Happy Mountain Day!

Oh Mount Holyoke we pay thee devotion....

So today is Mountain Day at Mount Holyoke. That means Jo Jo (The College President) decided that today is the last beautiful day of fall. At Mount Holyoke is morning 2,000 women woke up to the sound of bells tolling, then they heard a random girl running up and down the hall excitedly yelping "It's Mountain Day!", some of them were probably still delirious from a long night of reading/ paper writing so they still got out of bed and walked into the bathroom where they finally noticed that all of the mirrors and stalls were covered with exclamations of "It's Mountain Day, GO BACK TO BED!". Most of those 2,000 smiled when the realization hit them and curled back up in their warm bed (many of them hadn't even gotten out of bed), and a portion of them were relieved that their gamble of not doing homework in anticipation of Mountain Day had paid off.

A few hours later the women of Mount Holyoke got up and decided what to do with their beautiful day of freedom from all responsibilities, the options were limitless: climb Mount Holyoke (this is what you're supposed to do on Mountain Day and most people do it at least once), sleep the day way, sun on the green, go to Northampton, go to Amherst, go canoeing on the lake, and the ever popular option of catching up on work.

This morning I woke up, managed to force my sore body to stand upright (after 2 football loses on Sunday and a boxing class on Monday my body is not so happy with me) and I went to the computer. I noticed that my friend Bates, who lives in Hungary had written on my Facebook wall- "Happy Mountain Day". Damn it! When I was in college a morning announcement of "Happy Mountain Day" was always followed with "go back to bed". But since I graduated this is the 3rd time I have had to trudge into work and try to be productive as a beautiful fall day wasted away without me. My inbox is filled with at least 20 e-mails from friends wishing each other a happy mountain day despite the fact that we are at work.

Mount Holyoke is a special place and I miss it and all it's quaint traditions more than ever on days like today. But I am also glad that my inbox is full of messages from fellow alumnae that I am still connected with and that we will always rejoice in the happiness of the students that we may not know by name but still know in our memory (or spirit? I don't know which).

So Happy Mountain Day to you all, Claudia and Jean and I (three of 5 Mount Holyoke Women who are all friends and all work within a quarter mile of each other) are going to get some ice cream to celebrate- you should too!

Follow-up to Queer Eye

So I saw the show and was very pleased. I was a little worried, but they did a great job of making who Miles was approachable while still respecting the complexity (I think that's what I'm trying to say).

My friend Sarah informed me that it was not the first time that a trans person was on reality TV, but it was still exciting anyway, it is good to know that Queer Eye is not the only show that was willing to breach the subject.

Finally, I was also quite happy with how loving and accepting Miles' family is. I remember sophomore year we were hanging out in the library (did you notice the Vermont flag in his apartment- well that used to hang in "the fort" the space we took over in the Library) during finals and Miles was nervous about a wedding (I think) he was going to with his family. It was the first time he would be wearing a suit at a family function while his sisters would be wearing dresses. I don't think I ever heard how it went but I am glad to see where his family is at now.

Not that Frida was trans or that this is really related, but I just love Frida and that last paragraph made me think of her:

That's Frida in the middle :)

Queer Eye for the Mount Holyoke Guy

I know what you're thinking. "Is this some J-show skit you were in?" (well maybe you were thinking that if you really know me).

Anyway, this is no skit people, this is the real thing- Bravo TV. Tonight at 10:00 pm Miles Goff, who started Mount Holyoke in '99 (I think) as Amelia Goff will star in Queer Eye for the Straight Guy episode 302: TRANS-FORM THIS TRANS-MAN.

(Miles is in the back)

I don't know Miles well, but I know that he is a good guy and very kind and I'm really excited for him. He was at our reunion and we said something to him about his upcoming fame and he just sheepishly smiled and asked how we had heard about it. A number of the other friends that appear in the episodes are friends and acquaintances from Mount Holyoke. Needless to say Claudia (a fellow MHC alum) and I are having people over tonight to watch the episode.

This is the first time Queer eye has ever had a trans-gendered person on, and my friend Bekka has speculated that this may be the first time a trans-gendered person has been on a reality TV show. So tune in and check it out, and if you don't read this blog until too late, don't distress it's Bravo, here are the other show times: Tue, Aug 1 12:00 AM, Thu, Aug 3 8:00 PM, and Sat, Aug 5 1:00 PM.

Happy watching :)

Procrastination here I come!

GOLD, I've struck gold! I found a website that lets you build south park characters- eyes, body, hat, weapons, you name it.

Here is "the dirty hippy" (aka college melanie) as a south park character:


This website is my new love!

Camping in the rain

This feels a little strange since I haven't told anyone about this, but what the heck!
I am scheduled to leave today for 4 days of camping in the rain. It has finally gotten to me...this extended cold and rainy season. I am cranky, I want sun and warmth and tan skin!
We are having a senior week reunion, and last night was also the reunion of my High School prom...it's been 5 years! How could I be that old? I don't feel that old....

camping in the rain...just hope no one disintegrates the cooler!