Weird

Hah. I know this is going to be weird as hell, but I wanted to write a “real” letter to some people back home, and I did. And then I got to thinking that “writing is writing,” and nothing in it is too personal (incriminating), so…why not post it? Below is a letter to my Godparents.

John and Betty,

First, I apologize for not writing this by hand, as people usually do, but my handwriting is terrible, and you’d never be able to read it otherwise. Second, I kept meaning to write you all last year, and had a couple of drafts started for a few different letters I was going to send; however, I’m only now getting over a bad habit of being too picky with my writing. That’s weird, actually; right now, I’m enrolled in my first (ever) Creative Writing class. You’d think I’d be more concerned…

Life at Middlebury is fine, and though I struggle sometimes with the concept of an East Coast (where people aren’t nearly as nice as back home, and where snobbishness is a bit more of a thing), I know I’m making the right decision in staying. Madison sometimes seems to call me, but Middlebury has an alumni network that puts theirs to shame—and with the potential for $40k+ in loans, “prudent” is a word I feel I have to consider more seriously every day.

I don’t know how often you guys get to talk to Mom and Dad, but right now they’re setting up shop somewhere else (Jackson Plaza) for the store. They’ll still use the old shop across from Kratt Lumber for making fudge, and for warehouse space, but Jackson Plaza (right next to the coffee shop) will be where they do their retail business. As far as they’ve told me, they’ll be in by the end of February/early March. Granted, that’s as far as they’ve told me, which sometimes doesn’t mean much…for example, Thad will be going to Manila for a year to train APAC’s customer service representatives. I found out about this only after Dad mentioned it in passing.

I’m trying to think if there’s any new news to report; usually, there isn’t. This time, though, I think I might have a few things: I’m close to dropping my Computer Science major and switching to English (to write); I’m involved in a few more extracurriculars, including writing movie reviews for the newspaper (you guys should see Atonement); and I’m hoping to go to England next year to study abroad. The last is contingent on whether Middlebury and the foreign institution (Nottingham University) accept me. If they do, I’ll be speaking the “Queen’s English,” and eating things like fish and chips and bubble and squeak and bangers and mash…to be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about that.

We just completed our J-Term (one course through the month of January), and I took—no kidding—Lego Robot Design. It was…a lot of fun. I’ll give you the web address to our final project page; I think it also links to my “personal” page. (http://community.middlebury.edu/~canderso/lego_test.htm)

Over J-Term, we also visited Montreal (where the nights are debaucherous, and the waitresses like to be tipped), Boston (for a concert), and I stayed in Salem, MA with a friend.
This term, I’m taking only one Comp. Sci course, two literature courses (Creative Writing and Love Stories) and getting my science requirement out of the way with an introductory Physics course. And those things are my life, right now.

I don’t mean to make this so categorical, but I’m not terribly good at writing letters (at least not first letters), and I’m a little out of practice. Reply if you’d like; I’d love to read what you send. Otherwise, if life is too hectic (and I understand when it is), I’ll hope to see you the next time I’m home. That should be sometime in late March.

Until then, I hope you’re well.