joyful joyful

to the tune of: If Moon was Cookie by Sesame Street

A string of joys this autumn week, both large and small:

I got into Opening! I must say, I was definitely surprised; there were a lot of really talented follows that didn't get in. But it was easier for the guys and so here I am. Auditions included a sadistic "smooth polka" to Cotton Eye Joe, which is anything but Viennese. But it's been fun, despite the 9 AM Saturday rehearsals. Last night the Committee (funny how unglamorous that name sounds) packed Max's and then stormed Jammix.

Jammix itself was tons o' fun, albeit swarming with awkward Social Iers. This made the cross-step mixer one of the more harrowing. But watching people who'd been dancing for three weeks enjoying themselves made it worth it. So I was planning to leave halfway through, but that didn't exactly happen...

After three weeks of harrassing five different departments at AT&T Wireless, I finally got a new phone. For free! One that works quite well and has lots of toy gadget features to play with (infra-red anyone?) But apparently AT&T wanted to be sure they got it right, so they sent me two (identical) phones, just in case. I wonder how long it will take them to notice, though I have the sinking suspicion I'll find a $160 charge on my next bill... Had I not just sweet-talked them into giving me 100 extra free minutes and a free phone I would feel no remorse at all about pawning it off on su.market. I've already determined that this phone has no non-obnoxious ring tones though, which will be OK as soon as I figure out how to make my own ringtones....

Speaking of free, I scored six free meals out of engineering-related organizations this week. Mmm...free...

Having a professor come out of a meeting in his office to flag you down as you're walking by is a cool feeling. Having two professors actually seem excited about the research you're doing with them is even cooler. Now getting them to agree? still working on that one...

Talking to people who live where it's raining and 44 degrees makes you appreciate the beauty and subtlety of our autumn. Rather than having the trees all conspire to drop their leaves the same weekend, the leaves are turning slowly and just starting to fall. And rather than being cold and rainy, it's still been pleasantly sunny.