In November 1997.

DIARY

I was in the middle of my first quarter at the University of Chicago. Still a little overwhelmed and confused by everything that had accumulated, quite suddenly, I didn't leave Hyde Park at all between the end of Orientation and Thanksgiving break. There were a couple exceptions, I suppose. But really trifling things: I worked at Fiske Elementary through the Neighborhood Schools program, and that meant that I was down to 62nd and Ingleside three times a week. Also, I was Yakov in Checkhov's production of The Seagull, one of UT's mainstage productions that quarter. We took a trip to the Art Institute, which is definitely downtown. That was also my first experience waiting for the #6 for an unreasonably long time; roughly an hour to be precise.

For classes I was taking Calc 151, Readings in World Literature, and Democracy and Social Science with Andy Abbott. I tried in Physics, but dropped it after pulling an all nighter and failing to complete the very first problem set. It involved integrals, which I had never enocounted before. This was back when the Core actually took up half of one's curriculum, so from the beginning there was no messing around. This was my first semester in Malynne's class, and her first semester teaching as a professor. The Seagull refreshed me, work exhausted me, and I spent the rest of my free time writing and playing Ultimate Frisbee.

At the end of November, rehearsals prohibited us from going home for the holiday. Instead, a friend of mine from the dorm, Buffy, invited another girl, Karen, and myself, to her home in Indiana for Thanksgiving. Later, the cast had its own Thanksgiving dinner. We had a turkey, then hung around the apartment for the next several hours. Playing Truth or Dare. Yes, those were the days.

Where were you in November 1997?

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