So let’s build a snowman. In the moat. by Shannon M. '12
One of the better ideas I’ve had in a while.
So it’s been cold lately. And when I mean cold, I mean like our-room-whose-temperature-usually-hovers-somewhere-between-the-sixth-and-seventh-circles-of-hell-on-a-good-day-was-even-cold type of cold.
But seriously, I’m from Michigan, so Boston cold is still no big deal. To be honest, if it starts getting cold you will probably see a noticeable change in my personal enthusiasm levels inversely proportional to the temperature, though this kind of breaks down once it gets below 0, because I kind of like to pretend that temperatures like that don’t exist.
Anyways.
The point of all this is that when it’s cold, it snows, which is pretty much the best. So while heading to Chinatown last weekend with my friends Sumi and Steph,
we were walking by the moat of the MIT chapel, which is just an empty concrete pit filled with snow during the winter. Like this.
So we’re just joking around and whatnot, and I’m all “hey, wouldn’t it be awesome to make a drowning snowman in the moat?” And we laugh, agree that it would probably one of the more epic things we’d done in a while, and proceed to gorge ourselves in Chinatown and forget about it.
This isn’t over, though. I was legitimately serious about the snowman thing, because, you know, I like snow. And my friend Steph is from California and clearly needed to be taught how to make a snowman, which I feel is some essential life skill.
So first we tried packing the snow, which failed because it was too cold.
But clearly, this was way too good of an idea to abandon, so we went ice chunk hunting and let Steph use her newly-found PE Taekwondo mad kicking skillz to cut them down into manageable sizes.
… though we still had trouble actually lifting them.
After some creative lifting though (mainly, me just lifting it and making the two of them feel bad), we managed to get the chunks into the moat, grabbed a few branches from the surrounding bushes, stole a few buttons from the McCormick sewing room and voila, we had a snowman doing backstroke.
This was clearly not enough, though. So we run back to McCormick, print off a NO SWIMMING sign, run around mine and Sumi’s sorority looking for clear packing tape for lamination purposes, and run back to the moat to put it up.
Throw in a chunk of ice for a shark fin, snow angels, and you have yourself one of the most impressive things I’ve done in a while. :)
Coolest moment of IAP: sitting in the student center and hearing someone remark as they walked by, “hey, did you see that snowman in the moat? Isn’t that hilarious?”
ahaha I loved the moat snowman!
Oh so it was you guys who made it >.Oh so it was you guys who made it >.<
Mad props
Awesome snowman! =D
Stop starting sentences with ‘so’. Probably one of the most vexing things about MIT.
It’s useless and annoying as hell. And it makes you sound like a valley girl.
@if its annoying you are not suppose to read it.
The other most annoying thing about MIT? Self-righteous engineers under the false assumption that they know grammar rules. Lay-off shannon, philistine.
Ha…I was wondering who did that.
1. We win.
2. I just lost the game.
3. FIRST HAHAHA.
(just kidding. NOT. For the bashers, Shannon told me to, I promise)
That is one sexy snowman!
AHHH you guys had an adventure without me??? I’m so hosed and have mono otherwise I would totally have been in on that!
this is amazing shannon. hahaha.
wow, i just got beat by steph and judy… i give up.
I like cake
Love the snowman. Reminded me of the Calvin & Hobbes snowmen.
If you’re ever in need for inspiration for more winter escapades, try this:
http://www.angelfire.com/wa/zzaran/calvin.html
“…hey, did you see that snowman in the moat? Isn’t that hilarious?”
Aw, that’s so cool!
Hi Shannon! Snow seems to be pretty fun! (when you are well suited to play with it) I have never seen snow, mainly because I live in a city (or more like town) where only 2 seasons exist: Non-rainy season and rainy season =/. Maybe one day I’ll be able to see snow for the first time (I hope it’s at MIT :D).
And I also have a question. Is the MIT campus and personal active during Easter break? Because I plan on visiting the campus (for the 1st time!
) during said days.
Thank you and keep having fun with snow! (while it remains in a solid state)
-Julio (’14?)
haha, Shannon I am envious of your lifting skills … and Steph’s TKD chopping skills …
Cumquat?
Wait, the rooms get really warm??!! Awesome, since I’m from Memphis and spend my summers in triple digit temperatures with humidity to boot.
And I’m a little disappointed that no one else has said this:
@Steph and her 2nd statement
GAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
omg that was you guys? i was wondering who made it!!! mad props tho!
I would like to defenestrate whoever just made an attack on the way Shannon tells stories.
As a guy from Notre Dame 55 years ago, I never knew that my grandaughter had such a great sense of humor. Perhaps, if she keeps it up, I will get over my disappointment that she is freezing in Boston instead of South Bend. Papa.
ha, c’est un joli,joli,r√©cit,fel√©citation,