Cornell and Beyond

Breaking News!!!

Whoot whoot!

Looks like Cornell did something right with this year’s graduation speaker…

You may have heard of her.  She wrote a little book called I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings…

Daily Sun Article 

Wikipedia

I am so excited.  One girl in the Sun article describes it as the English Department reading series “on steroids.”  I actually just went to one these reading talks, and was absolutely blown away by the talent in our English department.  So if that girl is right, this year’s Convocation should be unbelievable.

Whoot!

maybe if I imagine hard enough, I’ll be there…

In the dreary weather that is the Northeast, I sincerely wish I was still on Spring Break, during the entirety of which I did absolutely nothing except: read The Witch of Portobello (really enjoyed it, by the way), lounge by the beach, go kayaking in pitch black darkness through mangroves into a bio-luminescent bay, hike through the rain forest, and sleep. Not a bad way to unwind for a few days, right? Not to mention that it seemed like the entirety of the Cornell campus decided to transplant itself onto San Juan for spring break. Within 3 hours of arriving and hitting the beach we ran into another group of senior Cornellians eagerly seeking some R&R. And that was just the first 3 hours! In an attempt to shield myself from my real life that involves the following things due in the next week or so: prelim, graphic novel (that needs a whole entry), HONORS THESIS, etc., I am going to post a couple pictures of where I wish I never had to leave (Besides Ithaca, of course. Graduation in 59 days? What? I can’t hear you.)

Sigh.

Adios, for a week

It is 1 AM and I am leaving for the airport in 2 short hours…for Puerto Rico!

I’m getting away from Cornell’s glum March weather for some fun in the sun during my spring break.  I’m excited for the tropics, the beaches, the turquoise water, the luminescent dinoflagellates, and being in non-negative degree weather for a bit.

What more could a college student ask for? Being sleep deprived is old news –no pain no gain. (Plus, what’s a trip without sleeping on the plane?) Dinoflagellates, here I come!

why yes, I was in fact smacked with a fish

This past Saturday I attended an event that is one very important pinnacle of any Cornellian’s Life on the Hill.

What was this highly anticipated event, you ask?  An early graduation? Finishing my thesis? Slope Day?

No, no and no.

It was the Cornell Harvard hockey game.  And yes, I did get pelted with a whole trout because of it, in the first 5 minutes of entering Lynah Rink no less.

Cornell has some insane tradition that involves throwing fish onto the ice before the Harvard game, the most anticipated home game of the season.  Never mind the foreboding e-mail I received a week before, warning, and I quote: “fans who are found to have fish…on their person will be expelled from the rink.” Never mind the bag checks and 1.5 hour early opening of the rink.  When people want to sneak fish into skating rinks, they find a way to do it.

Now I sit in the first row, right by the glass.  I actually anticipated the ill-targeted fish toss (or well targeted, if they were targeting Life on the Hill bloggers) and seriously considered bringing an umbrella.  Woe is me and my forgetfulness.  With no umbrella, a good 12 inch fish smacked me in the forearm in the traditional fish tossing, leaving an icky fishy trail behind. On my arm.

I stuck out the national anthem, but the smell of dinner at Red Lobster grew too much and I SKIDDADLED to the bathroom to scrub my arm, several times.

I did learn the most important lesson: always watch for flying fish at a hockey game, particularly if it’s Cornell-Harvard and you’re among the Lynah Faithful.

Sadly we didn’t win, but getting smacked with the fish was still totally and absolutely worth the experience.  There was not a dry eye in sight when the senior hockey players said goodbye to the team with their families…

And we still have the play-offs…Darthmouth, just be glad fish season is over. (I hope.)