Sobering. New Orleans has flooded and the water is still rising due to levee breaks late last night.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Look at this
Sobering. New Orleans has flooded and the water is still rising due to levee breaks late last night.
Monday, August 29, 2005
"Duke: The Harvard Of The South" or "What You Can Do With Your Tobacco Stained Dollars And A Dream"
(everybody here actually says "Harvard: The Duke Of The North", but whatever)
So I just got back from my first class, Ethics and Politics in Film, and decided to post something about school since just about everyone else has (god, such a follower). My first class was good, it only meets Monday and Wednesday mornings, and then there's a film screening every Monday night...some of these films are really obscure...they remind me of Chris Bakke. Hm. Then I have Spanish today...but I'm not gonna go. I'm gonna go to Latin instead, because I think I'm gonna switch out of Spanish. Latin has no speaking. Thank God. I think Sra. Circosta still thinks I'm mute.
Anyway, about Duke in general, there are a lot of great things about it.
The people are awesome. Everyone is really friendly, really nice, and Southern hospitality is no urban myth...yep, two guys actually did give up their seats on the bus for my roommate and I, and they all hold the doors open for you. And I keep running into the most impressive people...my neighbor on one side worked in a genome lab over the summer (? yeah, i know. so my kind of job), my neighbor on the other side runs a 4:40 mile ("but my two mile is better, it's a 10:20." "...oh, uh, yeah, that's much more impressive. hm. i'll go back to swimming now.") and almost everyone is either now an athlete or was an athlete in college but can't make the Duke team because we're decent at some things.
As far as living conditions, my room is huge. There are three girls, but we have enough room that we're going to get a futon for recruits and a rug to make things more homey. Both my roommates are really cool...I was afraid that rooming with two swimmers, we'd all be stressed out and competitive, but they're as blase about swimming as I am...we know we "athlete-ed" into college, and hey, we worked our butts off to do it, no shame in that. Although it was pretty funny when we were all trying to set up our computers and we had guys in and out of our room trying to help us. I live on East Campus, which is about a 3 minute bus ride from West Campus. West Campus is where the Upper Classmen live, and where I have to go for swim practice...it's the one with the chapel that is in all those pictures of Duke. East Campus is where all the freshmen live, and it looks a lot like University of Virginia, complete with rotunda.
So the bad things. Yep, the basketball team is exalted above all. Like I was expecting different...the running joke is that our motto "Eruditio et Religio" is actually "Eruditio et Basketballio." But it definitely gets rubbed in your face. The basketball players get to live in what is essentially a hotel built for them, called the Bell Tower dorm. It's huge, with 62 inch plasma screen TVs in their common rooms. And my room, that's so huge with three girls? Yeah, they used to give it to two basketball players before Bell Tower was built.
Oh, and some dorms get air conditioning (like Bell Tower)...yeah, we don't. The humidity is un believable, and we have tons of fans going, but you just feel tired and sticky have the time...I'm getting used to it, though, so it's not that bad...like living in a suana. Believe it or not, I've been practically living in tank tops, flip flops...and skirts (what? katie? skirt? almost every day?). Yep. It's the most comfortable, so there it is.
I have to take the bus to practice in the mornings because it's on west...oh, wait, no, it's so early there are no buses. I have to call Safe Rides to drive me to the pool. Every. Single. Morning.
The partying is ridiculous here, but I knew that going in, and there are a lot of people who don't drink. Plus, there's no pressure to do it if you don't want to...it's just kind of a live and let live.
People are really preppy here. You think you know preppy when you go to Jesuit, you have no idea. There are brands here en masse that I've only read about in Vogue. Some girls where pearls every day. And the croquet players out on the lawn, with sweaters tied around their shoulders...it's insane. But it's also kind of nice, like people aren't total slobs...I don't know, kinda like dress up mass everyday. I'm sure as the year progresses and it gets colder, there will be more sweatpants whipped out.
So, yeah, I just wrote you guys a novel for when you're sitting in your dorm room between classes thinking "Okay, so, I just had class, but I don't have homework, it's not time for any meal, and I have a couple of hours to burn and have nothing to do...maybe I should check the blog, maybe Katie posted...oh wait, she never posts, what am I thinking, that's like saying maybe Katie will start wearing skirts and will think preppiness looks nice."
It's a good thing I don't mind being ironic.
p.s. My computer hates me. I don't think I'm going to be on AIM ever, unless my computer signs me on without my consent, so e-mail or write me a letter or text or call instead...oh, and I think I messed up my address when I gave it to Cynda...instead of Giles 115, write P.O. Box 92777...otherwise it's right.
p.p.s. I miss you guys.
So I just got back from my first class, Ethics and Politics in Film, and decided to post something about school since just about everyone else has (god, such a follower). My first class was good, it only meets Monday and Wednesday mornings, and then there's a film screening every Monday night...some of these films are really obscure...they remind me of Chris Bakke. Hm. Then I have Spanish today...but I'm not gonna go. I'm gonna go to Latin instead, because I think I'm gonna switch out of Spanish. Latin has no speaking. Thank God. I think Sra. Circosta still thinks I'm mute.
Anyway, about Duke in general, there are a lot of great things about it.
The people are awesome. Everyone is really friendly, really nice, and Southern hospitality is no urban myth...yep, two guys actually did give up their seats on the bus for my roommate and I, and they all hold the doors open for you. And I keep running into the most impressive people...my neighbor on one side worked in a genome lab over the summer (? yeah, i know. so my kind of job), my neighbor on the other side runs a 4:40 mile ("but my two mile is better, it's a 10:20." "...oh, uh, yeah, that's much more impressive. hm. i'll go back to swimming now.") and almost everyone is either now an athlete or was an athlete in college but can't make the Duke team because we're decent at some things.
As far as living conditions, my room is huge. There are three girls, but we have enough room that we're going to get a futon for recruits and a rug to make things more homey. Both my roommates are really cool...I was afraid that rooming with two swimmers, we'd all be stressed out and competitive, but they're as blase about swimming as I am...we know we "athlete-ed" into college, and hey, we worked our butts off to do it, no shame in that. Although it was pretty funny when we were all trying to set up our computers and we had guys in and out of our room trying to help us. I live on East Campus, which is about a 3 minute bus ride from West Campus. West Campus is where the Upper Classmen live, and where I have to go for swim practice...it's the one with the chapel that is in all those pictures of Duke. East Campus is where all the freshmen live, and it looks a lot like University of Virginia, complete with rotunda.
So the bad things. Yep, the basketball team is exalted above all. Like I was expecting different...the running joke is that our motto "Eruditio et Religio" is actually "Eruditio et Basketballio." But it definitely gets rubbed in your face. The basketball players get to live in what is essentially a hotel built for them, called the Bell Tower dorm. It's huge, with 62 inch plasma screen TVs in their common rooms. And my room, that's so huge with three girls? Yeah, they used to give it to two basketball players before Bell Tower was built.
Oh, and some dorms get air conditioning (like Bell Tower)...yeah, we don't. The humidity is un believable, and we have tons of fans going, but you just feel tired and sticky have the time...I'm getting used to it, though, so it's not that bad...like living in a suana. Believe it or not, I've been practically living in tank tops, flip flops...and skirts (what? katie? skirt? almost every day?). Yep. It's the most comfortable, so there it is.
I have to take the bus to practice in the mornings because it's on west...oh, wait, no, it's so early there are no buses. I have to call Safe Rides to drive me to the pool. Every. Single. Morning.
The partying is ridiculous here, but I knew that going in, and there are a lot of people who don't drink. Plus, there's no pressure to do it if you don't want to...it's just kind of a live and let live.
People are really preppy here. You think you know preppy when you go to Jesuit, you have no idea. There are brands here en masse that I've only read about in Vogue. Some girls where pearls every day. And the croquet players out on the lawn, with sweaters tied around their shoulders...it's insane. But it's also kind of nice, like people aren't total slobs...I don't know, kinda like dress up mass everyday. I'm sure as the year progresses and it gets colder, there will be more sweatpants whipped out.
So, yeah, I just wrote you guys a novel for when you're sitting in your dorm room between classes thinking "Okay, so, I just had class, but I don't have homework, it's not time for any meal, and I have a couple of hours to burn and have nothing to do...maybe I should check the blog, maybe Katie posted...oh wait, she never posts, what am I thinking, that's like saying maybe Katie will start wearing skirts and will think preppiness looks nice."
It's a good thing I don't mind being ironic.
p.s. My computer hates me. I don't think I'm going to be on AIM ever, unless my computer signs me on without my consent, so e-mail or write me a letter or text or call instead...oh, and I think I messed up my address when I gave it to Cynda...instead of Giles 115, write P.O. Box 92777...otherwise it's right.
p.p.s. I miss you guys.
Sunday, August 28, 2005
End of the World as We Know It (At Least in Louisiana)
So, New Orleans is about to get levelled by one of the most powerful hurricanes in the history of the world. Katrina, which already killed 7 in Florida, skipped over land and buzzsawed through the Gulf of Mexico, gaining strength from a tropical storm right up to a Category 5 (Catastrophic) hurricane with winds of 175 MPH and gusts of up to 215 MPH. Its central pressure is down to 902 MB, which means the storm has the potential to strengthen even more. Hurricane-force winds will extend from the center of the hurricane 200 miles in all directions. For a sense of how powerful this is, imagine an F3 tornado coming ashore... an F3 tornado with a radius of 200 miles.
Hurricane Andrew has got nothing on this one, folks. All of New Orleans is below sea level and protected by flimsy levees, so a direct hit by Katrina will most likely flood the city for days or even weeks, and the winds will level any old buildings and severely damage everything else. New Orleans' shelter of last resort, the Superdome, is built only to sustain winds of up to 200 MPH. In short, this hurricane has the potential to wipe the city off the map, and it looks like it probably will.
So in conclusion, I am a loser weather nerd and please pray for the people of New Orleans, especially Erin who has been evacuated with the rest of Loyola New Orleans to Baton Rouge.
Here is the NOAA's hurricane report as of this afternoon:
URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
1011 AM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005
...DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED...
.HURRICANE KATRINA...A MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE WITH UNPRECEDENTED STRENGTH...RIVALING THE INTENSITY OF HURRICANE CAMILLE OF 1969.
MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.
THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL. PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME WALL AND ROOF FAILURE.
HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT.
AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATE ADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK.
POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS.
THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEW CROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BEKILLED.
AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS NEAR HURRICANE FORCE...OR FREQUENT GUSTS AT OR ABOVE HURRICANE FORCE...ARE CERTAIN WITHIN THE NEXT 12 TO 24 HOURS.
ONCE TROPICAL STORM AND HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ONSET...DO NOT VENTURE OUTSIDE!
Hurricane Andrew has got nothing on this one, folks. All of New Orleans is below sea level and protected by flimsy levees, so a direct hit by Katrina will most likely flood the city for days or even weeks, and the winds will level any old buildings and severely damage everything else. New Orleans' shelter of last resort, the Superdome, is built only to sustain winds of up to 200 MPH. In short, this hurricane has the potential to wipe the city off the map, and it looks like it probably will.
So in conclusion, I am a loser weather nerd and please pray for the people of New Orleans, especially Erin who has been evacuated with the rest of Loyola New Orleans to Baton Rouge.
Here is the NOAA's hurricane report as of this afternoon:
URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
1011 AM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005
...DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED...
.HURRICANE KATRINA...A MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE WITH UNPRECEDENTED STRENGTH...RIVALING THE INTENSITY OF HURRICANE CAMILLE OF 1969.
MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.
THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL. PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME WALL AND ROOF FAILURE.
HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT.
AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATE ADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK.
POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS.
THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEW CROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BEKILLED.
AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS NEAR HURRICANE FORCE...OR FREQUENT GUSTS AT OR ABOVE HURRICANE FORCE...ARE CERTAIN WITHIN THE NEXT 12 TO 24 HOURS.
ONCE TROPICAL STORM AND HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ONSET...DO NOT VENTURE OUTSIDE!
Chicago - The beautiful city of thieves.
Yesterday I got my first real tastes of the city, complete with eight story malls, the magnificent mile, and stores so fancy and expensive I swear the store attendants thought I was some low life teenager who was going to steal their 500 dollar purses because I was wearing a t-shirt and jeans and chewing bubble gum; I didn't dare touch anything.
But what was the most interesting was something that Nancy told me we even have in Portland but that I have never seen. There were people on the street and they would paint themselves in a solid color and then wear clothes of the exact same color and pretend to be statues. I would have thought they were statues had there not been a bucket of money in front of them. What was the most interesting though was when someone would try to touch them to see if they were real they would come to life and move roboticly, even their eye movements seemed robotic.
Anyway this brings me to why Chicago is the city of thieves. While watching one of these people a man came up and stole the bucket of money and started running, spilling the money all over the street and people started diving for the money. Now keep in mind at one intersection you can find hundreds of people trying to cross the street so you can imagine the chaos that this brought about.
After that, as we were walking, I took notice of everyone around me and realized that every woman had her purse not only slung over her shoulder but a firm grasp on it as well and that no one simply strolled or stopped; everyone is in constant motion and even when crossing the street the masses don't stop causing traffic jams where cars are stuck in the middle of intersection blocking all the traffic in the downtown area. It's definitely not the cars you have to worry about running you over, it's the people.
I'd say the high point of the day was finding a McDonald's that was so fancy it had high back upholstered chairs like the kind you find in someone's expensive living room or personal library and the people in there were dressed like the were going to a formal ball or something.
Chicago is intense.
But what was the most interesting was something that Nancy told me we even have in Portland but that I have never seen. There were people on the street and they would paint themselves in a solid color and then wear clothes of the exact same color and pretend to be statues. I would have thought they were statues had there not been a bucket of money in front of them. What was the most interesting though was when someone would try to touch them to see if they were real they would come to life and move roboticly, even their eye movements seemed robotic.
Anyway this brings me to why Chicago is the city of thieves. While watching one of these people a man came up and stole the bucket of money and started running, spilling the money all over the street and people started diving for the money. Now keep in mind at one intersection you can find hundreds of people trying to cross the street so you can imagine the chaos that this brought about.
After that, as we were walking, I took notice of everyone around me and realized that every woman had her purse not only slung over her shoulder but a firm grasp on it as well and that no one simply strolled or stopped; everyone is in constant motion and even when crossing the street the masses don't stop causing traffic jams where cars are stuck in the middle of intersection blocking all the traffic in the downtown area. It's definitely not the cars you have to worry about running you over, it's the people.
I'd say the high point of the day was finding a McDonald's that was so fancy it had high back upholstered chairs like the kind you find in someone's expensive living room or personal library and the people in there were dressed like the were going to a formal ball or something.
Chicago is intense.
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Another full-proof plan
I just figured out a plan to be instantly popular in college. One that doesn't involve getting shitfaced. Or at least not my face shitted. The plan: Vicariousness. See, I know Ken, and Ken is suddenly a big man on campus. He is a part of an elite team of assassians, and by assassains, I mean a capella singers. Ken is now officially a part of Cayuga's Waiters, Cornell's top a capella group. They are best known for the song We Didn't go to Harvard, which you can download from their website, and is an amazing song and one that has been in my head since I've gotten here. So, after auditions the waiters told everyone that they'd go to their dorms and tell them if they got in or not (this was after call-backs). They got to Ken's, he was there with Meg (ask him for more details) and her 2-door-down-neighbor, they take him to his room to talk, tell him he didn't get in, and eventually telling him that he in fact did get in. They then dumped a shitload of beer on him. After that the details get sketchy, but it does involve Ken humping the floor (wait, sorry, he did that sober). Anyway, Cornell is awesome. Dispite the diversity that they are so proud of, I have noticed that everyone seems pretty much the same. We all applied here, and got in, which brings in a suprisingly homogenous populous. Noone is that big of an asshole, even the people who party all the time. That, and everyone is either from Jersey or Long Island. Huge change: Jewish people. Not that I have a problem with it, it is just a huge change from one Avital in the whole school. Speaking of which, I am taking a class on Shakespere (not totally my fault) It is a huge change going from Joe Fruectel to well, anything. Anyway, Cornell is beautiful, it is already starting to get cold and fall-y. I have a great view from my room on the 6th floor. My roommate is cool, and is from a Jesuit school, so we have a lot in common. My math class is like a sci-fi convention, which could be expected, but its really cool to have a math class go at a decent pace for once in my life. Even though i do have several hours of homework that i don't understand one iota, but anyway... Saw Dr. Strangeglove in theaters for free, which defintely kicked ass. Walked alot. Note: Noone who walks a half mile to classes can complain. I've got at least a mile uphill bothways. Lessie, I don't think I have anything else to say, except that sandels kick ass, ben sucks, ben better get his ass on facebook, and everyone get skype, becasue I paid $20 for a microphone, and i'll be pissed if i don't get to use it.
PS: I didn't mean there to be a pun in the title, merely a stupid typo, but ian showed me that it makes sense as a pun, so it stays.
PS: I didn't mean there to be a pun in the title, merely a stupid typo, but ian showed me that it makes sense as a pun, so it stays.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)