I got fairly impatient with the carving, and my artistic abilities aren't the best, so I went for humor and carved the letter pi into mine (get it? pumpkin pie!). My friend Sam managed to carve the Incredible Hulk on one side and Picasso on the other, while the other two pumpkins were classic scary faces. We put them out on the balcony and lit them up. It was a miserable and rainy night, so they looked fearsome. Since the weather was so crummy, we stayed warm and dry, playing cards and watching goofy YouTube videos late into the night.

Next weekend is the much-anticipated Halloween party. I'm going to miss a good part of the weekend because I'm going to a programming competition in Cincinnati, but I think I'll be home in time for the Saturday night block party, which is always pretty fun. At the very least, we'll be able to light up the Jack-O-Lanterns again for everyone to admire.

The professor assigns a lot of primary source readings, which to me are the most fascinating part of the course. We've read Henry VIII's love letters to Anne Boleyn, descriptions of royal families, vividly detailed first-hand accounts of battles, and sermons by leaders in the church (both pre- and post- Reformation). It's really interesting to get into the heads of those people living in the 15th and 16th centuries. Even though the class is a lot of reading, it's a good break from all of my math and CS-related courses and activities.

Luckily the ice wasn't very slippery tonight--we could actually run instead of just sliding around. To my surprise, we were playing against one of my fellow ambassadors, Joe Morris. Despite this familiarity, we showed no mercy. My roommate scored a goal pretty early on, and we were getting some good shots on goal, but the opposing team managed to slip one past our goalkeeper at the last second. The game ended in a tie. Perhaps fate will bring us together for a rematch in the playoffs.

This weekend we're planning on heading out to the Farmer's Market and the annual Pawpaw Festival. I went last year and enjoyed some pawpaw-flavored ice cream made by Snowville Creamery. I think we had some sort of pawpaw funnel cake, too. In between these fun activities, I'll be doing some homework, but that's the way that college goes. I'm very grateful to have some free time, especially while the weather is still really nice.