By Julia Reardon

After a full year of writing the Spotlight, we decided to give you a look at the people behind the scene. Julia Reardon has an enlightening conversation with Olivia Provan and P-nasty about Cheerios, Irish stalkers, bitches, and hunting in rural Minnesota. JR: How did you first meet?

OP: We were fortunate enough to be in a first year psych class together.

RP: My first distinct memory of Olivia is the first day when we went to do “In To The Streets” volunteering in a nursing home together and Olivia skipped it.
OP: I didn’t skip it! My alarm clock broke!
RP: I knew she was a slacker right off the bat.

Have you guys enjoyed working on the Spotlight this year?

RP: Working at The Mac Weekly.

OP: Has been interesting. We’ve learned that people care way too much about the Spotlight, both the general public and those spotlighted. We also learned that there are coveted seats in the Mac Weekly office that everyone wants.

Ever need any help getting through those long nights? Say from a flask?

RP: Um, no. we just need to take five sometimes.

What did you learn from your respective study abroad experiences?

RP: I learned a lot while abroad. Ireland is a great country, but I learned some valuable lessons, too. Like don’t start up conversations with older Irish men that you think are harmless. Before you know the police will catch them shimmying up the wall of your apartment.

Olivia, what fun animals did you see in South Africa?

OP: All of the big five. Elephants, rhinos, cheetahs.

RP: Tigers?
OP: No. There are no tigers in Africa. There were leopards and lions, though.

So I hear you guys hang out with a wild crowd.

OP: Reilly constitutes a lot of the “wild crowd.”

What is it like being a “bitch?”

RP: It has its perks and not-perks.

OP: Yeah, those not-perks are really difficult I’m sure.

What are your greatest fears?

OP: S-words (spiders). I’m from Tucson where they are eight inches in diameter, flesh-colored tarantulas.

RP: Which is why she shrieks uncontrollably, it’s really irrational.

OP: Speaking of irrational, Reilly is afraid of Cheerios.

Any bad experiences?

RP: Freshmen year in Café Mac. Some people just like to exploit your fears. I’m not afraid of them, they just really repulse me. It’s something about the smell and O-shape.
But I like other things with an O-shape, like doughnuts. And meat lover’s pizza.

Really. Tell me about meat lover’s pizza.

RP: It’s our favorite thing to do after a tough Saturday night.
OP: Or Wednesday or Friday.

RP: To order in meat lovers pizza.

OP: Usually that gives us enough energy to get to the Green Mill.

RP: Where we get Tokyo Rose Bloody Marys and Olivia gets two sticks.

Olivia, I hear that you have spent some time in Northern Minnesota. How is that?

OP: I think I’m the only girl to have ever hunted in Minnesota in Uggs.
RP: It’s where she discovered her love for the Midwest.

OP: That love has since gone when I discovered the Midwest has seasons.

How was your summer working at the Annual Fund?

RP: The best experience I’ve ever had.

OP: It definitely solidified our friendship through our shared pain at the A. Fund.

RP: I usually called my parents, who are alumni, but I could never find them in the database so it did nothing but pass the time. I learned that I don’t have a career in telemarketing.

OP: We learned to make the most of the ten-minute break.

RP: We brought fun supplies in the car.

What do you guys think about haters?

OP: There are lots of them. The hate is somewhat misdirected. For instance, today is low-carbon today, which means nothing to me except that my sandwich was missing cheese.
RP: People are entitled to their opinions, I have mine. Some people need to leave off the haterade, myself included.

How is it living a dog, especially Duck-the-Dog?

OP: Duck is annoying. She loves me a lot, which is mostly why she is annoying.
RP: I’m her godmother so I try harder. She is special despite her ambiguous sex organs.

OP: She is way too sexual for a dog, it can get a little gross.

What is your favorite aspect of life on Grand Ave?

OP: Grand Avenue is a good idea in theory but in reality it sucks. I used to really like D Bros then I realized I didn’t like the coffee, then I like Coffee News then I realized it was over-priced and took too long, now I like Caribou.

RP: Caribou isn’t on Grand. I like the Green Mill. St. Paul definitely needs more decent places to get food.

Who are you supporting for president?

RP: I’m a staunch Obama supporter since his campaign is partially paying my tuition. I support his policies over the woman in the pantsuit.

OP: That attitude reflects a key problem with this country.
RP: This is how we get into fist-fights.

How was your freshmen year experience?

OP: I lived on Doty 5, where I had a triple to myself where I hosted many a casual get-together. I never got written up though. I told the RA that I was Mormon and didn’t drink. But they did some research and told me at another ‘gathering’ that they knew I wasn’t Mormon.

RP: That was the same night. I lived in a dungeon on Turck 1. Everyone really loved us, like the time someone hocked a loogie on our door handle.

What are your best memories at Macalester?

OP: Probably our Golden Girl sessions at the grate sophomore year. Or the many campus events I never made it to, like Brother Ali, Springfest, etc.

RP: The water balloon fight. Which was more just hitting unsuspecting victims out of our Wally dorm window. Also things we did in Olivia’s Dupre 2 single.

Thanks guys, this was fun.

All haters, feel free to send your ramblings about various social insecurities to [email protected]