Although I thought I’d have lots of free time this week, I’ve been really busy with all of the crazy things I’ve been doing. Today I can relax a little bit, though my French Final is tomorrow and I have to start studying some Conditional Tense (grammar is not my favorite thing in the world, to put it lightly). So now that I’m almost completely recovered, I can start reflecting on the wild week behind me!

Last weekend, I did the usual: music. On Friday night after band practice, I went out and supported my entryway-mate, fellow band-member, and other friends at the Opportunes-Krokodiloes jam at Sanders Theater. It was completely AWESOME, of course, because they’re all super talented; I got chills too many times to count during the two hour set. Afterwards, I went out with my friends to a get-together at the Co-op, an alternative housing system at Harvard. In the morning, I powered out some work in preparation for the week ahead. Saturday night, I tried to buy tickets for Spring Awakening at Club Oberon, where some of Harvard’s shows take place, but it was sold out, so I ended up staying in and watching Crazy Stupid Love. (Mmm…Ryan Gosling.) It was the first movie I’ve watched at Harvard, since the premiere of Money Ball at AMC Loews in Boston when I met JONAH HILL! (That was a fun time. Things you do here…jeeze.) Anyways, I rented the movie through iTunes, putting my $100 promotional deal to good use. I went out again that night, but not for too long, because Sunday was my big day!

Why, might you ask?  It is time to talk about my band, The Nostalgics, in greater depth. I have definitely talked about them before, but I have yet to dedicate a FULL PARAGRAPH (or two) about them! You may recall that we won the Battle of the Bands back in October. This guaranteed us a spot at the Five House Formal on December 4th, which happened to be this past Sunday. We’d been working really hard to get as tight as possible, and by the time Sunday afternoon swung around, all twelve of us (Burt, Charles, Noah, Ben, Will, Jack, Patrick, Rachel, Alex, Leah, Nick, and I) were feeling pretty confident. After all, we were about to play at The House of Blues, otherwise known as the best music venue in New England. After having taken the Green Line to Fenway, we met up at said venue at around 4 pm for soundcheck. After struggling to find an entrance (yeah, don’t ask why), we entered the GIANT music hall (three stories! balconies! a raised platform for the drums on a five foot-high stage!). We soundchecked quickly, ran upstairs to check out our Green Room (the place where cool backstage people get to chill), and headed off to Bertucci’s. It was Ben’s 21st birthday, so we splurged (not really) on unlimited soup and salad, as well as these great warm rolls. (I don’t know if I like very many things better than a piping hot roll to sate my hunger after a long day.) Then, it was time to head back and get ready to play.

After our opening act and a quick pre-gig ritual, we were ready to head on stage. I can speak for the whole band when I say that we were blown away by how packed it was. Thirteen-hundred students filled the hall, dancing to our crazy tunes as we ripped through our set. It was indubitably one of the best experiences of my life, and definitely the best experience I’ve had at Harvard. I wanted to stick around to dance, but I had a paper due early that morning, so I trucked back to campus to work, my ears still ringing from the epic sound system.

My band, The Nostalgics, playing at the House of Blues!

When I turned on my computer that night, however, I discovered that I had to prepare a few things for The Crimson’s Grand Elections the next day and night. I ended up only sleeping two hours, which has only happened two other times here (don’t worry, I normally sleep for 7 or 8 hours), but I saw my first Harvard sunrise! Check it out.

Canaday in all of its Morning Glory

Monday was a whirlwind of Photojournalistic activity, which ended with a secret ceremony in which I was elected a Junior Editor of The Crimson! Never again will I have to wait outside of The Crimson’s building, as I have swipe access! Plus, when my photos are published in The Crimson second semester, “Crimson Photographer” will be next to my name. Holla! I returned to my dorm room at around 11:30, my excitement fueling the final push on my French composition, which I’d be presenting in the morning.

Earlier on Monday, I decided it was time to finish the project I’d been working on. No, it wasn’t for school; I’d been messing around with iWeb in order to develop a website for The Nostalgics, and for some reason, my server wasn’t able to verify the site. I called my dad in NYC, asking for help, and he hooked me up via an alternative server. At 4:30, the site went live, with a few kinks and useless links, but it worked! I ironed out the problems, and you can check out the finished product here. It was my first time working on a website, and it was a very fun and satisfying way to end my afternoon.

I woke up to nasty weather on Tuesday, making it even more difficult to exit my cozy canaday bed. However, I convinced myself to take the short walk to Boylston Hall, which is definitely one of the nicest buildings on campus. There’s a lot of open beams, light, and foreign languages– all the things a potential Romance-language/Visual and Environmental Studies/Mind-Brain-Behavior concentrator could ever desire! There I met with my funny professor for my Oral, which lasted half an hour, and was really interesting. We ended up talking about democracy in Iran, based on conclusions we could draw from the movie Persepolis. Afterwards, I went to Loker Basement, where my band quickly ran over a few songs, a cappella, which was hilarious. That afternoon, I quickly printed out my final Jazz Composition, sprinted to the Music Building (where I’d never been…embarrassing), and turned it in right on time.  Then I could relax. For a bit.

Let’s skip over some of the boring details (mainly because I don’t remember them, even though it was only a few days ago…hey, I’m sleep-deprived). Tuesday night was Eliot Formal! I got my classy clothes on, went over at 6 to soundcheck and set up, and ate a quick meal at Adams, which was the first time I’d eaten dinner there. Then I trucked back to Canaday in the rain to finish my review worksheet for French and rehearse some of my lyrics. YAY! After returning to Eliot, we played for twice as long as the Five House Formal, which was really fun and gave us time to expand and be more creative. We totally killed it, finishing our first-semester gigging season on a high note.

Eliot D-Hall, pre-dancing. Doesn't it look like The Nutcracker?

Wednesday was the first day that I actually did any reading! I had class at 10, in which one of my classmates played a song on his cello about Pierot, the famous fictional French clown. (It was absolutely beautiful.) From 12-3, we had our final Jazz session, where everyone’s compositions were played by a full band in Sanders Theater, which was a special treat. Right after that, I headed over to the Science Center to the review session for LPSA. I’m almost done with all of my classes except for that, which is really scaring me; French will be done at 11 AM tomorrow, and then it’s all Biology and Chemistry from there on! My next post will be from back home in Vermont, where I can truly rest and prepare for my favorite holiday of all time.

Happy atypical reading period!