Stymied by the mid-January slump

Written by Abi Humber Tuesday, 26 January 2010 19:49

Aaaaaaah! The mid-January slump! I hope you know what I’m talking about. Here in Chicago, it’s been disgustingly wintery for months—overcast, dark, colorless, freezing, rainy, snowy… bleck. I’m not a big fan.

I mean, the tall, dark buildings against a gray sky are beautiful for a little while, but monochrome gets really old really fast. I miss sun and green and water that isn’t actually ice and frolicking and freckles and my orange summer hair (except I actually don’t miss that particular hue at all).

Maybe I have no reason to declare myself a victim of the seasonal slump, considering that people in Alaska literally may not see the sun for months. But maybe I just want something to blame my grouchiness on.

Everything in...

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Return to classes has made life far busier than it should be

Written by Abi Humber Tuesday, 19 January 2010 19:40

The first week of classes has been insane. Between going to class, buying books, returning books, adding classes, dropping classes, attending meetings, participating in various activities, and trying to reconnect with virtually every friend I’ve ever made on campus, I’ve been pretty busy.

But I have not been too busy to notice the influx of new Swedish students on campus. I’ve mentioned before how the few Swedish exchange student sit at a round table at lunch, channeling the Cullen family from “Twilight.”

Well. The situation has only grown more intense. Not only have 20 or so very Swedish North Park students returned from a semester in Sweden, but they brought with them an equal number of Swedes who will complete a semester...

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Do people want an honest answer?

Written by Abi Humber Tuesday, 29 December 2009 21:03

“How’s the big Chicago treatin’ ya?” “How was that first semester for ya?”

Ah, the small town grocery store questions. Working at Vogt’s has led me to become a pro at executing polite, amusing and appropriately small small talk. But when people ask me questions like this (which is about every three minutes), I feel torn on how to answer.

I know that, these days, “How are you?” isn’t really an inquiry about the status of the inner workings of my soul. It’s merely a greeting, like “Hey” or “What’s up?” Imagine me giving a totally honest answer…

Customer: “Well hey there, Abi! Welcome home! How was your first semester at college?”

Me: “Aw thanks, it’s so great to be home. Well wow…where do I...

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Procrastination is a holiday activity

Written by Abi Humber Tuesday, 08 December 2009 20:12

It’s that time of year again. Students are decorating their rooms with colorful lights, paper Christmas trees and tinsel. They are going downtown multiple times per week to participate in holiday-esque activities—absorbing the atmosphere, ice skating, buying Chicago coffee mugs for grandmothers.

Christmas music can be heard from the street, blaring from every floor of the dorms. Everyone is running around in their mittens and puffy down coats, taking pictures, hugging and sticking out their tongues to catch snowflakes from the first snowfall of the year.

But I think this “Christmas spirit” should be seen for what it truly is: Procrastination.

After Thanksgiving break, North Park students had one full week of classes before...

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