Zoe McLaughlin ’11

That, I suppose, is as fitting a metaphor as any for the end of my college time. We, in some small way, touch a place, it touches us, and then we move on.

I learned that storing freshly spray painted lanterns in your room is usually a bad idea and I learned how to eat chicken feet.

A highlight: the dessert contest, with categories such as hottest dessert, coldest dessert, and most fractal (largest surface area to volume ratio) dessert.

It strikes me that I'm probably growing up if I worry about bowings even when I'm the only person playing the part.

But, really, looking at the stars at 1:30 AM is always going to be more fun than writing a paper, even if said paper is about mummies.

Grad school was an obvious possibility, as was finding a job and working for a year, getting more lab experience. But I wasn't sure if I wanted to remain so heavily married to the sciences, at least in the immediate future.

Once dressed, we put on our coats and boots and headed over to Warner--where the Dance Department is housed--looking very classy indeed. My coat looks really good on top of silk with gold accents; that's all I'm saying.

That's probably the single biggest reason that I decided to major in creative writing as well as biochemistry. I wanted to have the chance to write and not feel guilty because I was supposed to be doing "real work."

Excitingly enough, this year we purchased a second lion, so this year we were able to do really cool things like have the lions jump over one another. Plus, if you have more lions, everything just looks cooler.

It suddenly hit me that this is my last chance to take classes at Oberlin, ever, and there are so many classes that I haven't had the chance to take yet. This is a sobering thought, especially since I've also suddenly been hit by an overwhelming desire to understand everything.

There was also a bonus piece to the puzzle that they could collect if they found Bigfoot and told him some facts about himself.

Since it's Winter Term right now, I've slacked off a little bit on my mail checking routine because the inflow of mail is even less than normal.

As is the case in many liberal circles, Christianity tends to conjure up images of repression, Jesus camp, and conservatives.

It's a nice break from calculators and the viral YouTube videos we watch when the math gets to be too much.

When we ambled around Tappan Square, I was the head of the lion, hearkening back to the first time I did the lion dance. My lovely friend who was the tail was also the person who danced with me that first time.

Please note the lovely framed Animorphs poster and the lovely Penang flag.

That was all right, though, because as I walked down the street trying not to look like I was lost while simultaneously trying to look like I spoke Chinese, I saw a statue of Kuan Yin across the street.

Including, but not limited to: ramen, canned soup, graham crackers, apple sauce, bread making materials, peanut butter and honey, cereal, rice, and assorted pastas.

By the time we signed the lease, the one thing that I really remembered about the house we were going to rent was that it had a huge bathroom.

The fairy godmothers are actually hillbillies, the prince is something of a dud, and the mice are a lot more concerned about where they're going to get their next meal than about anything that's going on with Cinderella.

The thing is, I know there are more people out there than the ones I see around all the time.

Now, I even dream about research. And I mean that quite literally.

First, a PSA. CSA is hosting Asian Pop Night this Friday at the 'Sco.

To do this, I siphon off a few milimoles of the mixture, using a lot of liquid nitrogen and a pretty intimidating vacuum system, bring it over to the GC, and shoot it through. Basically.

(To avoid thinking about more pressing matters. Like the work I have due tomorrow.)

I did my best deer in the headlights impression, at which point the guy I was assisting said not to worry, he'd help me with some of the talking.

I've been listening to a lot of Jesus Christ Superstar in Spanish.

We had what I think was our biggest audience ever, and then we had cake.

Right before I left for summer vacation, my Facebook status read, 'Zoë goes to the coolest church ever.'

After a brief walk in the crisp night air during which I considered making pirate jokes, we arrived at the hospital.

Various student organizations and groups had tables set up around Tappan Square, with food and activities available from their respective cultures.

If you've been following along with us, you'll know that this past weekend we celebrated the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. I was mainly in charge of directing the skit. I took this very seriously.

By the conclusion of the meeting, we'd decided that the guy who did the lion dance last year would pass on his knowledge to those who were interested.

Funny story: One time, I forgot to bring my concert pants and didn't realize until I was trying to get dressed for a concert.

Showing a little foresight for once, I started investigating jobs that would allow me to arrive early on campus, with somewhat minimal success.

Once we'd finished eating, we parted ways, and I expected not to see her again, unless we wound up in a class together somewhere down the road.

Remember when I was talking about opportunities? Allow me to expound upon another opportunity that I encountered late last semester, involving dance. Just to shake things up a bit, I'm not going to write about Indian dance again.

Want to make your own banjo out of a gourd? You can do it. Want to be part of a gamelan ensemble? You can do that, too.

"You know," one of them said, "Chewbacca is the only one in his family with a normal name."

You may or may not have heard that the bathrooms are gender-neutral at Oberlin. This may or may not concern you, your parents, or someone else whom you hold dear.

I got a little overzealous and started quizzing people on their "action items," which I think only confused the issue.

That extra dash of terror because I don't really know what will happen next in my part is always exciting.

I could spend the rest of this post muttering to myself about the eight books I read over break. However, I don't think that's what you're here for.

I went into the first lesson armed with ten years of violin lessons, one year of music theory, and a textbook.

It must have looked pretty odd--all those mini lanterns hanging from tree limbs and about five of us with cans of spray paint looking like members of a graffiti ExCo, but you get my point.

I've gained a certain amount of respect - if not understanding - for mass spectrometry and I've begun to understand how the microwave in the kitchen works, at least for making Ramen noodles.

As I write this (but not as I type this, because I'll be doing that later), I'm drinking egg nog left over from my dinner at Lord/Saunders. That's right, I ventured to south campus to eat dinner tonight.

I spent most of my time last week trying to memorize a dance for the International Festival, which was held on Saturday.