Around the Horn

I picked up my parents at the Ithaca airport Saturday morning.  My brother Robert and I walked to Schoellkopf to attend Convocation, where David Plouffe, senior campaign manager for Barack Obama, commended the graduating class for shaping the election and promoting change for the future.  Plouffe also gave a shoutout to my friend CJ, who served as Convocation Chair, and his recent unsuccessful foray with Introduction to Wines.  In other words, he didn’t pass (sorry, CJ).  The Lins then set off on a full day of receptions and get togethers.  The weather was sunny and humid.  “I didn’t expect Ithaca to be this warm,” my mom remarked, as she trailed 25 feet behind Robert and I.  Apparently her solution to the heat is walking at a snail-slow pace while holding her handbag over her face to block the sun: an interesting sight.

Rise and shine!  Drowsy from the red-eye flight…

…cleaned up at the Johnson Museum

Sunday was a whirlwind of caps, gowns, diplomas, flowers, and balloons.  All the graduates assembled on the Arts Quad before the procession started around 10AM.  With overcast skies, I was glad that it was cooler, since sitting in a black robe that doubles as a compact sauna is not an ideal situation for anyone.  During the procession, my heart dropped when we walked through the Day Hall parking lot.  There, professors flanked both sides in their Harry Potter-esque cap and gown regalia, clapping and congratulating us on this special occasion.  It really put our achievement–graduation from a university–on a much more meaningful scale.  It was a bittersweet sendoff as we progressed to the stadium.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen Schoellkopf packed (it apparently has a capacity of 40,000), but it was teeming with family and friends Sunday morning:

Meanwhile, on the other side, Robert reported that the scene at Schoellkopf resembled the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.  “And now…the College of Arts and Sciences!”

President David Skorton addressed the graduates, asking us to take charge and embrace change.  With our liberal arts foundation and Cornell support, we have the skills and moral character that’ll ensure success in the future.  Then, one by one, the degrees were conferred.  Most notable in show were the Vet grads, who cleverly blew up arm-long plastic gloves to double as those thunder sticks you get at basketball games.  When Skorton mentioned “swine flu,” the flurry of blow-up arms drew a huge laugh.  We sang the Alma Mater as an entire class (I teared up a little bit), and before I knew it, it was over.

It still hasn’t hit me yet.  In a few months, I’ll be moving into an apartment in Manhattan and working in finance, a response which drew a lot of “get us out of this mess” and “finance…oh, I see” comments this past week.  I will be returning to JPMorgan this August, working in their Sales and Trading division, undoubtedly entering a field that thrives on high stress and quick thinking.  This show-no-mercy masochistic environment gets me going, and while I may be hitting the floor early in the morning, working hard every second until evening, I know it’ll be a fun ride.

I have many people to thank in this last (and rather long) blog entry.  First, to my family.  It was my dad who pushed for me to apply to Cornell in the first place.  Although we are separated for most of the year, the support my parents have given me over my 22 years, their respect for the “college experience” and their personal American Dreams have shaped me into the optimistic and direct Cornellian I am today.  To Robert, for becoming a new close friend instead of the pesky brother that makes fun of me…oh, wait…

Next, to friends old and new.  Special shoutout to my 219 Linden roommates (Katy, Hannah, Cath, Court, Michelle, Jill, Kara), some SHpecial friends, my KDs, fellow tour guides, and while it looks like I’m pulling names from a baby book, in no specific order: Jen, Danny, Frankel, Dave, Paz, Schneida, Steve, Scott M., Alex, Ryan, Bryant, Ray, Krebs, James, Jess, Sarah, and I’m missing about 50 other names–please forgive me, and the really nice coffee lady at CTB who always gets my medium hazelnut coffee…apparently her name is Paula.  To friends that I met from the first week of freshman year, and others I met this past year, with so little time left.  Regardless of duration, the bonds are rock solid and long term.  I’m talking about us ladies sitting in rockers knitting together when we’re grandmothers.  Not to ride on any stereotypes, but the guys, well, I don’t foresee us knitting, but perhaps playing golf or something else.  You all have changed my perspective on life and taught me to see things differently.  I’ll cherish our fun nights out, the relaxed nights in, the impromptu discussions, and heart-to-hearts.   While I’ll be able to see a lot of you next year in NYC, to everyone else spreading out in the states (or even going overseas), we are the generation of GChat, email, Facebook, and Skype, and by George, I hope we stay in touch.

Thanks to my elder mentors.  To my professors, who have instilled the importance of learning and curiosity. To Lisa, who got me this blogging job and put up with my antics: you probably think I’m crazy.  To Hilary, my rowing coach for 3 years: thank you for taking a doe-eyed freshman under your wing and giving me knowledge, faith, and the challenge of the sport of rowing, which I look on as one of my most memorable experiences.  To Taiya and Peggy, my tour guiding supervisors, I will definitely miss the hubbub in Day Hall.  Even to my finance gurus at my upcoming job (Rita, DBD, and others, all Cornell grads!), I appreciate your mentoring and look forward to August.

To my readers (Matt, Drew, this is for you):  Thank you for your continued support and comments.  While I was sure that the banality of my routine college lifestyle would be as boring as watching summer TV reruns, I’m glad there was something in my blog that willed the faithful few to keep up with my life.  Maybe it was the pictures…

And finally, thank you, Cornell, for the most amazing 4 years of my life.  Leisurely, I will miss Stella’s half-off burgers, late night pizza from Sindbad’s, Cornell Dairy ice cream, pitchers at CTB, fun nights at Rulloffs and the Palms, Olin Cafe, runs through the Plantations, Cayuga Inlet, the chimes, muffins and soup from Temple of Zeus, the driving range, and of course, Wegmans.  Let’s not forget the prelims, problem sets, papers, the bitter wind, and the hills.  You have challenged me, excited me, and given me hope and opportunity.  I leave the Hill with a sweet taste in my mouth and an enthusiastic smile.  I’ll be back, but for now, I’m ready for the next chapter in my life.

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.”

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’m taking an opera class this semester, which I’ll have to write more about when I have a moment to breathe, and whenever Time Warner decides to show up and hook up the internet in my house.  I’ve been reading librettos, and seeing how the Italian text–the actual lyrics–synchronizes with the composer’s orchestration has given my somewhat-nerdy classical music interest a good shake up.  But that’s neither here nor there.

Maybe it’s because I LOVED the documentary Spellbound, down to the kid whose dad hired people in India to pray for his son for a potential victory in the National Spelling Bee.  Gosh, how we hold our breaths with those kids, hoping the bell won’t ding after they finish their spelling execution (A very “hhhhnnngggg” moment).  That, along with my sudden immersion into Italian text, got me thinking:  Do spelling bees exist in other countries?

English has got to be one of the most inconsistent languages because there are so many exceptions to rules, so many foreign influences.  In that regard, it’s easy to stump kids trying to spell ‘alopecia’ or ‘derailleur’ (two words I picked out of the “frequently used” word list, posted on the National Spelling Bee’s official website. Credibility is key.). But looking at Italian, or any other romance language, it seems phonetically consistent: what you see is what you’ll get, and maybe you’ll run into a special rule here or there.  After picking up the rules, spelling out a word doesn’t seem too complicated.  Come to think of it, Japanese would probably be a piece of cake, since they follow even stricter phonetic rules, with the hiragana and katakana writing systems differentiating a word’s origin.  On the other hand, I have no idea how a Chinese spelling bee would work…

Anyway, just a thought.  I went to my Development of Economic Thought class today, and the professor described himself as “nuts, but harmless.”  How apropos to my own stream of consciousness.

Valentine’s Day: don’t love it, don’t hate it either. Since I’ve never really had a significant other and I don’t know what true love is, Valentine’s Day is still something very elementary school to me. I go through the motions, wear something within the color range of deep burgundy-hot pink (I have a rose-colored sweater on), and say “Happy Valentine’s Day” or “I love you!” to my friends and family. Last night, I even considered making a couple of valentines for my friends with cheesy phrases such as “Whale you be my valentine?” or “Bee mine”, time permitting. I also gorge myself on all the chocolate I can get my hands on. If I don’t have a special someone, why not spread my love and appreciation to everyone?

I’m not alone in my singledom; most of my friends here are also living the single life. While Valentine’s Day can be an excuse to binge on sugar and sulk in your singledom, I don’t understand why some singles choose to relay their bitterness (”I HATE Valentine’s Day”) to people who are attached, or singles who are just having fun. Okay, we get that you’re single, but why waste a day moping around, making people feel bad that they have significant others?

Sure, some (okay, most) of the hype of Valentine’s Day centers around commercialism, but what’s the harm in buying into it? You buy a box of chocolates, a bouquet of flowers, or a nice gift for your beau. From an economic standpoint, this is not a bad thing for the US retail market. Still, you don’t need money to show your love. We know that J.Lo’s love “don’t cost a thing”; sometimes all it takes is a smile or a hug to brighten someone’s day. Cornellians are already beat down by the weather, another frown isn’t going to make February Ithacation any more bearable. Although I’m single and sometimes wish that I had a significant other, it warms my heart even more knowing that at the end of the day, I have friends that I can snuggle with. And a bag of Hershey’s Kisses waiting at home.

There are a lot of different greetings in the voice mailbox world, and while all serve the same purpose, I think that some are more interesting than others. Take, for example, the standard electronic greeting. Some nice lady informs you that “your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice messaging system” and then the number will be read in a staggered choppy manner, like five-TWO-three-TWO-one… Do you want to leave a message to Ms. Trying-to-be-personable-but-robotic-voice? Eh, well sometimes you have to, but I always wonder if it’ll actually reach the person (did I type the number wrong?). Another variant of this voice message is the name greeting: instead of the aforementioned Ms. reading out numbers, it cuts to the person’s name greeting. While it adds some personal touch, I think it’s funny how people say their names. The greetings all sound like they know that their voice is being recorded, so they have to sound professional.

I’m more privy to leave a voice message on someone’s phone if their greeting is personal. Even those can be split up into certain areas. You have the professional greeting with must-have phrases such as “I am currently unavailable”, “Please leave you name/number/brief message”, “I will return your call as soon as possible”. Those tend to carry on for a good 15 seconds. There are also the more casual greetings; for a while, mine was “Hey, this is Jen. Leave a message”. I’m all about keeping it short and sweet.

Of course, let’s not forget the unique voice message recordings. Exhibit A: my brother. For a good year or so, my brother’s recording was a very well-synched monologue: “Hello?…Yea, it’s me…Oh, hey, how’s it going?…I’m good…Hey, can I give you a call back?…Alright, I’ll talk to you later…” I am embarrassed to tell you how many times I’ve fallen for that voicemail and believed that I actually talked to my brother, always hanging up before hearing Ms. Robot say “Please record your message after the tone. When you are finished recording, press 1 for more options.” Because of this well-timed message, my brother would never get voicemails because everyone thought they had already talked to him, and were expecting a call any minute. Cute idea, but also plain obnoxious. Another unique voicemail includes minute-long recordings of songs/concerts, where all you hear is buzzing and a faint melody amid the chaos. 30 seconds in, you realize that you’re actually dying to hear Ms. Robot speak.

Whatever your voicemail message may be, choose wisely. And if you call me, you’ll hear a short greeting: “Hi, this is Jennifer Lin. Please leave a message.”

My roommate informed me that the City of Ithaca had chalked on our street yesterday.  I forgot to move my car, so I woke up and put on a sweatshirt, jumped into my fake Uggs, and headed out the door.  Moving my car should only take a couple of minutes max, given travel time.

So this wasn’t just regular rain, this was a full-fledged ice storm.  Maybe I should have turned around at the door, when I realized that it was cold and pouring outside.  Maybe I should have turned around at the bottom of the steps, where my no-tread fake-Uggs swept me into a starfish position on the ground.  I’m not a person to quit, and since I was already outside making the effort to reach my car, I kept limping forward.  After slipping another 5 times, I finally got to my car, only to realize that all the windows were iced over.  I started up my car, blast the defroster and windshield wiper for a good 3 minutes before the ice layers were melted and swept aside.  Now, I just had to maneuver the car out of the cramped spot, smushed between two large SUVs.

Reparked, I got out of my car, slammed the cardoor shut, only to slip and fall again, this time soaking my fake Uggs and my sweatshirt.  Really now?  I guess this is God’s sign to not take things for granted.  This 5 minute ordeal took 15 minutes and now I’m stuck with a scraped knee and sore limbs.

It’s not that I find doing laundry unnecessary, but when push comes to shove, laundry often takes a backseat to studying for those blasted prelims. It’s a little less pressing than taking a shower (which sometimes seems like a chore to me…but I stress that I do have very good hygiene). After two years of college laundry, I have adopted various measures to help decrease the number of trips to the laundromat:

1. Buying enough undergarments and socks to last a long time. And by long time, I mean over 3 weeks. You can never have enough pairs of underwear and/or socks. However, washing 3 weeks worth of socks can prove to be chaotic when it’s time to match up the pairs. Laundromat washers and dryers are also notorious for eating socks, as I always come home with less socks than I started with. I technically have enough resources to last one month, but have yet to tap into these desperation-reserves.

2. Wearing pants more than once. I used to wear a pair of jeans once and then toss them into the hamper. Unless you have mid-calf salt stains or a super accident on the way to class, there is no reason why jeans and other pants cannot be worn more than once. The same applies for sweatshirts. Be sure to check for potential stains and suspicious odors before rewearing.

3. Taking advantage of the Teagle laundry service. Teagle Hall, home to our athletic offices and gyms, provides laundry bags/nets for my team, where you just hook on any dirty clothes, toss in a hamper, and wait for clean clothes the following day. This takes care of most of my athletic/workout clothes, which is usually 70% of my washing loads.

4. Accumulating free t-shirts. Free t-shirts = more clothing to work out in = more clothes to go through before resorting to a wash. Be warned that there is an appropriate time and place to wear certain shirts, which is why my “Class of 2009″ Cornell t-shirt has not seen any face time beyond Orientation Week. Two years ago.

5. Tide-to-Go pen. For the stain klutz.

Call me foul, but I’m just your average college student with a ridiculous sock collection. If you follow these proposed measures, you’ll be clear of the laundromat for a month; your bedroom floor, however, may not be as lucky. Keep in mind that in the end, nothing compares to looking at a full closet of clean clothes and snuggling in your just-washed covers. And that clean laundry smell.

Water is a great energy booster. In the middle of an intense study session? Fill up and refresh with water. Hard workout? Water again (for some reason I have never really warmed up to Gatorade, I just replenish with food after my workout. I have a favorite brand of spring water (Sparkletts, a Southern California-based company), but really, load up on the fluid whenever you can. Fight off those germs, get great skin while you’re doing it too.

While lunching in Trillium the other day (see previous entry), I noticed the massive amounts of plastic water bottles by the trash. If you see any empty bottles anywhere, chances are they might be empty water bottles left behind by *ahem* litterbugs. My friend Chelsea told me last night that she saw a girl with four empty water bottles by her desk in the library. I guess she just bought bottle after bottle…after bottle, after bottle. And while drinking that much water is great, is there really a need to purchase more than one bottle? The girl could have easily filled up her water bottle at the fountain and consumed then. Better yet, she could have purchased a Nalgene water bottle and fill at her leisure.

Most of my friends know that I can’t leave the house or anywhere else without my Nalgene water bottle. I also recently purchased another 32-ouncer, my original Nalgene is wearing down a bit (and also griming up…oops). There are many positives associated with my Nalgene. My Nalgene is efficient in carrying water, and even more ergonomic for sipping, thanks to the sipper I purchased a few months ago. Many of my friends like to decorate their bottle with bumper stickers of choice. I am personally too lazy and also have not amassed enough stickers to make my bottle aesthetically pleasing. Once you buy one bottle, this puppy will last for life. Shock-proof, smush-proof, it’s okay if you by accidentally drop it. Plus, after purchasing a water bottle, you have no idea how much money you can save. How much is one 20-ounce bottle of water at Trillium, $1.29? How much does it cost to fill your 32-ounce water bottle? Other than standing in front of the soda machine for 5 seconds, not too much else. If more people invested in a water bottle, I wouldn’t pass by 10 smushed Aquafina bottles during my run. Think environmentally while saving yourself a few more trips to the recycling bin. A little less entropy never hurt anyone.

First, there was the Banana/Gorilla rampage around Cornell during Halloween. If you guys haven’t seen it, the actual video is posted on Youtube. You can see a Gorilla chase a vulnerable banana through classes and other Cornell buildings. Now, YouTube has made its way into teaching on campus. Hey, all I can say is, the more multimedia there is in a class, the better for visual learners such as myself. I am already a big fan of Powerpoints, and not just because the bullets are legible, but professors go out of their way to include many a visual stimulant in their slides. So now, I actually know how Debye looks like, instead of just writing his name-sake units at the end of a problem.

But anyway, we’re currently learning about exothermic reactions in Chem208 right now, which, to my surprise, has many applications in the real world. Professor Davis talked about how the deployment of airbags is an exothermic reaction, when sodium azide interacts with oxygen to produce a lot of nitrogen gas in very little time. So, like any technologically inclined professor would, Professor Davis went ahead and tried to find some video to show this reaction in real time. I’m guessing that Professor Davis went on YouTube and typed “airbag”. What is the first link that appears with the search? This one. In this video, a old lady is slowly snailing across a street. Some hot shot in his shiny new Mercedes is fuming and getting very impatient at the speed of the old lady’s crossing. He’s honking his horn, being very obnoxious. The granny simply swings her bag at the front of the car, apparently whacking hard enough and at the right place to deploy the airbag at the obnoxious driver. Watch it, you’ll get a hoot out of it. Goes to show you why you should respect your elders.