BALListic

So it turns out Brisbane is not always cool like a day in autumn. Today was the first day where you could feel the heat. Although this afternoons temperature was not too bad, I can feel the impending heat on the back of my neck already. It is a good thing that we are only a short hour away from the beach. However, extreme heat is just another thing trying to keep me from going to lecture.

This weekend is my first weekend staying at Cromwell in a long time. (I've been traveling) And as much as I would like to just kick back and relax, I seem to have accumulated a large amount of work to get started on. Two short essays, one project, and a beast of an essay. I have some time still on all of them, but I'm not excited. Who works while they are abroad? Lame. Despite the work I'll be doing, I also hope to hang out and get to know some more people on campus. I'll also be saying farewell to the other Dickinson Cromwellians as they go off on the trip that I went on last week. One thing I am looking forward to is buying something, I'm not sure what yet, with my new credit card. Mom says I have to so she can set up the account or something. This is me not complaining.

Monday night I went and played basketball with the girls from my college who could be roped into playing. Cromwell plays in an inter-college league with all the other residential colleges. That night we played Duchesne and they creamed us. However, it was an awesome experience. I got to meet a bunch of girls that I hadn't had a chance to hang with before. Also, Meg, Taylor, and Phil came out to support. This was nice. We've evolved into a kind of weird family transplanted into Australia. I have a small background in basketball. I played throughout middle school and high school and had a good coach. Here, they really appreciate the knowledge I have and love having me play with them. It is a great feeling.

I have started practicing with a group of frisbee players down here, made up of UQ Lovers and various other players from league, who are training for Mixed Nationals. Now, unlike UniGames, I think I'll actually get to go to these. I finally had a practice where I could try my best to learn some names and meet people. On the same nights as those training sessions we have UQ League. This is a really lax frisbee league that anybody can play in. Although it is not intense at all skill wise, I think it will be a really nice way to meet day kids (commuters) and kids from other colleges.

Some exciting news came Tuesday night after formal dinner. The teaser for Crommie Ball was revealed, as was the theme for this semester. Ball is like a mix of Prom and a sorority/fraternity party. It is a formal affair of dinner and dancing where people wear their very best. Each semester the themes of each ball have to have the word ball in them. (Ex. TerriBall) However, this does not have anything to do with what you wear or decorations. What's the point then? I don't know, I just go with it. Our theme for this semester is BALListic. The consensus seems to be good on this theme. Also this weekend is Ask Line-Up, when all the boys wait in line to select from a list a Crommie girls someone to take to ball. Pretty interesting tradition, I'd say. Only negative is that there is a surplus of girls and some unlucky ladies will not get chosen. Kick in 13 yr-old Maia who is worried she will have to go it alone or find someone outside of Cromwell to go with. We'll see.. Despite that worry, I am extremely excited for this event. It is supposed to be the highlight of the semester.