tian An is here to visit, and he confirmed what we have long suspected: Grace is Elmo. Just listen:


It's uncanny, isn't it?

Next, I've been working on a Christmas Tree made of collected branches. A picture is below:

Grace tied the bow on top. And though you can't see it very well, the container it's in is from the centerpiece from Ming and Jeff's wedding! The sight of our beautiful Christmas Tree (because although for it isn't a 'tree,' it is a 'Christmas Tree,') melts my heart. Not Jo's, however.

But I got my revenge. He's headed off to Catherine's orchestra concert, and Grace and I gave him some fashion advice:
He left the house like that.

Anyway, now Grace is making more cookies (peanut raisin chocolate chocolate chunk (!!!)). This is her third batch, the second being delicious ginger-molasses cookies. I'm up in my room waiting for cookies and working on my thesis, my Christmas-scented candles burning away (don't tell ResLife!). I'll try to get better pictures of our Christmas Tree when the lighting's better and the decorations are more complete.

Happy December!

A star amongus

Look! Our very own beloved Jillian Scharr, her expert opinion quoted in the Misc this week!

p.s. i made more cookies after the no-bake ones were gone within 24 hours of non-bakeage by no one... they just disappeared. this time, chewy gingersnaps, available in original and chocolate chip. we are running out of milk though.