Alina G. '11
Jun 13 2011
Seatbelts, Everyone!
Posted in: Miscellaneous
...for a little trip down memory lane. What inspired this sudden broadcast? Today's xkcd!:
Randall Munroe = zeitgeist-capturing genius . He speaks the truth. (for those confused, i must point you to the wikipedia link embedded above...)
More importantly, however, let's discuss "The Magic School Bus." (why yes, my generation does love reminiscing about the television of our youth. guilty as charged). Because I graduated a little over a week ago, I feel compelled to at least pretend I have some salient advice to give. But I really think Ms. Frizzle summed it up best when she said "Take chances! Make mistakes! Get messy." I'll add to that only two things.
One : If you've got a Ms. Frizzle in your life, don't be afraid to take advantage of that resource (and thank them afterwards). Awesome teachers/professors/mentors/role models are often awesome because they love questions and interacting with students, so don't be shy!
Two : While you may not navigate a nostril, or surf... read the post »
Mar 27 2011
Looking Backwards
Posted in: Miscellaneous
Like Bellamy’s young hero, I too am back in Boston. Except its been about a week, and as far as I can tell the city hasn’t been transformed into a socialist utopia. But, prior to leaving for home for spring break (during which time I slept, ate, ran, and got dog hair on just about everything I brought with me), I paid a visit to Kim’s office and did some backwards-looking of my own.
Kim has a collection of old Techniques (the MIT yearbook), and flipping through the pages from as far back at 1918, it was interesting to see what has changed, and what remains the same. Many of you will be experiencing MIT for yourselves this spring, whether for the first time on a campus tour or during CPW (for those of you attending-I hope you are getting excited! CPW is overwhelmingly awesome), but take a look:
This is what it used to take to get in to MIT-definitely a lot less work for the admissions officers, that’s for sure...
Of course, in 1918 there were only 216 undergraduates. Also,... read the post »
Feb 1 2011
Me again (but with flamethrowers this time)
Posted in: Miscellaneous
MIT these days is pretty up on the latest social media, as is befitting an Institute of Technology. (Just writing that sentence made me feel like a middle-age technology reporter. It's like Fight Club, or being a hipster. You just don't TALK about this kind of thing) For example, I'm friends with "MIT Engineers" on facebook, from whom I get the latest Tech sports updates (they also have a twitter). MIT News has a twitter as well, and there's even an iphone app, which is super useful for tracking all the MIT shuttles (cue the: when I was your age, we stood outside in the snow waiting for buses, BOTH WAYS).
The shuttle tracker has been key this winter, as Boston has certainly received its fair share of snow. (As has most of the US, except Florida. It makes me wonder what the global snow:no snow ratio is. I bid someone to go forth and Google! And then get back to me).
Anyway, at this point, there is really no place for the snow to go anymore in Boston. The snowbanks beside the... read the post »
Jan 30 2011
Senior Spring!
Posted in: Miscellaneous
I’ve never really understood the appeal of beach vacations. I spend a day relaxing and then have to recover from the effort of recuperation with hiking or museum visits or at least some shopping. But this vacation and IAP, I did my best to take it easy. That’s the wonderful thing about IAP-you operate at your own level. Want to go abroad or do an externship or be on campus and take classes and do a million things? You can. Or, you can stay home. It’s whatever you need to be ready for another semester. After three and a half jam-packed years at MIT (including IAPs), I came back to campus for track practice with no other plans except to read and bake and watch TV and enjoy Boston.
I did however, accomplish at least three things during IAP:
1.) Lots and lots of running. Indoor track season is in full swing and I’ve been kept passably sane by practice and meets and hanging out with the team. (Seriously, it’s no wonder the “Yellow Wallpaper” woman went mad. The line between relaxation... read the post »
Nov 27 2010
Nationals!
Posted in: Life & Culture
Roughly a week ago, on a Thursday morning, at the crack of dawn, I found myself, along with 15 groggy teammates and five coaches, at Logan airport, awaiting the plane that would take us to Minneapolis en route to Waverly, Iowa, home to Wartburg College and the NCAA Division III Cross-Country Championships. As you may recall from where Maggie left off, our women's team qualified for nationals after placing fourth in New England, while the men's team qualified with a decisive victory. It was less than a week later we found ourselves, at 6:30AM, at the beginning of the end, ready to make the trip we'd been preparing for all season.
A plane ride and a time zone change later, we found ourselves in Minneapolis:
There was snow! We're definitely not in Boston anymore...
After a three hour drive, we made it to Waverly, just in time to check out the course before the sun set. (I'm going to refrain from the obvious commentary on the drive through Iowa-I come from a state that is also... read the post »