On the Hill

There is almost a little too much to do at Cornell sometimes. Yesterday I missed Shimon Peres, former Premier of Israel, speak since I was at a mock trading session with the Director of Derivative Solutions and Training from Credit Suisse. My girlfriend, Ange, went to the speech and said she learned quite a bit. Apparently what we learned this year in AEM 200 about the situation with the Palestine, Lebanon, and Hezbollah allowed her to understand a lot of the issues he brought up in his speech. A couple of the guys I live with watched the speech on TV and hopefully I will get a chance to watch it a little later in the week. There was massive amounts of security all over campus during his stay – Israeli soldiers with automatic weapons, armored vehicles, etc.

The trading simulation I attended was part of my ongoing search to possibly find a summer internship with an investment bank on Wall Street. I don’t know if it will work out yet, typically these jobs are reserved for juniors (rising seniors.) I have an interesting situation with ROTC though, and that might allow me to pursue one of these positions. The presentation was pretty interesting; it really gave me a taste of life as a trader and how quickly they are required to think and respond. It seems like a fast paced, yet exciting, lifestyle.

So this is the last week of actual classes at Cornell. I suppose it’s a little sad that the semester has flown by so quickly, but this weekend is a lot of fun as well. Typically, students kind of relax and kick back a bit this weekend since we have a 3 day study period at the beginning of next week. I have my formal, Ange’s formal, and a big event for freshman and brothers at Psi U. coming up this weekend. It should be fun.

Jason, Nick, Russell, and I all hopped into Jason’s car and finally rolled out of Cornell around 4 p.m. on Tuesday. The drive was pretty uneventful; we showed Russell around a bit since he had never been to Boston (he is from Texas…) After dropping Nick off, the remaining three of us hung out with Jason’s parents in his amazing house in the Back Bay. After joking around with his dad, Larry, for a bit we drove over to The Point (http://www.thepointboston.net) – the restaurant and bar that Jason’s parents own (it is attached to the Bell and Hand, for reference.) We had a few drinks there and relaxed a bit before heading back to Jason’s, where we spent the night.

On Wednesday I spent the day with Jason and Russell again. In the morning Jason and I went over to the University Club to work out, play squash, and eat lunch – which is actually served in the locker room. In the afternoon I got a new driver’s license and then we went shopping in Downtown Crossing. That evening we had a nice dinner at The Point and then my Dad picked me up. We drove back to our house in Scituate (which is on the South Shore, about halfway between Boston and Cape Cod.) Later on that night I went out with a huge group of kids from high school and a few of the girls we hung out with as well. We went to Mount Blue (http://www.mountblue.com) which is a restaurant actually owned by Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, who lives in the town next to me. It was a great night and the place was packed until last call; it was funny how many people our age were out.

Thanksgiving was fun, as always. I got to have dinner with my Dad and my twin brothers, Ian and Colin. It was interesting having my Dad cook dinner on his own (this is the first Thanksgiving we have had with my parents apart.) Pumped full of tryptophan, I reclined on the couch and watched Tony Romo (who dates Jessica Simpson?) play a gem of a game. Later on, we rented V for Vendetta, which was a great movie.

On Friday I actually woke up, for the first time in my life, at 4 a.m. for the black Friday “sales.” What a giant mistake. I actually was close to the front of the line at Best Buy, which was over 1,000 people long and stretched all the way around the building. I have nothing to show for it. I bought a digital camera and later realized I only saved ten dollars. Woo-hoo. I went to the mall when it opened at 6 a.m. and again came up empty handed. Maybe I was going about it all wrong. Later in the day I went into Boston with a bunch of my buddies and we had a FIFA tournament at a buddy’s dorm at Boston College. After the tourney we played two hand touch in BC’s Alumni Stadium which was a lot of fun. That evening we went over to a local BC bar and restaurant, Roggies (http://roggies.com/default.asp), for dollar drafts and twenty-five cent wings. After feasting on wings, we headed over to the TD BankNorth Garden for the Celtics v. Knicks game (http://www.nba.com/celtics/). The game was a total blowout, the Celtics are incredibly bad, but it was fun nonetheless. For the rest of the night we were out and about all over Boston, particularly Fanueil Hall area establishments.

Saturday I went over to a family friend’s house and helped him with some home improvement work. It was pretty uneventful but I made a lot of money. That night I was quite tired from the night before and all the work so I passed out pretty early. In the morning I went out to breakfast with my Dad and my Sister (who had returned home from Thanksgiving with my Mom in Brooklyn.) I used the money I had earned the previous day to buy a Ben Watson Patriots jersey and started on my drive back to Cornell. The 5.5 hour drive took 7 hours and I missed all but the fourth quarter of what was apparently an exciting Patriots game. At least we won.

So CUIDC turned out to be just as bad as I could’ve imagined. On Friday night, all of my roommates were hanging out, having a good time and I was in my room trying to fall asleep at 10 p.m. I had to wake back up just before midnight and go over to Barton Hall where I was on “watch” (basically just sitting at desk and overseeing the 500 or so midshipmen from other schools who were sleeping in sleeping bags all across the floor.) My watch lasted until 4 a.m. at which point I went home, caught one more hour of sleep, and then showered. 6 a.m. was opening ceremonies, and then my duties as Officer in Charge of Platoon Drill and Inspection began. That lasted until about 1 p.m. and consisted of me ensuring that each of the 30-ish schools competing were ready on time and everything flowed smoothly. Luckily, I had a break in the afternoon and was able to catch the majority of the Ohio State v. Michigan game which was my main concern all day. Closing ceremonies concluded at about 8:30 p.m. so it was quite a long day…

Saturday night was our crush party at Psi U. The crush party is an invite only party and it is usually a bit more classy than our other parties (the dress code is semi-formal, etc.) We have a live band play and it is one of our only parties that we throw on the main floor as opposed to our bar room in the basement. Obviously I was a bit tired and didn’t stay too long but it was good to see everyone.

Sunday was a pretty lazy day. I slept until 1 p.m. and then at 3 I went over to Psi U for our annual meeting. The meeting is where we elect our new officers and it actually lasted seven hours this year. Electing our new President took almost an hour and a half alone. I think it is good that we put in the time necessary to ensure the right brothers fill the right positions. Anyways, the changing of the guards will take place at our Christmas formal in a couple of weeks.

Right now I’m at work and it is snowing, heavily. I have to give a tour in 40 minutes. Thanksgiving break can’t come soon enough…

Hey, first and foremost, check out this little blurb about the business idea competition:

http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Nov06/entrep.awards.aj.html

(thats me in the back)

Last night I went to a restaurant, Willow, with my entire pledge class from Psi U. It was a guy’s birthday but moreso it gave us a chance to catch up (which we rarely get to do all together). The meal was delicious, there was an amazing mussels appetizer and my meal, steak over couscous, was great. We brought a few bottles of wine and it really was just a fun night.

I am at work right now and I have to go to my one Friday class (AEM 200 section) in a couple of hours. Tonight kicks off Cornell University Invitational Drill Competition (CUIDC) which is something we run at ROTC to raise funds for us to do things, like our Navy Ball, all year. It is basically a drill competition (marching with rifles) that a bunch of schools come to – some from quite far away. There are also other events, such as the Ironman (Running, Pull-Ups, Sit-Ups, Push-Ups and Swimming) and a basketball tournament. From our point of view, as hosts, it is a ton of work. I have a watch, which means I will sit at a table and make sure nothing is out of ordinary at our Unit, from 12am-4am. Then, I will get 1 hour of sleep before the opening ceremonies at 6am on Saturday. We are expected to be at the Unit, either working or on short breaks, until about 1am on Sunday. Essentially, I will be totally dead tired come Sunday and I will get nothing done all weekend… But, I will never have to do another CUIDC again after this next ~36 hours!

Friday morning I was informed by some people at ROTC that I was in charge of getting a cake for the Marine Corps Birthday Celebration later that evening. As you can imagine, its tough to get a sheet cake screen-printed with the Eagle Globe and Anchor (the Marine Corps’ emblem) in less than twelve hours. Somehow, with the help of Ange, I pulled it off and walked into Micawbers (a bar on the Ithaca commons) at 5:30 for the Celebration. Guess what? They already had a cake made… (this is me fuming)

The Celebration went pretty well. I was the MC of the event so I read the address from the Commandant, the Marine Corps Prayer, etc. We had a good turnout of both ROTC midshipmen and local retired Marines. I had a little free reign to spend some money on the Unit’s tab so there was plenty of refreshments for all. After the Birthday Celebration, Ange and I met up with one of her friends and her boyfriend at the sushi restaurant where Ange works. We hung out there for a little bit and then I left to meet up with the guys from Cook St. since their house was throwing a bartab at Dinos. I ended up leaving pretty early on though and calling it a night.

I woke up Saturday to a text message from my buddy from Psi U, Max, who is doing Cornell in Washington (a program where Cornell students spend the semester in Washington, D.C. taking classes and working at politicians’ offices). The text said, “call me asap, very important.” So, I called him back and learned that he had an entire box of seats to himself for the Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers game that night. Another guy from my house, Ricky, was going down as well so I hitched a ride with him. Six hours later, we pulled into D.C. and caught most of the hockey game. The rest of the night we spent out and about in D.C., which was nice since I had never really gone out there.

Yesterday we pulled back into Ithaca around seven p.m., which was just enough time for me to get ready for the show – Bob Saget was at Cornell! Ange and I walked up to Barton Hall and saw Bob’s comedy act, which can mostly be described and discombobulated and rude. However, it was pretty funny and he made a lot of (usually crude) jokes in reference to Full House.

So, it was quite a busy weekend, but I will be able to get a little rest this week since I don’t have much due for my classes. I’ll post a little later in the week.

This guy, rude? No way…

This Friday was my Navy Ball, and sadly the last Navy Ball I will attend at Cornell. The Navy Ball has taken place the last three years at the Willard Strait Memorial Room and is a joint celebration for the Navy and Marine Corps Birthday. This year was pretty special since I am a senior and it is typically pretty nostalgic. I brought Ange and we sat at a table with a junior and a couple freshmen. The dinner was good, and the low point of the night was easily the speaker. He went on for nearly forty minutes to the chagrin of many onlookers who needed to use the restroom. In fact, a few people even got up towards the end of the speech and left the room. After the speech, there was a little bit of dancing and then Cody picked me up. Once I got home, I contemplated meeting up with Ange at her Crush Party (she had left the Navy Ball a little early to go to it) but I decided it was just too far a trip and it was nearly over anyway. Crush parties are typically invite only parties and often take place at Lakewatch, which is a function hall about fifteen minutes outside of Cornell.

My buddy from Psi U, Kyle, and I had submitted our business idea from a class we took last semester to the Third Annual Cornell Business Idea Competition. Sixty teams submitted and we were chosen to participate in the finals, comprised of ten teams who all had to make presentations on Saturday morning. We got dressed up and met up at the Statler where we presented to a panel of alumni who were back for the Lynch-Weiss weekend. We ended up taking fifth place and winning $100, which was a bit of a bummer since the grand prize was $1500, but either way it was a good experience.

After the competition I headed over to my Cook St. roommates’ fraternity where we watched their brand new projection screen TV. It was pretty amazing, and we happened to catch the Celtics on NBA TV (DirecTV equivalent of Season Ticket). That night I went to Kyushu which is a BYOB Japanese Hibachi restaurant. The guys from Psi U were throwing what they called “Birthday Bash,” which was a conglomeration of about 6 guys’ and close girl friends’ birthdays. The hibachi was good, I think the cook may or may not have squirted hot oil on one guy’s shirt though. We were kindly asked to leave when one of the guys who was turning 21 that night actually took off his shirt in the restaurant. Luckily, we had already paid the bill and finished anyway.

Sunday was a long but interesting day. It started with the CIVR retreat. Every semester us tour guides get together for a mystery retreat – in the past we have learned about the College of Human Ecology, Athletics Department, etc. This semester was the Hotel School. We took an extensive tour all around the school and Statler Hotel. The second part of the day was spent baking chocolate chip cookies in the cooking lab. Finally, we had Italian food catered by Lucatelli’s. The best part about it all was I got paid for every minute… I had to leave a little early in order to make it down to the Ithaca Commons for the Veteran’s Day Parade. All of the ROTC Units and local veterans dress up in their uniforms and march through the center of town. We all finish up at the VFW where everyone sits down and enjoys lunch together.

Chef Ben

Halloween at Cornell is always interesting to say the least. Starting Thursday, fraternities and other organizations threw Halloween themed parties and the costumes all came out. Continuing literally until Wednesday morning (with the exception of maybe Sunday night) Cornell students celebrated All Hallows’ Eve. I have never been a huge proponent of Halloween; I typically throw on the same costume every year (an Against All Oddz velour jumpsuit). There is no reason for my lack of enchantment in the Cornell Halloween scene, since I loved Halloween as a kid; I guess I just have never gotten to into it.

Thursday night was the night of Psi U’s annual party, Psi Boo as I mentioned before. I received news from some of the guys that it was a big success so I am glad to hear that. Friday I pretty much laid low and didn’t do a whole lot – I was a bit tired out from the week and wanted to catch up on some rest. Saturday was the really big night for Halloween parties – the night almost everyone was dressed up. I threw on a Manny Ramirez jersey (of the Boston Red Sox) and a Red Sox World Series Champs hat. I actually got quite a few, “he’s just Manny being Manny” comments which were a nice surprise. I hung out with the guys I live with for quite a bit and then met up with Ange, who had been out and about with the girls she lives with.

So, some of the more interesting costumes I saw – a group of guys dressed up as Duke Lacrosse Players (they actually I think started a few fights due to the controversial nature of the costumes), someone dressed as Steve Irwin (again, kind of in bad taste), a basketball team and a coach, a bag of trash, roller-rink style roller skaters (with short shorts and pink shirts), Borat, and the list goes on and on. As you can see, there are quite a few “interesting” costumes that Cornellians do come up with.

This week has been pretty slow so far. The big news is that a) Jake went to the bathroom in his litter box finally b) I got cable in my room and c) Nick ordered NBA Season Ticket so we are going to watch every Celtics game all season long. I don’t have any work tonight so I might hang out with some guys a little later on as soon as I get out of these darn office hours…