JC

I'd only woken up maybe an hour ago with a maximum of five hours of sleep. Today was a day I'd looked forward to since last October when I bought the ticket, so my excitement and current task helped to shake the last dregs of sleep from my head. I had a concert to go to later tonight, but before then I had several classes to finish, and some unwitting person to stalk.

My professor had sent us out with a mission; closely observe a person and write down everything you can about them. But most importantly, don't let them know you're stalking them. We dispersed across campus, and I immediately homed in on the loud, commanding voice of a street corner preacher. Hoping for a cringe-inducing spectacle, I felt disappointed when I discovered it was only a speaker system rigged up by a student union to play Martin Luther King's voice.

Slightly embarrassed, I cut through the Johnson Center, hoping to observe the radio DJs on the bottom floor, but found the studio room empty. Once again disappointed, I climbed the stairs and walked through the first floor. My head swivels when I hear the unmistakable sound of a bird chirping. It's always odd when birds wander their way into man-made buildings; they're like astronauts discovering whole new alien biospheres. How did the bird get in? Did it happen to swoop in when both double doors were open? Through a skylight? A magic portal or crashed miniature spaceship? Regardless, it doesn't belong in this world, and I don't envy the custodian that will have to catch it with a net. I wonder what would happen if it tried to eat Indian food or gobbled down some sushi from the Express mart...

Well, no one to stalk here. I exited the JC and headed to the construction site. A large excavator with a claw was demolishing what was left of Robinson hall. I plop down on the stone wall outside Fenwick and begin writing about the operator, trying to come up with witty snippets to say about him. It was hard to write in the cold, even when bundled in both a jacket and a coat. I shivered uncontrollably, but I consoled myself with the knowledge that no matter how cold it was then, it would be colder that night waiting in line for the concert.