WHEW! Still alive. Are you still alive? Are you sure? Got a pulse? Good to check now and again.
It has been a month, but oh, what a month it has been. Shortly after my last entry came Pre-Orientation Programs, then Orientation, then Dorm Rush, then Frat Rush, then Sorority Recruitment, and now classes. They all included too many adventures to count, too many conquests won, too many enemies slain and tasks completed and health level drops to zero--enough to put Link to shame.
It's a unique feeling--both comforting and terrifying at the same time--to know that you're assimilating. When you used to marvel at how someone could ever utilize the 9-hour time limit on the public Athena computers, then learn about the people who essentially live at the workstation so their own server space isn't obliterated by the numbers they are crunching. That explains the wrappers and piles of clothing (no exaggeration). When the jargon of Senior House sneaks into your vocab so much that you need to explain the word "cruft" to a sophomore from McGregor. ["Cruft": n. 1) random obsolete CRT monitors, half-complete keyboards, ancient printers, etc. that dot the halls of the Infinite, awaiting trash pickup or rescue by industrious passerby. 2) Alumni who never left. adj. "crufty": 1) being in the nature of "cruft." 2) Being old(er) and wise and so awesome that one is made of Bears.] When someone says a building number, and your mind immediately jumps to that location, along with handy mental thumbnail. When "All Hail, Pass/Fail" becomes a rallying cry to appreciate on the deepest level of experience. Like I said, cause for rejoice and worry at the same time.
What's happened in the world since...since. The Republicans have fetched themselves a clown act to follow the Diving Plunge of the last eight years. I shan't delve into the political here; remaining unbiased is ironically the easier way to operate when a reader base is involved. I will say, however, that my hall mate from Lancaster, PA, keeps a stellar blog on all things political and important: www.foggofwar.com
Major tribulations at the moment: those tempters collectively dubbed "extracurriculars" have a habit of hovering around, waiting to consume free time like blue sharks want to consume a dead whale. So far, I've only agreed to one--helping with costuming and odd and ends with "Kiss Me, Kate," the Musical Theater Guild's fall production--but I'd really like to look into learning kickboxing, learning more about the MIT Energy Initiative, and finding a research post, a UROP, for the winter. I also really need to get in shape--it becomes increasingly harder to do so when it's cold and one is tanked from a monster p-set flood-- and check out the free bouldering wall in the basement of Walker Memorial (the one "Ballroom" at MIT).
Any news from the section of the world known as Garrett County? Is the new school year desolate and cold and confusing without the winning personalities of the class of 2008 warming the halls with irrepressible candor and charisma and charm? The correct answer: If that statement = f(x), the truth is most likely 1 / f(x). In other words, the opposite function. Hurray, math jokes!Keep me posted with news of GC, and enjoy the sweet corn! You'll never know how good GC corn is until you choke down an ear of any other...
I like last one best. What are YOUR favorites?
