Wake up when my alarm goes off at 7:15. Turn it off, go back to sleep, wake up at 8:00. This is pretty typical. Eat breakfast in my room (blueberry muffin and pear), do some miscellaneous work, then head off to class at 9:25.
First class of the day: Introductory Genetics (Bio 040), taught by the wonderful Prof. Moore. The lecture topic: day 2 of bacteriophage and bacterial genetics. It’s pretty interesting, but getting much more complicated that the basic genetics I learned in high school. Focus today: experiments examining transmission of bacterial DNA.
Immediately after, run to ID 001, the seminar / writing class mandatory for all Pomona freshman. There are about 30 sections, all different topics, with about 10-14 first years in each. Mine is “Modern China in Fiction,” which is essentially a literature class, with a narrow focus on 20th century Chinese works. We’re currently reading a collection of short stories by Lu Xun, one of the most famous of China’s recent writers. The ideological elements of his stories – he was against the social structure and values of traditional Chinese society – are what made him so popular; the Communist government seized his work (which was mostly written in the ’20s) to use as propaganda. For the most part, it’s quite interesting, and I’ve definitely learned a lot about China.
Lunch right after class. I’m always starving by this point; the problem is that all 390-ish freshmen get out of class at the same time. Frank is a zoo, but finally I get food; as I do at nearly every meal, I get Chai to drink.
In the afternoon I am blessedly free of classes. This is the only day of the week I have a good chunk of time to do homework, so I do my chemistry lab write-up for Friday (gas chromatography – super cool!) and revise a paper for my ID. It was on the motif of flowers in the last collection of short stories we read, Taipei People by Pai Hsien-yung. The draft was due last Friday; I finished it just under the line but was surprisingly satisfied with it. I don’t have too many revisions, luckily, but the end result is about 7 pages. Not too shabby.
Nap time! I almost never take naps, but I start reading and fall asleep. After about 15 minutes I wake up; I should get up at this point but instead I sleep for another hour and wake up uncomfortable and disoriented. A little more work before dinner; I find out I’ve been hired by IT! Yay employment!
Dinner at Pitzer with roommate and two hallmates. I have delicious turkey and wild rice soup and froyo; more Chai. I’m addicted. After a leisurely walk back (it’s a pretty long way), I get home and work on more miscellaneous stuff until around 8:20; I walk over to North Campus for an OEC (Outdoor Education Center) meeting. There’s chocolate and an introduction to what OEC does (organize and pay for trips all over the Western US to do all kinds of wild adventures). I hope to go on a trip over Fall Break, which is in two weeks; maybe hiking in Zion, if the government is running again.
I leave early to get over to a TSL (The Student Life 5C newspaper) meeting; I work on copy editing the articles that are in already (only one). Head home shortly after 11 to do some homework for Chemistry I forgot I had; then sleep!