The First Round of Horrors

Getting back into the swing of things here at Mines wasn’t too difficult. It seems like as soon as I got back on campus I forgot I ever left for winter break! Of course, that feeling quickly passed, and now I’m simply counting the days until I fly back to South Carolina for spring break. Of course, I love being back here at school. It’s wonderful to see my friends, get out of the humidity, play in the snow, and even learn a little, but after the first round of horrors (oh, I mean exams) a break sounds wonderful.

Last semester, most of my exams were nicely spaced out over the course of a few weeks. There may have been a period of time in which I had an exam each week. Of course, back then I thought studying for a new subject every single weekend was cruel and unusual torture. Oh, I was so young and innocent back then. I’ve now come to realize the cold hard truth: studying for a new exam every week isn’t terrible; studying for a new exam every other day is horrible!

This semester my classes with common hour exams are Chemistry II, Calculus II, and Physics I. It seems as if all three of these teachers got together and planned their syllabi so we, their students, would have all their tests within a week. I now officially call the week from the Thursday when I took my chemistry test to the following Thursday when I finally finished calculus the First Round of Horrors. For all those who loved the franticness of late nights and frantic studying do not fear! There will be a sequel, the Second Round of Horrors, coming out the week before spring break, even more stressful than the last. This will consist of a physics test on Tuesday and then calculus and chemistry tests back-to-back on Thursday. The only possible good thing about that is that I won’t have to study over spring break.

Now, let’s move onto the fun that’s occurred since I arrived back at Mines. A few weeks ago I went skiing at Copper Mountain with some friends! Apparently this year Colorado has gotten less snow than usual, so I imagine all the native skiers/snowboarders were praying for a blizzard and all the scientists who predicted global warming were teasing, “I told you so,” but skiing out here is still a million times better than skiing on the East coast. I didn’t care that there’s usually more snow on the slopes; I was just excited that I was skiing on real snow not small man-made ice crystals! Oh, and the view from the top of the mountain was absolutely breathtaking. I really had never seen anything like it. This Saturday we’re driving to Steamboat to go skiing again, and I can’t wait!

 
Holly, me, and Jessica skiing at Copper Mountain!

There’s been fun with my floor too! We had a few days of snow (and a day off school: my first ever snow day!) and a bunch of the girls on my floor went sledding on a hill on campus. Somebody had already built a ramp there, and we caught a good bit of air going off it. Some other people showed up while we were there and went down the hill on lunch trays! It wasn’t exactly effective but it looked like tons of fun. Some of the girls on our floor also decorated for Valentine’s Day. There are pink and yellow spirals hanging from the hallway ceilings, pink heart-shaped doilies, and nerdy pick-up lines on the walls! It was absolutely adorable. We all got together to make valentines and get some frozen yogurt too. It was tasty, crafty, and entertaining!

 
Waiting to go down the hill, sledding with the floor!

Unfortunately, I’ve been under the weather all week. Living on campus you really are exposed to a myriad of germs you never would have expected. I don’t know anybody else who’s sick, but I’m sure somewhere around campus there’s a dirty doorknob or railing where I picked up this cold. I learned the hard way that you really can’t be too careful when using hand sanitizer and tissues. Better safe than sorry! I lost my voice a few days ago and it still isn’t back to normal. I’m sure my friends are glad to have a break from my incessant talking, but I just want to sound intelligible again. Hopefully I’ll get better soon; spring is just around the corner, and I want to be able to appreciate the beautiful upcoming weather!