dunhaven; ic community.

I understand that Valentine's Day tends to inspire strong feelings, one way or another, but I always found its history fascinating. The Romans celebrated Lupercalia (yes, those etymologists among you might notice the 'luper' prefix, and yes, this is tied with a cultural perception of a roving, ungentlemanly man being referred to as a wolf) on February 13-15th. This festival kicked off with a ritual sacrifice of a goat and a dog, and once the animals had been skinned, eligible Roman women lined up to be hit with the hides by eligible men.

So, just like modern day dating, really.

Once the fifth century came around, things got a lot less fun: Pope Gelasius I combined a day meant to honor a martyred Saint with Lupercalia in a bid to clamp down on those pesky pagan practices, and a holiday mostly about sex became a holiday about romantic love. Shakespeare and Chaucer popularized the holiday in their works. A brief attempt was made to make the holiday embrace platonic love between friends during the Victorian period to soothe the hearts of unloved spinsters, but that doesn't sell chocolate and cards, and the holiday slowly evolved into what we know it to be today.

I'm ambivalent about Valentine's Day, one way or another. It's fun when celebrated with the right person, and it's just as fun not having to share chocolate. If you try to pass love notes in my class, go right ahead - I'm thrilled you're doing it the old-fashioned way, and not over text message.

[ Filtered to Family + Friends; feel free to assume ]

Sexist Hogwarts. Ring any bells, pop culturally speaking?

Tomorrow is our first official trivia night at Roll of the Die, so should should definitely come out, if you're into that sort of thing! (Which you should be.) The theme is It's Dangerous To Go Alone: A Nintendo Quiz and I will hopefully be there to read off questions and celebrate with the victors. I don't know if my presence is a draw, but I thought I'd throw that out there. 😉

NIALL

Hi. How much do you love me?

I just have to say since it's the beginning of the year that I am very proud of our community. So many of us have been through so much, both personally and with these dreams. It's a lot to deal with, and so many people are doing their absolute best to put themselves first and take care of the full spectrum of their health.

That being said, I understand that some people may not be comfortable talking one on one. Others may not feel as though they would benefit from personalized sessions, or maybe you would love to participate, but don't know how to get started or have financial obstacles. I know that the local veterans group has already begun a small group support session for those dealing with service dreams, PTSD, or violent dreams, and that's a beautiful thing.

I would like to offer another safe space at Pathway to Wellness. I'm just now getting this idea off the ground, but every two weeks I would like to offer group sessions. They would be an hour or so long, available to anyone who would like to come. In return for guiding the sessions, I'm asking that all participants do one of two things: Donate $5 which will be 100% reinvested in programs in our community that support mental health OR compose an anonymous card that will be donated to Dunhaven Hospital and distributed amongst patients in long-term care who need their spirits uplifted. Supplies for cards will be provided.

You would not be obligated to talk. You do not have to share specific, revealing details about yourself or your dreams. If you just want to come to support your friend who wants to be there, that's fine, too. We can adjust the needs of the sessions as we figure out what help and support is needed. If you wish to reach out for individual appointments afterwards, there will be comment cards available. If me reaching out is easier than taking the first step yourself, indicate how you would like me to contact you and I promise you will hear from me in whatever manner gives you the most peace.

You are all so very much loved and supported, and if you need to speak, you should be able to do so. You deserve to be heard, regardless of your circumstances. Please come join us.

First session will take place at 7:00pm, February 10th.

one glass of wine too many has me all ~philosophical~ and crap. has anyone considered that these dreams are just some kind of punishment? like we're in some kind of fucked up mental limbo and that's why we just get to relive the same bullshit we already went through once in our actual lives? because i'm not a religious girl but fuck if that doesn't sound like some kind of divine comedy.

not that everyone's dreaming life is the same as this one and all. i mean, mine isn't even a total copy. just, you know, the really shitty parts because why wouldn't it be like that, right?

January term ends on the 29th. In theory, this should be no surprise if you've been studying for your final.

Someone a great deal cooler than me informed me that a lot of you use Instagram to communicate. As someone with a perpetual allergy to social media of any kind (read: snobbery), what will having an Instagram account provide me that having a social media "journal" on this platform can't?

More specifically, I left Facebook due to my inability to keep myself from making acquaintances' great aunts cry over their terrible political opinions. Am I going to have to fight any of you on Instagram? Am I going to be approached by someone working from home who thinks I'd be a great fit for the bottom segment of a pyramid scheme? How are the privacy settings? For those of you still in school: is Instagram sufficiently uncool enough that none of my students are on it?

Thank you for any information you can provide.

January 22nd

PRESTON + THEO SALAZAR
PG | COMPLETE

( ’Theo, have you ever felt a little green?’ )

For those at the University of Dunhaven trapped in waitlist purgatory, my current available courses are as follows:

Linguistics 101 - an introduction to the scientific study of language with specific focus on the core areas of morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, phonetics and phonology.
M, W, F: 8:00am - 9:00am

Linguistics 210 - Introduction to cross-linguistic phenomena and methods of analysis in phonology, including phonological categories, features, alternations, and phonological models for capturing related generalizations; as well as syllable structure, tone and stress, and morphologically conditioned phonology.
T, TH: 1:00pm - 2:15pm

Linguistics 232 - Examines different languages in terms of their historical origin and their cognitive properties with a particular focus on "dead" and endangered languages. What causes language endangerment and death, and why does it matter? Can dying languages be revitalized? How are thought, identity, and culture influenced by language, and vice versa?
F: 5:30pm-7:30pm (I'm as thrilled about this as you undoubtedly are.)

As a reminder to my (current) students, the last day that you can drop the spring semester without penalty is February 29th.

To everyone else - hi, I'm Theo Salazar. Teacher, obviously, relatively new in town and still trapped by cardboard boxes. I'm likely to die in here. You have my niece to thank for getting me online.