26
January
2007
“Home is where the heart is.” -Proverb
A lot of people have asked me about how it is going adjusting back to life at Cornell. In general, it has been pretty good – I had an amazing time in DC, but Cornell is my place. I think there are obvious differences that most people can guess (Capitol vs. Clock tower, Metro vs. TCAT, Georgetown vs. Collegetown) but I’ve been lucky enough to experience both.
However, there are some things I’ve kind of forgotten about here at Cornell during my time away – like the water fountain in the back of the Cornell Store that always sprays you in the face no matter how much you spent on books for the semester, the secret cut through in the Statler to avoid the cold, or the location of the newspaper dispenser that never runs out of the NY Times.
I guess there is this learning curve of rediscovering Cornell in a different way. To a degree, this is a fact I’ve found true here pretty much every semester. One relearns the campus in a new way – maybe it’s a different walk to class, an engaging professor who sparks an unknown passion or a new partner in crime who introduces you to salsa dancing.
But for the most part, things are the same and that is nice – good friends, great classes, lots of work, but lots of fun.
Just be sure to wear waterproof mascara next time you’re a little thirsty in the bookstore.
Posted: Spring 2007
23
January
2007
“The skill of writing is to create a context in which other people can think.” -Edwin Schlossberg
Snaps for Julia Levy – vote for her as the Best College Paper columnist!
Posted: Spring 2007
22
January
2007
“The busy man is troubled with but one devil; the idle man by a thousand.” -Spanish Proverb
My last week was full of sorority recruitment and moving into my apartment. After doing a cleaning and decorating maneuver inspired my Trading Spaces, I was off to the Tridelta house for many hours of sisterly bonding and preparing to recruit and welcome our new class of little Deltas. Everything went well, and we have a great bunch of new girls! My room is finally coming together, although having Ty Pennington around for a new paint job could never hurt . . .
Posted: Spring 2007
13
January
2007
“Things do not change; we change.” -Henry David Thoreau
Yep, I’m back in Ithaca. The heat in my apartment doesn’t seem to be fully functional, so I’ll have to keep this short as it seems my fingers might chip off at any minute . . .
HDT, I love you man, but some things may just never change . . .
Posted: Spring 2007
10
January
2007
“Imagine if every Thursday your shoes exploded if you tied them the usual way. This happens to us all the time with computers, and nobody thinks of complaining.” -Jef Raskin
The five year anniversary of No Child Left Behind has received a lot of press the last few days. Whatever opinions one may have about the act, reading comprehension and literacy are often a focus of the success/failure of this policy.
But, dear Margaret Spellings (Secretary of Education), what about all of us out there who are struggling with another kind of literacy hurdle?
Like computer illiteracy.
You know, many people make a resolution around this time of year to loose weight, to spend more time with their family or – for us Carrie Bradshaws of the world – to only buy three new pairs of Jimmy Choo shoes in 2007 (maybe four? Come on, one for each season . . .)
Meanwhile, my Dell Latitude annually decides to invoke the next apocalypse. About January 1st every year, I’m presented with the blue screen of death. You know the one. Well, I hope you don’t. But if you do, I’m sure you have a lot less hair on the top of your head.
Everyone says, “Well, at least Dell has great customer service.” Sure, they do, but let’s say my relationship with my friends at Dell is a bit too chummy. Bill loves We are Marshall and was pretty depressed about the Buckeye’s loss this week; Monty is enjoying life in Alberta. They both have my cell and home phone numbers, as well as my e-mail, and have even made house calls. Even people doctors don’t do that anymore.
Nevertheless, with a new hard drive, key board, fan and other parts I can’t anatomically identify – plus two reformatting ventures – apparently my computer could still explode at any minute. I thought that threat ended last summer when I got a new battery – but the messages about some kind of flammable wall still keep coming up.
Secretary Spellings, forget about the classroom – somebody just needs to get this girl a fire extinguisher. Or a computer science boyfriend.
Posted: Winter 2006/2007
7
January
2007
“Hello, it’s me, I’m not at home / If you’d like to reach me, leave me alone.” -Sheryl Crow
A happy belated holiday season and 2007 to everyone! No friends, I haven’t fallen into the blogging abyss or made a 2007 resolution to never lay eyes on the internet again – rather, I’ve been adrift from all means of communication – literally!
I went to Hawaii with my family for awhile. We visited my old stomping grounds and soaked up the rays and 80 degree temperatures, which I likely won’t see in Northeastern Ohio or Upstate New York for the next several months. Besides departing from the weather, I decided to also travel sans cell phone and e-mail. Yep. I didn’t check either for almost two weeks.
Now this didn’t seem like a big deal to me, but I was greeted with surprise from some friends and family members. My Aunt even told my Mom to secretly stash my cell phone in her suitcase. She predicted when I was pining away for my cell phone by day three, my Mom would win “Mother of the Year Award,” hands down.
I found the separation from modern, instantaneous communication to not be a big deal. I was excited to check my e-mail by the time I came home (but that kind of happens on a daily basis anyway). Don’t get me wrong, I love being able to reach people near or far pretty easily – but sometimes I feel the cell phone, the BlackBerry, etc. take us away from the present and the place we actually are at the moment.
Plus, no cell phone equivocated to more time for sleeping, snorkeling, whale watching, hiking and trashy magazine reading. And hey, I hear that the new Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid likes People magazine, so it must be alright for me to read on vacation. Maybe I can even find a class for next semester that includes it on the syllabus? My suggestion for making the most popular class on campus . . .
Posted: Winter 2006/2007
7
January
2007
“Hello, it’s me, I’m not at home / If you’d like to reach me, leave me alone.” -Sheryl Crow
A happy belated holiday season and 2007 to everyone! No friends, I haven’t fallen into the blogging abyss or made a 2007 resolution to never lay eyes on the internet again – rather, I’ve been adrift from all means of communication – literally!
I went to Hawaii with my family for awhile. We visited my old stomping grounds and soaked up the rays and 80 degree temperatures, which I likely won’t see in Northeastern Ohio or Upstate New York for the next several months. Besides departing from the weather, I decided to also travel sans cell phone and e-mail. Yep. I didn’t check either for almost two weeks.
Now this didn’t seem like a big deal to me, but I was greeted with surprise from some friends and family members. My Aunt even told my Mom to secretly stash my cell phone in her suitcase. She predicted when I was pining away for my cell phone by day three, my Mom would win “Mother of the Year Award,” hands down.
I found the separation from modern, instantaneous communication to not be a big deal. I was excited to check my e-mail by the time I came home (but that kind of happens on a daily basis anyway). Don’t get me wrong, I love being able to reach people near or far pretty easily – but sometimes I feel the cell phone, the BlackBerry, etc. take us away from the present and the place we actually are at the moment.
Plus, no cell phone equivocated to more time for sleeping, snorkeling, whale watching, hiking and trashy magazine reading. And hey, I hear that the new Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid likes People magazine, so it must be alright for me to read on vacation. Maybe I can even find a class for next semester that includes it on the syllabus? My suggestion for making the most popular class on campus . . .
Posted: Winter 2006/2007