TODAY is the very dreadful last day of summer vacation.

It is weird to say that I am now officially a sophomore and honestly I am also a little bit nervous. Not doing any school work for about four months makes me a little VERY concerned about my mental preparedness for starting classes tomorrow. Although, I have this feeling that this year is going to be a very good year because I am now more involved on campus activities. Also, I’m kind of a big deal (according to the mug I found at a cute store in town), so I think I can handle a second year in rural Vermont.

Even though I will no longer be a Summer Intern here at the office, I will still be working here throughout the year as an Admissions Student Assistant. So the Emma Willard House will be one of my stops three times a week this year. I’m looking forward to see what this year will be like, and as of now it looks like it’s off to a good start!

Now Here’s a pretty picture of the sign in our waiting room.

No dorm is truly complete without a little color to bring the space to life. And what better way to add life to a room than buying PLANTS to decorate it! Agway is a local lawn and garden supply store that students frequent as they arrive to the area.

We made the trip specifically so Tabitha could get some plants for her room and our little excursion was not in vain. Three people walked in, and three plants were carried out. Gus and Tabitha also looked quite the part in their gardening hats.

So I just checked and 77.78% of my entries have been about food. I actually expected that number to be higher and I am a little disappointed. Thankfully, once I post this, that number will skyrocket to an even 80% (fun mental math puzzle if you’re interested: figure out what number blog post this is). To get that number up though, it seems I will have to mention a fun food experience somewhere soon.

This plan also works well for me because, besides working and decorating my new room (almost done… probably… who knows… pinterest may inspire me yet again) this week has been a little dull. Unlike normal weeks at Midd, when people are always distracting me from work with fun ideas like “come cliff jumping with me at the quarry” or “do you want to go to Bristol and get ice cream”, this week has been slim on fun adventures that I can share with the blog-o-sphere. That is because most of my friends are either still enjoying their summer vacations or are training to be Middview (freshman orientation) leaders. This training entails going to a camp called Common Ground and basically having a week to play games, sleep outside, and eat delicious local food. I’m not jealous, it’s fine, it sounds boring anyways.

To convince myself of this fact (and incorporate a fun food outing into my post) I actually got my family to come spend labor day in VT and have dinner with me tonight. We are meeting in Brandon, a town about 20 minutes from Middlebury, to go to one of our favorite restaurants, Cafe Provence. Middlebury actually has a ton of amazing restaurants to choose from but it’s also neat check out the surrounding area for great finds like Cafe Provence. I have been there before so I know it will be delicious but maybe next week I will update you all on exactly what I chose (and get my percentage up to 82%)!

I’m back. I know I said that yesterday’s post was the last of the summer but after the events of last night I have to document my thoughts and feelings somewhere.

As everyone in the office knows, I am both wildly competetive and completely into trivia, so as a goodbye to summer trivia I went to the Marquis last night. Our team was named “the remix to admissions” and it was comprised of myself, Daria, Claire, Ella, and Ellie (the last two also being tour guides). While there was only one other team playing against us the first round was a rollercoaster. Once all the answers were read, the other team was ahead by 1 point. In the second round we made a come-back and tied up the game. It all came down to this final round. Would we win free movie tickets (the first place prize) or free popcorn (the second place prize)? Being that there were only two teams it would be embarrassing for a team of 5 to lose to a team of 3. As Pierre, the Marquis trivia emcee, read off the questions for the final round I was seriously doubting our ability to win and was beginning to resign myself to second place. After turning in our sheet, Pierre looks at both teams and says, “Considering how the answers were going that last round, exactly what I was expecting to happen happened….it was a direct tie! Both teams get free movie passes!!”

After 3 long months of waiting for free movie passes and winning trivia, it finally happened. Maybe it wasn’t the out-right win that I wanted but it doesn’t matter. IT STILL HAPPENED.

Nothing can bring me down, not even moving all my stuff across campus today…ok maybe that can bring me down but the movie ticket brings me right back up. Happy summer everyone!

Last night, after inhaling a delicious meal prepared by Tabitha, a few of us inquired as to the current status of the Quidditch closet; whether it was clean, and also where it was actually located. I have never seen this magical place of splendor, but I heard that it was recently reorganzied. As a techie for theatre, I can appreciate a well-organized storage closet.

When we got there I saw the rack of brooms and immediately took one to make my dream of flying come true.

And here is proof of my flying capabilities. The picture is a bit blurry, but it just demonstrates my ability to stay on a broom at high speeds. It’s nice that my status as a high-class wizard will finally be recognized by my peers.

Look at those homemade omelets!!!

The view from Snake Mountain is beautiful!

Sometimes it’s nice to take a break, enjoy the weather, and spend time with friends. The summer is a great time for internships, jobs, and experiences, but it’s also wonderful to relax.

I feel like I am supposed to be the contrite child…

I took the week off of work, enjoyed the weather, and decompressed. In the morning I would volunteer at the Organic Farm, and in the evening I would cook meals with friends. We shopped for groceries (for some reason the cashier wouldn’t let my friend scan me…) and made meals that ranged from sushi to poulet yassa (a Senegalese dish). It was nice to wake up, go for a run, make breakfast, and explore Vermont.

Organic Farm

Over the weekend I had a friend visit and we hiked to the top of Snake Mountain which afforded us a gorgeous view of the valley. We also went to our first concert: Ciderstock! You can read all about on the blog, but it was amazing. During one of the songs two of my friends put me on their shoulders and I got to see the entire crowd.

This is my last week in the office and it has been a wonderful summer. I’ll post my final entry later this week. Have a wonderful day, and I hope that the rest of your summer is as amazing as mine has been.

Unlike Colin, Kelsey, and Daria, I did not spend this weekend at Ciderstock. Instead I spent some time at my friend’s cabin in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont.

upside down because technology is hard

I went paddleboarding, kayaking, and on a low-key hike. Without internet or phone sevice for the weekend my friends (Megan and Ellie) and I spent the weekend watching movies, eating, reading, and doing crossword puzzles. 10/10 I would definitely recommend a get-away weekend before classes/orientation starts because you never know when your next one will be.

Final thoughts: 1)  Always Always go outside when the weather is nice because you never know how long it will last. 2) Not being on your phone in bed can drastically increase the number of sleeping hours you get [UNREAL AMOUNTS OF SLEEP]

This is my last week as a summer admissions intern, I have to make it worthwhile so my blogposts are cool enough to be read

Last weekend, the Woodchuck Cidery had their second annual music festival, Ciderstock. Four bands performed all day. There was also food, drinks (for those over 21), and lawn games! My friends and I had a great time.

We got up close for New Politics and Cage the Elephant.

I hate being squished. So I enjoyed the concert but by halfway through Cage the Elephant I  had to go because there were way too many people trying to get up front. At the end of the concert there were beautiful fireworks.

Then, in the craziest turn of events I ended up backstage and got to hang out with the guys of Cage the Elephant. 10/10 would recommend. They were very friendly. By the end I was sooooo tired.

Also at some point over last week I touched some sort of plant that I am allergic to. It’s not poison  ivy but I still look diseased & everything itches. (1/10 would NOT recommend.)

Anyone that knows me would be able to tell you about my love of socks. I’ve got socks with whales, sailboats, robots, flowers, stripes, and singing penguins. For anyone familiar with ‘The Magic School Bus’ my eventual goal is to have socks for every situation and event just like Ms. Frizzle. Aiding me on my journey is the ever-wonderful Sox Market in Burlington.

This fantastic store on Church Street has socks of every kind for women, men, children, and people of all ages. I like to say that socks aren’t for any specific group of people, unless the size is off. So over the years I’ve acquired crew socks, knee socks, and thigh highs as well. All with varying patterns and designs.

Recently I ventured to the market and bought some socks with cats holding umbrellas, and a pair with glasses too. It has become one of my favorite places to go in Vermont now.

My dear friend Tabitha is currently house-sitting for another acquaintance of ours who was graciously willing to offer her kitchen for us students to use since the dining halls are currently closed. Therefore we decided to make carbonara!!

For anyone that doesnt know, a crispy type of pork product is added in with the pasta, which for some is either bacon or pancetta.

It became a center of discussion for the night as to whether REAL carbonara should have pancetta or if bacon was an acceptable substitute. The conversation raged on for hours like a Shakespearean tempest  even as we walked through porter field and watched the stars. Although it was all in good fun. A final consensus was never reached, however the pasta turned out great and no one went home hungry that night.