Life, the Universe, and Fire Alarms

I just got back from a dorm event called "NOT AGAIN," talking about the dangers of pulling fire alarms, how serious it is, etc. Most of us went cuz they were offering free hot chocolate and snacks and money for the top floor attendance (our floor came in third, which wasn't bad). Yes, we are still having multiple false fire alarms. Apparently they tend to get worse during finals week. Just what I needed to look forward to. The evening had some serious overtones, though. They showed videos about how students have died in fires and I even started to cry (well, tear up. and I did have my contacts in).

This past weekend some fun things happened. I helped out with a community service project. Each floor competed in a food drive, then had to build something out of the cans. Our floor (thanks to the brilliant plan of my roommate, Amber) build a replica of Jesse Hall and the Columns. Basically it was Amber, Jason, our PA Laura and her boyfriend Kevin, and myself (I termed myself "creative consultant"). They let me make the columns, but I was told not to touch the building. Hmm, I wonder why. . . (LOL, actually a smart idea). I came up with several special touches, including stairs out of paper and a flag for the top of the building. We used Christmas lights to represent the Quad. We had a lot of fun, and the end result was amazing. Lots of people stopped by to complement it, and Jason freaked out when girls called it "cute." I told him not to worry, it was stately. But I teased him about it anyway.*Wicked Grin*

I went to the Nutcracker ballet and a play this Saturday. The Nutcracker was, well, The Nutcracker. The youngest daughter was called Maria, not Clara, which surprised me. My favorite parts were the Spanish and the Arabian dancers (who were amazing, by the way). The play was at our Corner Playhouse, which is about a ten minute cold walk from my dorm, but worth it. This was the second play I've gone to there. It's small, but the plays are really fun. This time it was "a dark comedy about the dark ages" called "Incorruptible." It's about these monks who have the bones of a saint, but are totally out of money, When another abbey claims to have the bones of the same saint--and their bones are working miracles--they are at their wits end of what to do. The Pope was skipped over the promised visit to visit this other place, and their saint's bones aren't working miracles, so our monastery has nothing to draw in pilgrims with. When they find out that this is because a one-eyed minstrel dug up a body and sold it to the other abbey, they realize they have found a way to make money. Subsequently, they empty their churchyard by selling the bones of "saints" to all these other churches. Only problem? They're too successful. After they've sold seventeen heads of John the Baptist, etc. they realize they are in trouble. Again. It's really quite a funny play, and doesn't make fun of the church so much as of self-serving people. Well, it doesn't provide good examples, but the end--surprisingly enough--sends the message that faith can work miracles.