A Writer Types

Dear Everyone,

I feel like I'll be saying this a lot, but everything's been blurring together. I can't remember what I've written about in these blog things, and I can't remember what I learned this week different from last week. All the exhilaration from the beginning of September is bubbling down and is replaced with stacks of homework. Returning students have told me more than once to get used to staying up until three in the morning doing homework. I really, really hope they're wrong. I've never been one for homework; I hate it. In fact, as I write this, I should instead be writing twenty sentences in Spanish, but I'm saving that for after dinner. I've already got four done.

I bought a stapler today. And glue. And some Sharpies. Right now my desk is swimming with office supplies; pens, pencils, a sharpener, a paintbrush, scissors, rubber bands, tape, Post-Its, erasers, notecards, markers, crayons, the list goes on! And of course we must add all of the books I need for my classes. Every day my backpack feels heavier! Add that pile of homework and BAM, I'll break my back walking up and down this hill every day. My shoulders are always aching! Thankfully, I'm not having any allergic reactions up here, so I'm not miserable. Scratch that, even if I did have allergies here, I wouldn't be miserable.

How could I say that anyone is mean? All the students here are super nice. One of my friends has an X-Box (apparently she and another girl are responsible for the rules against these game systems; that doesn't dissuade them!), and she said she'll let me come over and play some time. My roommate told me that I'm getting a reputation with my Pikachu hat, and I asked her if that was bad. She said no. There's a boy with pink hair (it was purple last month) and he's got that reputation too. The things people do here are amazing.

As the weather gets colder, there's no more guitar or fiddle music to listen to outside. The instruments are all nice and cozy warm when people aren't in the practice rooms (the Troys). Now that Winter's on its way, people are buying boots and bringing out their coats. I heard that it's supposed to snow soon. I hope I get my boots before that.

Last Wednesday (or was it Tuesday? Thursday?), we were living in a cloud. That's how foggy it was. I could barely see twenty feet ahead! It was cold, too-- I wore two jackets, zipped. It's warmer now; sunny, no rain, and birds are still singing. We had a woodpecker outside the classroom once. It was weird, I'd never really heard a woodpecker at it before. The building probably has a hole now just like the hundreds of spots in the trees that are filled with acorns. Our P.E. teacher keeps pointing out the little things in nature. There are berries here with more vitamin C than cranberries and oranges combined... and they're like, smaller than a dime.

In my desk, I've got heaven on earth: green and red apples, Nutella, cereal, and caramel in the fridge. My roommate also had plastic knives. The stunning total of six green apples, a box of cereal, and twenty ounces of caramel was $9.07 including tax. My dessert every night is amazing; I never get the cake in the dining hall. I could get used to this. Oh, come on, quit looking at me like that. Don't worry, I eat it in moderation, and I share!

Today in the dining hall, the cutest thing happened. I'd finished lunch, but some more people came, so I sat with them because it's a Monday, which I'll explain in a minute. Anyway, here at Idyllwild, several small children live on campus, ranging from the age... what, seven months? to about six years old. John and Molly Newman have a daughter named Lucy, she can't be more than two, who is the cutest thing ever. She reminds me so much of Ryann, Teagan, Raphael, Alex... So I sat down in the dining hall again, and she's in her dad's arms, right? Then she sees me and starts to squirm out of his arms and squeals, "CallieCallieCallie!!" pointing to me and grinning.

I almost died it was so cute.

Last week she was very shy, but she really, really likes my hat. I think that's what first made her like me. But now even if I'm not wearing my Pikachu hat, she'll love to see me. I seriously don't understand... but yeah. Same thing happened with a different kid the other week. A bit different, but similar. He wanted to sit on my lap on our way back up the hill from the beach. Little blond boy + Pikachu hat = adorable. I really want to kidnap one of these kids.

The schedule for classes this week is insane. Tomorrow is a "moderated" schedule and I have to have all of them in a row. That's Spanish II, P.E., Intro to Lit, World Cultures, and Algebra II in one day! AND Detective class later! How do they expect me to handle it?! The weight of my backpack will kill me. Thankfully the next day there are no academic classes. Sophomores and Juniors have to take the PSAT. Same with Saturday (family weekend)... but I only have one class. Hello writing all night on Tuesday! Andrew, my writing teacher, explained to me that they couldn't just cut classes on Wednesday without having to fuck up the schedule somehow; "it's Idyllwild, nothing's allowed to make sense!"

My magic day is Monday. I have four classes in a row in the morning, up until eleven fifteen. Then I kick back, relax, and wait till three-thirty for poetry, which, if you'll excuse my bluntness, is boring. I'm not saying my teacher is bad. Actually, I really like her. It's just that I have to read poems. And write them. And talk about them. And write about them. And read about them. I mean, come on... stick a metaphor here, alliteration there, maybe a little rhyming, and BAM, you've got a poem that then has a hundred questions following it no matter how simply it's written.

Wow. I used "BAM" twice in this already. Three times.

Anyway, I suppose this is enough about what's been happening.

I'm very tired. I need to remember that Sunday should be my go-to-bed-early-dammit day. I'll write again next week!

Love,

Callie

P.S. I didn't say anything about the guest writer. David Shook is his name. Graduated from here in '04, I think it was. Or '07. I'll have to ask. Another poet. Translator. He was funny. Had some poems about a modern Jesus.

  P.S. Please visit http:lovecallie.com and tell others - THANK YOU!