Hurricane Ike left Houston badly damaged. Thankfully, our home escaped relatively unscathed, just a few scattered tree limbs here and there. The house was without electricity and running water for quite a while, though.

Long in advance, my father had planned to come up to MIT that same weekend for the Alumni Leadership Conference, but the storm seemed to have blown that trip away with its winds. How could he leave his family, living in a house with no utilities, sweltering in the humidity, standing in line for hours for milk, to enjoy a weekend in the beautiful New England September weather? Well, with schools and businesses closed, and the house in decent shape, my whole family decided to visit.

We had a great time. My father introduced me to some relatives who live nearby, should I ever need anything. They took me out for dinner and ice cream every day, a welcome departure from Next House Dining and Anna's burritos. Every moment spent with my mother, she insisted that I hadn't been eating and that more food be obtained to relieve me of the MIT firehose-induced famine. In truth, I've been eating well, and the schoolwork hasn't affected any of my habits, good or bad. In any case, she urged me to go grocery shopping with her. Needless to say, this was not a bad position to be in.

She forced me to stock up on old standbys—Clementines, grapes, Kix, bread, peanut butter, and of course Oreos—to fill my empty fridge. A week of eating nothing but comfort food later, I was horrified to find my Oreo supply dwindling .

Seven in the evening, Saturday night. It had been raining for twenty four hours straight, and there were no signs of the downpour letting up. I put on my windbreaker, grabbed my helmet and empty backpack, and did what any man would do in this situation. It was time to get me some cookies.

On my way out, I ran into Geza '12, who lives right across the hall from me (Coincidentally, he wrote Wubi and LVPM, two pieces of software I used extensively before arriving to MIT. Felt like I was meeting a rock star when he introduced himself as the developer). He asked where I was off to and if he could join. I told him sure, but I was riding my bike, to which he replied, “Oh, it's okay. I run everywhere, anyway.”

So we motored over to Shaw's Star Market, which is just under 1.5 miles from Next House. Even at night in the pouring rain, it beats submitting to LaVerde's ridiculous prices in the student center.

I told Geza to set the pace, that I would follow. I can imagine how strange this would look like to the pedestrians we passed on our way down a soggy Massachusetts Avenue. First, a six foot tall kid in glasses nearly runs into you, followed closely by another student fiercely pedaling on his bicycle, dressed in all black, like a criminal pursuing a fleeing victim. Add to this the fact that I was senselessly shouting “Run, Forrest, run!” in my best Southern drawl (seriously, I couldn't resist), and...you get the idea.

So I got my Oreos, and Geza his produce, and we headed back home. Nothing like cookies and Seinfeld reruns to help pass a rainy Saturday night.

Comments (Closed after 30 days to reduce spam)

Woooooooooooooooooooooooot.........FIRST!! Have not been the first for a long time!

Posted by: Barack Obama on September 28, 2008

must have been fun racing in the rain..

Posted by: anonymous on September 28, 2008

Massachusetts Avenue?! Tsk, tsk. You do know there's a shortcut through the West Annex Lot, right?

Posted by: 0 on September 28, 2008

“Run, Forrest, run!”

*points at the computer screen and cracks up*

Posted by: Shreya Vora on September 28, 2008

Hahah... wow what an adventure! I hope those Oreos were worth it and good. LOL.... the forrest gump video.

Posted by: Gerardo Enriquez (applicant for c/o 2013) on September 28, 2008

Haha.....classic!!!
Wonder what your mom would have said if she'd seen you.

Posted by: Livvy on September 28, 2008

"Felt like I was meeting a rock star when he introduced himself as the developer"

Hahaha... Anyhow, nice dramatization of a 10-minute sprint through pouring rain (though I see you left out the bit about mooching off free food at ATS). Enjoy your exams next week.

Posted by: Geza '12 on September 28, 2008

Well, Geza, the ATS food had little to do with the drama of the run

Posted by: Ahmed on September 28, 2008

this is what MIT students are doing while I sit at home doing chemistry and math team problems til 1am??
::scowl::

Posted by: deng on September 28, 2008

Trader Joe's is closer to Next and sells a brand of oreo-esque cookies called Joe-Joe's. Because I have oh so much time on my hands...

(1) Joe-Joe's:
65 cal
1g saturated fat
0g trans fat
1.5g monounsaturated fat (good)
0.5g polyunsaturated fat (really good)
0mg cholesterol
5.5g sugar

Posted by: Emizzle on September 29, 2008

Ah, Emizzle, but how many grams of flavor?

Posted by: Ahmed on September 29, 2008

HOLY CRAP! Ahmed?! dude I had no idea you applied to be a blogger! This is awesome! I know a blogger!

Also, nice post!

-Matt Ferraro (dude at ADP)

Posted by: 0 on September 29, 2008

Ahmed. Good to know that you are doing well. I travel to Cambridge quite a bit. I have Oreos on the list to bring to you. The gang says hello.

Posted by: jim storey (yeah, it's me) on October 2, 2008

I do this all the time. There's nothing quite like a bikeride (at high speed, mind you) through the rain. Except for doing it no handed while eating twizzlers and jamming to a non-water-resistant mp3 player.

I keep forgetting to buy a mudgaurd/raingaurd for my bike--they're incredibly useful in preventing mud going everywhere on your back while riding through puddles and other forms of wetness (especially when the snowing starts).

And shaws beats trader joe's. But then, I'm biased, because the bikeride to Shaws is nicer.

@deng 1am? Only? Try 4 am. And then try just not sleeping . And srsly, what's taking you so long? (kidding, kidding)

@first. Hmm, what are you trying to say about Obama by falsely pretending to be him?

Posted by: Michael M. on October 18, 2008

Yeah, I really need a mudguard. It sucks when you realize you just turned your chair into a sandbox.

And no handed, in the rain, while eating, with one of your senses blocked? That's pretty hardcore. I should only hope you wear a helmet.

Posted by: Ahmed on October 18, 2008

Comments have been closed.