Yay Kayaking photos!

Many of you may not know this but I have had the opportunity to kayaking while I am up here. It was so nice! Besides the cold, I think I could start to like northeast paddling. Well, never as much as the southeast!
Here are some photos of me from that trip:







Lots of love!
Palmer

Frat Shirts and Boxers

For those of you worried about the title of this post, you can put the rifles back in the gun closet or under the bed, there is no yankee that "needs to be taken care".
I am simply referring to the items of clothing I am wearing curled up on my bed while writing this post.

Have you ever had any clothes that made you feel safe?
Well mine include my dad's phi delta theta shirt and a pair green, bulldog boxers.

To give you the back story, today has been a very stressful day.
~
I was supposed to register for classes next semester, and what did I not do tonight? Register for classes. You may ask, "well Palmer why didn't you?" or "why don't you register now?" Well ladies and gentlemen, what we have here is a wonderful example of miscommunication. Let's just say Colgate forgot to inform me about a fee I had not yet paid, oh and it turns out, if you have outstanding payments, you are not allowed to register. Yippee!

Now this is no one's fault but my own, so please do not think I am pointing fingers.

The whole process of registering is already stressful, but the addition of not knowing why the computer says I cannot register and having to figure out why takes a toll on a person. Luckily it seems most of my classes are still open. Only one has closed, but I have already emailed the professor explaining my dilemma and asking to meet with her. Hopefully I will be able to use my southern charm to persuade her to make an exception for me.

But if not it isn't the end of the world.
~
You can see why I needed to crawl into my worn out, comfy clothes and let the love worn in them infuse into me. If I could, I would throw on my Jackson Hole long sleeve shirt, but it isn't cold enough for that.

I promise, you can put away the shovel, nothing needs to be hidden amongst 1,000 acres of land.
When I do, I will already have my shotgun in hand when I call.

Lots of Love
Palmer

It's Cold

I really underestimated the temperature here.
Thinking back, I believe that I though that the winters would be a combination of Alabama winter temperature and snow. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahaha, wow I was really naive.
Anyway, there isn't anything I can do about it now.

So I don't know whether I have ever listed out my courses I am taking this semester. My apologies! Here it goes:

Harmony 1: music theory class at 9:20 a.m. mon, tues, weds, and fri
Chemistry 101: basic chemistry at 11:20 a.m. mon, weds, and fri
Chemistry 101 Lab: lab at 9:15 a.m. -12:15 p.m. thrusday
Legacies of the Ancient World: required history/philosophy class at 12:20 a.m. mon, tues, and fri
Basics of Acting: freshman seminar at 1:20 -2:35 tues and thurs

I really enjoy all of my classes and am so lucky to have this schedule.

Oh and I declared my major! Well, one of them. Since I know that I want to major in Music (plus free voice lessons!) I decided I might as well go ahead and declare. Declaring is basically me asking a professor in that department to be my advisor (mine is my Harmony 1 professor), mapping out a plan for the next 4 years, and then filling out paperwork. It's not binding, so I can drop it anytime I want which is nice to not have to worry about. I still need to get my paperwork turned in though... I guess that is what I will be doing today.

Sending my love from Yankee territory!!

Palmer

Lemonade Without Sugar is only Lemon Juice

(Ok so the title of this post is not the most optimistic in the world, BUT there is a surprise ending!)

This week the phrase "If life gives you lemons, make lemonade" has been on my mind. But what happens if you have all lemons, but there is no sugar to be found? I was getting very frustrated because I realized life is in control of both the lemons and the sugar.
And the only thing I could make was lemon juice.
I am not sure how this all came about but I think it was a combination of seeing my friend and roommate, Michelle and Alice, be occupied with Outdoor Ed (which I was rejected from), people in my freshman seminar talking about being in the Cabaret (rejected from), seeing posters about a cappella concerts (again rejected from), and finally being in the slow boat in crew.
After being successful in high school and knowing my place there, it is really scary having to restart and discover your niche in college. I had it all planned out, there wasn't going to be that awkward phase to adjusting. Boy was I ever wrong.
I really hated college this week, and I wanted to get out of here. God knew; I told him more times than needed. Finally on Friday, I gave up and told him that I was tired of trying to control every aspect of my life.
Well, apparently he was listening.
Last night I had a blast with my friends. There was no weight on my shoulders, I felt like I could breath. Putting my life into his hands and knowing he was in control was the most wonderful experience.
It made me realize that if try to follow my own plans, I will only find lemons, but if I let God be in control, I am sure to find the sugar.

Thank You Charles for the Wonderful Coat

Happy Halloween!!

Today is a wonderful day! It is halloween, I got to spend time with my parents and then when I didn't think it could get much better.... IT SNOWS!!! WOOHOO!!!

Here are some images of what you are missing!!








Lots of Love!
Palmer

Crazy, Leafy Days

Ok so I am really behind on my posts (woops!) and I am really sorr ok so just to give you an update, I went kayaking 2 weeks ago, its has already flurried (yes, like snow), and I am finally cleared to row again! I have been working on a post about the 1st two things but unfortunately my friend has not yet given me his photos from the trip, and I know you want photos.

But anywho, the weather has turned warm again, around the 60s and 70s, which is very nice when I don't feel like bundling up.

For some reason my teachers have decided that it is a wonderful idea to give students tests, papers, and projects due around parent's weekend. Maybe it is a ploy to show those who are paying for this lovely school, how hard we are working. That's just super! Plus, this is also when I finally get to return to crew, which takes up another 2 hours of my day, yippee!

But besides the tidal wave crashing on top of me, I have to admit, I am extremely lucky to go to such a wonderful school. Yesterday Sophie and I walked to the bookstore in between classes. Yellows, reds, and oranges enveloped us as we passed through the quaint town of Hamilton. The Victorian houses, the leaves on the ground, the fresh smell of fall perforated my hardened exterior, letting my body absorb the beauty around me. For that moment, I didn't feel the stress of school work or life. I was content and at peace.

If only those times would last forever, then maybe there wouldn't be sadness and pain in the world. But I'm not a philosopher, no do I want to be one. So I will just stick to knowing that that calm did not last, but that it is important that I find those moments throughout the day, in order for me to not go mad. And even if I do, at least it's somewhere beautiful.

Pops won fifty cents

I am disowning the crimson tide. Well, not really. Let's just say if I could put them in a time out corner so that they could think about their actions I would. But it's too painful to reminisce on the past, so I will not continue the topic of Alabama football.

Fall break was this weekend, and I was blessed enough to go home to see my family. It was a much needed visit. Being surrounded my family, animals, and friends was a refreshing break from the hectic life of college. I ended my depravation of southern culture by having chick-fil-a, sweet tea, sweet potato casserole, BBQ ribs, and a whole lot of southern drawl. Oh, I miss the south. Being home made me realize how different it is up here, not that it's a bad thing, just a different way of life. I guess I never fully understood why northerners couldn't understand us. But after living a time up here, I can see that I am from a completely foreign culture. and heck, I am proud of it!

It was funny being home; like I had never left. I went straight back into my old routines. I guess I thought that life would stop without me, so that when I returned nothing would have changed. But plenty has. Adelaide is driving (ok maybe she is a better driver than me...), Angie and Charlie live in Birmingham, and no drama at Altamont (well not as much).
And it scared me.

My Dad has pointed out to me that there is that point in our lives where you are torn between two worlds: innocence and growing older. That crossroad drives you crazy because your mind cannot make up its mind on what to do and your soul wants to be two places at once.
I am at that crossroad. I hate it. I curse it. But no matter how many times I close my eyes, clack my heels, and say "I wish I was home", nothing changes.

Sunday night my cat Shadow and I repeated our past habits of fighting over the bed. Countless times, we have sat on my bed together, me watching movies, shadow trying to chew my fingers. This has been a ritual for many years, and it never fails to cease. It is one of the few things that has been constant throughout my life, even when I and everything around me were changing. Shadow is my stability through life and a connection to everything that has happened in it. Our rite is my pair of ruby, red slippers.