Warming Up for Little 5

I'm kind of ashamed to say that, even though I'm a junior, I've never been to the Little 5 races! The time is upon us again, though, and I am ready to go to the track this weekend. In fact, last weekend I got to go there to see one of the pre-Little 500 races: team pursuit. In this race, you race just with your team, and try to get the best time riding with a group. I was amazed to see how fast they could go! I am crossing my fingers for good weather and no bike crashes this weekend. 

Spring Is Here!

It is down to the last few weeks of school, and Spring is officially here! No more 30 degree weather, let's hope. People in Indiana really appreciate warm weather because of our harsh winters; even when it is barely 60 degrees, everyone comes outside in their shorts. 

Warm weather means using the IU's beautiful outdoor spaces. Some of the best outdoor communal spaces to sit, study, and soak up the sun are the Showalter Fountain, the Arboretum and Dunn Meadow. The Showalter Fountain sits in the middle of the Fine Arts Square and features a sculpture of Venus, designed by Robert Laurent, a former IU faculty member. The Arboretum is a peaceful place, at the site of the old stadium and Little 500 track, full of various types of trees, which are beautiful and provide lovely shade. Dunn Meadow is a huge stretch of land just outside of the IMU that is often the place for concerts, fundraisers, and sporting activities. 

Bikes, Buses, and Automobiles

Living on campus can be really nice; it means you don't have to walk far to get where you need to go. Plus, it means you are leaving less of a carbon "footprint" when you are living here, which the environment really appreciates. Sometimes, though, students want to get off campus, or just get around a lot faster than walking.

Some students who live on campus have cars, so leaving campus is easy. There are many parking lots and parking spaces near the residence halls, but you have to have a special parking pass to use them. This is a pass that you have to pay for, and sometimes you don't always get a spot in the parking lots on campus. That's why many people still like to walk to classes if they can.
Having a bike is a really good way to compensate for a car, and great exercise. Only the toughest will ride their bikes during the cold winter; though--I usually leave mine at home for the winter. Another option is riding the bus; there are Bloomington transit buses that can take you all around town, and there are also IU campus buses that can take you to class. All you need to ride is your student ID card, and a little bit of patience.

Recently, IU has started an agreement with the Smart Car company. Smart Cars are popular in big cities where most people do not drive; you can just rent one of their cars for a short amount of time to get from place to place, and just drop it off at a Smart Car location when you are done. The Smart Car location on campus is in the motorcycle parking lot across from the journalism building. Even though I travel by foot most of the time, I have found that there is almost always a way to get from point A to point B.

Spring Cleaning

My sister is coming to visit me this weekend, which means there is cleaning to be done around my apartment, including the bathroom. Last year, she visited me in the dorms, so I think she will appreciate the private bathroom aspect of my apartment this year! Each Hillcrest apartment is equipped with a moderately sized bathroom including all the necessities--toilet, tub, and shower. 

The apartments are not equipped, however, with their own laundry machines; for laundry we share two community laundry rooms. Each has two washers and two dryers. It does require you to do a little bit of a trek with your clothes, but it is manageable. You can use a Campus Access card for these machines, too, which is very handy. 

Hillcrest Decorating Tips

When you live in an apartment, there is a lot more wall space to decorate than in a dorm room. You sometimes have to get a little creative to keep those walls from being bear. Here are a few suggestions on how to get the job done.

1. Maps: These are a great way to to cover large amounts of wall space. They are also really handy during discussions about geography. This map belonged to my parents.

2. Montages: Another way to fill a big wall is by creating a sort of montage with smaller pictures. It is also a good way to preserve memories. My roommate and I bought two of these prints together when we were in Chicago last summer, and we bought two other ones from The Collaboration Room here in Bloomington.

3. Hanging: I have to credit my roommate for this, but we have a fun hanging decoration that adds a lot of character to our apartment. It is made up of lots of colorful paper circles, and hangs above our living room. It's one of the first things people notice when they walk into the room.

Getting Hands-on with Handmade Paper

Arts Council is a group involved in the funding and scheduling of all kinds of art-related events around Collins. One such event was a trip to Twinrocker Handmade Paper in Brookston, Indiana. Before the business was established in 1971, no one was making handmade paper in the U.S.; it was all factory-produced. Now, Twinrocker is one of the most popular places to find handmade paper in the country.
During the workshop we were given a tour and demonstrations on how to form sheets of paper. Then we got to be hands-on--and very messy--while making our own sheets of paper, using different paper fibers and colors. There are very specific steps to the process that take quite a while to be mastered, kind of like the steps of a dance.

An Enchanting Performance

This evening I got to see an enchanting performance of the musical Beauty and the Beast at the auditorium. The visuals were incredible; at one point during the song "Be Our Guest," confetti was shot into the crowd. Very exciting. The play followed the Disney movie very closely, but with a few changes like new songs. In following the plot and hearing the old songs, it was really fun to be reminded of the movie I watched as a kid. I really want to watch the movie again, now!