Quotes from the Facebook Group: Overheard At MIT
“She wants to spend money on me. I mean, it’s not that she’s senile …”<i>—Unknown</i>
WMBR Top 5 Songs to Robot Dance to
1. Take It Like A Man, “Dragonette (Felix Cartal remix)”
It’s a Big, Big World
Near the end of my six weeks in Bangalore, I was seriously craving American food. Masala dosas, curries, rice, vegetables, and limited amounts of chicken created a healthy diet, but at times I desired a big, juicy burger. I hate to admit it, but to get that fix of junk food I hopped an auto rickshaw to the McDonald’s on Brigade Road, a shopping mecca for trendy Bangaloreans and foreigners. Although I settled for a Filet-O-Fish, the familiarity of being inside a McDonald’s was almost comforting, albeit strange. Here I was, an American halfway around the globe, savoring a sandwich that tastes exactly like one I could’ve picked up at the McDonald’s down Massachusetts Avenue.
Brouhaha Rhythm
It’s about the time of year that the sound of a “cough, cough” may mean more than an incoming innuendo. In spite of the abundant medical resources here on campus, sometimes one simply cannot help getting sick. The extended, close-quarters communal experience of college, by my reckoning, constitutes a trial-by-fire for the human immune system. As with other adversities, the inevitable rampant pestilence requires longer to adjust for some than for others. I mention this because I’m sure that neither I nor anyone else who has managed to dodge the illness bullet this far into the winter wishes to get sick now, so in the interests of self-preservation, I offer some at-home measures for avoiding disease like the plague. Or, you know, diseases such as the plague.
Quotes from the Facebook Group: Overheard at MIT
“No, with screws, Mom. With screws. With SCREWS! I don’t know why you’re deaf!” <i>—Woman on cell phone in Building 68</i>
Figuring out Fashion
Hi everyone! We’d like to introduce ourselves. We’re the staff of Figuring out Fashion here at The Tech, and our job is to do what you wish you had time to do yourself. We will research, shop, try new things, ask experts, and decide how you can look and feel your best every day. For our inaugural article, we wanted to look into the role fashion plays at MIT, what is unique and cool, and what we can all work on!
Discovering Tradition, Creating Culture, and Finding Home
Even before arriving on campus for Orientation, I knew that MIT was literally steeped in tradition. Whether I was listening to upperclassmen tell stories during Campus Preview Weekend, perusing blog entries on the Admissions Web site, or simply reading about MIT in the panoply of books and magazines that happened to mention the ’Tute, every reference to our little corner of Cambridge was decidedly positive.
Fave Movie? Best Party? The Tech Asks…
<i>Tech</i> staff Andrea Robles ’10 and Monica Kahn ’10 went around the Institute last week asking people for their thoughts about 2007. Here are some of the answers.
It’s a Big, Big World
In the Buenos Aires financial district, rusting metal riot blockades remain on the sidewalks near the banks, which are modern-day fortresses, outfitted in concrete and secured by guards. In public plazas, black gates surround statues of political figures to protect them from vandalism. Politically charged graffiti is littered throughout Avenida de Mayo, the street that connects Congress to Plaza de Mayo – Buenos Aires’ historical location of political protest. At dusk, <i>cartoneros –</i> who would otherwise be unemployed – pick through city trash bins in search of cardboard scraps to sell. At night, homeless individuals sleep in doorways of closed shops in the upper class Recoleta neighborhood.
Brouhaha Rhythm
I feel sort of weird wearing a Hawaiian shirt in the middle of a raging snowstorm, but college has an interesting way of economizing one’s wardrobe, or at least my wardrobe. I can only store so many clothes in my dresser (meaning, on my floor), I can only afford to do so many loads of laundry, and I can only hang so many clothes in my cubicle — I mean, my dorm room. Yes, I hang dry my clothes, and unless you have frequent company that might be put off by damp unmentionables dangling from the ceiling, I will gladly explain the merits of hang drying if you ask me. Go ahead, ask.
Squid vs. Whale
So it turns out MIT gives you four weeks in January to “improve yourself.” Well, ain’t that nice. This year, I wanted to do something really special with my Independent Activities Period (other than go skiing). I wasn’t about to learn Java or take a house course; instead, I wanted to do something really memorable. I wanted to tackle my fears head on and put myself out on a limb. Mainly, I wanted to do something outrageous enough that I’d never get taken seriously again in my life. At first I was thinking ice SCUBA diving.
It’s a Big, Big World
On Commercial Street, one of Bangalore’s shopping meccas, our group was on assignment to bargain for and purchase various items. While buying a pair of turquoise earrings, I felt a slight graze on my upper arm. I turned and faced a middle-aged Indian woman with a baby. She brought together the fingers of her free hand and raised them to her mouth, motioning an eating action. Then she cupped that hand, presented it to us palm side up, and looked at us pleadingly.
Brouhaha Rhythm
People often assume that we have relatively poor English skills just because we go to a school that’s predominantly scientific and engineering-ic. That, of course, is simply not true. Well, not necessarily, anyway.
Brouhaha Rhythm
Ah, it’s good to be home. My sibling is toiling away at high school and my classmates are trudging 15 miles uphill both ways through the less-than-tropical climate of winter in Cambridge. Meanwhile, I’m warming my toes in luxurious Virginia. Sure, it’s not sunny California or Hawaii, but it’s where the heart is, no doubt about it.
Ask SIPB
This week, we will explore several ways in which to access MIT e-mail accounts and the advantages that various e-mail clients offer when compared to Webmail.