Cornell and Beyond

in the 607, 66 is the new 86

April 16, 2008 at 5:00 pm | In This is it! Spring 08 | No Comments

People react to the abnormally warm weather in Ithaca (re: 66 degrees Fahrenheit) in two different ways:

1) There are those who have been preparing for days like these for months, with thermometers at their windows and summer apparel laid out by their bedside

and 

2) There are those who are unequivocally unprepared for temperatures in this range

You can identify the former by their distinctly summer apparel: Shorts, flip-flops, t-shirts and that breezy, upbeat attitude.  You might find these individuals lounging on the quad, sipping their iced coffees, or laying out in front of their houses in swimwear.   Warm weather is like a long lost treasure here in Ithaca, and people will take 300% advantage of it.

Then there are those still stuck in the arctic winter mentality: these Cornellians can be found in bubble jackets or long winter coats with scarves and boots to complete the “I’m ready for your weather Ithaca, so give me all you got” mentality.  Usually these people realize in the first few minutes of stepping outside the drastic change in their surroundings and immediately convert to a Type 1 individual, returning inside to switch their Uggs for their Birkenstocks. 

I would say 99% of Cornellians are the first type.  Most of those that appear as Type 2 probably  only forgot to check the weather report in the morning and were in too much of a rush to go back inside once they stepped out.

Where do I fall? Well, I wore a sweater this morning, sat on the Ag quad and had an iced latte for an hour, returned home and switched my sweater for a  t-shirt and sunglasses and swaggered back to campus in a joyful, endorphin pumping euphoria.  What do you think?

It looks like 66 degrees F is the new 86.