Center Desk Secrets and Surprises

     As a college student, finding a package in your mailbox is something to look forward to. Getting mail—no matter whether it's from home or something you bought for yourself—always has the capacity to brighten my day! I recently picked up a package that had come for me while my RA was working at the center desk, and she told me about a lot of helpful center-desk services that go beyond the basic mail pick-up.

Step right up!

Little boxes upon boxes of possibility.

     Did you know that center desks often have helpful tools like bicycle pumps on hand in case you get a flat? Or that you can send and receive faxes through your center desk? The center desk also sells stamps for the few people who wander in every week with outbound mail. (You can't send packages through the center desk, but you can definitely send letters!) Who knew?

     In living-learning centers or res halls with special facilities—like Collins with its textiles studio, cinema, darkroom, and so on—students can also pick up the keys to such facilities at their center desk, as long as they've received approval to do so in advance!

Center desk workers are always friendly!

     Go forth and make the most of your center desk!

Jordan Greenhouses

     Although I don't do this as often as I'd like, I make it a point to do some exploring on campus every semester. In the fall I fell in love with Lilly Library. I recently found a new favorite campus spot—the Jordan Greenhouses.

The view from Third Street.



The view from inside.

      This weekend my parents came to town. Every time they visit, we always do the quintessential catch-up lunch. This visit, however, we made a new tradition—a visit to one of the most lush and beautiful spots on campus, the greenhouses. This was something we had been talking about doing since freshman year, and I think we were all glad that we finally made time to do it!

Mom and Pops, pondering a plant.

     The greenhouses are such a beautiful place to visit on campus, whether it's just you or you're with parents or friends. They're open every day of the week from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. They feature a linked collection of rooms which house all different sorts of plants from desert plants to tropical varieties, ferns to flowers, cotton to carnivorous plants. (See more here: http://www.iub.edu/videos/Jordan-Greenhouse-Tour.shtml)

Aren't these little guys adorable?

IU colors.

The textures of the different
cacti were amazing.

    The entrance to the greenhouses is found through Jordan Hall. It can be a bit difficult to figure out how to get in! We found it simplest to come in through the Third Street entrance to Jordan Hall. From there, you just walk in the doors, turn right, and feast your eyes!

A little bit of botany humor for your trouble.

Keeping it Cozy

     A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about making it through the winter on campus. Well, this weekend, thanks to a good friend, I had the occasion to genuinely enjoy the winter weather, spending the weekend at my friend's family condo on nearby Lake Monroe.

Winter isn't all bad!

     Last Friday after everyone was done with class, I packed up my car with some friends from my res hall floor, and we headed out to the lake. We crammed my car full of blankets, pillows, board games, and the makings of a gourmet meal—courtesy of my friend and the gracious host of our weekend trip. Cozy-making supplies take up so much space!

Passing around our tasty, tasty dinner.

Pretty self-explanatory.

     Just 20-30 minutes away, Lake Monroe is a beautiful place in either winter or summer weather, and it served as a very cozy weekend retreat. We lounged in the cabin, playing games and eating tasty, tasty food, and in the morning, we took a short winter hike. It was certainly a beautiful and refreshing way to spend the weekend!

Good times!

Beautiful Books

     Last week I wrote about how much reading I have to keep up with this semester. A friend of mine has another problem. Rather than trying to keep up with reading books this semester, she's been trying to keep up with making them. She's in an artist's book class here at Collins!

A little bookmaking world.

     An artist's book is exactly what it sounds like—a book that is a piece of art. She's already shown me some of the early stuff the class has completed, but recently she let me photograph her, as she worked on her first big project.

Looking focused.

     Her first book was the small green book pictured below. Constructed essentially of just one collapsable page, this book is in what is called an accordion format.

This is so adorable. It's about the size
of my palm, by the way.

     This new project is a full-sized accordion book. It's pages will feature cut out trees, and when closed, the layers of trees that the folded pages will create will resemble a forest. Although it is still a work in progress, I'll be posting a picture of the completed project when it is ready! I can't wait to see it!

T-t-t-tracing!

So far, so good.

A Midwinter Night's Dream

     To go out or stay in, that is the question. Students know that there is actually very little spring in spring semester. With brutal winter weather settling in around us, students prepare to face the last couple of months of cold before spring officially arrives. Some break out skateboards and bikes on their way to class, even in the snow.

Just looking at this makes me feel cold.

A brave soul.

     Many other students, however, don't want to leave their rooms at all. Last weekend I spent much of my time reading for classes. I'm in a fantastic combined English and Gender Studies class this semester, and I love it! But, the reading is tough to keep up with, averaging a novel per week or about 50 pages per day. My reading weekend was not only relaxing and enjoyable, but practical as well. 

Reading Jane Eyre.

     Part of the reason why I think I'm enjoying my cozy room so much is because it wasn't so cozy just a week ago. The radiator in my room hasn't been working properly for much of this winter! If any sort of maintenance issue like this ever comes up in your room, you have to do what I did—go to the center desk of your building and fill out a maintenance request form. Just talking to your residential assistant might not get the problem fixed; you have to actually fill out a maintenance request yourself before someone will come to check out the problem.

Books to read, just for fun...
If I ever have time!

So many empty tea bottles.

     Here is the wisdom that winter seems to have brought me: Bundle, guys! Bundle your hearts out! Also, I am turning into an 80-year-old woman. I'm hooked on tea. I love my books. If only I could keep a cat in my res hall room... Cat or no cat, though, I will be camping out in the warmth of my room for the rest of the semester. If you want to see me, you should come by! Just be sure not to interrupt my episode of "Wheel of Fortune."

Lunch with an Old Friend: Bring on the Breakfast

     Perhaps it's our unusual sleep patterns. Or the Saturday-morning, comfort-of-home feeling that breakfast food embodies. Whatever the reason, there's some sort of mystical connection between college students and breakfast food.

Making your mouth water right now, isn't it?

     As you may remember, I blogged about going out to brunch with an old friend a couple of months ago. (See http://tinyurl.com/46woant.) The goal was to hit up a local, off-campus spot for breakfast each week. Given our budgets and schedules, we probably should have realized that this idea was a bit unrealistic from the beginning. We have managed, though, to make it around to several Bloomington breakfast joints. We recently tried out a little place on the west side: Cloverleaf Family Restaurant.

See the clover symbol? See it?

     Cloverleaf's menu is actually similar to Wee Willy's, the breakfast spot we hit up in November. It's an all-day parade of breakfast and other comfort foods. The low-down on the two spots: Willy's hashbrowns beat out the competition, but we preferred the combo options offered at Cloverleaf. Some of the other B-town breakfast spots we've tried and would recommend include the Runcible Spoon, yet another delightful little family-restaurant sort of place called Cozy Table, and the Sunday brunch at either  Bloomingfoods or at the Tudor Room in the IMU. For more info on the Sunday Brunch in the Tudor Room, check out this website: http://tinyurl.com/5u2u5ae.

We love breakfast, yes we do!
We love breakfast, how 'bout you?

Meet Me in St. Louis

     My res hall, Collins Living-Learning Center, opened its doors to students returning for the new semester on January 5, 2011. (Happy New Year, by the way!) Before the serious work of the semester began, however, I managed to squeeze in a trip to St. Louis on the last weekend of winter break with some friends.

We made it!

     We spent the day at the City Museum in St. Louis, which is truly one of my favorite places in the world. A mecca of creativity, this was the perfect place to blow off steam before the beginning of the semester. To fully understand how great this place is visit www.citymuseum.org.

Looking down into the visual splendor of the museum. 

     We climbed on the sculptural found-art playground in 20-degree weather! We explored the caves! We played with the animals in the aquarium! (Have you ever heard of doctor fish? They're fish who will feed on people's dead skin. And, the City Museum has a tank of them that guests are allowed to stick their hands into! Apparently, if you leave your hands in the tank long enough, the fish will actually start to eat your nails.) We slid down the 10-story slide! We saw the world's biggest pair of underwear!

Playing on the playground in the cold. Fun times!

Exfoliation via doctor fish. Ew.

Did I mention the museum also features a giant hamster wheel to play on?

     I had also just received a polaroid camera for Christmas, and this was a really fun place to try it out!

Bonding with a bird.

We're actually about 50 feet off of the ground here.
Seriously, best playground ever.

With the best ball pit ever!

     Ultimately, the nine hours of driving and the resulting bruises? So completely worth it.