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Oy, so tired... Monday night, in anticipation of an exciting first day of orientation (yes, I'm the kid who cherished his new Trapper Keeper and pencil box) I got perhaps an hour and a half of sleep. Tuesday night, after a very long and draining day, I thought I'd collapse and slumber deeply...no such luck. Three hours, tops. Too much stimuli to process! The result, I'm dragging and classes have yet to begin. Aside from nearly falling asleep, I'm enjoying my first taste of Trinity. The sometimes free-form Eucharists will take some getting used to, but that's to be expected in a seminary...we experiment because it's an educational setting. If a seminary taught just one format for liturgies it would produce priests able to serve only a very limited number of parishes. I do look forward to starting classes next week. At some point you're unable to absorb any more orientation...it becomes disorienting, in fact. There are so many overlapping levels of acronyms and credits and procedures. I feel a bit like one of the actors in Shakespeare in Love. Things seem to be utterly chaotic, careening toward ruin, still they tell me it'll all work out in the end...though how it happens is a mystery. Meanwhile I'm entirely enjoying the whole academic gown tradition. For those not in the Trin, the college has a long-standing tradition of wearing academic gowns to special functions such as convocation, as well as to meals in Strachan Hall (pronounced "Strawn" thank you). Some Div students have also taken to wearing their gowns in chapel. None of this is college rule, mind. It's something the students have always done and will continue to do. It's what makes Trinity distinct...aside, that is, from being the single finest college in the U of T. I, of course, love this concept. I wear my shiny new academic gown from the time I arrive for Matins till just before I walk out the door after Evensong. I'd wear the thing home if I wasn't biking...or afraid of getting beaten up on the subway. It lends a scholarly air to everything, and improves one's figure enormously. I am a Trinity gown snob. There it is. |
