Busy busy beaver & First Race

FYI, Caltech's mascot is a beaver.

Things have been busy around here. Really busy. I am having a lot of fun playing ultimate and I do a lot of activities over the weekend, but generally my weekdays are a slog through problem sets. I finished two that were due today and am very relieved. The rest of the week should be easier. However, finals start next week. Boy, am I looking forward to Christmas break.

This Thanksgiving I got to go home, which was a very welcome rest. I took a shuttle van to the airport last Wednesday and was in Bozeman by Wednesday night. Over the long weekend I slept a lot, went out hunting just on our property, cut two Christmas trees, ate good food, and played a lot of board games with my siblings. It was relaxing and very peaceful compared to school.

On a different note, yesterday I swam in my first swim meet. I wrote a poem to honor the occasion before the meet. Most of the words are accurate, especially those that refer to thrashing about. :) I still had fun.

First Race

Whack water
Cold and clear
Tumbling, turbulent
Lashing limbs
Pull piecemeal
Arms attack

Eyes ache
Goggles gone
Frantically feeling
Where's the wall
Sensitive strokes
Touch tenderly

Super spin
Kick concrete
Glide gracefully
Attack again
Move mightily
Finally, finish

-Richard Gianforte 12/2/2008

Also, some dudes from my gym posted an awesome, jaw-dropping video of stunts they do around the gym. Wow, it makes my nostaglic. I used to do some of this stuff with them. Here's the link, it's definitely worth watching: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0kHmKfh4rc#