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.)

i’ll bet we’re going all the way…to the NCAA

Tonight I ventured out of my hockey comfort zone and went to see men’s basketball play Brown.  I admit it, I jumped on up onto the basketball bandwagon.

First of all, I have never been to a basketball game of any sort, so my friend had to explain to me what was going on pretty much every time the whistle blew.  But it quickly became apparent what was going on, and from that point on I enjoyed a great game.  We came back from what I believe was at one point a 10+ deficit to cinch the win in the last couple minutes of the game, 74-65.

I even got to witness not one, but TWO, count ‘em TWO, slam dunks.  They make it look so easy! Right now Cornell remains undefeated in the Ivy League, and is very close to securing a spot in March Madness…You know what’s madness? The last time we’ve been 10-0 in the Ivy it was 1964-65.

Well, I’ll be rooting for our Big Red big players in the coming days…and if you want the real inside scoop on the basketball team, check out the article the NY Times did last week…that’s a lot of chicken parmesan!

warning: shameless plug below

Hi Tradition Fellows! ( and non-Tradition Fellows)

Come enjoy the sweet rewards of being a Tradition Fellow…because it’s never too cold for ice cream!

Simply wear your red Tradition t-shirt on Monday, February 25th and then stop by Trillium (and Trillium only-NOT WSH) to pick up your free *GOURMET* ice cream float from 11AM-1PM. (Please feel free to layer your t-shirt, because although it’s never too cold for ice cream, we understand sometimes it is too cold for t-shirts!) Never picked up your FREE Tradition t-shirt? Simply stop by 103 Day Hall anytime this week to pick up your FREE (& AWESOME) t-shirt. By wearing your shirt on Monday you will not only help spread the word about Tradition and get a free float, but you will also be able to spot all those friends you never even realized were Tradition fellows!

Not a Tradition fellow? Not a problem! Stop by anyway, as floats will be available for a $2 suggested donation for non-fellows w/o a shirt. All proceeds will go to charity! Information on applying to be a fellow and Tradition resources and benefits will be available!

Are you a prospective Cornellian wondering what in the world Tradition is? Send me an e-mail and I wold be happy to share with you all of the great benefits to joining the tradition…the Cornell Tradition, that is! (Get it?! Ending on another pun, thank you very much.)

a late night entry about Insomnia…

Cookies, that is.

A new store opening in Collegetown is big news on campus, and I will say that Insomnia Cookies is an interesting cookie- I mean concept.

Freshly baked, still gooey sweet treats, available mainly at night…what a thought! I wonder which demographic they target? I got a hint when visiting their web site and I found a search function by campus. Where else could a business idea like this work?

After trying (more than one) of their free samples, I have to admit, the cookies (and brownies) are pretty scrumptious.  Warm and reminiscent of the Robert Purcell cookies that almost caused riots, I definitely enjoyed them, and I don’t even have a sweet tooth.  While they may not be the healthiest option, I have a feeling these treats will satiate a good number of late night revelers, studiers, and of course, insomniacs.

Me? I’m off to get my glass of milk.  To everyone out there, have a very sweet Valentine’s Day. (PUN INTENDED!)

A lot or little, it’s a little too late (for me)

For all you prospective Cornellians out there who are thinking about applying for financial aid, this news item is probably of high interest to you.

Is this really sweeping? Should they have gone farther? A step in the right direction? The best thing that ever happened to financial aid at Cornell? Decide for yourself:

Cornell Chronicle Article on Financial Aid Changes

Cornell Daily Sun Article on Financial Aid Changes

One thing for sure, it’s too late for me!

The Super Bowl….in Ithaca

I had to work Super Bowl Sunday, and on my walk up to campus that evening I heard happy whooping come from random house and apartment windows.

When I got to work, we opened up NFL online to keep us posted.  And, rather than watching the game live, we got to watch animated lines zip across a little green field in real time.  (Or almost real time.)  It got really exciting when a team kicked, because than an actual football icon appeared.  Or if a team got close to scoring territory, the red zone actually started flashing red in excitement, accompanied, no less, than by the words, “RED ZONE”.  Ghostwriter style notations on the plays accompanied the animations.

I left work with one second left in the game.  (I was going to wait for it, but how long does one second take anyway? I found out later what happened and was very glad I decided to just leave.)

On my way home from work, I was greeted by group after group of fans walking home after the game.  Usually it was just undeterminable yelling, but there was also a smattering of “YEAHHHH” or “WHOOOOO,” and even sometimes “YAHOOOOO.”  And when one group of Giants fans saw another group of Giants fans, they would start screaming at each other in happiness until they reached a crescendo of high pitched squeals.  Random mumbling from any given group sounded about the same:

“Tom Brady…mumble mumble… Manning…. mumble mumble…PATRIOTS STINK…mumble mumble…”

I’m not even into football and I know that the last quarter of this Super Bowl would have been the one to watch.  I guess I’ll have to live with the fact that at least I got home in time for some leftover dip.

beyond the Cornell bubble

On Friday after finishing work I decided to go get my book for my writing class. Our instructor had, in an unusual twist of fate, told us to purchase our books at the independent bookstore in the commons, The Bookery.

After being pointed to the Dewitt Mall, a foreboding looking, somewhat sad specimen of a building, I was ready to walk into a mall with abandoned stores and cobwebs.

I was flabbergasted, when after entering through the heavy double doors I was met with a cute little shopping plaza teaming with life and the most random shops you could imagine.

Need a glow in the dark bongo? Or perhaps some salsa cowbells? (What is a salsa cowbell? Kudos if you leave a comment explaining.) Or perhaps you and the rest of your dorm are looking for lots and lots of hats. Or, maybe antique photos of men, women and families, none of whom you know? Vintage postcards, xylophones, electric guitars, handmade scarves, vegetarian food …the list goes on. You just might find it. And best of all was the unassuming bookstore where you could quietly curl up with a book in their reading room.

Overall it was an eye-opening trip, considering I never even realized all those stores existed…just goes to show, when you think you’ve seen it all…

I will say that, after my visit, I do say with certainty that the shopping plaza is very Ithaca.