Today officially began my fall break! I rang it in by spending the day at Pam’s house, catching up on homework, and fighting off a cold. It was really nice because it was the first time I’ve been able to wake up, roll over, and realize that I don’t have any commitments to go to.

After spending the morning lounging in bed, I decided that I really needed to catch up on my homework.

I made myself a nice little corner on her couch, and started to do my readings. Being just the teensy-tiniest behind on homework, I’ve crafted a pretty regimented schedule for myself that I must admit is almost feasible. Unfortunately, the day was just calling to me, so I spent quite a good portion of my morning just sitting in her backyard, attempting to do my readings, but in reality just enjoying the cool fall breeze. (Debatable if this is actually unfortunate- unfortunate for my schedule, fortunate for my sense of being)

Pam’s backyard is one of my all time favorite places. It’s really cute, and in the night time, fireflies like to congregate there. Fireflies are something that I’d only ever seen once in Florida, so to be able to see them here is quite a fantastic thing for me. I even caught one in my hands!! This to her, having lived in both New York and Colorado, is a common-place thing, but she still indulges me when I get super excited as a firefly brushes past me.

I spent the remainder of my day trying to accomplish my readings, and testing out my process of scientific inquiry with myself as the test subject. Having found a package of stale popcorn, I deemed it safe to eat.

However, about halfway through the bag, the rational side of me overcame and I decided to google search any possible warnings about eating four month over due ‘Movie Theatre Buttered’ microwaveable popcorn. Besides the warning about the butter going bad, I figure that the chemical preservatives in the popcorn were probably more dangerous to my health anyway, and I finished eating the bag. Developing a sense of no concern about food regulations is one of the quality perks of an undergraduate career. Not caring about where food came from as long as it is free, eating food that has fallen on the floor, and taking home left overs no matter how small are also top contenders, but tend to fall just short of the overall food quality process.

Overall, I’m just really happy to be with Pam in her cozy little house in Philly. I get to go home Sunday, and I am so grateful that my family and friends are safe and sound from the hurricane.