Cornell and Beyond

Food in Ithaca is ‘gorges’, and I recently discovered the crème de la crème of the dining experience here.

I do not presume to be a food critic, but as an avid and long-time eater, I feel more than justified in regaling my delectable dinner at “Just a Taste” in the Commons.

Just a Taste is a tapas restaurant, which means they feature meals composed entirely of hor’s doeuvres.  And what delicious little plates they are.  My friend and I shared a melon & brie crostini which was out of this world.  Brie melted to perfection, fresh melon and crusty little bread slices.  I could go for one right now and it’s 10 in the morning!  Our friends got the duck and salmon, and they looked equally as appetizing. 

With everyone’s newly minted 21ness, we also ordered ‘wine flights,’ which was basically just a wine tasting.  We got the Loire Valley Flight and the Other White Flight and they both had some very exquisite wines. I can’t wait for my WINES class this Fall so that I can properly describe them (e.g. soft hints of vanilla with a sturdy oak character), but for now I’ll just say they were all yummy.

And if all this weren’t enough, we topped off the night with a soft, rich, moist chocolate soufflé.  Words can not describe it.  Let’s just say we polished it off in 5 minutes.

And so goes my dining experience.  It’s certainly not an every night sort of affair (It comes close to breaking the bank of any college student budget) but I know I’ll return there soon again.  Perhaps to try the Big Red Flight and their buttermilk panacotta.  Sigh.   

enjoy

Cornell is currently in limbo. Most of the summer college/sports camp/summer class people have left, and enthusiastic parents and jaded teenagers have taken over, usually with confused looks and a big campus map spread in front of them. Some of them look like they’ve done this a million times and it makes me a little glad that I only visited two schools when I applied to college. (And Cornell wasn’t one of them!) Even with the plethora of would-be applicants and backwards-walking, fast-talking tour guides, Ithaca still seems sadly empty. Although I will say it’s nice not to wait in line at Statler just for a salad.

On the other hand, school is starting in less than 2 weeks and by next Monday Ithaca will reawaken from what I call the “summer slumber.” The streets of Collegetown will fill once more, and the lines will stretch long and far behind the Southwestern Salad Station.

You know you’re a bit of nerd when you go into the campus bookstore and get excited at the rows and rows of new textbooks. Go ahead, laugh, but I haven’t taken a class at Cornell in over 8 months and by golly I’ve missed it!

But undoubtedly the best thing about school starting up again is that all my friends are slowly trickling back into Ithaca. I love walking down the street and stopping every five minutes to catch up with an old friend. And soon, old friends will be all over the place!

Hooray for Back to School!

Bahamas? Jamaica? Cancun? California?

NO!  I told you it’s fun to be in Ithaca in the summer!

I realized that I never really discussed what I’m doing with most of my time this summer. I am working in a lab in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, doing the 9-5 grind in hopes of ironing out an honors thesis.

I used Cornell Tradition funding for this summer. Nothing too spectacular but it pays the bills. I was left speechless by the salaries some of my friends are getting for summer internships with big companies -larger salaries than I’ll be making for the next 10 years of my life!

But I’ll tell you this, you don’t go into science for the money. I’m really enjoying what I’m doing, which, at a broad level, is looking at the molecular consequences of stress. I’m being purposefully vague for two reasons: One I’m making an attempt not to bore anyone to tears, as this entry could easily do if I tread too heavily on this topic. Two, I need to do a pretty major experiment before I can get a handle on a more discreet area to focus on. I think it’s sufficient to say that I’m excited about what I’m doing, which is the most important thing. I’ve quickly realized that this is pretty vital when you are working 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.

What’s also great about the lab that I’m working in is that there are 2 other undergraduates, someone in summer college, a graduate student and two professors currently associated with the lab. I love talking with all of them, and I’m always learning something new from someone. Just today the other undergraduates and I were huddled over a diagram of an action potential, trying to untangle some puzzling aspect or another. Why were we thinking about this? It had no direct relevance to any experiment any of us were running. I think that’s just what happens when you put 4 science lovers together in a small room. Best quote of the year from an unnamed undergrad I work with. “I think every PCR is a little miracle.”

So, in sum, what you might want to take away from this entry: I’m working in a lab. It’s fun. I like learning. I like science.

If any of those things interest you, and you’d like to know more about working in a lab at Cornell, or anything that relates to Biology and Cornell, or anything that relates to Cornell at all, give me a holler! It is summer after all, so I have plenty of time to give long and detail-rich replies to questions, which I can’t promise during the school year. Although I will admit that I’m such a Cornell enthusiast I probably will anyway

Patrick! Of course, everything makes sense now

Rachel and I got a new roommate!  His name is Patrick, and he is just about the nicest guy I’ve ever met!

He’s got an amazing personality: he’s friendly, outgoing and not at all shy.  I only met him Monday but I already feel like I’ve known him forever.  He’s talkative and great company.  But he’s also a bit of a practical joker, he loves to run around and has already gotten into a bunch of shenanigans.  You can’t get mad at him though, he’s just too cute!  He’s also a sweetheart and talking to him in the morning really gives me a pep in my step. (Is that even a phrase?)He doesn’t have a job so he mostly sits around all day doing who knows what, but Rachel and I don’t mind, since he seems really glad to see us when we come back from work.  He eats about everything that he sees in front of him, but don’t all guys?  Rachel was a little afraid he might mess up the bathroom but so far he’s been very discreet and hygienic, which is always a plus for a roommate.

I just thought you might like to know that it is HOT HOT HOT here in Ithaca.

I’m going to go STUDY STUDY STUDY in the living room where there is fortunately A/C.

That is all…my computer may explode from overheating if I try anything longer

Here in Ithaca, for some insane reason, we have no fireworks on the 4th of July. Will someone please explain that to me?

It’s also raining. Pouring actually, if you want to be accurate.

Oh Ithaca, only you.

PS- Went to the gorge this past weekend for some swimming. Apparently the gorges are the place to be during the summer, as it was quite the happening waterfall. I’ll try to remember my camera next time so I can prove once and for all that Ithaca is NOT depressing : )

It’s 3:37 AM in the morning, so needless to say this will be a short one.

It’s a bit tangential, considering I haven’t really discussed my career goals on this blog yet, but I am taking the MCAT’s very very soon. If you don’t know what the MCAT is, be happy about that and try to stay ignorant for as long as possible. MCAT makes the SAT look like a walk in the park.

Besides being a test designed to strike fear in the hearts of already overanxious pre-medical students around the nation and generally demolishing any inklings of confidence that may have somehow(!) sprung up, the MCAT is a measure of General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics, Verbal Reasoning, Writing and of course, Biology.

Who knew Organic Chemistry would come back to haunt me, again! I can’t enjoy the beautiful Ithaca summer weather when I’m worried about amines and converging lenses and moles. Moles are haunting my dreams. And I’m not talking about the furry cute moles. I’m talking about 6×10^23. Don’t even get me started on galvanic cells.

That’s it! I’m going to bed! MCAT, we’ll meet shortly, and when we do, I’ll be ready for you.