Weekend Visit to UMass

This weekend I drove onto campus for the first time as an admitted student! When I saw this sign I was overwhelmed with giddiness and to a certain extent nervousness about the changes to come. This is where I am going to spend the next 5 years of my life studying. At some point I will probably walk by this sign and not have any reaction at all, but for now I am relishing the excitement and anticipation.

During my weekend visit I spent some time in Northampton (where I hope to find an apartment),  I also spent a few hours on campus and visited downtown Amherst before calling it a day.

Northampton is cute and trendy with a dash of hippie.  I perused the shops, ate at a great Moroccan restaurant and stopped by the local farmer's market. For my campus visit I really just wandered around for a long time, but in honor of my undergraduate record, I completed my wandering with a nap on the green next to the campus pond. The nap was really enhanced by the background music, played presumably by a student, on a tuba. Hahaha.

The visit was rounded out by some more meandering in downtown Amherst, where Steve and I encountered the most amazing alley ever!

You may see this picture and think, that can't be an alley, it must simply be a crack between two buildings. Well it was an alley and there were signs for a local Thai restaurant leading potential customers down the alley. For a little perspective, I have also included a picture with Steve and I in the alley. It really is just about 1 person and some wiggle room wide.  :)







Overall the weekend was a great success and I can't wait until I have signed a lease somewhere in the area!

Wine Bottle Lamp Making

Step 1: gather the necessary supplies - empty wine bottle, acetone, string, safety goggles, lighter, sink full of ice water and of course more wine for drinking. Oh yeah...innocent (drunk) bystanders to call for help if something goes awry. What could possibly go wrong when playing with fire and drinking? 

Step 2: This is the most important step. PUT THE SAFETY GOGGLES ON!!!

Step 3, 4, 5: Wrap the string around the bottle 5 times, tie off the ends and cut them down to the knot. Remove the string and soak in acetone. Put the string back on the bottle.

Step 6: Have your trusty assistant (who is not drunk) light the string on fire

Step 7: Rotate the bottle while the string burns. You cannot see the fire in this photo, but I promise it was there.

Step 8: Dunk bottle in the sink filled with ice water.
Step 9: Watch as nothing happens.

Step 10: Give up and return to drinking with your friends! Needless to say this looked much easier on YouTube. In the end we didn't have any success making a light fixture, but we had a hell of a time trying to make one!