Cornell is a ghost town. Everyone is gone. I see people wandering the hallways aimlessly, as if still in shock over the sudden absence. People look at me as if they've seen a ghost, because honestly- there is no one here. My guess is that everyone vanished yesterday, as I hypothesized. That, or they've left this morning. What's amazing is that some people stay around for the whole bread. Though the college leaves dorms open, they do all but encourage students to stay- closing all of the dining halls and coffee-shops.
Me? I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon. Over 24 more hours before I go. Lucky for me, I'm done with all of that work I had, so I can relax now. Of course, there's always the possibility that the seclusion and lack of things to do will drive me insane. I'm okay with it though, as I'm already halfway there.
People yesterday were saying bye and wishing us good spring breaks and such. However, I think some advice is better than other:
The one saying I've
Heard that is quite wise is to
"Have a safe spring break"
Honestly, considering the stereotypes that have evolved around spring break, it's really quite suitable for them to give us such wishes. And I will do the same: Have a fun spring break, and always remember: "Only YOU can prevent the perpetuation of stereotypes!"
I myself will be taking spring break from my blog as well, since I will be in Chicago and quite busy. I'll be back on Saturday or so, and if you can't wait till then, check me out on Twitter as I will be sure to keep that updates. Also, tomorrow I'll be in the airport, and we all know that airport tweets are the best (so much to make fun of)!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Pyromania.
It's Friday! And Spring break! And I'm done with my essays! Yay!!!
You know what it also is? A very important holiday here at Cornell.. Dragon Day!
That's right! It is the day that Architects have been waiting for... that day that they parade a giant dragon around campus and then set it on fire! It's quite the holiday. Only problem is that half of the school will be gone.
If I had to guess
I'd say that Dragon Day is
Meant to keep us here
Really, everyone likes to leave early. They'll skip classes, and dash from campus as soon as they can. My hypothesis is that the only reason that they have Dragon Day the day before Spring break is to encourage people not to skip classes and to stay here long enough to witness a classic Cornell tradition. Only problem is that the parade is during class, which means that people will skip class in order to see the dragon burn. Which sort of invalidates my hypothesis I guess... in any case, there's FIRE, and I like fire. And I shall be there. And hopefully convince my professor to let our class watch, since it's definitely educational.
You know what it also is? A very important holiday here at Cornell.. Dragon Day!
That's right! It is the day that Architects have been waiting for... that day that they parade a giant dragon around campus and then set it on fire! It's quite the holiday. Only problem is that half of the school will be gone.
If I had to guess
I'd say that Dragon Day is
Meant to keep us here
Really, everyone likes to leave early. They'll skip classes, and dash from campus as soon as they can. My hypothesis is that the only reason that they have Dragon Day the day before Spring break is to encourage people not to skip classes and to stay here long enough to witness a classic Cornell tradition. Only problem is that the parade is during class, which means that people will skip class in order to see the dragon burn. Which sort of invalidates my hypothesis I guess... in any case, there's FIRE, and I like fire. And I shall be there. And hopefully convince my professor to let our class watch, since it's definitely educational.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Seeing Green
Well, yesterday was St. Patrick's day, and I probably should have focused my post on that. However, seeing as most people are probably still hungover from yesterday, I think it's fair to discuss it.
People usually wear green at St. Patrick's day. Or at least that's the tradition I grew up with. In New England we were very conscious of the holiday, probably in part because of the massive amount of Irish in Boston. However, at Cornell not very many people wore green, and I'm guessing that most of those who did are either Irish or from the Northeast. So to that effect, I feel that it's necessary to make people understand exactly what St. Patty's day is about.
St. Patrick's Day's not
About Irish. It's about
Drinking and green stuff
Really, there's no law saying that St. Patrick's Day is just for the Irish (why don't they have some sort of shortening? I mean, we call British people "brits" and Scottish people "scots," so why aren't Irish people "ires"?), just like there's no law saying that Thanksgiving is only for people who actually give thanks. And as a result everyone can partake in the festivities. And by festivities I mean drinking, along with wearing and puking green. Then, when you don't wake up in time for class then next morning, you don't fret because you could definitely see that one coming. Unless you have a midterm, then it sucks to be you.
People usually wear green at St. Patrick's day. Or at least that's the tradition I grew up with. In New England we were very conscious of the holiday, probably in part because of the massive amount of Irish in Boston. However, at Cornell not very many people wore green, and I'm guessing that most of those who did are either Irish or from the Northeast. So to that effect, I feel that it's necessary to make people understand exactly what St. Patty's day is about.
St. Patrick's Day's not
About Irish. It's about
Drinking and green stuff
Really, there's no law saying that St. Patrick's Day is just for the Irish (why don't they have some sort of shortening? I mean, we call British people "brits" and Scottish people "scots," so why aren't Irish people "ires"?), just like there's no law saying that Thanksgiving is only for people who actually give thanks. And as a result everyone can partake in the festivities. And by festivities I mean drinking, along with wearing and puking green. Then, when you don't wake up in time for class then next morning, you don't fret because you could definitely see that one coming. Unless you have a midterm, then it sucks to be you.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
It's Never Sunny in Ithaca
Well, Cornell is on the front cover of the New York times, but not for any reason I would hope. Not for groundbreaking new research or the quality of the school itself, but for the three suicides that have occurred in the past month.
On a brighter note, it's another beautiful day here. And I still have essays to write and homework to do. As I said yesterday on Twitter: "I put the fun in 'spend a beautiful, warm, and sunny day inside doing homework.' Didn't see the fun? That's because there isn't any." That's how it works on the rare occasion that it's nice out. In fact, I'm pretty sure that the reason Cornell is such a reputable school is because of its location. Think about it:
It's always cloudy
At Cornell, so students must
Stay in and study
Really, there's not much else to do. If it was always beautiful here, you'd want to be outside frolicking in the sun and photosynthesizing. However, that is not the case, and as a result you spend all of your waking hours in a windowless library room, with no sun- which is not a problem since there's never any sun anyways. And that's why my essays are not done yet, it's just too pretty outside.
Oh, and did I mention that it's St. Patrick's day? Yeh, I probably should have just written about that, would have been much easier. I'll write about it tomorrow, you'll never know the difference.
The title is a play on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."
On a brighter note, it's another beautiful day here. And I still have essays to write and homework to do. As I said yesterday on Twitter: "I put the fun in 'spend a beautiful, warm, and sunny day inside doing homework.' Didn't see the fun? That's because there isn't any." That's how it works on the rare occasion that it's nice out. In fact, I'm pretty sure that the reason Cornell is such a reputable school is because of its location. Think about it:
It's always cloudy
At Cornell, so students must
Stay in and study
Really, there's not much else to do. If it was always beautiful here, you'd want to be outside frolicking in the sun and photosynthesizing. However, that is not the case, and as a result you spend all of your waking hours in a windowless library room, with no sun- which is not a problem since there's never any sun anyways. And that's why my essays are not done yet, it's just too pretty outside.
Oh, and did I mention that it's St. Patrick's day? Yeh, I probably should have just written about that, would have been much easier. I'll write about it tomorrow, you'll never know the difference.
The title is a play on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
There are no late passes in college
Yay! It's pretty outside! And it's supposed to be in the 50s today. Apparently it's supposed to be sunny for the whole week in fact. Too bad I need to spend it inside working. Oh well, that's life.
I need to leave for class in about 2 minutes in order to be properly early. Some people, including me, like to show up early, which means that you have time to settle in and your professor will come into a classroom with you already in it (which leaves a good impression usually). Others will arrive right on time, and then some will arrive late. And honestly, arriving early guarantees that if there's trouble along the way (for instance, if you're attacked by a raccoon) you won't be late.
Being late to class
Is an insult both to your
Teachers and your grades.
Really, teachers hate to see students come in late, and some even count tardiness as an absence. Arriving late is an easy way to make your teacher dislike you and can count against your participation grade. Especially since usually the grade is based on no real set-in-stone basis. So if your teacher doesn't like you and you don't participate that much, it can lead to bad grade with very little bargaining power.
So why am I writing this? Well, I'm urging you to, instead of spending 5 minutes online and arriving late to class, arrive early and then spend 5 minutes online. Unless you're looking at porn, do that in private.
I need to leave for class in about 2 minutes in order to be properly early. Some people, including me, like to show up early, which means that you have time to settle in and your professor will come into a classroom with you already in it (which leaves a good impression usually). Others will arrive right on time, and then some will arrive late. And honestly, arriving early guarantees that if there's trouble along the way (for instance, if you're attacked by a raccoon) you won't be late.
Being late to class
Is an insult both to your
Teachers and your grades.
Really, teachers hate to see students come in late, and some even count tardiness as an absence. Arriving late is an easy way to make your teacher dislike you and can count against your participation grade. Especially since usually the grade is based on no real set-in-stone basis. So if your teacher doesn't like you and you don't participate that much, it can lead to bad grade with very little bargaining power.
So why am I writing this? Well, I'm urging you to, instead of spending 5 minutes online and arriving late to class, arrive early and then spend 5 minutes online. Unless you're looking at porn, do that in private.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Get used to it
Monday! The start of a new week, and, more importantly- the last week before spring break!
With spring break right around the corner, you would think that students would be ready to wind down for their break. However, this is by no means true. In fact, students are working harder than ever. This week I have two essays due and a large homework assignment. Other people have the same type of things but with midterms on that. All in all, the last week before break is hell.
Why?
Apparently they
Need to remind students that
We are at Cornell
Really, it's just not obvious enough from our workloads. They need to pile on all of the work right before we go away so we know that just because we have a break doesn't mean we can start unwinding for it quite yet. So while all of our friends are back home on their colleges' breaks, relaxing and having fun- we're staying up till ungodly hours studying, writing, and drinking coffee (or tea or hot chocolate, whatever floats your boat... which is actual quite a good metaphor for the scenario). So, to help the cause, I too would like to remind you, if you're at Cornell: You're at Cornell. Get used to it.
With spring break right around the corner, you would think that students would be ready to wind down for their break. However, this is by no means true. In fact, students are working harder than ever. This week I have two essays due and a large homework assignment. Other people have the same type of things but with midterms on that. All in all, the last week before break is hell.
Why?
Apparently they
Need to remind students that
We are at Cornell
Really, it's just not obvious enough from our workloads. They need to pile on all of the work right before we go away so we know that just because we have a break doesn't mean we can start unwinding for it quite yet. So while all of our friends are back home on their colleges' breaks, relaxing and having fun- we're staying up till ungodly hours studying, writing, and drinking coffee (or tea or hot chocolate, whatever floats your boat... which is actual quite a good metaphor for the scenario). So, to help the cause, I too would like to remind you, if you're at Cornell: You're at Cornell. Get used to it.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
3/14
Today is a special day. It's a holiday celebrated by about 1/3rd of the Cornell population (and no, it's not another Jewish holiday (which could definitely be the title of a movie by the Not Another Teen Movie people)). It's Pi Day!!!! No, not pie as in apple, rhubarb, pumpkin, strawberry, brambleberry, blueberry, cranberry, Huckleberry Finn, very berry, or chicken pot. Pi as in 3.14159265358979323846 (that's all I know) and more! "So why is it pi day?" I hear you ask. Well, the answer is simple- today is 3/14. It's as easy as that. "And why should we care?" is the obvious next question. The answer to that is just as simple (well, not quite):
Pi Day serves as a
Reminder of all the math
You don't need in life
Think about it. Way back when, in middle school or high school, you had to take math courses. You had to actually use pi to solve practical problems about circles and stuff. Now, it's as useless as the rest of geometry and trigonometry (for me at least). Pi Day is a way to remind all of us of what we once were forced to do, and the fact that we can still recite 21 digits shows what we have gone through in the past. It's sort of like Memorial Day. Only not nearly as significant. But the fact remains that Pi Day is a day for remembrance, a day for thanks, and most importantly, a day for "thank God I never have to do that again." Unless you're an engineer, in which case I am deeply and truly sorry.
Pi Day serves as a
Reminder of all the math
You don't need in life
Think about it. Way back when, in middle school or high school, you had to take math courses. You had to actually use pi to solve practical problems about circles and stuff. Now, it's as useless as the rest of geometry and trigonometry (for me at least). Pi Day is a way to remind all of us of what we once were forced to do, and the fact that we can still recite 21 digits shows what we have gone through in the past. It's sort of like Memorial Day. Only not nearly as significant. But the fact remains that Pi Day is a day for remembrance, a day for thanks, and most importantly, a day for "thank God I never have to do that again." Unless you're an engineer, in which case I am deeply and truly sorry.
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