21
November
2007
“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” -Marcel Proust
One of my teachers in high school, Mr. Carmichael, created a plan for success at the Thanksgiving table. Continue on to learn his tips about engulfing as many calories as possible on the big day (author’s note – results have not been scientifically proven). Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!
The Carmichael Eating Journal
Eating is an art. Few people possess the natural ability to gorge. But, by following a few helpful hints, you too can capture the true essence of the holiday season.
- Start tonight! By overeating tonight, you will expand the walls of the stomach and enable you to eat the maximum amount of food on the holiday
- Pasta is my suggestion.
- Dog food will also work.
- Thanksgiving morning you should not eat breakfast. No food or beverage should reach your mouth before dinner. This will give you the drive you need to do some real damage during dinner.
- If you must eat, a couple of light chocolates might help stimulate the appetite.
- But under no circumstances should the chocolate have nougat in it (unnecessary filler).
- When dinner begins, avoid “fillers” like soup, salad and bread. This would be like running wind sprints right before the marathon. Be patient and wait.
- When the main course is served, brace yourself. Pile it on and cover it all with gravy – this is the mortar. Again, avoid those “fillers.”
- If it cannot be covered with gravy, it has no business being on the plate.
- At this point, you can be engaging in light conversation.
- When you feel yourself getting full, don’t panic. Simply focus on an inanimate object (salt & pepper shaker, water pitcher . . .) and keep eating. This will block the signals your stomach is trying to send to your brain – that it is full. It’s not.
- At this point, avoid eye contact with others in the room and refrain form all conversation.
- After a good hour of eating, lean back, breath deeply. You made it. Undo the pants and get assistance to the nearest sofa. I have found that with an untucked sweater, the pants can remain completely undone for the remainder of the day.
- Do not help with any dishes.
- Do not engage in small talk – you don’t want to pull any muscles.
- Nap.
- Then, return to the table and repeat the above steps for dessert.
- Substitute whipped cream for gravy.
Posted: Musings
18
November
2007
“Coexistence . . . what the farmer does with the turkey – until Thanksgiving.” -Mike Connolly
Last night, my friends and I enjoyed a mouthwatering Thanksgiving dinner. When you live with a hotelie and foodie like my roommate Robyn, you are rarely not well fed. All of us had the chance to catch up, talk about what we were thankful for this year, gobble up Robyn’s cooking and enjoy general merriment.
Not too shabby of a feast, especially Chuck the Chicken (Tom the Turkey, Chuck’s cousin, was a bit too pricey for our college budget).
Sorry the picture is a little wavy. Sugar overload after all of the sweet potato casserole.
Posted: A Day in the Life of, Senior Shenanigans
17
November
2007
“I learned three important things in college – to use a library, to memorize quickly and visually and to drop asleep at any given time given a horizontal surface and fifteen minutes.” -Agnes de Mille
My friend Emma is a Design and Environmental Analysis major. For one of her classes, she made a VH1 style video about what life is like for Cornell students. Her work highlights upperclassmen life in our very own classy Collegetown (insert sarcasm here). But seriously, check out the video to find out just how fabulously many Cornell students live. And the accent is totally real.
Posted: A Day in the Life of, Cornellia, Senior Shenanigans
13
November
2007
“A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and sings it back to you when you have forgotten the words.” -Anonymous
Because I hail from the Midwest, I’m in the minority geographically speaking on campus. When I tell people I’m from Ohio, I frequently receive some surprising comments. Examples include the following:
- “Do you have paved roads there?” (yes)
- “Wow, that is so far! You must have to drive, like, 12 hours!” (no, only 6)
- And my personal favorite, “Wait, Ohio is a state?” (don’t worry, this individual was being sarcastic . . . I think).
Granted, with our land grant identity, many Cornellians are from New York state or near “the City” (the one with “New York” before it). But I think more people should consider the Cornell-Midwest connection.
For example, I received an e-mail from the Cornell Club of Northeastern Ohio late last week introducing me to their online networking website for graduates and alumni in the region. This serves as a way for students and alumni to “friend” each other (yes, just like Facebook) and send messages and write posts on everything from potential jobs and internships in the area to their favorite snapshots of campus.
For the size, the NE Ohio club is extremely active and was influential in my decision to attend CU. I remember when I was deciding if Cornell was the right school for me, I went to an event hosted by the club. When the alumni heard I wasn’t fully committed to attending Cornell, I quickly found myself surrounded by 4 or 5 alums from a range of years and disciplines emphasizing Cornell was the best choice for me.
For many students, Cornell alumni serve as one of their first points of contact with the university. Cornell graduates, young and old, conduct interviews with prospective students to help decide who will become future Cornellians. And this is a proud, sizable network of graduates, the largest alumni group in the ivy league to be exact.
As I was exploring the NE Ohio Club’s social networking website, I discovered a section that played songs from the chimes. The recordings were so accurate that my roommates thought the bells of McGraw Tower were going crazy at 11:20 in the morning. When they figured out it was my computer, they laughed, and then decided I’ll probably go on the website in the months post graduation and cry when I hearing the recording. Maybe, but then I’ll remember how I always had to haul up the Slope while listening to them, and then I probably won’t be as (whimper whimper) sad.
No doubt though, I’ve thought of my impending status as an alumna; I even received the first e-mail about donating to my class fund (don’t we at least get to finish paying tuition? Apparently not . . .) But now, at least I can talk to my Cornell Club of NE Ohio “friends” about how to deal with post-CU depression. Thanks guys.
Posted: Cornellia
7
November
2007
“A lot of people like snow. I find it an unnecessary freezing of water.” -Carl Reiner
What follows is an abstract from a random text message conversation on campus at 12:20 pm today.
Senior Sister: first snow flurries in ithaca
Freshman Brother: I know 
im kinda exicted!
Senior Sister: Haha – for now
Posted: A Day in the Life of
6
November
2007
“Chewing gum is really gross, chewing gum I hate the most.” -Willy Wonka
Maybe you can’t stand finding it stuck to the bottom of your shoe or hearing that obnoxious kid in class chomp away on it. Or perhaps you won’t go a day without gobbling twenty pieces or blowing gigantic bubbles.
No matter if you are a lover or hater of gum, I highly recommend you pop a minty fresh piece of something before the next time you sit for a prelim or the SAT.
Earlier on this semester, the CEO of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, William “Bill ” Perez ‘69, sent some 700 packages of the company’s new gum called “5″ to a marketing class on campus. The following day, the 591 students took a prelim and were surveyed as to if they had chewed any of the gum or were chewing it at the time of the exam.
Although no control group was provided, the informal study found students who chewed gum throughout the exam had a mean score of 90. The class mean was a 78, and students who didn’t chew gum at all had mean of 60.
This mini Cornell experiment supported the company’s recent message to consumers that gum has other payoffs besides fresh breath that may encourage your significant other to cuddle a little closer. Not only is it a low calorie snack that helps curb eating, but some studies also report it increases blood flow to the brain by 25 percent, as well as general concentration and test scores.
Gum chewers, go forth – but can we all just pledge not to chow down too hard during finals? Cool.
Posted: Cornellia
5
November
2007
“Life is too complicated not to be orderly.” -Martha Stewart
One of my tasks as a student manager for CIVR (the tour guides on campus) this semester was to coordinate our staff retreat. Planning out the morning with the help of my ever so stellar retreat committee (nothing like good old fashioned team work) turned out to be rather fun and successful.
Our retreat this semester focused on Cornell’s Contract Colleges. One of the highlights included a tour of the Cornell Costume and Textile Collection. I think I found the perfect formal dress – a gold beaded, 1920s number that I’m sure nobody else will be donning. After all the tuition, maybe Cornell could loan it to me for just a few hours? I promise I’ll even pay the dry cleaning bill . . .
With the help of Hortus Forum, the undergraduate horticulture club, we also toured the extensive greenhouses on campus and even planted a few bulbs. They even provided us with mini ivy plants – appropriate, considering our hot ivy status.
As the tour guides like to go on tours, an exploration of the recently renovated Mann Library continued the day’s themes – despite that Mann isn’t fully complete, the library is available for the campus community to use. After all, Cornell students will do just about anything for a good spot in the libe and a jolting caffeinated beverage. Considering that the new cafe, Manndible, not only has enticing food and drinks, but a hip sustainability pledge to match, it’s no wonder Mann opened up ASAP.
So come one, come all. Everyone of us can have a bit of Martha’s skills when needed.
Posted: A Day in the Life of, Cornellia
