Comment to be added.

Campus Crusade surveyed me today...again. This time, it was more tolerable, I suppose, because they handed me a stack of random pictures and asked me questions. Like, "Pick out three or four that describe your life right now," and then, "Pick out some that describe what you want your life to be," and then, "Pick out one that describes God," etc, etc. The girls came up to me and asked if I wouldn't mind participating in a picture survey...and I said no. After it was over, I asked what they were doing it for, and they said, "Campus Crusade." I mentioned that I'd already been surveyed that week and they were like, "Oh really? I hope you don't think we're stalking you, haha."

Yeah...no. As I reflected to Eva later in the afternoon (I ran into her as I was walking to Spanish and we perused Student Stores looking for scones), "What's the deal? Do I have a giant sign over my head that says, "Come talk to me, I'm a godless heathen"?" She said quite calmly, "Well, yeah. Haven't you seen it? It's neon and everything." Then I pretended to swipe it away. The survey wasn't that bad though. The pictures were interesting and...yeah. They gave me a website to check out (also told me to come talk to them if I had any "God questions") and the website made it seem a lot less cool. The idea is nifty, I guess...

Ate lunch at the Alpha Chi house today with Leah. That place continues to creep me out everytime I go near it. I really should just stop, but today they were serving BREAKFASTLUNCH and I couldn't resist. Upon entering the house (which is sun-shine yellow, both inside and out), I noticed that almost every girl there had straight, shoulder length brown or blonde hair and that most of them were wearing Northface jackets. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but seeing them together in one small, confined space was kinda shocking. Did I mention that even though the menu was "breakfast" at lunch time, they still had salad out and that almost every girl there ate some? Okay, Kate...don't be judgmental. The Alpha Chi house is just...well, it gives me the willies.

Leah just called me a whore. Hrm...interesting. I can't tell if she meant it or not. Probably not, but...her friend, Jordan, was stopping by and was introducing Leah to "Almost Lover" by A Fine Frenzy. She was playing the YouTube clip of it over and over and while Jordan went across the suite to say hello to Ashley and Haleigh, Leah remarks, "I really like this song." I say, "Oh yeah, I really like it too. It reminds me of one of my love affairs from this summer." Leah says, "You're a whore." I say, "Wow. Wow," and then she laughs and says, "Sorry, sorry. It just came out," or something like that.

...And I'm being dragged to a basketball game tonight? Ew, ew, ew. It's just an exhibition game, but I really don't want to go. I dunno. Ashley (suitemate) went to go to dinner before she goes to the game and Leah just disappeared somewhere, so maybe they'll forget that I'm supposed to go and I can stay here and...well, do nothing all night. Whatever. That beats UNC basketball  and Tyler Hansborough's thuggish,  lackajaw face any day.

List of things that do not rock:
1) Fire alarms at one in the morning, after you've just gotten to sleep.
2) Awful cafeteria food.
3) Coffee that is way too far from your position in the morning.

List of things that do rock (and hard):
1) Peanut butter granola bars
2) My sleep schedule on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays.
3) Getting everything you wanted in next semester's schedule.


So, in other news...today I got a box of 80 envelopes and I've only used two. Anyone want a letter?

So, we walk into Anthropology this morning...and Dr. Sorensen is all, "Omg, u guyz, my exam...y u fail it?! Wuz it cuz I made it two dayz after Halloween?" and everyone is doing that nervous, "Well this question was hard," and "I didn't get this.." sort of dance. The class average was a 71. I hadn't checked my score on studentcentral yet and thusly, was a little nervous, since I didn't really study all that hard and the material was a lot harder on this exam than the first one. After class (well, after class and a friendly little jaunt to Franklin and Sutton's so I could cop some Axert and then be grilled about life and Heaven on the steps of Wilson by some random people conducting a video survey for class), I checked my score and I got...a 87. AN EIGHTY FREAKIN SEVEN. That's better than the first test!

Of course, when the written part is factored in, it could go up or down, but haha. I thought I failed. Woo! I only missed three questions on the multiple choice section. L'score.

And now, onward to Spanish class and the Southern Manuscripts Lab of Doom...

Oh goodness. Fergie has a new song out. And Leah likes it. And so do all of her friends that periodically stop by the dorm at random hours of the night to dance and chat about the most inane things. (Giving their numbers to random boys on the p2p, trying to tell me that a song by Fergie is by Joss Stone, going to Ab-solution tomorrow, there's going to be a Pilgrim and Ho's party in honor of Thanksgiving coming up...)

This is going to be a hellish few weeks.

...And our TV package doesn't let us get FX. So I can't watch Nip/Tuck. Graw.

So much fun. It really was. If you know how much I love 80s music and fashion and the overall cheesiness of it all...and you pack all that into a solid five hours of straight dancing...whoa. Seriously. Michelle and I danced for five hours among crowds of people dressed in fantastic 80s outfits to the best 80s music, with nary a repeat...except for one random time, when they played "Turning Japanese" twice. Five hours, with only one repeat? Just imagine the possibilities! I heard so many good songs, including "When Doves Cry' and "Oh Sheila." I don't know why I aws surprised that they actually played some Prince, but I was....I think Michael Jackson got the most spins of the night. When they played "Thriller," the dancing was insane. I think the best part of the night (at least for me) was when they played "Head Over Heels" because I wasn't expecting it and...well, I love that song. <3 muy mucho. Anyway, five hours of solid 80s dancing in a room full of people who were just as weird as me. It was fantastic. (Except for the lack of SAFETY DANCE...but I guess you can't have everything..)

EDIT: Unfortunate side effect of the 80s dance: Getting all this hairspray out of my hair. Rinse, lather, repeat. Untangle with brush. Ouch, oof, ouch. Ow.

So, a monumental thing has occurred. I'm hanging out at a party on Halloween (looking quite amazing at the Mad Hatter...pics to come later) and Evan Dengan (Katja's boyfriend) turns to me and says, "You don't know me, but.." and I say, "I know you.." (because I do, but only marginally, even if he's a very nice guy) but he cuts me off and says, "Give Kyle a chance." And I say, "What?" and he goes on to explain that Kyle has told Evan that he's intrigued by me. As he goes on and explains Kyle's...uh...intrigued-ness, I'm completely struck speechless. Susan comes over and hears what Evan is telling me and she is similarly struck dumb. After awhile, all we can say to each other is, "This is monumental." Susan says, "Kyle likes Kate? This is monumental. What?" And I'm saying, "What? This is monumental. Susan, I'm speechless. Susan, I can't..what," over and over, pretty much...and then Evan and Katja catch on to the uh, obvious speechless monument-osity of the occasion...and things progressed from there. Susan let it slip that there's been a weird Kyle thing since Junior Year...whoa man. I'm still somewhat speechless. I don't even know what to think. Mostly justified that my craziness has been semi-justified for the past two years. It's an "Entourage"Johnny Drama "Victory" moment. I'm freaking out. Anyway, that was two days ago. Ish. You can imagine what happened when I woke up yesterday and remembered...oh, Halloween was crazy. I don't know what I was expecting it to be, but Franklin Street was a madhouse. Just...people everywhere. Hordes.

Today has been interesting. I had two tests, which after coming down from Halloween all of yesterday and studying, was a little disorienting. I mean, it's Friday. Anyway, that's over with. I have no idea how I did. Anthropology, as alway, was a mixed bag. There was one set of questions about the origins of anthropoids that I just completely forgot to look up, even though I meant to, so I had to randomly guess. I knew it wasn't the Miocene...but...oh well, like I said..mixed bag. And Spanish...well, it was Spanish. I was so tired from Anthropology that I kinda muddled my way through Spanish. After all, it was a verbal exam, so it's somewhat difficult to study for. On my way back to Hinton James from the Pit today (where I would spend the next hour or so muddling over my schedule for next semester) I passed a random guy who complemented me on my Interpol hoodie. He just said, "Nice sweatshirt," and I said, "Thanks." It took me awhile to register that he was talking to me...and I don't know, it's one of those things Chris told me about college. Where you actually find people who share a lot of your weird interests. It was nice.

Then I ran into Roy Williams. I've always wondered what I would do when I ran into some of the local celebrities. Turns out that all I do is tilt my head slightly to the side to make sure it's them and then cross the street.

80s dance tonight! I'm quite excited!

I walked around campus today in my orange and black tights. I wasn't completely out of place. I saw people dressed in various costumes...and the Bull's Head Book Shop was decked out for Halloween flare. They have disappearing Chesire Cat mugs there. When you pour hot liquids into it, the Chesire Cat disappears....and not only that, but they have Henry VIII "disappearing wives" mugs. They were really trying to tempt me today with their display. Gosh. I love Halloween. I really do.

Found in this month's BoUNCe (the "It Came from HoJo" edition), which came out today:
BoUNCe's Top Ten Ways to Survive a Zombie Attack:
1. Accept the fact that your black friend will die first.
2. Stir up some erotic tension with a hot co-survivor.
3. Befriend Max Brooks.
4. Avoid shopping malls/abandoned farm-houses.
5. Understand that strange noises are NOT a reason to split up.
6. Pretty yourself up; the ugly ones die first.
7. Get used to shooting infected friends.
8. Avoid stupid redneck vigilantes. Always.
9. when the music gets scary, AVOID CLOSE UPS.
10. Shoot first, then shoot again. Questions are for pussies.

It made my day. I cut it out and added it to my bulletin board.

Realization: It is October 30th and I still do not have a hat. How can I not have a hat and have it be October 30th? I have to be the freakin' Mad Hatter for Halloween! How can I be the Mad Hatter without a HAT!?!

I must catch a bus to Franklin and pay exorbitant prices for said hat because I have not yet found one I like. This will be my second time trekking to Franklin today because the store wasn't open when I went up there earlier. What store doesn't open until 11? And I have to do it now or else I won't get the hat until tomorrow because of the play...and I refuse to buy a costume piece on the 31st. I wonder if Time After Time is open....and if they'd have anything really snazzy that wasn't too expensive.

And the pumpkin is not carved. Nor do I have materials with which to do so. How am I this unprepared for Halloween this close to the festivities? AHHH CAPS LOCK PANIC.

Interesting little factoids about today...at least, so far.

I ran into Evan Tasios in the Pit as I was drinking my morning coffee. We chatted for a bit and then he went to go grab lunch. I stayed where I was and proceeded to work on today's sudoku. A little while later, I heard, "Are tables too good for you, Kate?" from behind me and turned to see Evan sitting down at one of the tables outside the Union, eating a sandwich and motioning me over. We had a nice little chat. I finished my sudoku and coffee while he finished his sandwich. He talked about politics and Greek Mythology...and the over powering lure of a bottle of refreshing water. It was very nice.

After Spanish, I headed to the Wilson Library to do some research for Southern Manuscripts. Before I went in the search room, I popped into the bathroom on the second floor and saw someone had scrawled a free form poem (almost a haiku, but not quite...it had that restricted feel to it though) in orange marker on the stall....about the bathroom. Something like, "Yellow painted bathroom. Quiet, peaceful, place for reflection," or something like that...but much better than my memory is making it out to be. I really wanted to pull out a marker and leave a comment there saying, "I like your poem," but I didn't have the proper tools...

When I got the Manuscripts Department, I was putting my backpack in a locker as I usually do, and as I transferred my cell phone from my back pocket to my bag, I noticed I had a voicemail. I ducked out of the room to go check it in the hallway and received a delightful message from Aaron about an unfortunate looking houndstooth coat he saw earlier that day. Then, I spent the next hour or so examining photos from Appalachia and the Penn School...and getting annoyed at the male librarian from Hell, much to the amusement of Claire, who soon joined me in the search room. All in all, a nice day full of pleasant surprises. A bit chilly though. When did it get so cold? We've switched from boiling hot to pleasantly chilly to freezing in the span of a week.

Oh well. Two shows left!

The cast party last night was fun. So much fun. I've missed those settings where you're around people you don't know necessarily, so when the conversation flows, it's that much more exciting. I don't think I've ever been literally and figuratively been hit on before...and Emily nailed a bag of wine to her doorway. It was...refreshing? I guess that's the best way to describe it. No, different maybe. I don't know.

The shows today were exhausting but once again, worth it. I like being privy to the inside workings of it, I think. Working with "real" actors...or maybe it's just getting back into something I love again. I think this "Hard Candy" thing has been really good for me. I'm meeting new people. And I really like them...or at least, they're different. I'm going to miss this when it's gone. I just hope that somehow, it can continue...that I can find a niche and squeeze myself into it.

I feel like I'm on the verge of something big.

Hard Candy tonight! Gala afterward. I hope it goes well...I've got to prove myself to these people...
I'm freaking out...slightly.

Walking to Anthropology today was like a friggin' monsoon. I might as well have not been wearing my jacket. By the time I crossed Stadium Drive, I was soaked. So, when I walked into Fetzer, everyone congregating in the hallway outside the classroom turned to look me and then went back to their business. I definitely stood there for at least three minutes when I brushed my hand by my face and my finger came away smeared in black. I pulled out my compact from my backpack and....oh yes, it was Raccoon City.

And I'd been standing in the hallway for three minutes. And no one kindly pointed it out to me. Thanks a lot. Way to be asshats, people in my Anthropology class.

The fact that I had recitation later that day with the same people did not make me feel any better.

So, I'm sitting here, thinking about how I haven't seen "Hellraiser" in awhile and how much I would like to and then, bam! I remember. It's Monsterfest on AMC from now until Halloween!

I turned on the TV and lucky me, "Hellraiser" was on. Ohhh, circumstance is sweet. I love this time of year. Naturally, Leah is about to walk in, see what I'm watching, and freak the fuck out, but whatevs. Nothing like a regenerating, flesh-eating monster and his evil girlfriend to take the long rehearsal hour pain away. Oh, and dimension traveling demons from another realm.

One positive thing about being back at school so late...

Leah still isn't back from Tennessee, which means I can crank up the Poison and Biggie and rock out while I unpack.

...While simultaneously pissing off Haleigh and Ashley next door. Sing on, Brett Michaels.

Things to remember from this weekend:

"I just don't understand them. Kate, move up to Asheville with me and we can be the only sane people in the world."
"I know, Carrie. We always say this. Why are we the only people who make sense?" --Carrie and I, eating hamburgers.

"I think she just needs to leave high school." --Smurfy, eating chicken tenders and salad.

I loved driving around this weekend. One thing I've missed while being at school is that. And maybe it isn't just driving, but being able to drive up in the mountains and see all the fall colors (the leaves in Chapel Hill still haven't turned) coating the mountainside like a carpet in the afternoon sunlight....it was gorgeous. I can feel the differences between Asheville and Appalachian and Chapel Hill. I'm not sure what they are, exactly, but I think it comes from the fact that Chapel Hill the town and Chapel Hill the university are more or less the same place...and Asheville and Appalachian (or rather, Boone) have their own flavors. I loved it, though. That mountain air. Smurfy said once a few weeks ago that I had to come up to sample the mountain air and he was right. Chapel Hill, now that I think about it, is either such a southern Ivy or "so ACC." I can't really figure out which. Food for thought, I suppose.

I saw Jamie this weekend at Asheville. He came over late on Friday night/Saturday morning and we played Jeopardy and Apples to Apples. It was great fun. I finally got to App after a lovely two hour drive through the Blue Ridge on Saturday afternoon. Seeing Smurfy and Jason was lovely, as always. I just love being with them...and I miss them both so much. J-Dawg and I went to see Smurfy in the freshman showcase where AWKWARD THINGS happened, but soon passed, because Smurfy was hilarious in the play he was in. It was quite funny and made me chuckle. Afterward, we grabbed dinner. It was nice running into Kat and Luke in a non-weird environment. After dinner, I rondezvoused (ugh, spelling) with Marc, Carrie, and Sus back on campus while Jason and Smurfy went to the cast party. I never knew I would miss Marc that much until I ran into him again. He was so funny and looked so happy there. I'm happy that everyone at App is happy. It's just such a relief. I'm tired of hearing that people are disillusioned with their choices. We sat in his hall for an hour and half because his roommate wouldn't let us in...then J-Dawg and Smurfy came back from the party and I moved to Jason's for the night. We watched "Running with Scissors." It was awful beyond description. Never see it.

Today, I woke up. Got dressed. Went to Huddle House with Jurfy. We ate, came back and I drove home. Concluded on the way home that I should take a roadtrip up I-40 West sometime if only for the scenery. And now, I'm packing for the trip back to UNC. And thusly, Fall Break is over...

I've missed everyone and it warmed the soul to see them. God, that sounds corny. But it's true. It just felt good.

Asheville has been a lot more fun than I thought it would be. Not to say that I thought it wouldn't be fun...but oh my gosh! 

The ride up here, the colors of the leaves, the CARRIE (we've had the best talk), the general air, the music, the stars at night (the sky is literally studded with stars I didn't even know existed), the Blue Ridge Parkway, the feel...oh, I can't even put it into words. 

And I think tomorrow will be just as good.

I got home from Meme's. It went very well, she was happy to see me...and well, it was quite Matthews esque. Lots of jokes about how strange our family is from Chris, gossip, Meme loading me down on food for school that's horribly bad for me...

Anyway,  I was relaxing on the short couch with Mom and Chris. And we were talking about various things (what we're going to do for Thanksgiving this year, Uncle Ron's eye-stroke, "Your mistake was when you tried to use reason," etc, etc.) and then Chris gets up, he brushes off some cat hair from his lap (Beast had been lounging there for quite some time) and says, "Oh, that chick from "An Affair to Remember" died."

"Deborah Kerr?"

"Yeah." And I'm like, "What? How? Why? Where? How did you find this out?" And he's like, "New York Times." I read the article online. It was a very nice article. Reading it, it said all the right things...I just. I don't know why I'm really struck by this.

Deborah Kerr is dead. WHAT? WHY DID THIS HAPPEN. I know she was 86 and ill, but. Ugh.

She was a great lady.