Cornell and Beyond

post-prelim

September 22, 2006 at 12:01 am | In fall 06 & other incidentals | No Comments

It’s over! It’s over!

How did it go?

Not the worst test I’ve ever taken. But certainly not the best. Just glad I have the safety net of dropping one prelim.

I took the rest of the day off. I find it so difficult to concentrate on anything after finishing up a big test. It’s like the relief is so expansive it wipes out everything else in your life.

So I did what any person would do. Watched the season premiere of Grey’s. Definitely less stressful than studying for Genetics!

Now I get to start worrying about my Biochem prelim that is rapidly approaching. (Less than a week, eek!) I’m going to relax a little. I’m hoping to get a chance to see The Science of Sleep this weekend, it’s coming out in the Commons. I’m also going to juggling club tomorrow! I’ve actually been improving, even though I’ve only tried twice. It’s fun, and oddly enough, a stress reliever! And of course I will be studying. But nothing new there.
It’s actually not that bad. One semester, I had 5 classes with prelims. (That’s mucho prelims, trust me!) I remember this one week when I had three. Let’s just say a lot of late nights went into that one!
So this is nothing. This is a breeze. Well, that’s what I have to tell myself to keep going

T -1 Day & Counting

September 20, 2006 at 4:03 pm | In Summer, fall 06 & other incidentals | No Comments

Well, school is well underway and I thought I’d use the next couple of entries to give you an idea about what it’s like to to experience the emotional

an anecdote

September 12, 2006 at 6:19 pm | In fall 06 & other incidentals | No Comments

Intersting story for you:

I was walking along back from the library last night, at about 8 PM, when I see two guys approaching, one who appears to have a large blue sack covering the entire top of his body.

I get closer and realize he does indeed have a large blue sack covering his entire body. His friend however, does not.

Blue bag guy then proceeds to jump at me in a ghost like fashion.

I stare at him. Is this considered normal now?

He jumps at me again. I proceed to stare at him. He just stands there.

“Cool,” I say, and continue on my walk back to my dorm. They continue on their way also.

As they continue on their way, I hear Bag Man ask his friend, “Hey, was she hot?”

I don’t hear his friends answer, who was probably considerate enough to answer once I was out of earshot.

Words can not even begin to describe to the situation. So I will leave you instead with a question to ponder…

Which haven’t I seen on the Cornell campus?

- A guy with a lobster shaped hat

- A group of faculty in cow costumes

- A boy in a large blue bag

- Pacman run through my class…and my next class…and my class after that

- A group of guys run through my French class in full out island gear, grass skirts included.

Trick Question! I’ve seen all of those ; ) Yeah Cornell, you’re a little bizarre. But I still love you.

a day in the life

September 10, 2006 at 12:20 am | In fall 06 & other incidentals | No Comments

Hello all:

Some very exciting things have been taking place on campus recently. Well, one exciting thing. A new president!

The Inauguration ceremony was this past Thursday on the Arts Quad. I woke up that morning to look outside my window and see a blanket of white fog over everything. However, by the time Inauguration was starting, the fog had evaporated and boy was it hot! Looks like somebody remembered to take out the weather machine for the event. (It’s a common joke around campus that somehow Cornell has a weather machine to create ridiculously nice weather for important occasions, like Visiting Days, for example.)

But I digress. The Inauguration was nice, with some entertaining speakers and a couple of musical interludes. Unfortunately I had to leave early to go collect some fruit flies for Genetics lab. As soon as I had tried to discreetly edge my way out of the seated area I got a call from my lab partner telling me she was practically done! So I watched the rest of it on the lawn, with the rest of the laypeople J

Since I seem to be digressing anyway, Genetics lab is going well so far. It is one of the most dreaded classes in the Bio major because of the alleged long hours one must spend in the lab outside of class time. So far I’ve actually been enjoying it! Although right now we are still in the process of collecting males and females, and haven’t started our test crosses yet.

On yet another note, guess who got to have breakfast with a Pulitzer Prize winning scientist and a Cornell professor? Yes, me. Where else but here does an opportunity like that come up for an everyday student like myself?

And to all, a good night.

living in Ithaca

September 7, 2006 at 11:46 pm | In fall 06 & other incidentals | No Comments

Recently had a question concerning what it’s like to live in Ithaca, far far away from the nearest big city. I figure this is a common concern, so here posted is the e-mail I wrote back. Hope it helps!

Well, this answer is obviously going to change depending on who you talk

to. If you are a big city person, and can’t stand being somewhere without

the hustle and bustle, Ithaca may not be the place for you.

That being said however, let me make it clear that there is NEVER a

shortage of things to do here, in the town but particularly on campus.

Perhaps because of its quiet location Cornell University has an absolute

cornucopia of programming. Concerts (Snoop, Ben Folds, Third Eye Blind,

Jimmy Eat World, and The Game are just some of the groups that have come

in the last couple of years.) The Johnson Museum of Art has receptions for

students and new exhibitions all the time. Cornell Cinema puts on movies

for reduced prices and the ‘real’ movie theatre in town is being

renovated to have stadium seating. Different groups on campus are always

putting shows on, from tap dance to sketch comedy. There is absolutely no

shortage of pretty good restaurants in the Ithaca area; it’s rumoured that

Ithaca has more restaurants per capita than NYC. To emphasize my point,

let me say that I probably ventured off campus no more than a dozen times

my first year. While this might sound confining, that wasn’t really the

reason. It’s just friends, events, libraries, parties, and dorms are no

more than a twenty minute walk away from each other. You don’t really

need the resources of a big city because you are getting the resources of

a big university.

Also, let’s be honest, for most majors at Cornell, you are going to be

kept pretty busy with your classes. Yes, there is time to have fun, but

you would never have enough time to go to every event you see advertised.

Also, I happen to love the Cornell campus. As a freshman, you get to go

over waterfalls to go to class in the morning! For me that’s awesome, and

many students here are in agreement that Cornell has an absolutely

-gorges- campus.

However, that’s my opinion. If you can’t stand to be more than a mile

away from a skyscraper, everything I might have said is nil.

And although there absolutely is no shortage of things to do, I’m not going

to lie, this isn’t New York City. No vibrant night life or throngs of

people in business suits. But at any school you go to, you can’t get

everything.

The only thing I’ve felt lacking in Ithaca, which you may not care so much

about, is the lack of variety in shopping venues. We have one small mall

nearby, but that’s pretty much it. However, freshman programming

included trips to shopping malls in Syracuse. And by shopping I mean

clothes. Don’t worry, Target is only a bus ride away, located actually

right in the Pyramid Mall. So you don’t have to worry about running out

of shampoo.

That pretty much sums up my opinion on Ithaca. I love it and don’t mind

not being in the city, but that’s me. The only way for you to know for

sure whether you would like it or not is come up and visit the campus!