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so...it's ash wednesday, and i went to church.
for those of you who are shocked, let me explain:
-i'm doing a new thing every day, and part of it is going to every harvard building, and the st. paul church isn't conveniently open every day for visitors the way, say, st. peter's is...you know, in THE VATICAN?
-i wanted to hear the children's choir.
-i like this kind of thing. not church necessarily, but ash wednesday. honestly, if there were a church that were as left-wing as i am (believe me, there isn't) i might actually go to it. i like community, and i like ritual, and values that you might even think were christian, like, uh, caring about others...i even like God!
here's what i DON'T like: hearing the phrase 'pro-life' five times during the homily (and reading it twice in the handout, idiotically titled 'take five for lent'), a pretentious boob of a priest who panders to us by using slang terms like "whatever" and "now, a word from our sponsor," or a congregation that LAUGHS at said slang terms.
help!
in general, with some exceptions, of course, my experience of harvard--both the institution and the student body--has been one of intelligence, tolerance, and critical thought. woohoo! i made the mistake of thinking that some of this could have infiltrated harvard's catholic church. well...granny was wrong, and granny is sad about this. i like having the option of going to church even if i don't always choose to go, and i don't really want to switch over to a church that serves grape juice. i may have to become anglican, because the last time i went to anglican church, they served sherry!
the children's choir, on a different note (haha! no pun intended!) was lovely. as the little guys walked by in their little choir outfits, i noticed how adorable they were.
i wonder if the priest was noticing the same thing.
this year i'm turning 30, and i want to do something new every day, even if it's just a little thing. yesterday i went to widener library for the first time. today (drumroll please) i used the recumbent bike at the gym! i never used the...other bikes...(the opposite of recumbent: erect??) because i can't adjust them to my size, but this particular recumbent bike was easy to adjust, and fit me fine. at first it didn't feel like a very challenging workout, but by the end i could really feel the burn in my booty.
tell me what new things you're doing! they can be ridiculous things like mine.
so...if you go to Harvard with me, STOP READING RIGHT HERE.
did you stop?
today i went to widener library. since widener is Harvard's largest and most famous library, you would think this was not a big deal. it was a big deal for me, though, because i had never been there. not even once, in 4.5 years. i often go to the music library, but usually when i want to read an actual book that is completely unrelated to music, i order it from amazon. however, since i am only teaching one section this semester, i decided to try and do something new every day, even if it's just going in a building for the first time. i looked up some books that were related to my dissertation, and off to widener i went.
you have to have a harvard id even to enter widener. i swiped mine and the gate opened and i went in. when you first go in there is a huge staircase that leads up to our copy of the gutenberg bible in a fancy display case. i looked at it and noted how elegantly it was typeset; unfortunately you aren't allowed to take pictures. then i went looking for my books, but i couldn't find the place where the books are (stacks! i couldn't find the stacks.) i didn't want to ask anybody where the stacks were since most people go to widener every day, so i just walked and walked around and finally found a little poster that showed where the call numbers are and my books were supposed to be in 3-east so i took the elevator up to 3, and it was a weird floor with no people on it, and no books either. finally, i was helped out by the custodian, who gently pointed out that 1)this was not the stacks and 2)this was the sixth floor.
down the stairs again! i found a map and started again, and found the stacks, and 3-east, where my book supposedly was. 3-east houses the religious mysticism section. woohoo! did you know there is a journal called 'the mystical quarterly'? i really wanted to take a picture (as well as a picture of the 'BS' aisle...close to my book which was a 'BV') but that's against the rules! i found my book 'between exaltation and infamy' and also another one called 'cloud of unknowing' which seemed appropriate for some reason.
i found the book-checkout place, took out my book despite owing large fines, visited the ladies' room, visited the cafe, and left. nobody even noticed i was wearing my cannabis leaf belt!
in summary: going to widener was well worth the trip, and i look forward to going back, just as long as i'm not too pressed for time...
i love my new haircut. brian from shag salon cuts my hair. brian is cool because he is a kick-ass hairstylist, and because he's from maine, too.
