I love Winter Term. Having three-hour classes sounded a little daunting to me, and knocking out credits in just four weeks sounded stressful, but it turns out that it's been everything but stressful. I’m taking two classes: Engineering Analysis and Intro to CAD. They are both on the computer, but that means that I don’t have too much homework outside of class. My first class doesn’t start until the afternoon. But wait, it gets even better: I don’t have any classes at all on Fridays! All of this means that if I wanted to, I’d have plenty of time to get some extra sleep, devour Kurt Vonnegut novels, cook, freeze my eyelashes on morning runs, and watch Harry Potter. It just so happens that those are exactly the things I’ve been doing. I feel like I’m being productive in the most relaxing way possible. For example, on Sunday night, my roommate, our neighbors, and a few of my teammates and I did the “Harry Potter Workout.” The Harry Potter Workout has been hanging in the Hayman Kitchen for several months now. I have no idea who put it up. I think it may be an adaptation of a drinking game, but regardless of where it came from, I think it is a fantastic idea (thank you to whoever made it!!). This is how it works: you watch Harry Potter, and every time that something happens in the movie, you do the corresponding exercise.

A spell is cast=10 jumping jacks

Points are awarded=10 squats

Points are taken away=10 lunges

Hagrid says “I shouldn’t have said that”=50 jumping jacks or 10 diamond push-ups

A painting talks=15 crunches

Someone uses a substitute for Voldemort’s name= 10 situps

Ron says “Bloody Hell”=10 lunges

Anyone cries=20 crunches

Someone actually says “Voldemort”=5 pushups

Pets appear in the scene=10 bicycles

A ghost talks=5 pushups

Anyone is riding a broom= butt kicks until they stop flying

And, since we were watching Sorcerer’s Stone, we added one more:

Someone incredulously says “Harry Potter...”= 10 pushups

It was a productive way to watch a movie, or a relaxing way to do a workout. However you want to look at it, it was a combination of two very good things, which I feel has been characteristic of Winter Term so far.

--Claire Cushing

Claire is a freshman pre-engineering major from Sandy, Oregon.