Around the Horn

“Dear Seniors,

On behalf of the 2009 Convocation Committee, I am pleased to announce that Mr. David Plouffe, Chief Campaign Manager of Obama for America, President Barack Obama’s historic presidential campaign, will headline the Class of 2009’s Convocation Ceremony on Saturday, May 23, 2009. ”

Unexpected, but I’m looking forward to it.  While Mr. Plouffe may not be the most recognizable name, I think he’ll deliver a pertinent and inspiring message.  Talking with my roommate Katy, both of us hoped that the speech wouldn’t sugarcoat the real world too much.  We all realize the current economic crisis that the US is facing; all of us have worried about the immediate 2-year outlook of our post-college lives at some point in these past few months.  I think we need to stay hopeful but realistic.  It would just be an awkward situation if the message delivered was too rah-rah, while the grim reality is one of unemployment and stagnancy.

However, if going out into the real world isn’t scaring anyone, it’s probably this ending statement in the e-mail:

“I wish you the best for our final three months as Cornell undergraduates and hope you and your family will join us on May 23. ”

Three more months in Ithaca with my friends.  Yikes!

Having a car on campus for the past two years has really changed my perception of our four-wheeled friends.  Bold statement, I know, but consider this:  you live on North Campus your freshman year, with a select sprinkling of your class having cars.  The only exposure you have to current music, in the form of radio stations, is via car, which you rarely ride in your freshman year.  Not having a car also deems you virtually directionless anywhere outside of campus:  Routes 79, 96, 13, don’t exactly ring a bell.  The second you come home for winter break, driving seems so foreign.  I’m not ashamed to admit that moving quicker than walking pace freaked me out the first few days back home.

Aside from the practical perks of having a car, one thing that we miss out on is car naming.  I drove a silver minivan in high school named Linus.  However, my naming scheme has changed from just “liking” a name (Did you know that Linus actually means “flax”? Right.) to coming up with witty and creative names based on one’s license plate letter and number permutation.

For example:  My friend Danny’s license plate is DXT ####.  The name that first comes to mind is “Dexter”.  How apropos that Danny enjoys watching the show “Dexter” on Showtime, and that Danny sometimes wears glasses that kind of remind me of Dexter’s Laboratory.

Another few examples:  Adam’s license plate is CVZ ####. This is not meant to offend anyone, but the name we came up with was “Chavez”.  Even my friend Hannah, with license plate RJY ###, can come up with “Ray Jay” as her car’s name.Take it as you may, but these consonants all fit well into the naming scheme.

My license plate?  TNM ###.  No cutesy names here.  Tannym, Tennyam, all seem to be far stretches and don’t roll off the tongue as easily.  The only one that fits seems to be–Tsunami.

“That’s not a real name.”
“Well, at least it sounds intimidating.”

The Cornell Cinema has been screening a series of documentaries and films that center around water.  Last night, my roommate Katy and I went to see Up the Yangtze, which centers around an impoverished family trying to make ends meets.  Realizing their inevitable eviction along with little-to-none government compensation they’ll receive as “illegal citizens”, the family decides to send their oldest daughter Cindy to work on a Yangtze cruise ship.  The damming completely exploits China’s history and integrity; the workers on the ship are taught what to say and how to act, the entertainer on the ship sings “it’s so easy to learn Chinese-y” while the tourists dress up in “traditional” yellow emperor robes.  The entire cruise centers around the fact that ancient villages and sites will soon be under water.  At the same time, the tourism industry helps China because it offers so many jobs and opportunities, to which many are grateful for.  The cinematography is absolutely stunning, seeing the juxtaposition of vanishing natural scenic beauty with concrete and metal.  As much as our media focuses on alarming economic growth and looming prosperity of China, the documentary rightfully counters the light-speed cities with the dire situation of many rural citizens .

Fellow blogger Alex and I, along with a few of our friends, hit up the slopes of Greek Peak last week.  For many Cornell students, Greek Peak is a great skiing and snowboarding option given its proximity (about a 25 minute drive) and its deals on season passes for students.  I haven’t skied in eight years, and since we were going with a mixed group of semi-beginners, intermediates, and the one expert being Alex, I crossed my fingers in hopes of surviving a day of frigid cold and steep slopes.

After leaving the rental shop with the shortest skiis possible–the 10-year-old girl in front of me had longer ones–we were out into the cold.  We warmed up on the Magic Carpet, at my request.  From there, we scaled up and skiied down a bevy of green and blue courses.  Alex would take up some black diamond ones, since the green dot is probably a sign of boredom to him rather than a sign of comfort for me.  The mountain was busy, to be expected on a weekend, but not crowded.  We rode the ski lifts with little wait time.  However, but 4:30, the windchill picked up, and we were ready for home.  With windburned cheeks and reverse-raccoon syndrome (an outline of our ski goggles), we drove home happy and slightly sore.

I’m not a pro basketball player by any means, but I’ve decided to take up Intramural Basketball with a few of my tourguiding friends.  I guess you could say that it was some intense playing last night (yep, I didn’t watch the Super Bowl), because my pinky currently looks like this:

A ring of purple around the knuckle.

I’ve noticed a subconscious cut in the number of coffee runs.  It seems silly, but spending $4 on a beveridge has never really appealed to me, lest it be Jamba Juice.  However, my indirect caffeine cut seems logical in a recession, but only perpetuates a vicious cycle.  Consumers are spending less, and retail shops and larger business are receiving less revenue.  With less money to go around, saving money Big Man style can mean budget cuts, layoffs, or restructuring.  Either way, if more people are jobless, there’s even less free cash floating around.  So that’s why Starbucks is closing another 300 store…my bad if the one in Collegetown is the next to go.

In a topic hitting closer to home, President David Skorton recently announced budget cuts for the university in light of hard economic times.  This is definitely trickling down to the Cornell community, as each department is expected to cut their spending budgets by ~10%; he is also taking a 10% cut in his salary.  At the same time, Skorton proposed that funding for financial aid continue for students, and I fully support him.  While students are “safe” from the job market, in the sense that their sole job is to learn and stay in school, their parents may not be so lucky.  Layoffs are rampant and it is difficult for parents to go back to school without making drastic changes in their family’s financial structure.  Cornell has been flexible and generous with financial aid in my case, making it possible for my parents to send me here.  Cornell is continuing its longstanding effort to assist students, and this is the University’s way of rolling over some rough patches, preparing students to brave through this recession.